Barcelona’s new low, group stage MVP, dream of 16 semi-finals

The sixth Match Day of the Champions League ended the group stage. Three teams – Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool – reached the playoffs with a 100% record, while Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United ensured that the Premier League was fully represented in the 16th semi-finals.

However, not all of Europe’s major clubs succeeded: Barcelona join Borussia Dortmund in the final stages of the Europa League, while AC Milan finished last in their block.

We asked Gab Marcott, James Olley and Alex Kirkland to answer some of the big questions about this week’s matches.

What caught your attention on Game Day 6?

Marcotti: Porto vs. Atletico Madrid was apparently an old school slugfest, all the way to fights and late goals. Porto was tough and Atletico confirmed that they were everyone’s favorite. I also found it strange that RB Leipzig, who had nothing to play, beat Manchester City (who also had nothing in line, but Pep Guardiola put on a good team). Liverpool showed that energy and fresh feet (as Jurgen Klopp said) can be more important than quality if the mindset and motivation are right.

Olley: Thomas Tuchel is angry. The 11 months he has led Chelsea have been an almost undiluted success, but after a sticky spot in the league, he saw his team give up the H-block lead when Peter Zenit leveled out in the 94th minute. on wednesday. Ranking first is never a guarantee of an easy 16-round draw, but Tuchel has complained about Blues ’negligence on“ details ”recently, and this is another example.

Kirkland: Barcelona fell in the group stage for the first time in 21 years. Yes, it seemed inevitable – they never went to Munich and won, even though Bayern had already survived and the match was played behind closed doors – but the way of a 3-0 defeat was yet another reminder of how far. Barca has fallen. “This is our reality … it has to be a turning point,” Coach Xavi said. Winning the Europa League would be a start, but let’s not go ahead: this Barca team may not even find themselves among the favorites in that competition.

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Who is your group stage MVP and why?

Marcotti: Sebastien Haller. Duh. Not only did he score a goal in each round – a total of 10 goals, four in a single match at Sporting CP – but he helped Ajax rise to the top of his block with six wins out of six games. And without him, I’m not sure if they’re even worthy.

Kirkland: It’s hard to look beyond Haller, who scored a goal in all six Ajax group matches – an achievement in the past only Cristiano Ronaldo – his debut in the competition. Otherwise, these are ordinary suspects, such as Bayern Munich Robert Lewandowski and Liverpool Mohamed Salah. Real Madrid’s success in the group stage seemed more collective than individual. Their brilliant players ranked around the team, and they rose at the key moment: Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Toni Kroos and Eder Militao.

Olley: Haller is an obvious candidate. Alex and Gab fully support him, so for the sake of variation, I choose Ronaldo. Manchester United’s star – which is among the best strikers in the world in ESPN’s FC 100 for 2021 – retreated to the playoffs alone, scoring three goals against Atalanta as United took four points from the Italians as they earned. nothing. He even helped give caretaker Michael Carrick a start in Villarreal. He turns 37 before the start of the 16-semifinal, and there is an almost constant danger that United will pamper him too much, but Ronaldo will remain a man on the big occasion.

to be afraid

Janusz Michallik wonders if Juventus is good enough to win the Champions League after Malmö.

In the light of the Champions League Super League resignation attempt, does there seem to be no need for change?

Kirkland: The culmination of this block stage was really exciting when big names like Barcelona, ​​Dortmund, Milan and Seville fell, and it felt like there were few games without any riding. Matches that Super League supporters would never want to see happen were a real shock: the Young Boys beat Manchester United or the Sheriff Tiraspol won the Bernabeu in September. But it’s also true that the nature of the group stage shape means these disruptions don’t usually matter much – United and Madrid both ended up at the top of their groups. What really doesn’t count as an improvement is the catastrophic reform that UEFA plans to implement in 2024 and remove the group stage in favor of the “Swiss model” league, which means even less drama.

Marcotti: Well, it changes shape anyway when we move to the “Swiss model.” Personally, I thought things were fine because they were in a drop-down form. Yes, there are games at the end that don’t matter. But just think how many of them we have in domestic leagues across Europe every week. In any case, the Super League was never so much about format as it was about cost control, redistribution of funding and access.

Olley: The current form is probably the most bloated version of the Champions League that may exist, but still a sufficiently competitive element has been retained throughout. It’s not ideal, but it looks better than the upcoming “Swiss model”. And at least the surprise results achieved by the Sheriff, Young Boys and others only underscore the erroneous arrogance of the biggest clubs trying to make the European Super League a closed store.

to be afraid

Janusz Michallik questions Thomas Tuchel’s tactics after Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Zenit in the Champions League.

The draw you want to see is …

Marcotti: Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain would be tasty. And I would love the idea of ​​receiving young weapons from Salzburg with old master Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United.

Olley: Real vs. PSG would be great, of course, but what about Chelsea vs. Bayern? Thomas Tuchel vs. Julien Nagelsmann, Chelsea back to Bayern at the stadium where they beat them to win the whole thing 10 years earlier. Perhaps a return to German soil could even re-ignite Timo Werner…

Kirkland: Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain, please: it could be called ” Kylian Mbappe Derby “and it would be a chance to see what Carlo Ancelottin Real Madrid are made of. Sure, they’re at the top of the weakened LaLiga, but are they really much better than Zinedine Zidane’s team last year? This draw would help us against Chelsea for the same reason.