Article 101 — Champions League Quarter-Finals Review & Semi-Finals Preview
There were some fascinating and exciting ties in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Atalanta vs Paris Saint-Germain was the first quarter-final to take place in Estadio da Luz, Portugal. Atalanta was a team that for a change, all of Italy and fans of Serie A could get behind regardless of our allegiance. In their Champions League debut, they qualified for the knockout stage on the final day after a miraculous recovery of results, they had one point after four games. In the Round of 16, they crushed Valencia before the lockdown to qualify for the quarter-final.
PSG prepared for the resumption of Champions League in high spirits by winning the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. They were favourites to get past Atalanta and win the Champions League. However, PSG has not got past the quarter-finals since 1995 and have shown a tendency of bottling at this stage so there was every chance Atalanta might spring a surprise.
For the football purists and lovers of romantic upsets, this was not the match for that. Neymar had the first chance of the match but skewed his shot horribly wide when he was one-on-one on goal. Atalanta took the lead through Mario Pasalic and held on almost until the end. The commentator mentioned that in years gone by, Italian teams made winning games 1–0 a speciality but this was a different time for Italian football. PSG scored twice right at the death through former Roma defender, Marquinhos and substitute, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. It was the first time since 1995 that PSG has qualified for the semi-finals and after spending $1.42 billion in the last 9 years. This could break the mental block they have been having in the Champions League, after all, their tragic and dramatic exits from the competition. For Atalanta, it was a heartbreaking end to a courageous run. They will be back in the Champions League again next season and hopefully, they can do well again.
In the quarter-final played the next day, Atletico Madrid was favourites to knock RB Leipzig out and play against PSG in the semi-final. The German club funded by Austrians and founded only 11 years ago, took the lead in the game through David Olmo from Spain. Atletico found an equaliser through their teenage wonderkid, Joao Felix, playing in his native Portugal, from the penalty spot. Two minutes before the end, American, Tyler Adams’ shot took a heavy deflection off Stefan Savic to wrongfoot Jan Oblak to clinch the tie for the Germans. It was Leipzig’s first progression to the semi-finals of a European competition in only their third European campaign.
The semi-final between PSG and RB Leipzig would be between two teams that are funded by rich, foreign owners. While PSG has gone out to spend big money on signing players to totally dominate French football, European glory has been missing since their domination began. Leipzig has not gone out to spend big money on players preferring to focus on young talent from all over the world but the manner of their formation has antagonised many in German football. Neither club is a favourite of football purists but for this tie, I would tip Paris Saint-Germain to uphold the favourites tag and progress to the final.
Friday had a heavyweight match-up between Barcelona and Bayern Munich. What transpired in this game sent shockwaves throughout the footballing world. Bayern Munich took Barcelona to the cleaners and hammered them 8–2. It was the first time since 1946 that Barcelona has conceded 8 goals and it was their worst-ever Champions League defeat. Bayern also became the first team to score 8 goals in a Champions League knockout match. Things were already troubled at Nou Camp after their La Liga collapse. The win over Napoli in the Round of 16 seemed to suggest a change in fortune but no-one would have foreseen a hammering of this sort.
To be honest, if Napoli was clinical and not conceded three goals in the first half, they might have added oil to the Barcelona fire in the Round of 16 itself. The repercussions from this defeat are still felt in Barcelona with Quique Setien a dead man walking, about to get the official sack anytime soon. There are also reports that star man and captain, Lionel Messi has put in a transfer request. I would take that with a pinch of salt as I feel he would change his mind if there is a change in President.
With this hammering, Bayern is now favourites to win the Champions League. Bayern’s manager Hans-Dieter Flick was the assistant to Joachim Low when Germany annihilated Brazil 7–1 in the 2014 World Cup semi-final. What an irony! Since Flick’s appointment, he has got Bayern to claw back a deficit to win the Bundesliga and now got his team playing some very good football. It was also one of those games where almost every shot on goal ended in the back of the net. To add salt to the wounds, Barcelona’s loanee, Philippe Coutinho came off the bench to assist a goal and scored the last two goals in the game for Bayern.
The final quarter-final was between Manchester City and Lyon. City was favourites to beat Lyon. I had thought for Lyon knocking Juventus out in the Round of 16 was the best it could get for them. I didn’t expect them to spring another giant-killing act to knock City out. Like a fellow Middle Eastern owned club, PSG, European glory was elusive for City. With Real Madrid, Juventus, Liverpool and Barcelona already out of the competition, City would have seen this as a great opportunity for them to get into the final.
Lyon got off to a great start, Maxwel Cornet catching out Ederson who was way off his line with a precise, curling shot. Kevin de Bruyne got City’s equaliser in the second half before Moussa Dembele gave the French side the lead again 11 minutes from the end. City’s day was compounded when Raheem Sterling missed from a great position when it seems impossible to miss. Dembele then confirmed City’s elimination three minutes from the end by taking advantage of Ederson’s spill.
Lyon has matched their highest-ever Champions League finish of reaching the semi-final. The last time they qualified for the semi-final was in the 2009–10 season. They would have an unenviable task of facing the favourites, Bayern Munich in the semi-final, ironically a repeat of the 2009–10 semi-final. Could they spring a third giant-killing act? We will find out. I am tipping Bayern to beat Lyon and win the competition but anything can happen in this format.
For the first time since 1991, there are no representatives from England, Italy or Spain in the semi-final of the Champions League. Both semi-finals would be Franco-German affairs. The rest the teams have got in the last 60 days has also got something to do with the progression of the French and German teams to the semi-finals. Atalanta and Manchester City have averaged a game every 4.28 days for the last 60 days compared to one in 20 days for PSG and Lyon. Atletico Madrid and Barcelona had a game every 5 days compared to one in 10 days for Bayern and one in 20 days for Leipzig.
It seems that the rest has not resulted in rustiness for the teams that have more rest and benefited them instead.
