(ESP-ENG) Los últimos invitados al baile!
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
Yesterday, another cycle in this edition of the Champions League came to an end and the round of 16 were left behind to make way for the quarterfinals, which will be held in less than a month, in the second week of April. There were several places available and they were completed by Manchester City, Inter, Real Madrid and Napoli. There is a very striking detail and that is that after a few years there are three Italian teams among the eight finalists, something that is very striking since Italian soccer has not been one of the strongest in recent years and yet they sneaked into the quarterfinals and not to mention that half of the coaches of the qualified clubs are Italian as well.
But we are not here to talk about the Italians' footballing goodness but to comment on the most relevant of this matchday. Yesterday, Madrid hosted Liverpool at home and we already knew from Klopp's statements what they were going to the Bernabeu for. In the preview, the coach was seen with a very defeatist attitude, pessimistic about what the game was going to do and being very clear that it would be impossible for them to advance from the round. I have always said and I quote: "Football is a state of mind", if Liverpool had taken the field with a different personality, even if the result was very uphill, the show would have been guaranteed and the honor would have been safe.
The advantage that Madrid had is that they could manage the game at their own pace because having a three goal differential is a good cushion. The first half started and it must be said that it was a pretty good one with chances for both sides, Liverpool had the discount in the shoes of Darwin Núñez in just five minutes thanks to Salah who was one of the best that Klopp's team showed during the first 45 minutes. But little by little Madrid began to loosen up and the danger began to reach Becker with Vinicius' arrivals and shots from Camavinga and Modric, who from time to time were encouraged in the middle distance. The midfield of Los Blancos was the best, Kross distributing play, Modric playing as if it was his own backyard and a decent Camavinga I think was what allowed this Madrid to not have so much work to do.
With the score at 0-0, we would go to the second half which was something else, it was a second half where Liverpool did not exist, nothing, they did not generate absolutely no danger or chances and the mood of reluctance was already very evident. This was taken advantage of by the Merengues to walk calmly and complete the process because this match was just that, a simple process. Watching Benzema's goal reminded me of something that happened at the beginning of the season and that is that the Frenchman did not want anything with Vinicius, apparently there was a feud because he did not like the way the Brazilian played, there was no understanding on the field, something that we often noticed watching the games. And now? - Well, they are perhaps the most lethal duo in the world in terms of goals and assists, a complete marvel for soccer.
Madrid landed in the quarterfinals and although yesterday's game was not the best, partly because of the result in favor, it is undoubtedly a club that has the favorite card more than anyone; I think that along with City they are the heavy rival to avoid in these quarterfinals. And speaking of City we have to go to what happened on Tuesday at the Etihad where what was seen is another example that soccer and the world are not prepared for what a 22 year old player can show us and we can not talk about a promise, Haaland is a reality. A reality that has 39 goals in 36 games, if my memory serves me correctly, and when he connects with his teammates and the game he becomes an unstoppable beast. We are talking about Haaland massacred Leipzig with five goals, it could have been more but Guardiola's inexplicable decision prevented it.
It was a match that at least in the first leg had been very even and full of grit to the point that it was 1-1 so one expected a bit of the same, but it was not like that, it was an avalanche of goals that went over the poor Germans that after the first twenty minutes saw how their aspirations were walled in oblivion. I am very surprised how a team can change their game and mentality so much between one game and another and the fact is that Leipzig in the first leg, I repeat, was very decent and solid defensively, something that was not seen at any time in Tuesday's game. And what killed this team was their inability to come out playing with ball control, the amount of bad deliveries and balls given away at the start were countless and that's something you can't allow a team like City.
To talk about anything halfway tactical in this game is a waste of time because it was a game that was quite broken from the moment Haaland's first goal arrived and in two minutes they were already leading 2-0 and ended the first half with three goals in the bag. The Germans never had the capacity to react, but not even the slightest, and the game was practically a training session for City. The second half arrived and it started the same way as the first half, 3 goals in just over ten minutes and the whole situation was already crazy and everyone was thinking that yes, breaking Adriano and Messi's record was possible. Pep Guardiola did not see it that way and with more than 25 minutes to go before the final whistle, he decided to take the Norwegian android off and thus deprive him of this feat.
I don't know Guardiola's reasons, in case there weren't any compelling ones, I thought it was a terrible and mean gesture on his part; if what he wanted was to be applauded then it was better to wait for the last 5-10 minutes and take him off. Totally incomprehensible if you ask me. City play Burnley on Saturday, a reason to keep him and look after him? - I don't think so. Haaland was injured? - I don't think so either. As much as I want to look for a reason I can't find one for him and that's what bothers me. EYE, I didn't listen to the press conference after the game so if he said something and you heard it then let me know.
The quarterfinals already have their guests and I must say that choosing a favorite is complicated because of the high level shown by teams like Benfica, Napoli, Chelsea itself that surprised everyone and well, City and Madrid that for me are a little unstoppable. It looks like there will be some good games and it will be a very entertaining quarter finals that will give us more than one surprise, of the latter I am very sure.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!
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For me the yesterday match was a really painful seeing Liverpool loosing again but to me i actually thought Nunez would play the full match because he really put a lot of effort in the match and seeing him going off the pitch was disheartening
De verdad que no me gusto el partido del Liverpool.
En ocasiones pareciera que aceleraba y también sin ideas futbolísticas.
A este equipo rojo le falta un recambio importante para poder competir. ¿Qué dices?
Saludos.
Sin dudas, creo que al final de la temporada se viene una movida de mata en ese equipo dura. No se si a Klopp lo van a mover porque lo que ha hecho es grande en ese equipo pero al final no se si esa historia tan grande le baste para quedarse. Veremos al final de la temporada.
Saludos!!
La verdad es que los juegos de ayer en ningún momento dieron la sensación de cambiar la tendencia de la ida, Napoli y Real Madrid ya se sabían más que clasificados y la vuelta era un cierre para seguir engranando piezas de cara a la siguiente ronda, una Liga de Campeones extraña, Benfica, Napoli, Inter, Milan en cuartos de final, para cualquiera de ellos va a ser un logro enorme llegar a semifinales. Especialmente para el Benfica, que viene haciendo buenas temporadas europeas.
Así es. Lo del Benfica es impresionante y es algo que no es nuevo, estas actuaciones las viene haciendo desde primera ronda. Y bueno el Napoli igual, para muestra como van en la Serie A.
Creo que tanto los portugueses como los napolitanos el hecho de que lleguen a semis no sería sorpresa. El Chelsea si sería algo inesperado, el Bayern que también ya que no están teniendo una buena temporada. Sin duda serán unos cuartos interesantes.
La fuente de la primera imagen es incorrecta:
Por favor, verifique que las fuentes se encuentren en páginas de uso libre, le sugerimos compartir imágenes de twitter porque una vez publicadas allí son de dominio público, siempre y cuando comparta el link de la fuente.
Por favor corrija la imagen por una de otro origen que no sea de derechos reservados.
Gracias por comprender
Listo amigos.
Desconocía esta medida puesto que siempre he publicado de la forma anterior y no ha habido inconvenientes. No volverá a suceder.
Un fuerte abrazo!
Hola amigo.
Definitivamente el club Merengue nunca se quiere quedar fuera de esta gran cita en la champions, siempre avanzar y termina siendo un equipo muy difícil de vencen, a pesar que su rendimiento en la liga no sea el mejor, y por otra parte el City con su paso arrollador, aunque no es un gran equipo al que venció además de empatar en la ida, pienso que tendrá problemas en la siguiente ronda.