Guardiola marked by Man City collapse, Pulisic among form players – Champions League Briefing

By / / Sports / 7 minutes of reading


Just when it looked like being a fairly regulation Champions League night, Manchester City delivered yet again.

City’s late capitulation at home to Feyenoord was the shock result as the group stage entered its fifth round of matches.

There were 40 goals in nine games, a few thrashings and contrasting fortunes for two of Europe’s most prolific strikers.

ChampionsLeagueStandingsMatchDay 26 11 24 1

Here at the big talking points from Tuesday night.

Pep Guardiola marked by Manchester City collapse

Isn’t it amazing how a few defeats can lead to utterly scrambled minds.

Manchester City may have ended their five-game losing run with a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord but the rueful, sad smile on Pep Guardiola’s face at full-time reflected another humiliating night that may have actually been the worst result of their horrific recent run.

This was arguably the most un-City-like thing to have happened in the last month. Being 3-0 up and absolutely cruising with 16 minutes to go…they just don’t throw away leads like this. In fact, no one does. No team in Champions League history has ever had a three-goal lead that late in a game and not gone on to win.

The reasons and excuses are running out. This was nothing to do with injuries and judging on the red marks on his forehead Guardiola was literally left scratching his head.

Josko Gvardiol started the panic with another error (he contributed to two of Tottenham Hotspur’s goals on Sunday), sending a terrible, bouncing back-pass too short for Ederson, gobbled up by Anis Hadj-Moussa. Guardiola put his head in his hands and looked bereft. Perhaps he knew what was coming.

Thereafter, City’s game management was found wanting. At 3-2 up with a couple of minutes to go they were still taking quick free-kicks and defending on the halfway line, allowing a ball over the top which led to David Hancko’s dramatic equaliser.

Video for UK readers

Video for U.S. readers

It was the 14th goal they have conceded in just four matches.

Feyenoord brutally exposed the fragility, nervousness and lack of confidence of a team which has won every trophy imaginable in the last three years but has forgotten how to win football matches.

Next up? Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday.

Toothless PSG are not helping themselves

We are used to Paris Saint-Germain not converting their domestic dominance into Champions League success, but at least they always get out of the group stage.

PSG have been in the competition exclusively since 2012 (winning 10 of 12 Ligue 1 titles in that time) and have progressed to at least the last 16 in every season.

However after yet another defeat in the revamped group stage, losing 1-0 away at Bayern Munich, PSG are now in real danger of not even reaching the play-offs for the last 16.

They currently sit 26th in the table on four points from five matches (scoring just three goals) and still have to face Manchester City (home) and Stuttgart (away) in their final three fixtures. Although to be fair that City game looks pretty easy right now.

Luis Enrique is building a long-term project in Paris, moving away from the galacticos era and trying to create a young, cohesive team with and without the ball. They were also hampered by having to play most of the second half with 10 men after Ousmane Dembele’s red card.

But he’s not helping himself with some odd decisions, like keeping Gianluigi Donnarumma out the team in favour of Matvey Safonov who was at fault for the winning goal in Munich (Donnarumma has had his issues with set pieces too, it must be said).

Video for UK readers

Video for U.S. readers

Enrique deserves leeway because of PSG’s new long-term approach but with the talent they still have it would be a disaster if they finished outside the top 24 in the group stage.

Perhaps PSG just don’t have enough match-winners. Bradley Barcola epitomises their contrasting form at home and abroad, with 10 goals in 12 Ligue 1 appearances and not a goal or assist to speak of in the Champions League.

Sporting feel the No-Amorim Effect

On the night that one of the new kings of European football was all set to ascend to his throne, it was left to an old stager to show him how it was done.

Viktor Gyokeres hasn’t had many off-nights lately. In 25 matches this season Gyokeres had only failed to score in six of them, netting 33 goals and leading to suggestions he could break Lionel Messi’s record for the most goals in a campaign.

Well, against one of the best centre-back pairings in Europe in Gabriel and William Saliba, Gyokeres endured a frustrating night, only managing a couple of attempts in what was a dreadful night for a Sporting team very much missing their old manager Ruben Amorim.

Video for UK readers

Video for U.S. readers

It ended 5-1 to serene Arsenal, who picked up where they left off against Nottingham Forest at the weekend with some sublime goals, carving through Sporting at will. Gabriel even mugged Gyokeres off by copying his celebration after scoring the third.

Gyokeres is good, but he has an awful long way to go to reach the standard set by someone like Robert Lewandowski, whose two goals in Barcelona’s breezy 3-0 victory at home to Brest saw the Pole reach a new landmark.

He is just the third player to reach 100 Champions League goals, after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and he helped put Barcelona in a dominant position in second place with 12 points. They are also the top scorers in the competition with 18 goals from five matches.

USMNT’s Pulisic joins Champions League’s form players

Who are the most in-form players in the group stage so far? Raphinha is up there, so too Gyokeres, Lewandowski, Harry Kane, Jonathan David and Vinicius Junior.

Christian Pulisic is definitely in the conversation too for a return of three goals and one assist from his five appearances, adding to five goals and four assists in Serie A so far this season.

On the day a trailer dropped for a new documentary series about America’s captain/Captain America, featuring contributions from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jurgen Klopp, imaginatively titled ‘Pulisic’, the 26-year-old continued his fine recent form by giving AC Milan the lead in Bratislava.

To the relief of Tim Howard and AC Milan’s media team, no, he didn’t do the Trump dance.

Video for UK readers

Video for U.S. readers

Milan weren’t all that convincing against the second-worst team in the competition (Bratislava have lost all five games, conceding 18 goals) but edged through 3-2 thanks to further goals from substitute Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham.

That victory at Real Madrid earlier this month has transformed Milan’s Champions League campaign and, despite losing their first two matches, they could well nick an automatic qualifying spot for the last 16 if they win their next two games, both at home to Red Star Belgrade and Girona.

If they keep Pulisic and Leao fit and firing in the second half of the season, Milan could be ones to watch.

Tuesday’s results

  • Slovan Bratislava 2 AC Milan 3
  • Sparta Prague 0 Atletico Madrid 6
  • Barcelona 3 Brest 0
  • Bayer Leverkusen 5 Red Bull Salzburg 0
  • Bayern Munich 1 Paris Saint-Germain 0
  • Inter Milan 1 RB Leipzig 0
  • Manchester City 3 Feyenoord 3
  • Sporting 1 Arsenal 5
  • Young Boys 1 Atalanta 6

What’s next?

The remaining nine fixtures for match-week five of the eight-round league phase take place on Wednesday.

  • Red Star Belgrade vs Stuttgart (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
  • Sturm Graz vs Girona (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
  • Aston Villa vs Juventus (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Bologna vs Lille (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Celtic vs Club Brugge (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Dinamo Zagreb vs Borussia Dortmund (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Liverpool vs Real Madrid (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Monaco vs Benfica (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • PSV vs Shakhtar Donestk (8pm BST/3pm ET)

(Top image: Amazon)





Source link

About The Author

Traci Russell is a writer from News Trolley. She writes about arts, construction, automotive, travel, and fashion. She has a deep love for anything related to art, so it's no surprise that she loves writing about the world of photography and its impact on contemporary culture. When she's not writing, she can be found at her local coffee shop reading up on the latest news in construction or remodeling.

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top