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Going up?
Arsenal
If their stalled Premier League challenge has been a disappointment, then a first-ever Champions League title for Arsenal would make up for it. A 7-1 win at PSV may end up being the high point of the season, reminding us of the attacking quality Mikel Arteta can still deploy even without Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz. At times in Eindhoven it felt like the Dutch team, with a defence that includes the USMNT’s Richard Ledezma at full-back, were having the Gunners’ Premier League frustrations taken out on them. It was the club’s best European performance since the days when Robin Van Persie, who has recently taken the reins at Feyenoord, was an understudy to Thierry Henry. It was also Arsenal’s largest away win in the knockouts by far.
Inter
A dreadful week for Dutch football was completed as Inter beat Feyenoord 2-0 to silence De Kuip. Nicolò Barella’s quick-thinking set up an acrobatic, improvised finish by Marcus Thuram for the first goal. The second saw Piotr Zieliński end a pinball session in the box by teeing up Lautaro Martínez for the type of chance the Argentinian rarely misses in a club shirt. Martínez became his club’s all-time scorer in the competition with 17 goals but the most amazing statistic is that Inter have only conceded once this season in the Champions League. The clean sheet this time was kept by Josep Martínez, with usual starter Yann Sommer recovering from a thumb injury. “He showed his qualities, which no one had any doubts about,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.
Bayern Munich
To win the final this year, Bayern need to bury the ghost of 2012 when, in their own stadium, they allowed the occasion and Chelsea to overcome them. Wednesday saw them end another hoodoo: they saw off Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, ending a six-game winless run against Xabi Alonso’s team. This time, Bayern were simply much better than the team who have become their greatest rivals in the Bundesliga. Harry Kane scored a brilliant header, and won the penalty from which he scored his second. The Englishman is picking his moments to contribute, no longer the all-action striker he was at Tottenham, but still an exemplary finisher. That first goal was set up by Michael Olise who increasingly looks as if he belongs on the Champions League stage. The loss through injury of Manuel Neuer rang an alarm bell but in came 21-year-old Jonas Urbig, who looked as solid as his legendary teammate.
Going out?
Paris Saint-Germain
This was supposed to be the season when things changed for PSG, when the old model was thrown off, when young Parisians rather than ageing galácticos would seize the stage. And they did, only to lose out to Liverpool. Perhaps PSG were unlucky to be paired with the Premier League leaders but they played more than well enough. They were unlucky to have Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal ruled out by the width of a boot, and perhaps even more unfortunate that Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté escaped a red card. PSG’s inexperience was shown by allowing those blows – and Alisson’s brilliant goalkeeping – to affect their self-belief. The finishing might have been better, too. To play so beautifully and lose to Harvey Elliott’s late goal was a bitter blow. “We were far superior to Liverpool,” said Luis Enrique, PSG’s coach. “Today wasn’t a game based on the stats or the details.” The second leg is keenly awaited.
Benfica
Another example of falling short when the pathway to success has been laid, Benfica rued their 1-0 loss to Barcelona when the Catalans had been reduced to 10 men in the 22nd minute. Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a hat-trick when Benfica lost 5-4 in the clubs’ crazy January meeting, drew Pau Cubarsi into the red-card offence. Wojciech Szczęsny made crucial saves for Barcelona, and Benfica’s defence allowed Raphinha, whose goals won that previous match, to escape and score the winner. That was the only shot Barcelona had in the entire second half whereas Benfica rained down 15 efforts overall. “We could be talking about a 5-1 and we are talking about a 0-1”, lamented Bruno Lage, the Benfica coach.
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Bayer Leverkusen
Last season Xabi Alonso could do no wrong. Bayer went unbeaten in the Bundesliga, and lost only in the Europa League final. Bayern Munich had no answer at the time. Perhaps those days are gone, and perhaps a great side will be broken up. Alonso stayed on as manager but has failed to repeat the magic at home and abroad. Florian Wirtz, seen as the best player in Germany, had a stinker against Bayern, the club he is, of course, linked with – particularly heavily this week, by no coincidence. “We did not control the small details and so our pain was self-inflicted,” said Alonso, though his team selection, omitting strikers, fell flat. He wasn’t helped by Nordi Mukiele’s two yellows or Matěj Kovář’s goalkeeping howlers but this defeat was a blow to the Basque’s reputation.
A good week for
Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
He won’t turn 18 until later this month but Nwaneri, if his development continues at this rate, Arteta wondering if he can fit the teenager and Saka into the same team. Saka’s hamstring injury was supposed to upend Arsenal’s season, and it has, to an extent, but Nwaneri has shown the maturity to be a first-team perennial. His goal in Eindhoven made him the third-youngest knockout scorer in the competition’s history, behind Bojan Krkić and Jude Bellingham. Myles Lewis-Skelly provided the assist, the first time two English teenagers had ever combined for a Champions League goal.
Alisson (Liverpool)
Simply the best? If Aston Villa’s Emi Martínez has his backers, then the Argentinian will have to throw in an all-timer to match Alisson’s display in Paris. Alisson alone broke PSG’s hearts, with save after save from Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé and perhaps the best of all from Désiré Doué. That he played his part in Elliott’s winning goal was the icing on the cake in a display the Brazilian described as “probably the performance of my life”. His nine saves were the most by a Liverpool goalkeeper in the Champions League era.
Wojciech Szczęsny (Barcelona)
A good week for goalkeepers, whose importance tends to grow in the knockouts. Szczęsny’s performance was not quite as spectacular as that of Alisson but it was just as decisive. Back in January, the Pole made two serious errors to gift Benfica their goals, a performance that brought into question Szczęsny’s decision to curtail retirement in Marbella and return to football. He made eight saves on Wednesday, five in the second half. The highlights were a point-blank save from Fredrik Aursnes and a late stop from Renato Sanches. That all added up to a club record.
