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FC Villarreal continues to regret that Manuel Neuer’s complaint arm was not often used as an excuse in the win over Bayern Munich, Chelsea are slipping alarmingly and only one world-class footballer is allowed to become a world player at the moment. Strength ranking after the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Eighth (eighth) place: Benfica Lisbon
If I had to guess this power ranking before the start of the quarter-finals, Benfica or Villarreal would have been unimaginatively vying for eighth place. After 1:3 against Liverpool, the record champion Portugal is now here. Not really creative, but what would the alternative be?
Darwin Nunez has shown once again why some of Europe’s top clubs like BVB and West Ham United are so keen on him. But Nunez does not reach the semi-finals. Especially when it’s in the quarter-finals against a good and well-organised Liverpool team. 13 balls in the opponent’s penalty area and 70 passes in the opponent’s final third are fairly few at this level.
It didn’t help that Benfica, as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp put it in his choice of words, somewhat inappropriately at the time, but not wrongly on the matter, “had a really good game plan” and the players “fight for their lives” King.
Seventh place (2nd place): Chelsea FC
It’s good for Chelsea that the away goal rule has fallen, some commentators in England imagine a small glimmer of hope for progress after Chelsea’s 3-1 draw against Real Madrid. But in order to eliminate this Real Madrid, UEFA will have to provide at least one three-way suspension rule for Chelsea, then at least Karim Benzema will not be in Madrid.
But since Roman Abramovich will soon be removed from the EU and UK sanctions list, Thomas Tuchel’s word is law for now: “No, not at the moment, no,” the coach answered on Wednesday when asked if the gap still exists. . Makeup was: “Because we have to find our level again, I don’t know where it has been since the international break.”
Sixth place (4th place): Bayern Munich
Despite the defeat to outside players FC Villarreal, Bayern Munich is far from out. Especially as the Spaniards almost negligently refrained from allowing Manuel Neuer to raise his arm of complaints for the second, third or fourth time after the early opening goal, which became more than an excuse on Wednesday.
Bayern were systematically lower at Villarreal than they had been for so long, and a midfield pressure that was so deep looked as strange as turning in opponents. Bayern, who were much more expansive in their game system than before thanks to the addition of retriever Alphonso Davies, wanted to increase the load on the flanks, but time and time again they allowed themselves to be completely disrupted by some quick and simple passes. Even the background spaces are empty. Nagelsmann’s ideas faded away. At least the change worked this time. However, at times, bad feelings for Niko Kovac exploded across La Ceramica in the yellow submarine.
Fifth place (6th place): Atletico Madrid
If football is about aesthetics, entertainment and messages: Atletico had to be knocked out of this power rating after losing 0-1 at Manchester City or at least finishing ninth out of eight participants. Even for Atlético Madrid by Diego Simeone’s standards he already thought had been overcome, this approach to the game was an affront.
Exactly zero shots on goal should say it all. But what was even worse was seeing how the talented and pathetic Joao Felix, who dared to step into the opponent’s half with the ball at his feet, immediately turned around because striker Antoine Griezmann was in his own half preoccupied with reshaping Simeone’s chains.
But in the end here is the fifth – with an upward trend. Because the truth also belongs: ManCity has had very few ideas against Atletico’s double streak for too long. And in the end, 0-1 was probably exactly the score Simeone needed. Everything is still possible on the second leg.
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