- Neither Zidane nor Ronaldo are done yet
As expected, champions Real Madrid and men responsible Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo were written off by a majority to collapse against Neymar’s money studded PSG side due to their poor run in the league. But all questions were in vain as Zidane and co came out flying colours.
PSG, despite taking a lead through Rabiot, lost 3-1 to a brace from Ronaldo and a stunner from Marcelo. It was a classic Ronaldo performance, scoring one from the penalty spot and the other a tap in off his knee. After being ridiculed for his conversion rates in the La Liga all season, he rose to the occasion when it mattered the most. Fair to say it was good schooling for Neymar on how to be the main man at a club.
Zidane came through with his best self- he put the right men on the pitch at the right time, and Emery did not have answers. Taking Cavani off was quite a blunder from the Spaniard. The win was a catalyst for Madrid and they have been able to carry the form in Europe to La Liga winning 3 out of 4 matches and scoring 12 goals along the process.
As Madrid prepare to visit Paris, PSG have suffered yet another blow losing Brazilians Neymar and Marquinhos to injuries. Unai Emery will be tested at the Parc des Princes, in all sense of the word. Zidane will be hungrier than ever, as a historic CL win is probably the only way to save his job.
- Bayern are slipping in as ‘under the radar’ favourites
It was probably those initial struggles and the fallout with Ancelotti that lead most people into ruling out Bayern Munich as favourites for the Champions League this season. But they are proving to be stronger than before and a newfound energy under Jupp Heynckes could take them to their first CL since the win since 2013.
In their first leg tie against Besiktas at Allianz Arena, Bayern drowned the ten man opposition in five goals credit to doubles from Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski. There is no way the Turkish side can pull off a comeback in the return leg.
Bayern’s job in Germany is as good as finished with a 19 point lead over second placed Borussia Dortmund. It will take a miracle to slip from their current position. This means tough schedules will not affect them as they can afford to rest their key players before CL match days. Heynckes has already tasted the treble once, he must know how good it feels and will look to glorify his legacy even further.
Thomas Muller returning to goal scoring form is exciting news for any Bayern fan, especially after having lost left winger Kingsley Coman to an injury for the rest of the season during their draw against Hertha Berlin. Ribery is currently not in the best of form, so it’s likely that Heynckes will look to field Muller and Robben in a front three along with Lewandowski in the coming stages. Apart from the absence of Manuel Neuer, Bayern have arguably the best squad in Europe and they will look to exploit the absence of a stronger line up to challenge them for the trophy.
- Kane vs Higuain: How unfair is the criticism on Gonzalo?
In one of the toughest fixtures of the round, Tottenham came out with two away goals in a 2-2 draw at the Allianz stadium. Higuain doubled Juventus’ lead early in the game but the London side showed true grit to make a comeback through goals from Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen.
As expected, there was a huge coverage on the battle between two of the world’s best strikers Harry Kane and Gonzalo Higuain. Even though any argument about who is better will see Kane come out on top, it is condemnable how Higuain was criticized for his performance while Kane was showered with praise. Typical media act.
Despite missing a penalty, Gonzalo was the better striker on the pitch that night. He scored twice within nine minutes, constantly looked for counters covered more ground and made thrice as many key passes compared to the Spurs striker. Kane was brilliant in the first half and made the best of a rare mistake from the Juventus defence. But he was completely nullified in the second half and barely had a touch of the ball despite Spurs dominating the game 67-33 in possession.
Higuain gave his side an impressive lead early in the game and the defence should have held on to that. While the praise on Kane is acceptable, the criticism on the latter is not. It shows how influential reputation is in the media and in the minds of the fans. However good, Higuain will continue to be branded a bottler for his past mistakes while Kane will be praised for reasons obvious.
- MFS is coming for your defence. Be very terrified.
Anyone who regularly watched Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the 2016/17 season will know how good Mane was for them and how important he is to their attack. It was sheer bad luck- the way in which Sadio Mane found himself injured while Mo Salah came to Liverpool and made an unquestionable claim to the RW spot before he returned to fitness. It is arguable that Salah wouldn’t have had such a phenomenal start had Mane been fit, who could have carried on with his form from last season.
Ever since Mane’ return to fitness Klopp has been trying to infuse Mane into the left side of his attack. The situation has become clearer since the departure of Philippe Coutinho as the manager can go for a simpler 4-3-3 formation and there is no pressure to accommodate Coutinho in a no man’s land between midfield and attack. With each passing game, Mane is getting more comfortable on the left flank and his hat-trick against Porto was a feather on Jurgen’s cap.
In their away trip to Portugal, Liverpool have finished off the tie with a 5-0 over FC Porto with Salah and Firmino scoring the remaining two goals. Even though the chances are low, one can fully expect Klopp to take his side all the way to Kiev. Bar an average midfield, they have an encouraging lineup and Klopp loves these ‘big’ games.
- Conte, Willian and 3-4-3
Lionel Messi paid a visit to Stamford Bridge to put an end to the ruckus over an irrelevant stat, slotting the equaliser past Courtois in typical Messi fashion. His first goal against Chelsea. Nonetheless Conte delivered in his job, limiting Barcelona and Messi to just the one goal and threating the opposition defence more than often. Willian came through as the star of the night with an impressive performance which included scoring Chelsea’s only goal.
Willian returning will surely affect Conte’s plans for the remaining season, in fact it already has. Having Willian in the line-up means Conte will now continue with a 3-4-3 formation and put an end to the 3-5-2 overload on Eden Hazard that he has been employing over the past 6-7 months. There is also the option to pick between Pedro, Morata and Giroud for the third spot after Hazard and Willian, depending on the opposition.
The new look formation worked to a fair extent in Chelsea’s recent loss at the Old Trafford and it is high key possible that Conte will use his 3-4-3 with Pedro Willian and Hazard in front of Kante and Drinkwater at the Camp Nou. Things won’t be that easy for the Blaugrana.
- 2018 belongs to Fred and Fonseca
Two relatively lesser known names, Shakthar manager Paulo Fonseca and their midfield lynchpin Fred are starting to assert their grip in European football. Shakthar progressed to the knockouts from one of the toughest groups in the tournament after beating the league leaders in England and Italy, Manchester City and Napoli at home. A 2-1 win against Roma means they have a very high chance of progressing to the quarter finals- possibly to end up as the dark horses of the tournament. I fully expect them to shock the big names in the coming rounds, if they make it past Rome.
Paulo Fonseca is attracting a lot of attention for his work with Shakthar and his tactics have impressed some of football’s biggest names including Pep Guardiola. The aggressive style of play and the desire to build from the back is slightly reminiscent of Pep himself. With some of the big clubs in Europe looking for new managers, one can fully expect to see him in a top 5 league next season.
Linked with a move to Guardiola’s Manchester City, the game against Roma was Fred’s ticket to limelight which he took with confidence and curled it into the top corner past Alisson Becker. A stunning free kick. Fred is quite different to what one expects from a Brazilian midfielder- highly technical and creative, moreover he has a very good understanding of the game and can dictate play from deep. If the rumours are true, we can expect big things from him in England. To mention, he completely deserves a call up to the Brazil squad for Russia.
- Ever Banega is pure class but Sevilla disappoint
In what was supposed to be one of the easier fixtures of the round, Ever Banega and Vincenzo Montella schooled Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United in an exciting yet goalless encounter. In fairness one could argue Jose came to Spain looking for the draw but it was more down to poor finishing from Sevilla than a defence masterclass from United. Sevilla made 25 attempts on goal (compared to United’s 6) but where quite wasteful in their chances with majority of the blame falling on Colombian striker Luis Muriel.
Argentine midfielder Ever Banega was without doubt the best player on the pitch putting in a world class shift in midfield at the Sanchez Pizjuan- he showed why he is regarded as one of the most talented footballers of his generation. Floated around dictating the tempo with his neat touches, making more key passes than any other player on the pitch. If he is able to deliver once again for Sevilla in the return leg, the Manchester defence will have to be at their best to silence the midfield maestro.
Tacticomotion 