It’s been a big week of Champions League football. Well, aren’t they all big weeks? We now have an all Madrid final to look forward to while Chelsea and Bayern Munich will be left licking their wounds. Here’s just some of what we’ve seen/learned/experienced.
How Good Were Real Madrid?
Very, is the short answer. Many had Bayern down as favourites right through the competition and it will be a surprise to most not just that they have exited the tournament but more so the manor that they did it, demolished at home to a rampant Real Madrid side.
Real saw just 31% of the ball on the night, as seems customary against any Pep Guardiola team and the controlled brand of possession football they play. But that’s all they needed as the team from the Bernabeu counter attacked with such ferocity, looking dangerous every time they (briefly) touched the ball.
Gareth Bale looks as though he has well and truly settled in Spain and is doing what earned him such a big name at Spurs, that being winning games. Bale was one of the main counter attacking outlets for Madrid on Tuesday night and has established himself as one of a number of match winners the Spanish giants can boast. It also works as a little reminder for those Spurs fans who begrudged the likes of Bale and Luka Modrić for leaving for ‘better things’, Gareth and Luka are justified. They’ve made it to the biggest game in the world.
The Competition is Not Over Yet
Anyone who watched Chelsea take on Atletico Madrid across two legs knew that Real would face stiff competition in the final. Chelsea and Atlético are both the kind of solid, organised team that would be needed to subdue the various attacking options of Real. This was made clear as they cancelled each other out in the snore-draw that was the first leg, with Chelsea only succumbing in the second leg while chasing the goal they needed to progress.
Atlético have come a long way this season and are certainly worthy opponents for Real. The Madrid derby has often been a bit of an afterthought in Spain for two reasons. Firstly, Real already had a much bigger game to consider ‘the derby’, that being the El Classico with Barcelona. Secondly, Atlético were normally not much of a match for Real anyway. That is no longer the case, at least not this season and Atlético have enough about them to bother their Galactico neighbours at both ends of the pitch.
The Redemption of Carlo Ancelotti
The Italian manager won the League and Cup double in his first season managing Chelsea. But time in charge of Chelsea is notoriously short and Ancelotti was sacked after presiding over Chelsea’s Champions League elimination at the hands of Manchester United in 2011, the last time Chelsea were eliminated before the semi-finals of A European competition.
It wasn’t the first time he was treated unfairly, he lost his job at Juventus in 2001 by being sacked at half time of the last game of the season while he still stood a chance of winning the league. And now he was at risk of being remembered as just another name discarded by Chelsea.
But he has regrouped and is rightly seen as one of the best managers in Europe while he presides over the continent’s most exciting team. To think he could have ended up just another Avram Grant. Carlo has the last laugh now.
Where Now For Chelsea?
It would probably be unfair to say that Chelsea have ‘sacked managers for less’. But it does look as though José Mourinho’s first season back at Chelsea will be a trophy-less one. Roman Abramovich traditionally doesn’t stand for too many of them. They are still in the title race but Anfield and the Etihad seem like much more likely destinations for the Premier League trophy at this point.
José may be left to rue the decision to send Romelu Lakaku out on loan while doing the best he could with what has been a fairly limp strike force this season. It’s all but certain that José will have next season to put things right. A striker will likely be at the very top of the shopping list for this summer. In fact, Chelsea have done so much without a decent striker that a new front man may be all that is needed to turn Chelsea into the most dominant side in the country and, maybe, the continent.
Both Madrid sides will play what should be an epic final in Lisbon on May 24th. For better or worse, us British football fans can sit back and watch it as the neutrals we often are. Let’s hope they don’t disappoint.