PSG Champions

The Champions League title has eluded Paris St. Germain for a long time, but now that it finally came it certainly came with style. 5-0 is the greatest difference in a European final ever, and it was not too little as the Parisians were far superior to the disappointing Milanese.

Perhaps it was as expected that Inter came out with a defensive attitude, but this was clearly not working as a highly motivated Parisian side tore apart a shaky defense after 12 minutes with the Moroccan Achraf Hakimi scoring the opening goal after 12 minutes against his former club, and the young Desire Doue scoring a second for PSG after 20 minutes. Inter really had no response, and in the second half one would have expected them to move forward but a far more intelligent PSG side again went a ahead 3-0 on a brilliant counter-attack where Doue scored his second at the greatest stage.

After this is was really over. PSG were clearly enjoying the match while Inter clearly just wanted the match to end. Kvisha Kvaratshkelia made it 4-0 and Senny Mayulu made it 5-0.

Despite it all it is worth congratulating Inter's players who took the heavy defeat with dignity, while for PSG it was particularly fantastic to see Luis Enrique lift the trophy. 

It is in place to congratulate PSG fans, although at the same time it is a shame that the celebrations in the French capital turned violent, when all most fans really want to celebrate is the great victory of a great football team.

Why Darwin?

I did not watch today's Champions League matches because I was working. But as I was heading home in the afternoon I followed the penalty kicks between Liverpool and PSG, following the Parisians surprising 0-1 victory. 

I have never been a fan of Darwin Nuñez; I am surprised he should be the best attacker from a great football nation as Uruguay. When he signed for Liverpool I thought that maybe, just maybe, Liverpool would be the right club for him, but I do not think it has been. So when he went up to strike Liverpool's second kick, I felt he might miss, and I think most people feared or hoped he might (depending on who you support).

And indeed he missed, starting Liverpool's defeat, as Curtis Jones also missed the next shot, while the Parisians scored on all their kicks. 

I know penalty kicks are a high level lottery, and that a defeat cannot be blamed on one penalty miss, but at the same time I wonder why Darwin Nuñez had to take a penalty in such an important match.

PSG are now through having defeated one of the favourites in this weird-format CL, and expect to see all big teams through...

In Brugge

I had already said that Club Brugge could only surprise, and in the first match of their Group A in the Champions League the Belgian side surprised none other than mighty Paris St. Germain. One might think that the result of 1-1 was the surprise, with Club Brugge fighting to get a tie, but you would be wrong: Club Brugge deserved a victory, and were prevented by a Keylor Navas who proved that Donnarumma will have to fight hard to be a starter.

Club Brugge played exactly like Paris did not: as a team, and supporting one another throughout, some players stood out, notably the Colombian Eder Balanta, the young Charles de Ketelaere, and the captain Hans Vanaken, who scored the goal for Brugge. 

One must, first of all, credit Club Brugge for a fantastic match, which made Paris look weaker. That said, the Parisians seemed more like 11 talented individuals rather than one team. They will not win the tournament playing like that, and it is clear that they will have their hands full in their next match against Manchester City, who defeated RB Leipzig 6-3.

And nobody should be surprised about Club Brugge any longer!

PSG "Galactico II"

With the transfer of Lionel Messi to PSG the French club has strengthened its already strong team, and it would appear that few, if any, clubs will be able to compete with them at the French league level or European level. Because Messi is only the most famous of the new players that have arrived in Paris this summer, a list that includes: Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan's and Italy's fantastic young goalkeeper), Giorginio Wijnaldum (the Netherlands' captain and solid Liverpool player), Achraf Hakimi (Inter's and Morocco's brilliant right-back) and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid's and Spain's legendary defender). These players enter a team that already includes Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Marquinhos, Keylor Navas, Marco Verrati, Leandro Paredes, Angel DiMaria, Julian Draxler, Pabloa Sarabia, Rafinha, etc.

The undoubted quality that PSG has is no guarantee that they will be successful in their pursuit for titles, but it is certain that they are the team to watch in the coming season. Almost 20 years ago Real Madrid were dubbed "Galacticos" for the quality of players they had back then; PSG this season appears to be "Galacticos II".

Holes in the Parisian wall

It seems it is not to be the time for Paris St. Germain: in the first home leg of the Champions League semi-final they lost at home to Manchester City. 

In the first half one could not see it coming: PSG were by far the better team and were ahead 1-0 on a header of captain Marquinhos. The Parisians were in control, and were quite a joy to watch; they seemed happy on the pitch! 

But second half turned things around. Manchester City were better, yes, much better, but the Parisians also seemed to welcome the two Manchester City goals. 

First Kevin de Bruyne: what was clearly a cross into the area sailed quietly into goal at the far post. Keylor Navas looked surprised, but I would say that it is always the goalkeeper that should be covering that giant hole at the far post! 

Second, Riyad Mahrez scored on a direct free kick; a wall with holes is not a wall, and while Verrati was lying down to prevent any low shot, Mahrez just fired straight into the wall, where a giant hole led the ball straight into goal and 1-2 for Manchester City! 

PSG were clearly frustrated, and Idrissa Gana was shown a red card to round off an evening that started so well, but end up full of holes for PSG! 

So it seems Manchester City is heading for the Champions League final, where they may face Chelsea, who got a good away result, 1-1, in Real Madrid. But let us see…

Paris' feeble revenge

In 2017 I watched FC Barcelona pull off an extraordinary comeback in the Champions League against Paris St. Germain. As FC Barcelona was facing PSG again, in the last-16, some were hoping for a repeat after FC Barcelona's humiliating 1-4 home defeat in the first leg. Although it was not to be (the match ended 1-1), I have to say that this is one of the few times I have admired a Barcelona side's spirit, as they kept trying to attack, and were largely unlucky not to get at least a narrow victory. There is a lot of criticism against Barcelona, rightfully, but what they showed today should give Barca fans some hope, as the youngsters are taking up the responsibility. 

And of course: they still have Messi. He seems a bit slower, and also seems less committed than we have seen him before. But he is certainly still an amazing player, and scored a splendid goal (but also missed a penalty kick).

In the meantime one may be able to excuse PSG: at home, but without fans, and with the advantage of having to defend a 4-1 lead, they were very poor; they defended well (with Keylor Navas and Marquinhos playing splendidly), but there was otherwise not much to show, and surely, if they are going for the title, will have to play much better than they did today. At least they got a feeble revenge for what happened four years ago!

Real Madrid on top and a weak Barcelona

I am not a Barcelona or Real Madrid fan. In fact in terms of fandom I pretty much dislike both teams, although in terms of football quality I am full of respect and admiration for what they have achieved. Therefore, pretty much the only thing I look forward to in the Spanish league is to see these teams play against each other, so watching the first leg of the Supercopa final tonight was obligatory.
But it angered me.

The quality of both sides is unquestionable, which Ronaldo and Asensio's amazing goals for Real Madrid are witness to. And Real Madrid are truly amazing at the moment, picking up where they left last season: Zidane has created a team that combines experience with immensely talented youth (and he shows he believes in them), freedom of action with tactical discipline, and with a strength in depth that Barcelona cannot match.
But both teams lower their own quality by not letting the ball alone talk, but constant acting, diving and bitching. It is at times painful to watch.

The vulnerability of Barcelona became so obvious today against a top Real Madrid side, that only favourable refereeing gave them a chance in the match: an incorrectly cancelled goal for Real Madrid, a non-existent penalty and a questionable red card for Ronaldo (despite the fact that one cannot help but be smugly happy for Ronaldo's off-the-shirt yellow card that he seems to get on purpose) just helped Barcelona not become totally humiliated.
Two of the best teams in the world, and refereeing is totally amateurish... This happens more in the Spanish league than in any other league (both Real Madrid and Barcelona have favourable referees in any match against other sides), and there is no question that a league with such low quality of refereeing (where players again and again take advantage of them) can in no way be called among the best in the world.

And finally, about Neymar: I understand why left Barcelona. It was not the money: as an ambitious young man he went to a side that is looking forward and investing, while he left a Catalonian side that before was relying on Messi-Suarez-Neymar, now seems to rely solely on Messi and Suarez, with quality in some positions, but barely any in others.
In the meantime Neymar scored in his debut for PSG, starting what looks like a great partnership with Edison Cavani...
Look to PSG for the coming season, not to Barcelona!

Valentines Day in Paris

Everyone, except FC Barcelona, seems to know that Paris Saint Germain has a quality team who under Unai Emery has learned to prepare for a match. And Barcelona seemed stunned the entire match as they proved inferior to PSG in every regard. It would have been nice to have a "Manita" to rub in Barcelona's faces, but in the end it was "only" 4-0, a result FC Barcelona can be most thankful about.
First about PSG: They seem to be the team of the future. Young players like Adrien Rabiot and Julian Draxler excelled, while "older" faces such as Marco Verrati, Angel Di Maria and Edison Cavani totally outshined Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Di Maria and Cavani both scored goals full of love on what was also their birthday.
The main reason for the result was a splendid PSG side who could go all the way if they play like today! But one must also mentioned FCB: the fact that they played such a horrible match can only be blamed on the manager, Luis Enrique. Do not mind the demotivated side, but some choices were simply awkward; Andre Gomes instead of Rakitic made them lose the midfield and Sergi Roberto was so bad as right-back (admittedly not his natural position) that it was like handing Draxler a highway to run on.
Barcelona are all but out of the Champions League and with meager chances of winning the Liga title, they may take a consolation with the Copa del Rey, but the question is whether this is enough for Luis Enrique to maintain his job.

Two good and two bad things

After 1-1 in the first match of the Champions League group stage between Paris St. Germain and Arsenal, there are two good conclusions for Arsenal:

• That the reserve goalkeeper David Ospina is in great form (he basically saved Arsenal)
• The result

For Paris St. Germain, there are two bad conclusions from the match:

• Edison Cavani's number of missed chances 
• The result

10 Paris guys defeat 12 Chelsea guys

Paris St. Germain showed what it is to fight against a Chelsea team that is difficult to say anything nice about. Chelsea plays arrogantly, as if they could just walk through this match, and with some characters who behave like cheating mafiosi. And on top, the referee was Chelsea's 12th man on the pitch: Ibrahimovic got a tough direct card when all he was doing was trying not to hurt an overeager and overreacting Oscar (who should, together with Diego Costa, have been shown off with more reason), and then gave Chelsea a strange penalty in extra time for an apparent handball by Thiago Silva (I cannot see if he really touches it, but it is not on purpose, and does not change the ball's trajectory).
But Paris St. Germain fought on with admireable, and the only Chelsea player worth of his name, Thibaut Courtois, was the savoiur a couple of times, but even he had to give up as he was sentenced by lousy defending and splendid headers by David Luiz and Thiago Silva.
I think absolutely nobody in Europe will miss Chelsea.
No to Racism.

Worthy of a final

Paris St. Germain's match against FC Barcelona in the group stages of the Champions League was worthy of a final, as Paris won 3-2, and certainly announced themselves as serious candidates for the title.
FC Barcelona had looked awesome at the start of the season without any goals conceded, but that was to change when David Luiz brought PSG ahead on a blunder of the Barcelona defense. David Luiz, always somewhat irregular in his movements, played a great match, but certainly must have given PSG fans their moments of nerves. Without Ibrahimovic it was Edison Cavani and Javier Pastore who led a great attach by PSG, where Marco Verrati and Blaise Matuidi both scored for PSG. But also FC Barcelona showed great attacking power and the goals by Lionel Messi and Neymar were both of the high quality one has grown accustomed to with Barcelona.
One has to wonder whether Barcelona's awesome statistic is more because they have not faced qualified opposition yet, as they certainly did yesterday. The match showed that while outstanding, FC Barcelona certainly have weaknesses, and PSG that they must be reckoned with.

The champions from Paris

Anything can happen in football, but money often is victorious. After 19 years Paris St. Germain again won the French League title after a 1-0 victory over Olympique Lyon (a team that dominated French football with seven league titles in a row until 2008).
In 2012 the Qatar Investment Authority bought the stock majority in Paris St. Germain and made them one of the richest clubs in the world, investing heavily in creating a competitive team. Carlo Ancelotti became coach of a team and some of the players that arrived were Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Maxwell, and even the ageing but ever-present David Beckham. And there is no doubt that the team has been steadily improving, and after finishing second last season they put up a great performance in the CL against FC Barcelona.
Now the title arrived, and it was surely a deserved title. Many people will criticize that it is only a victory of money, and that is surely true. But it is also true that Paris St. Germain was always a great team in a city - one of the greatest cities in the world -, that needs a top level football side. If the French league can avoid the trappings of the Spanish league, the French league will benefit from a strong Paris St. Germain side that will also be great to have in European competitions.
Great new champions, and congratulations to all fans!

Hope is alive

In the previous round of the Champions League FC Barcelona destroyed AC Milan 4-0 after having lost the first match in Italy 0-2. Today, in the first leg of the quarterfinal in Paris the Catalonians got 2-2. FC Barcelona was up 2-1 on goals by Messi and Xavi (on penalty) until the 93rd minute when Blaise Matuidi equalized for the French side to give them hope before the second leg in Barcelona.
In spite of Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring and David Beckham becoming the first player to play Champions League in four different sides, hope is the best that Paris St. Germain has before what will be a very difficult second leg

In today's other quarterfinal Bayern Munich was superior to Juventus in a 2-0 home victory where David Alaba scored after only one minute and Thomas Muller made it 2-0 in the second half.
Juventus' hope is that their defeat was not large enough and that they can pull back on the two goals.
But hope seems really to be the best that Juventus can take away from the first leg. Bayern Munich are currently playing extraordinary football, and as Paris St. Germain, they have a difficult second leg to look forward to.

But one more thing should give Paris St. Germain and Juventus hope: anything can happen in football!

The Champions League quarterfinals

The greatest surprise in this season's Champions League is that among the eight quarterfinalists there are no English sides, something quite unheard of over the last few years. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are of course there, followed by the surprise Spanish side, Malaga. Two very strong German teams, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are there, as are Juventus, Galatasaray and Paris St. Germain from Italy, Turkey and France respectively.
It is a refreshing batch of teams that were crossed the following way for the quarterfinals:

• Galatasaray-Real Madrid
• FC Barcelona-Paris St. Germain
• Bayern Munich-Juventus
• Malaga-Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich-Juventus is surely the most interesting match, although it will also be interesting to see the new multi-million ambitious side of Paris St. Germain take on FC Barcelona. Besides their spectacular match against AC Milan, FC Barcelona have not looked unbeatable this year, and the Parisians certainly have a chance if the hit the day.
But whatever happens, I do not hope it will be a Real Madrid-Barcelona final.

Hamburg SV-Manchester City

The UEFA Cup is often an underestimated tournament, standing at the shadow of the Champions League. Nevertheless, this is a bit unfair, as the quality is often as good as in the CL, and one gets to see some other excellent European teams which are more rare in the CL, that too often seems dominated by the same ten teams or so.
So last night I was in O'Leary's in Copenhagen with some friends to drink beer and watch the exciting quarterfinal in the UEFA Cup between Mancherster City and Hamburg SV, and it proved no disappointment: Manchester City scored after some 30 seconds, but then Hamburg played a splendid match to carry a well-deserved 3-1 victory home!
In another quarterfinal Werder Bremen defeated Udinese 3-1, and we may thus be looking at an all-German semifinal (and so, German football is not only symbolized by Bayern Munich's disaster in the CL) on the one hand, and an all-Ukrainian semifinal on the other, as both Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev managed to get good results against Olympique Marseille and Paris St. Germain respectively.