English football against Spanish futbol, Manchester City against Real Madrid tonight and Liverpool against Villarreal tomorrow evening: two Anglo-Spanish clashes in the semi-finals of the Champions League (C1) will establish a first European hierarchy before the return matches and the designation of the finalists who will compete on Saturday May 28 at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, in the suburbs of Paris.
Victorious in eight of the last ten editions of the Champions League, Spain and England have confirmed their hold on the continent, which is reflected in their domination of the UEFA index of the best European championships. Admittedly, there is a surprise guest there, Villarreal, a modest club from a town of 50,000 inhabitants in the Valencia region which in turn tamed Juventus Turin in the round of 16 (1-1, 3-0) then Bayern Munich in the quarters (1-0, 1-1), reaching the last four for the second time in its history after 2006. For the rest, we could quite relive an Anglo-English final, as in 2021 (Chelsea-City ) or in 2019 (Liverpool-Tottenham). Or, why not, a Hispano-Spanish poster, like 2014 or 2016 (Real-Atlético both times).
“I want to congratulate Villarreal and Unai (Emery), because they created the sensation,” said Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach. “I think few people thought that Spanish football was going to send two teams to the Champions League semi-finals at the start of the season,” he added. LaLiga has lost some of its luster with the deep crisis that has shaken one of the Spanish giants, FC Barcelona, and the successive departures of most of the championship’s planetary stars, Neymar in 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 and Lionel Messi in 2021.
But the great Real remains the record holder for trophies in the European queen event (13 coronations) and dreams of a new final, four years after its last title. Ancelotti’s team will have to do a spell for Manchester City, finalist in 2021, which aims to win a first coronation in C1, the objective of its wealthy Emirati owners. “We are going to face the kings of this competition, so whatever it is, we are going to suffer,” admitted City coach Pep Guardiola, a longtime pet peeve of Real when he coached Barça (2008-2012) .
City has for him his twirling passing game, carried by his small templates Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva. But the Madrid giant, who dreams of playing in a new final at the Stade de France after that won in 2000 against Valencia (3-0), is counting on his unrivaled European culture and on his center forward, a Karim Benzema in a state of grace. Author of seven goals in his last three European evenings to eliminate Paris SG then Chelsea, the Frenchman is more than ever applying for the Ballon d’Or.
But Mohammad Salah or Sadio Mané, on the Liverpool side, intend to challenge him for the status of best player of the season: the two attackers aim to guide the Reds to a new coronation, as in 2019, which would be the seventh of the powerful club of the north of England. Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, however, is wary of Villarreal, which has a well-oiled collective in the absence of stars. His counterpart Unai Emery has won the Europa League four times (with Sevilla then Villarreal) and knows better than anyone how to prepare for a double continental confrontation. “Anyone who eliminates Juve and then Bayern deserves to be in the semi-finals, warned Klopp. They are very good and have an extremely experienced coach who is the king of these Cups, it’s amazing what Unai is doing. »
So, Spain or England? The Stade de France is awaiting the designation of its hosts for the final.
Tour of the stadiums…
In the national competitions of 1st divisions, Bayern Munich offered their 32nd title of German champion – the 10th consecutive –, which no team had done in a major championship. This new trophy, he gleaned it last Saturday in the most prestigious way, beating his historic rival Dortmund (3-1) at the Allianz Arena. With 12 points ahead of Dortmund three days from the end, the Bavarians can no longer be joined and retain the “Schale”, the champion’s trophy they have held since 2013. Dortmund, with 8 points ahead of its first pursuer, Leverkusen, in principle has nothing to fear for his 2nd place.
In the French league, Paris SG won the 10th Ligue 1 title in its history, equaling the record of Saint-Étienne, after its draw against Lens (1-1) last Saturday, which resembled its season in half- hue, between individual dazzling and ultra rebellious, in an atmosphere that is anything but festive. The bare minimum: PSG was satisfied with the point it lacked to lock in 1st place until the end of the season, against Artésiens reduced to ten players during the last half hour. Dethroned by Lille last season, PSG regains a status more in line with its enormous financial means which allow it to crush national competition. In the French football charts too, the capital club will now sit at the very top, thanks to this “Decima” which allows it to return to the height of Saint-Étienne, and to overtake Marseille.
And in Italy, AC Milan, winner of the snatch of Lazio in Rome (2-1) on Sunday evening, confirmed that the battle for the Serie A scudetto would now come down to a Milan derby, including Naples, trapped in Empoli (2-3), seems excluded. AC Milan is 2 points ahead of Inter Milan, winner of AS Roma on Saturday (3-1), and 7 points ahead of Naples. But the Nerazzurri can reclaim the lead tomorrow Wednesday if they win their late game in Bologna. Naples (3rd), on the other hand, sees its dreams of scudetto vanishing more and more for having been scuttled in Empoli (3-2), after having led (2-0) until the 80th minute of the match.
Source: AFP
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English football against Spanish futbol, Manchester City against Real Madrid tonight and Liverpool against Villarreal tomorrow evening: two Anglo-Spanish clashes in the semi-finals of the Champions League (C1) will establish a first European hierarchy before the return matches and the designation of the finalists who will compete on Saturday May 28 at the Stade de France,…
