A big week for
Famous faces in the crowd for the England teams’ home games on Wednesday. While Prince William rejoiced in his beloved Aston Villa’s 6-0 win over Fenerbahce, Pep Guardiola’s return to Manchester City was spoiled by Paris Saint-Germain, showing he still represents the benchmark of European club football this season.
Erling Haaland’s center circle investigation after Vitinha put PSG 3-0 ahead was a stark contrast to the triumphalism shown when City won at Liverpool last weekend. The Parisians put in a devastating display in the first half and, although the defiance displayed by City at Anfield on Sunday showed again in the second half, PSG held on for a 4-2 victory. “We could have lost this match if they had scored the chances they created,” said a magnanimous Luis Enrique.
City could soon be out of the competition, after being found guilty of more than 100 charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations. If City wish to finish with a farewell trophy lift, they now know the standard they must meet – and beat. PSG had its own problems with financial regulation in the era of petrodollar public ownership but, with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi a major player in European football, it became an established club. While City are now a pariah, PSG have become almost untouchable, especially on the pitch.
“He who brings glory to Rome, Rome honors him forever,” read a banner at the Stadio Olimpico. “Your hands are blessed and the people will give you eternal glory!” » José Mourinho won hearts when he was in charge of Roma. But his popularity rating is nowhere near as high in Madrid, although the manner in which Real Madrid won 4-3 against Roma will calm the growing storm he has faced since returning to work for Florentino Pérez. The comeback was thanks to the new Madrid generation: Carlos Espí, 21, brought the score to 3-2; the unlikely aerial threat of the 5-foot-8 Endrick, 20, made it 3-3; and Antonio Rüdiger scored the winning goal, via a second assist for 21-year-old Arda Güler. Mourinho embracing youth is a new development. This week, Mourinho blocked Endrick’s loan move to Milan, and he admitted to Rome: “The first half was the coach’s fault; the second half was the players’ fault.”
A record 78 goals were scored in this match week; the previous record was 71. Serie A clubs were on the wrong side. In addition to Roma’s defeat, Como lost 3-2 at Feyenoord, with the decisive moment coming from an own goal from Robert Sánchez, the goalkeeper on loan from Chelsea. Inter also lost 4-3 to Club Brugge, whose performances in the competition in recent years meant the result wasn’t much of a surprise. Napoli lost 3-1 to Villarreal, the Yellow Submarines’ first Champions League victory in eight matches. The Neapolitan focus was on an ongoing battle between Massimiliano Allegri, the Napoli coach, and Kevin De Bruyne. The return of Scott McTominay to the team has pushed De Bruyne deeper. The Belgian made his feelings clear while playing there with very demonstrative body language.
Player of the week
There were two triplets this week. Bradley Barcola launched his Liverpool career with a hat-trick at Lask, whose defending in their 6-3 defeat was sub-optimal to say the least. This 4-3 victory for Bruges is largely due to Nicolò Tresoldi. The striker was born in Italy, but moved to Hannover at the age of 13 and plays for the German under-21 team. Italian introspection after missing the last three World Cups has made Tresoldi a new savior. “I always speak Italian at home; I was born in Italy too,” he said after the match. “We’ll see.”
Paolo Di Canio, on Sky Italia, was pessimistic: “He has already chosen.”
Featured Club: Viking Stavanger
After the exploits of Bodø/Glimt over the past two seasons and the national team’s admirable performance in the World Cup, true football hipsters have a new destination in Norway. Viking plays thousands of miles southwest of Bodø, in Norway’s oil capital, Stavanger. The club has co-managers Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim and Morten Jensen: both men were interviewed for the top job before deciding it was best for them to share duties. The Vikings are in the Champions League for the first time since the 1992-93 season, and at one point on Tuesday the Eliteserien champions led Bayern Munich 2-0. But a seismic shock was avoided thanks to two goals from Harry Kane and another from Luis Díaz which allowed Bayern to lead 3-2. Once Herman Haugen headed home at the back post, Viking had salvaged a point with a 3-3 draw. “I could have played another 90 minutes,” said captain Zlatko Tripić. “I’m incredibly proud.”
They said it
“I expect more. I’m not going to shut my mouth; we need more ambition, we need to talk more about winning Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues in terms of other things.” Lisandro Martínez was undeterred by Peter Schmeichel’s questioning on Tuesday’s CBS broadcast following Manchester United’s loss to Atlético Madrid.
“If we don’t tell the truth, nothing will change,” added Martínez, whose contract with Manchester United expires in June. Martínez’s interventions exposed United’s flaws – and highlighted the dubious merits of having a football celebrity doing the job of a journalist.
Looking to the future
A quick turnaround sees the third round staged next week, with Manchester United traveling to Como for another review of Michael Carrick’s regime. This follows a difficult Sunday trip to Leeds for United.
A few heavy ties catch the eye. Barcelona’s 4-1 win at Galatasaray continues their perfect start to the season, and Tuesday will see them travel to PSG, a meeting of the two favorites to win the title. Arsenal versus Bayern on Wednesday could trigger unhappy memories among Gunners fans. Arsenal lost 5-1 to Bayern three times in a row in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, and also lost in the 2023-24 quarter-finals to the Germans. Arsenal, however, beat Bayern in the Champions League last season.
Gn sports
