Champions League
Messi y Mbappé convocados mañana ante el Bayern.
Messi y Mbappé convocados mañana ante el Bayern.. El futbolista francés Kylian Mbappé, el argentino Lionel Messi y el italiano Marco Verratti han participado en la sesión de entrenamiento del París Saint-Germain previa al partido de Liga de Campeones de la UEFA que el equipo disputará contra el Bayern de Múnich. Los tres futbolistas, que son duda para el próximo partido, participaron en la primera parte de la sesión en el complejo de entrenamiento del club en Saint-Germain-en-Laye, abierta a los periodistas. Mbappé se entrenó con el equipo por segundo día consecutivo, a pesar de que los médicos pronosticaron inicialmente que estaría tres semanas de baja debido a una lesión que sufrió el 1 de febrero. Pero su presencia contra el Bayern no está garantizada, ya que requeriría acelerar su proc...
Liverpool crowned UEFA Champions League winners
It was Mohamed Salah, such a disconsolate figure when he was injured early in that loss to Real Madrid, who set Liverpool on their way with a penalty after two minutes when Moussa Sissoko was contentiously punished for handball. In a final that rarely touched the heights of the blockbuster semi-finals that made this an all-Premier League showpiece, Spurs had chances but were denied by Liverpool keeper Alisson, who saved well from Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen. And their failure to capitalise was ruthlessly punished when substitute Divock Origi ensured manager Jurgen Klopp won his first trophy as Liverpool manager by driving low and powerfully past Hugo Lloris with three minutes left. Spurs counterpart Mauricio Pochettino took the gamble of selecting England captain and m...
Atalanta reach Champions League for the first time
Atalanta qualified for the Champions League for the first time on a dramatic final day of the Serie A season. Atalanta qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history on Sunday, coming from behind to guarantee their place with a 3-1 win over Sassuolo in a match marred by a brawl. Domenico Berardi, who was later sent off during the fight, gave Sassuolo a shock lead in the 19th minute but Duvan Zapata levelled before halftime and second-half goals from captain Alejandro Gomez and Mario Pasalic sent Atalanta into Europe’s showpiece competition. Atalanta, usually a midtable team, finished third in Serie A with 69 points, ahead of Inter Milan on their head-to-head record, and one point in front of AC Milan, who missed out despite a 3-2 win over SPAL. Although Atalanta wer...
Real Madrid’s unwanted Champions League hero
It is almost a year to the day since Gareth Bale scored probably the greatest ever goal in a Champions League Final – a brilliant overhead kick in Kiev to beat Liverpool and once again deliver the trophy to Real Madrid. Bale scored again that night and it was his two goals that made the difference in a 3-1 victory and meant that he – and Madrid – had won the European Cup for the fourth time in five years and further enhanced his status as the most successful British player ever to play for an overseas club. Except Bale had come off the bench. Coach Zinedine Zidane preferred Isco for the final and afterwards Bale left the door open that he might be on his way out of Madrid. “I have to sit down in the summer and discuss it with my agent and take it from there,” he said. The evening summed up...
Tottenham reach Champions League final
A single minute remained, maybe less. Maybe just a few seconds separated Ajax from the Champions League final. Somehow, even as the energy drained from their legs and the tension gripped their minds, this team that glimpses the future and echoes the past, had clung on. And now the clock ticked down through five minutes of injury time, each somehow slower, more agonizing than the last. Tottenham poured forward, pummeling Ajax. Hugo Lloris, the Spurs goalkeeper, trotted upfield for a corner. It came to nothing. That is, traditionally, the final roll of the dice, the last act. Once that has failed, it is over. Eyes drifted to Felix Brych, the German referee, the man who could bring the torture to an end. Ajax had the ball, deep in Tottenham territory. The wait was almost over. Ten months’ wor...
Greatest European night for Liverpool in Anfield’s history
Liverpool pull off epic comeback against Barcelona to book place in Champions League final. Jurgen Klopp hinted that he didn’t believe Liverpool could pull off a Champions League miracle against Barcelona, admitting Monday that «beautiful failure» was perhaps the best his team could hope for against the Spanish champions. Come on, Jurgen, you need to have more faith. Your players have shown they are capable of anything, but nothing can match this: a 4-0 rout of Barcelona when every odd was stacked against them. They were supposed to have learned their lessons from last season’s quarterfinal meltdown in Rome, when a 3-0 defeat saw them crash out in the Stadio Olimpico, but this was worse. Barca collapsed. Perhaps they started the game believing it was won — too complacent,...
Salah and Firmino will not play against Barcelona
Liverpool’s coach Klopp, confirmed this morning that neither of the two strikers will be able to play at Anfield for the UEFA Champions League semi-final. Once again, fortune does not seem to be on Liverpool’s side. Salah and Firmino will not be able to recover soon enough to play at Anfield against Barcelona. This is not something that Liverpool is not used to in the Champios League the last few years. However, after the incredible effort that Klopp’s team have been making to compete for Premier League and UCL at the same time, it even feels more painful. This Liverpool season has been incredibly successful both at the Premier league and the Champions league and both Salah and Firmino have been a big part of that success. This is Klopp’s third year at Liverpool, a...
Messi, «The Beast» 600 goals and counting.
Messi scored his 600th career goal, to lead Barcelona to the Champions League final. The champions league is bringing so many surprises this year, so everything was expected from last night match. However, the greatest player in the world had different plans, and after his promise to Barcelona’s fans to bring the European cup to the city, he did not want to disappoint them.
Pogba opens the door to a possible future in Real Madrid
F.C. Barcelona only needed, Luke Shaw’s own goal in the first half to win the first leg of the quarterfinals Champions league. In the first half, United gave the ball to Barcelona, and waited for a mistake or a counterattack to surprise the defense leaded by Gerard Pique. It was not until the second half that Solskjaer’s squad started to put some preassure to get a goal and tie the game, however it was too late already. Paul Pogba was one of the most active players for Manchester United, but it was not until the mixed zone after the game that he became the center of attention. Pogba has been linked to a possible transfer to Real Madrid at the end of the season since a couple of weeks ago. Zidane´s return to the white house, and the horrible season that Real Madrid is having this sea...
Messi set foot in the semifinals with a triumph for history
It is possible that people have first noticed the scars of Messi’s battle: the slightly swollen nose, or the faint trace of a bruise, that blooms around his left eye. Or he could have realized that the rest of the characteristics of the Argentine were much more worrying: Messi’s forehead was puckered. His face frowned. His offense was one scuffed pass, a deflating climax to a wonderful, flowing move down Barcelona’s right flank. A better ball, a little more composure, and Messi would have had a glorious chance to double his team’s 1-0 lead, not necessarily enough to settle this Champions League quarterfinal, to doom Manchester United, but a significant tilting of the balance ahead of next week’s second leg in Barcelona at the Camp Nou. By that stage, though, Messi was in no moo...