With the speculation swirling, Mauricio Pochettino thought he had caught a break on the field in Manchester. The Paris Saint‑Germain manager, hotly linked with the vacant post across town at United, had watched his team look vulnerable at the back and erratic all over. It was difficult to make out the gameplan.
This is what revenge looks like but, moreover, what can happen when the Chelsea juggernaut is able to ramp up. After a first half of near total control, when Trevoh Chalobah’s crashed finish on the half-volley represented scant reward, Thomas Tuchel could revel in how his team simply flattened Juventus to move to the top of Champions League Group H.
The Kop reminded Milan of Istanbul before kick-off with a banner that read: “25/05/05 – There are places I remember.” Their torment did not cease there. Liverpool rekindled 16-year-old memories on the pitch too with three goals, another comeback and another rollercoaster Champions League win.
When Thomas Tuchel was given the job of reviving Chelsea at the end of January, he wanted to return them to next season’s Champions League via a top-four Premier League finish. The notion that he might actually win the thing for only the second time in the club’s history was ludicrous.
Manchester United produced a thrilling second-half comeback to beat Atalanta at Old Trafford, but they haven't overcome some of the biggest issues of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure,
“This will be an interesting game to draw conclusions about where we are,” Ronald Koeman had said. The answer, as they suspected, was a long way from aspiring to win the Champions League. Thirteen months later Barcelona were beaten by Bayern Munich once again.
Up until the 85th minute, the fear had nagged away at Chelsea. It was not based on anything much that Real Madrid had shown on the field across the two legs of this Champions League semi-final – apart from perhaps the latent menace of Karim Benzema.
Mohamed Salah's exceptional form continued as Liverpool edged out 10-man Atletico Madrid in a Champions League classic.
Talking points can arrive when you least expect them. With a minute remaining of a humdrum, lethargic extra-time that Chelsea and Villarreal could clearly have done without,
The crazy thing and the greatest tribute to how Manchester City reshaped this Champions League semi-final first-leg with a second-half performance that will live long in the memory was Paris Saint-Germain could be happy to lose by only one.
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