(ESP-ENG) El fútbol no es de los favoritos. [Opinión]
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
What we saw this week with the second leg of the semifinals is proof positive that in soccer what most people take for granted does not always happen. We experienced what for many may be the best tie in the history of the Champions League and the next day we witnessed the resurgence of a team that had to wait for its top player to leave for another club to get back into the final. I think that neither Inter nor PSG were clearly the favorites in their respective keys; on one side was Barcelona, a team that has given much to talk about for its dynamic play, and on the other Arsenal, who eliminated the reigning champions, Real Madrid, with great authority.
It was known that the match at the Giuseppe Meazza would be complicated, Inter is a very difficult team to decipher and with a very particular way of playing, the one that gave them the draw in the first leg, but on the other side of the pitch was a Barcelona team that had the famous treble between the eyebrows. Personally I thought that the Culés would advance to the final, from the initial stage they always had the badge of favorites for the way they were playing. But as I said last week, these games are too unpredictable, these stages of the competition are made for anyone to make the upset and advance without problems. According to the statistics, the blaugranas were superior in everything to the Italians, so why did they lose?
They lost because Inter did what they did well. Counterattacking, pressing, aerial play and dodging. The first two Inter goals came from the pressure exerted in the midfield that led to Lautaro's moves and Cubarsi's penalty. I think that Inter understood the meaning of the game and that is why they came out with the same spirit they showed in the first half, the 2-0 was an accurate reflection of what was happening on the field. We know that in the second 45 minutes things changed, Barca started to come back, in fact they did until the arrival of Acerbi, a player who did not count for much some time ago, to tie the game and force the extra time. The real problem of this Barcelona is the risks taken in defense and in this specific case, the bad soccer condition of Ronald Araujo.
In the end, Inter won the key for soccer reasons, Summer saved them many times, Barca also forgave a lot, there had to be a winner and in this case it was not the favorite. Bravo to Inzaghi and his project with the Nerazzurri. But if we are talking about projects we have to mention the inexplicable failure of Arteta's Arsenal. Honestly I wanted the Gunners to win the Champions League, more than anything else for a matter of affinity, I've always liked the team but they have always been falling down at the end of the seasons, it's hard to understand how they start so well, show a good performance in the Champions League and when it's time for the truth they fall down. This is already a hallmark, a signature of theirs.
Ah, but was Arsenal the favorite? - For me, yes. Basically for a matter of context. They came from beating Madrid convincingly, that was enough credentials. But the mistake was to underestimate a PSG that is not the same as a few years ago, mainly because they have a very capable coach who put together a competitive squad, Luis Enrique has formed a great team and the most important thing is that they play incredible football. I think Arsenal's performance was pitiful, having flashes of good play for a few minutes in yesterday's game is not something to praise because yes, they dominated slightly but they were very sterile.
We have been left with a final that I'm sure nobody expected. I see it very interesting because it is PSG's second final, the first one they lost in pandemic against Bayern and Inter has not won since 2010 in that epic of Mourinho at the Bernabeu. Both clubs are eager to win the “orejona”. It would be very curious for PSG to win it after the departure of Mbappe, a player who left to win European titles that were eluding him in France. Unprecedented final and made up of the underdogs of each series. I may be wrong with this approach but that's the way I perceived it, soccer is not about favorites.
¡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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La serie del Inter vs. Barcelona fue muy buena, un día y vuelta. Creo que al Barça le faltó experiencia, quisieran buscar más y lo pagaron caro. Creo que el Inter podría dar el golpe y Munich y ganar la champions. Veremos.
Pensé eso, al ser una plantilla tan joven es posible que la falta de experiencia les haya pasado factura a pesar de la calidad del equipo. No me gusta el PSG pero por Luis Enrique si me gustaría que se llevaran la Champions.
Nah, te dije claramente que esa sería la final 😎
Es verdad jaja el Inter ganó la eliminatoria haciendo su juego. Creo que pueden llevarse la Champions, no te voy a negar que no sería una sorpresa muy grande.