There's not a lot of drama left in the European soccer season, as we pretty much know who will win most of the major national leagues. Also, the lockdowns in Europe have kept fans completely at bay, and soccer without fans is quite dreadful to watch. But we still have the Champions' League -- the biggest prize of all -- which is down to the quarter-finals. These consist of two-leg matches, with each team hosting a leg. Most total goals over two matches wins. The first legs were played this week, and the second legs will be next week. Here are the results so far (home team in the first leg listed first):
Real Madrid (ESP) 3 - 1 Liverpool (ENG)
Manchester City (ENG) 2 - 1 Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Bayern Munich (GER) 2 - 3 Paris-St. Germain (FRA)
Porto (POR) 0 - 2 Chelsea (ENG)
In Paris after 23 minutes, PSG still leads 3-2 on aggregate. We have no score so far in this leg. PSG is mainly focused on playing defense to protect its lead.
ReplyDeleteDefensive shells in soccer don't work as well as most Americans think. In the 40th minute, Bayern scores. The defending European Champions now lead 1-0 on the night. The aggregate score is 3-3. PSG still leads on away goals, but that won't do them much good if Bayern can score again.
ReplyDeleteAfter 50 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG leads on away goals)
I think if it ends 3-3 we go to extra time -- I don't think the away goals rule kicks in until extra time is over.
ReplyDeleteI was completely wrong about this, which tells you how long it's been since I really paid attention to soccer.
DeleteIn the 52d minute, PSG has a golden chance to score, but the pass skips away from a player who was wide open in front of the net.
ReplyDeleteAfter 60 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG leads on away goals)
Magnificent stuff from both sides -- this is the best soccer I've seen since the pandemic started.
After 70 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG leads on away goals)
It's so different from America -- there are literally no fans at all.
So here's what is happening: Bayern is attacking, and PSG is looking to counter-attack. PSG finally got a breakaway that left a striker one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and he scored a magnificent goal. But of course, it was disallowed for offsides.
ReplyDeleteAfter 80 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG leads on away goals)
If you're going to beat Bayern, you have to assume that at least one of your goals will be disallowed.
If Bayern were playing an English team, I'd be expecting a penalty kick for Bayern about now. But just now, Bayern appeared to have a potential penalty, and they didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteIn the 82d minute, Bayern had a pretty good chance, but shot the ball right across the front of the goal.
ReplyDeleteThe way the announcers are talking, the game will apparently end in 90 minutes, and PSG will advance on the away goals rule -- unless something changes.
ReplyDeleteAfter 85 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG leads on away goals)
Bayern gets the ball into the PSG penalty area and almost scores again, but PSG clear. Everyone is on the edge of their seats now.
ReplyDeleteYou may wonder why teams go into a defensive shell when another goal would clinch the match. I wondered that myself, until I saw that England plays an attacking style, and England never wins a big match.
ReplyDeleteAfter 90 minutes:
ReplyDeletePSG 0 - 1 Bayern (3-3 on aggregate) (PSG lead on away goals)
We have four minutes of injury time.
Two minutes into injury time, Bayern has the ball deep in the PSG penalty zone, but the goalkeeper intercepts their crossing pass. Bayern is running out of chances.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's it! The CHAMPIONS ARE OUT! Paris-St. Germain, which was eliminated in the final last year by Bayern, gets its revenge. PSG loses the match 0-1, but wins the tie 3-3 on the away goals rule.
ReplyDeleteIn another quarter-final, Chelsea defeats Porto 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the semi-finals.
ReplyDeleteSo PSG and Chelsea are in the semi-finals. The other two semi-finalists will be decided tomorrow.
ReplyDelete