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Friday, September 12

Champions League Briefing: Is Amorim the new Fergie? Why did Vinicius Jr. stop?

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Champions League Briefing: Is Amorim The New Fergie? Why Did

Just when I thought it was starting to be predicted that we would make it through the group stage…

Manchester City and Real Madrid, the two teams most likely to win this season's Champions League, played two games on Tuesday night that shook up the competition.

Manchester United's new manager Ruben Amorim may have been at his best after finishing his last home game with Sporting with a famous 4-1 win, while in the Spanish capital AC Milan thrashed Madrid by a hefty three points. This further exacerbated many of the problems. -1 win.

Which team is third most likely to win the Champions League in 2024-25? Liverpool. And they further strengthened their credentials with a 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso at Anfield.

These are the big talking points from Tuesday's action…

Will this make Amorim the new Fergie?

“If we win they will think they have the new Alex Ferguson, but it is very difficult to maintain that.”

Wake up, Sir Reuben. Don't you think new Fergie's words, spoken on the eve of his final home game as Sporting manager, are pretty spot on?

Manchester United are currently favorites to win the Premier League in 2025-26, with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City dynasty on the verge of collapse.

Okay, okay, everyone, let's calm down a little. But let's also revel in this amazing result.

Two years ago, Manchester City beat the Portuguese 5-0 on aggregate in the last 16 of the Champions League, demonstrating why United were so keen to sign Amorim after tormenting Guardiola's side. It was done.

It must have been an incredibly bittersweet night for Sporting fans. They celebrated one of the greatest victories in the club's recent history, knowing that it may not be seen again for some time. They said goodbye with a giant tifo that said “Obrigada” (Thank you) and he returned the favor with a night that will be remembered forever.

In the battle of goal-loving Scandinavian strikers, the clear winner was Victor Gökeres. His hat-trick took him to 23 goals in 15 games for club and country this season. There were only two games in which he failed to score.


(Galter Fathia/Getty Images)

Amorim will no doubt want to take advantage of his rumored €100m release clause to bring Gökeres to Old Trafford, but with Ineos tightening their purse strings, the Etihad will probably soon There is a possibility of a move to Etihad Airways through Hugo Viana (who left Sporting in 2016), who will become director of football. The end of the season may be the likely destination. Gökeres and Haaland together on the front line? Net reinforcement will be required.

Either way, the two coaches won't have to wait long for a rematch. And if Amorim can do the same with Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee up front when Manchester United's new team take on City and Guardiola on December 15, plans are already being made for a statue. will be possible.

Inconsistent Milan flip switch at Bernabéu

AC Milan's 3-1 win at the Bernabéu was as surprising and surprising as Sporting's.

Milan can be frustratingly inconsistent – ​​they sit bottom of the table in seventh place in Serie A and are already eight points behind leaders Napoli, although they have a game in hand, while they are first in the Champions League. After losing two games (to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen), they have since struggled to climb above 10th place – Club Brugge get their first win on matchday 3.

But here they were at their best, and coincidentally Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez were also at their best. They have to be one of the most exciting left-sided pairings in European football today.

New manager Paulo Fonseca boldly left them both out at the beginning of the season, with Leo remaining on the bench in recent league games, but as Alvaro Morata said, The Athletic Last week: “He's the best player on the team and he needs to keep doing what he's doing.”

Speaking of Morata, the Spaniard restored Milan's lead to 2-1 after Leo's shot was saved. And Leo bounced back from Dutch midfielder Tijani Lijnders, who had scored twice in the last game against Brugge, to seal a memorable victory in this clash between Europe's footballing giants.


(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

AC Milan will have an easy path to the last 16 with automatic qualification, as they face Slovana Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Girona and Dinamo Zagreb in their remaining four games.

But only if you can find that elusive consistency.

City's best performer on the night was Noel Gallagher.

If you thought TNT Sport were further reducing their coverage by inviting Oasis legend Noel Gallagher into the commentary box for the game against City at Sporting, you'd be wrong.

When it comes to standards of punditry in English football, Gallagher was perhaps the real breath of fresh air in terms of…speaking common sense. Yes, it's a strange concept, but stick with me.

Sure, he said “we” when talking about his beloved City, but this wasn't a Sky Sports Fan Zone-esque gimmick, and he wasn't being overly biased (he said “we” against handball). Kevin De Bruyne played the final seven minutes, perhaps fearing his hamstring).

There was no melodrama, no silly noise, no bad “banter” that you see when other pundits commentate or talk about the teams they support.

But Gallagher is a genuine fan (he was in the away end against Bournemouth on Saturday) and, as it is, backed by insight and statistics, as well as an omen that City should squander a chance and score a second goal. I'm just talking about. , which happened 37 seconds before Sporting equalized. It would be easy to scoff at his comments because he's Noel Gallagher, such as comparing Gokeres' penalty technique to that of Troy Deeney, until you stop and realize it's true. .

he did I put myself down by saying things like: “We're seeing things they'll never see. That's Guardiola for you,” said commentator Darren Fletcher to a burst of laughter. But we forgive him.

Either way, Gallagher's performance was probably City's best performance of the night, as they suffered a third straight defeat in all competitions for the first time in six-and-a-half years.

They squandered chances in the first 30 minutes and only proved their superiority when Phil Foden scored in the fourth minute, before Haaland had a chance to make it 3-2 with a penalty that hit the bar.

Injuries are clearly having an effect on defense in particular, with teenager Jermay Simpson-Pucey making his first start for the first team, and City are losing with 73% possession and 20/9 shots. isn't it.

But they are really missing Rodri. Rodri's lack of playing may make him a more deserving Ballon d'Or winner in some people's eyes.

Speaking of which…

Vinicius Jr. stood tall and stopped.

It was a mixed night for Vinicius Junior, but Panenka's penalty came minutes after the Bernabéu had booed him for the Champions League national anthem to express his frustration at not winning the Ballon d'Or. We tied the game against Real Madrid and had a fun night. or.

A foul by former Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal earned Vinicius Junior his own penalty, but from that moment on, Madrid melted, and Vinicius Junior stood completely still as Aurelien Choameny's pass failed to reach him. A few seconds later, Milan scored 2 points (1 up) was one of the defining images of the night.

So did Jude Bellingham, who kicked a water bottle in frustration after being substituted.

This was Madrid's second defeat in four games in this competition (they also lost 1-0 against Lille), following a 4-0 humiliation at home to Barcelona in their last league match. sums up an intimidating season. To figure it out.

They will at least comfortably reach the play-offs for a place in the last 16, but the normally calm Carlo Ancelotti may have to start sweating a little as they travel to Liverpool in the next round of matchday five. I don't know.

Alonso's Leverkusen stumbles, Slot's Liverpool flies

Anfield is not a place where you have to go looking for immediate results.

Liverpool maintained one of only two 100 per cent records in the new Champions League format with a sedate 4-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen (the other being Club Brugge on Wednesday). *Check notes with Aston Villa to visit).

In contrast to Amorim, whose stock is soaring as he prepares to move to the Premier League, Xabi Alonso's reputation is slowly beginning to suffer. Courage to resist the temptation of a move to the Premier League, just months after he was touted as the best thing since sliced ​​bread.

Arne Slott instead earned a call-up from Liverpool, and the above statistics once again reflect how he got this Liverpool team throaty so quickly.

Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick in the second half, including chips that looked better with a little mayonnaise drizzled on them at the end.

Slott and Liverpool are definitely ahead of the game, being top of the Premier League and also top of the Champions League. Alonso and Leverkusen will never reach the perfect heights of the 2023-24 season, but difficult second season syndrome has set in.

Tuesday's results

  • PSV 4 Girona 0
  • Slovakia Bratislava 1 Dinamo Zagreb
  • bologna 0 monaco 1
  • Borussia Dortmund 1 Sturm Graz 0
  • Celtic 3 RB Leipzig 1
  • Lille 1 Juventus 1
  • Liverpool 4 Bayer Leverkusen 0
  • Real Madrid 1 AC Milan 3
  • Sporting 4 Manchester City 1

What's next?

The remaining nine games of Round 4 of the eight-round league match will be played on Wednesday.

  • Club Brugge vs Aston Villa (5:45pm BST/12:45pm ET)
  • Shakhtar Donetsk vs Young Boys (5:45pm BST/12:45pm ET)
  • Bayern Munich vs Benfica (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Feyenoord vs Red Bull Salzburg (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Inter Milan vs Arsenal (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Red Star Belgrade vs Barcelona (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Sparta Prague vs Brest (8pm BST/3pm ET)
  • Stuttgart vs Atalanta (8pm BST/3pm ET)

(Galter Fathia/Getty Images)

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