From the 1960 final to the miracle of Istanbul, Europe’s top club competition has provided many moments to rival the drama of Real Madrid’s quarter-final against JuventusThe almost shocking conclusion to what had been a notable Juventus recovery against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu has not only divided opinion – it was a penalty all day long, one could only admire the stealth with which Medhi Benatia administered his shove in the back of Lucas Vázquez and the bravery of Michael Oliver for punishing it – but has also inspired much talk of the evening being one of the most dramatic in the history of the European Cup and Champions League. However the latter stages of the competition have frequently...
After a rough week for Pep Guardiola, if it is any consolation, he is far from alone in the Premier League in letting standards slipThe image of Pep Guardiola with his head in his hands contemplating Manchester City’s Champions League exit from a seat in the Colin Bell stand is likely to be an enduring one. This, the unwritten caption will say, is what England can do to the world’s finest coaching talent.To be strictly accurate it was not English football’s fault that Guardiola lost it so completely at the end of the first half against Liverpool, it was more a combination of Martin Atkinson and the Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz. Related: The bald fact for Pep Guardiola is...
Champions League exit against Roma was proof ageing team can no longer rely on Lionel Messi to get them out of troubleIf it was possible for Barcelona not to become overwhelmed by despair when they fell to Juventus last season, there was no way for them to rationalise their stunning collapse against Roma on Tuesday. Succumbing to the best team in Italy and a fellow European giant did not feel like a drama, even though they had started the tie as slight favourites. But folding so meekly against Roma has exposed a deeper malaise.Roma should not be patronised given they have taken some serious scalps, from finishing top of a group that contained Atlético Madrid and Chelsea to overcoming the...
After three straight defeats, City’s manager is not ‘a fraud’ and neither has he been ‘found out’ – rather rivals have realised how to exploit his side’s weak spotsIs Pep Guardiola a bald fraud? Before Manchester City’s three consecutive defeats in the last eight days, this seemed to be one of the more urgent questions of the modern sporting age.It looked a simple enough dichotomy. Is the man who gave us the most compelling elite club team and the finished‑article Lionel Messi, a high‑class manager whose teams retain a skein of brittleness against the best opponents? Or is he, in fact, a fraud. And not just a fraud but a bald fraud. A bald foreign fraud, the worst kind of...
The Champions League is full of sides losing by three goals or more – and that includes the latter stages. Even domestically dominant sides can be found wantingExplain this: Juventus, top of Serie A, having kept clean sheets in 21 of their previous 25 games, horribly defensively exposed by Real Madrid last week, letting in three. And yet on Tuesday night Roma, third in Serie A, 21 points behind Juve, hammered Barcelona, who remain unbeaten in La Liga and stand 15 points clear of fourth-placed Real Madrid. How can this be?Eusebio Di Francesco, rightly, took credit for his switch to a back three. “I made this choice,” the Roma coach explained, “to create more width, allow more counterattacks and bring speed, but what...