(ESP-ENG) Sin muchas sorpresas, nos vemos en Febrero // Without many surprises, we'll see you in February.
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
Yesterday was the end of the group stage of the Champions League to give way to the round of 16 to be held in the second week of February next year. It ended, as the title says, without any surprises or novelties, or at least that's how I see it, with respect to what we had been seeing throughout the six games played by each of the clubs in this first phase.
In the different editions of this tournament there have always been teams that sneak in among the 16 qualified teams that NOBODY had in the papers or in the big bookmakers, in this year little happened but also happened the other way around and that is that a couple of teams were left out that we ALL thought they were going to reach the round of 16.
The first big surprise was Barcelona. Talking about them is already a bit repetitive in this blog but many people believed that with the arrival of Xavi everything would improve overnight and nothing further from reality, if the situation will improve but for that there is much work to do. The truth is that the disaster that Koeman left was very big and today we are seeing the consequences of it, eliminated from the Champions League and far away from competitive positions in the Spanish League.
The one that for me is the second surprise but to be left out is the German Borussia Dortmund. Even though they won by a landslide the last game they had no chance, a team that gets defeated three times is very difficult to advance and it is a shame because the physical and scoring form in which Haaland is in is incredible and not seeing a player like him in these tournaments is never a good thing for soccer.
As I mentioned, most of the teams that one would have thought were eliminated, with the exception of the two I have just mentioned. And it is very evident the gap in level between the qualified teams and the others, both in game and in squad; they are very powerful and very solid teams which to pass over them is almost a titanic task.
But not everything is negative. One of the great revelations of this first round is Ajax from the Netherlands led by their star striker Sebastien Haller. The level of play shown by the Dutch was incredible, optimal and much more overwhelming than teams like PSG or Juventus, they won ALL their matches and qualified undefeated. I firmly believe that we must watch this team very carefully because they are ready to knock down any big team in Europe and give the big blow and reach much further.
Can we talk about candidates at this stage of the competition? - I think so. For the game played, for the offensive and defensive solidity, for the form of their players and because the good level is not only in the Champions League but in other competitions I think that both Bayern, Liverpool, this Ajax revelation and why not, Real Madrid are the great contenders to win the "orejona".
In general terms in this first phase rather than great matches with a high level what we saw were the great deficiencies that many teams came to show. We never saw a solid Juventus, a constant Real Madrid at the beginning, a Manchester City with matches where Guardiola's tactical design was horrendous, PSG that never took off with all the stars they have, Cholo Simeone's team was on the verge of being out with three lost matches and finally Cristiano's ManU immersed in a defensive crisis that although they did not lose any match, no one gave them in the round of 16.
This Champions League is a far cry from past editions as far as the quality of play is concerned, but it is still something we will continue to see and let's hope that for the last sixteen phase the quality and the game in general will improve for the good of the competition itself and for us, the fans.
¡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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