Close Menu

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending
IRAQISEU
Sports

Champions League briefing: Will this make Amorim the new Ferguson? Why is little Vinicius standing still?

NY TIMESBy

Just when you thought the Champions League group stages had become predictable…

Manchester City and Real Madrid, the two teams most likely to win the title this season, suffered a pair of crushing defeats on Tuesday night that rocked the competition.

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim may well have saved his best result at Sporting Lisbon for last, ending his final home game with a 4-1 win over Manchester City. Meanwhile, AC Milan added to Madrid’s many troubles in the Spanish capital with a 3-1 victory.

The third team most likely to win the 2024-25 Champions League? Liverpool. They cemented their credibility with a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and Xavi Alonso at Anfield.

These are key issues in Tuesday’s action.

Does this make Amorim the new Fergie?

“If we win, they will think the new Alex Ferguson has arrived, which is difficult to maintain,” Amorim said.

Rise up, Sir Reuben. His words, spoken on the eve of his final home game in charge of Sporting CP, feel very pertinent, don’t they?

Manchester United are now favorites to win the Premier League title in 2025-26, with Guardiola’s Manchester City dynasty about to collapse.

Okay, okay, let’s calm down. And, let’s be very excited about this extraordinary result.

City beat Portugal 5-0 on aggregate in the Champions League last 16 two years ago, but on Tuesday they showed why United are so keen on signing Amorim as his side beat Pep Guardiola’s side .

It must have been an incredibly bittersweet night for Sporting CP fans, who celebrated one of the best wins in the club’s history in recent years knowing they might not watch it again for some time. To such a victory. They said goodbye with a giant tifo that said “Obrigada” (Thank you), and Amorim rewarded them with an unforgettable evening.

In the battle between the Nordic’s goal-loving forwards, Victor Jacques is the clear winner, with his hat-trick taking his tally to 23 goals in 15 games for club and country this season. He has failed to score in just three games.


(Gurte Fathiya/Getty Images)

Amorim will certainly be hoping to bring Jokeres to Old Trafford via a rumored €100m (£83m; $108m) release clause, although Ineos tighten the purse strings, perhaps at Etihad German Airlines, with incoming Etihad Airways director Hugo Viana leaving Sporting Lisbon at the end of the season, could be a more likely destination. Gio Kreis playing alongside Erling Haaland? The net needs reinforcement.

The two managers won’t have to wait long for a rematch. If Amorim can do the same with Rasmus Hoylund or Joshua Zirkzee up front when his United side face Manchester City and Pep Guardiola on December 15, then You can then make plans for the statue.

Milan’s inconsistent performance at Santiago Bernabeu

AC Milan’s 3-1 victory at the Bernabeu was as surprising and shocking as Sporting Lisbon’s victory.

Milan’s inconsistency is irritating. They are seventh in Serie A, eight points behind leaders Napoli despite having a game in hand. They lost their first two Champions League games (to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen) before recording their first win on Matchday 3 with a hard-fought victory over 10-man Club Brugge.

Here, though, they were at their best, and as luck would have it, Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez must have been one of the most exciting left-wing tandems in European football at the time. one.

New manager Paulo Fonseca boldly dropped both of them earlier in the season, with Leo having been left on the bench in the league recently, but as Alvaro Morata says Competitor Last week, “He’s the best player on the team and just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”

After Leo’s shot was saved, Morata gave Milan a 2-1 lead. Leo then brought on Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who scored twice in the previous game against Club Brugge to seal the deal in this clash of European football’s heavyweights. An unforgettable victory.


(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

With Milan now facing Slovakia Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Girona and Dinamo Zagreb in their final four games, the path to the last 16 via automatic qualification should be simple.

But only if they can find that elusive consistency.

Noel Gallagher was Manchester City’s best player of the night

If you thought TNT Sports were further simplifying their coverage by inviting Oasis legend Noel Gallagher into the dugout for Manchester City’s match against Sporting Lisbon, you’d be wrong.

Gallagher was speaking of common sense, which perhaps says more about the standard of commentary on English football screens. Yes, it’s a weird concept. Stick with us.

Of course, he said “we” when referring to his beloved Manchester City, but this wasn’t a Sky Sports fan zone stunt and he wasn’t overly biased. (He thought the decision to award City a handball penalty was harsh and questioned things like bringing Kevin De Bruyne on for the final seven minutes, possibly out of concern for his hamstring.)

There’s no melodrama, silly noise, or terrible “jokes” like some other pundits talk about the teams they support.

But Gallagher, a true fan (he was away at Bournemouth on Saturday), simply said something along the lines of something like that, backed up with insight and statistics, even predicting a waste for City Chance and need for a second goal – 37 seconds before Sporting Lisbon’s equalizer. It’s easy to laugh at his comments because he’s Noel Gallagher, like comparing Joe Kreis’ penalty kicking skills to Troy Deeney’s, until you stop and realize it’s true.

he did He disappointed himself by saying, “Some songwriting genius once wrote: ‘We saw something they would never see,’ and ‘This is Guardiola for you,'” leading commentator Darren Fletcher roared with laughter. But we will forgive him.

Regardless, Gallagher’s performance was probably City’s best of the night as they suffered three consecutive defeats in all competitions for the first time in six-and-a-half years.

They squandered chances in the opening half-hour, with only Phil Foden’s fourth-minute goal showing their dominance before Haaland converted a penalty when he had the chance to make it 3-2. Hit the crossbar.

Injuries clearly had an impact, especially on defense, with junior Jahm Simpson-Pusey making his first start in the backfield. City had 73% possession and 20 shots on goal, nine on target, but City were not defeated, not even remotely so.

But they do miss Rodri, who might become the more deserving Ballon d’Or winner in some people’s eyes by not playing.

Speaking of which…

Little Vinicius straightened up, then stopped

It was a bittersweet night for Vinicius, who had a great night and minutes later the Bernabeu booed during the playing of the Champions League anthem to express their dismay that Vinicius had not won the Ballon d’Or. Dissatisfied, he equalized the score for Real Madrid with Panenka’s penalty kick.

Vinicius Jr. won a penalty for a foul on former Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal, but from then on Madrid melted and Vinicius Junior’s gaze went completely still, Because Aureliano Tsouameni’s pass did not reach his hands (seconds later Milan 2-2 on 1) was one of the decisive images of the night.

So did Jude Bellingham kicking a water bottle in frustration after being substituted.

It was Madrid’s second defeat in four games (they also lost 1-0 at Lille), and it capped a season full of threats after a 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona in their last league game.

They will definitely still be able to easily enter the round of 16 play-offs at least, but with the next away game against Liverpool in the fifth round, the always calm Ancelotti may have to start to sweat a little.

Alonso’s Leverkusen stumble while Slott’s Liverpool fly

Anfield is not a place where you want to get results now.

Liverpool hold one of only two 100% records in the new Champions League format (the other is *checks notes* Aston Villa (away to Club Brugge on Wednesday) easily defeated Bayer Leverkusen 4-0.

Xavi Alonso’s reputation is starting to take a bit of a hit compared to Amorim as he prepares for a move to the Premier League. Just a few months ago he was being touted as the best player since sliced ​​bread but he turned down the offer. One request.

Arne Slot got the call from Liverpool and the numbers above once again reflect how quickly he got the team excited.

Luis Diaz scored a second-half hat-trick, and that final dollop of mayonnaise looked even more delicious.

Slott and Liverpool are top of the Premier League and Champions League. Alonso and Leverkusen will never reach the impeccable heights of 2023-24, but difficult second-season syndrome is starting to set in.

Tuesday’s results

  • PSV 4 Girona 0
  • Slovakia Bratislava 1 Dinamo Zagreb 4
  • Bologna 0 1 Monaco
  • Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz
  • Celtic 3 RB Leipzig 1
  • Lille 1 Juventus 1
  • Liverpool 4 Leverkusen 0
  • Real Madrid 1 AC Milan 3
  • Athletic 4 Manchester City 1

What to do next?

The remaining nine games of the fourth matchweek of the eight-round league stage will be played on Wednesday.

  • Club Brugge v Aston Villa (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
  • Shakhtar Donetsk vs Young Boys (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
  • Bayern Munich vs Benfica (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Feyenoord vs Red Bull Salzburg (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Inter Milan vs Arsenal (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Red Star Belgrade vs Barcelona (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Sparta Prague vs Brest (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Stuttgart vs Atalanta (8pm BST/3pm ET)

(Gurte Fathiya/Getty Images)

Share.

Related Posts