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The big winners
Bayern Munich had not won at the Santiago Bernabéu since May 2001, when they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final on their way to becoming European champions. Tuesday night’s match changed all that. The 29th Champions League meeting between the teams lived up to its heavyweight billing, though Bayern, superior on the night, may rue their failure to extend their 2-1 lead. Real Madrid meanwhile could point to Manuel Neuer making nine saves – not bad for a 40-year-old. “We won’t win the competition without more of these kinds of performances,” said Bayern’s manager, Vincent Kompany, of his keeper. Big trophies are rarely won without great goalkeepers and Neuer continues to play like an all-time great. Bayern’s second goal was a trademark finish from Harry Kane, who made the difficult look easy. The goal will also have calmed England fans’ fears that their captain will arrive at the World Cup suffering from his usual summer malaise. A word too for Luis Díaz and Michael Olise, Bayern’s brilliant wingers whose performances brought back memories of the club’s modern greats Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. Kompany’s team were commanding in Madrid, but may fear the backlash from the 15-times champions, the kings of comebacks.
Arsenal’s trip to Sporting produced what looked like a different sport entirely to the counterpunching classic in Madrid. Trophies are rarely decided by aesthetics – morale is far more important – and victory in Lisbon restored faith in Mikel Arteta’s mission. The Gunners’ injury-time winner came from Kai Havertz, a player who was supposed to be vital to Arteta’s tactical strategy before suffering horribly with injury over the last two seasons. Havertz has a knack for rising to big occasions – he scored Chelsea’s winner in the 2021 final – and Arsenal will need the German to do so again in the Premier League and Champions League run-ins this season. The restoration of David Raya was equally important, as confirmed by a brilliant early save from a shot by Sporting’s Maximiliano Araújo and the added dimension to the team’s play his presence brings. “For me, the last two seasons, [he is] the best keeper in the world,” said Havertz. Few will wish to rewatch this dull game but it signaled better days for Arsenal after their recent domestic cup disappointments.
Another long wait was ended by Atlético Madrid’s 2-0 win at Barcelona, the club’s first victory at Camp Nou since 2006. Wednesday’s match swung on the dismissal of the Barça defender Pau Cubarsí for his last-man foul on Giuliano Simeone, the Atlético manager’s son. Julián Alvarez clattered in the resultant free-kick, showing elite class in a game full of high-quality attacking. This season, Atleti have bucked the cliches about Simeone Sr’s team being a battling outfit. The red card also confirmed the narrative of Hansi Flick’s high line being too risky. Alexander Sørloth’s goal, the Norwegian’s first in a month, completed Atlético’s victory. It also gave Simeone’s team revenge for their weekend defeat to the same opponents, after which Atleti’s team bus was ransacked. Wednesday’s performance was one of the best of Simeone’s tenure. “It was a beautiful moment,” said Antoine Griezmann, after what was probably his final visit to his former team before he moves to MLS.
Player of the week
Neuer would be a deserving winner but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s arrival last January helped convert Paris Saint-Germain into European champions. His solo goal in PSG’s 2-0 win over Liverpool came during a match in which he tormented the Reds’ five-man defence.
They said it
“Honestly, the disappointment will linger for a long time. I prefer to start every game because when you’re on the pitch, you don’t think too much about the rest and you try to give your all.” – Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori, talking to Sky Italia, plays through the pain of Italy’s latest failure to reach the World Cup.
The pundit’s chair
Two former England captains came out in support of Mohamed Salah, commending his commitment after being an unused sub in Paris. “If ever there’s a time where a player’s attitude is going to stink, it’s Mo Salah with six or seven games to go on his Liverpool career not being brought on when they need a goal. He’s got every opportunity for his attitude to stink and he’s out there doing the running with the team, the box-to-box work that they do after games,” said Stuart Pearce on Talksport.
Steven Gerrard agreed on TNT: “Credit to him, he’s just stayed behind and done extra running.”
Looking ahead
“I’ve been through many special evenings at Anfield,” said Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s captain fronting up again after the club’s 16th defeat of the season. “Our fans, they’re the backbone of the club, and hopefully they can be there for us again.” In a meek display in Paris, Arne Slot’s five-man defensive formation ended up creating very little – an xG of just 0.22, Van Dijk and Slot called on the mystic gods of the Kop for second-leg redemption against the holders, who had toyed with them. Hopes of rescuing a poor season rest on little else.
Sporting are glad Luis Suárez, their Colombian forward, is not suspended for their second leg against Arsenal. The scoreboard in the José Alvalade Stadium announced Suárez had been suspended after picking up a booking, only for Uefa to rule it had been Hidemasa Morita, Sporting’s Japanese midfielder, who had picked up a yellow card. “We were able to neutralize Arsenal,” said Rui Borges, the Sporting coach. His team must dish out the first defeat in the competition this season for Arteta’s team, who have conceded only five goals in their last 11 Champions League matches.
Lennart Karl is Bayern’s new star. “We feel invincible,” he said after a weekend winner against Freiburg, but he did not play in Madrid. Karl has previously described Real Madrid as his “dream club”, comments which influenced Kompany’s decision to keep the 18-year-old on the bench on Tuesday. Expect him to play a part in the second leg in Munich though.
