World Football's Champions League Hangover: Jose Undone by French Resistance
Welcome to world football's Champions League Hangover, an homage to the NFL section's own Monday Morning Hangover, where we round up the key stories and important points from midweek action in the Champions League. Let's get started.
A Different Way of Winning
When the news filtered through to him apparently there was no visible reaction, but on the inside there must have been a certain amount of amusement.
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Pep Guardiola was midway through his press commitments following his Bayern Munich side's 7-0 evisceration of Shakhtar Donetsk when news came through that Jose Mourinho's Chelsea had been knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
Guardiola professed that he was unaffected, but this seemed hard to believe: This was Mourinho, the man who made him hate football for a while when both were working in Spain, suffering an unexpected and painful loss.
It also meant one less major rival left in the competition; given Bayern's own performance hours earlier, Guardiola could have been forgiven a smile at the news.
Instead he remained focused on his own side, who had emphatically put Shakhtar to the sword following Olexandr Kucher's third-minute sending off. Depending on how Barcelona perform next week against Manchester City, the German champions will surely go into the quarter-finals as the competition's clear favourites.
"We are very pleased," Guardiola said, per Goal.com. "We deserved the win. The players did fantastically.
"Of course it is a little easier against 10 men. But from the beginning we could see that the team was alert. Congratulations to the team, we dominated the game."
For Chelsea, it was all so different. The Blues looked similarly in control of the tie when, already ahead on away goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off in disagreeable circumstances midway through the first half. Later in the game they would also be gifted a penalty, yet they still could not kill off their opponents—David Luiz and Thiago Silva both scoring from corners to lift the French side into the next round in dramatic fashion.
"The players produced an extraordinary match, from start to finish," PSG coach Laurent Blanc—who seemed as surprised about the turnaround as anyone—said afterward, according to the BBC. "If you analyse both matches, being fair, PSG's qualification is deserved.
"We tried to play more football than Chelsea and we created more dangerous chances. It was a fantastic performance by the whole squad. I was surprised how calm my side was despite playing 10 against 11."
Mourinho was left to deal with the awkward questions. Why had his side looked so tired? Why had they been unable to cause PSG more problems in the final third? Why could they not create chances from open play (both their goals came from set pieces)? Why could they not defend from corners themselves? Why were they out of the competition?
For once denied any possible excuse (even the referee's decisions had favoured Chelsea all night), Mourinho was forced to opt for a version of the truth, as reported by the Guardian:
"PSG deserved to win. When a team cannot defend two corners, and concedes twice, that team doesn’t deserve to win. When a team cannot cope with the pressure of being with one player more playing at home, and the stadium doesn’t accept the team has to control the game and want them to go on and win it … we couldn’t cope with that pressure.
For them it was easy: 10 men, defensive organisation, two lines of four, long balls for the counter-attack, waiting for free-kicks and corners. Mentally, for them, they had nothing to lose. They were experienced, they were good, and they deserved it.
Clearly some of my players couldn’t cope with that pressure. The individual performances were not good enough. When you concede twice from two corners, it’s about a lack of concentration, a lack of responsibility to cope with the markers and the space you have to control. So we deserved to be punished with this draw. Sorry, this defeat.
"
Fresh off victory in the Capital One Cup final, this was the other side of the coin for Mourinho and his preferred approach. When he wins, as he did at Wembley, his tactical approach is respected for its pragmatism and efficiency. But it is not beloved, and so when it goes wrong—as it did on Wednesday—people are more than happy to put the boot in.
Chelsea should never have lost this match, especially once Ibrahimovic was (harshly) dismissed. But they focused too much on gamesmanship and defensive security and never went out to kill the game off themselves, a crucial error that left them open to being punished as they were in extra time.
Contrast that with Bayern, who went 2-0 up against Shakhtar in 35 minutes and went on to run the score up to 7-0. Mourinho would have shut the game down at the two-goal mark, but that is not Guardiola's style—he wants his teams to go out and express themselves, to constantly improve and innovate and win that way, rather than through reactive and restrictive tactics.
Guardiola seems to be searching for an art in his football, not just another victory, a romanticism that leaves him open to the occasional disaster (see: last season's Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid) but also presents the constant opportunity for glory
Mourinho has none of that in his makeup, and perhaps that is why so many are taking delight in Chelsea's demise in the aftermath of their elimination.
He has used only 22 players in the Premier League this season (fewer than any other team), and that lack of rotation perhaps caught up with his side this week. They had a window, after Ibrahimovic walked down the tunnel, to go out and kill the game off; instead they preferred to protect what they had and ended up being outflanked at the death.
Blanc is not a very good manager—indeed, he may be an awful one when compared against the high-profile jobs he has held—and Mourinho does not often fall to those who are not his tactical equals. The players have to take a lot of the blame, of course they do, but the sense will linger that Mourinho's approach didn't do them any favours either.
Meanwhile Bayern motor on, having scored seven goals for the second time in the competition this season (they also beat Roma 7-1). Guardiola may have shown no outward emotion, but he is a football romantic, and Wednesday evening certainly felt like a "victory" for those.
Champions League Last-16 Results
Tuesday
Porto 4-0 FC Basel
(Porto progress 5-1 on aggregate)
Real Madrid 3-4 Schalke
(Real Madrid progress 5-4 on aggregate)
Wednesday
Bayern Munich 7-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
(Bayern progress 7-0 on aggregate)
Chelsea 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain (A.E.T.)
(PSG progress 3-3 on aggregate, thanks to away goals)
Far from the Real Deal
They went through, just about, but the white handkerchiefs were waving at the final whistle. It's tempting to wonder what Real Madrid fans really expect from their side—can they not forgive them one bad performance, considering the beauty of what they invariably produce?—but there was no mercy on Tuesday, as the 5-4 aggregate victory over Schalke was greeted with vicious boos from the Santiago Bernabeu hordes.
A 4-3 defeat on the night was something nobody expected, with Schalke ending up being just one goal away from progression to the last 16. They nearly got it, too; a couple of late shots could have beaten Iker Casillas had they just been arrowed further into the corner.
This was not the Real Madrid we have come to expect. They were wobbly defensively and disjointed in attack, with only the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo bailing them out of more serious trouble.
"There are problems across the board," Ancelotti said, per Sky Sports. "In attack, in defence, in a lack of fight, motivation and concentration.
"It is not good for our image and that of the club. The whistles were totally justified. We have to work harder and focus more. We have to have more of everything."
The Italian certainly faces a test of his renowned man-management skills. Defensively Real were abject (are Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao truly of the requisite class any more?), and further forward they were made to look sluggish and disinterested by the vibrancy and determination of Schalke's less vaunted attacking unit.
Roberto Di Matteo's expression in the dugout suggested he could hardly believe what was going on, although in the end his side fell narrowly short.
"We certainly played a good game," Di Matteo told Sky afterwards (via ESPN FC). "A super game. We scored four goals. But we have mixed feelings tonight. Still, our future looks good."
Real progress, but they can hardly say the same. Ancelotti and Real will be desperate to avoid a major rival in the next round, but even if they do, you wonder if he has the time required to turn things around enough for Los Blancos to defend their European crown all the way to the final this season.
Goal of the Week
One goal from each of the four games this week. This strike from Casemiro was a beauty:
"Bom dia! Looks like practicing with Cristiano has helped improve Casemiro's shooting technique. https://t.co/hIXnEZSg3l vine via @Juaanccs_
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) March 11, 2015"
Goal of the Week: Runner-Up Edition
"GOLAZO DE HUNTELAAR 3-4 https://t.co/Gj0a7rpgyW
— Los Mejores Vines™ (@Videos__Vine) March 11, 2015"
Random Asides
- Did Tuesday's game finally convince the Real Madrid power brokers that it is time to move on from Iker Casillas? The goalkeeper (still only 33) has been a bulwark of the club for well over a decade now, but for Real's many problems, it is undeniable that they would have been in cruise control all night if they just had a competent goalkeeper between the sticks (the first two Schalke goals, at the very least, would have been saved easily by David De Gea, for example). Casillas' declining form has been an awkward issue for many months now: Spain have moved on from him, and perhaps it is now Real Madrid's turn to do the same.
- As good as Bayern were, we should not read too much into their victory over Shakhtar. Olexandr Kucher's early foul was a penalty, and even if the red was harsh, the Ukrainians threw in the towel not long after. There will be far, far bigger tests to come—you wonder if Guardiola is completely convinced his side are ready to take on a Barcelona or Real Madrid just yet. Porto will surely be his preferred draw.
- A word for Porto, who overwhelmed and outclassed Basel on Tuesday. Basel did well to get to this stage, but it all caught up with them in the end, handing Porto a victory that was perhaps more emphatic than it needed to be. The Portuguese side look ill-equipped to beat any of the other remaining sides in this competition, but with the right draw and a bit of luck, they could certainly cause a few problems.
- Will Bjorn Kuipers face any action for his poor refereeing display at Stamford Bridge? The Dutchman got Ibrahimovic's sending off wrong, failed to dismiss Diego Costa after a whole litany of infractions and generally seemed to make the wrong call at every possible opportunity. It was a dramatic night but a poor game of football, both of which Kuipers contributed to—not what you want from your referee.
Good Week, Bad Week
Good Week
David Luiz: A measure of vindication after taking plenty of criticism during his time in English football.
Thomas Mueller: A good time to get back in among the goals. Bayern are more dangerous when he's in form.
UEFA: Drama, in buckets, on both days. They will be delighted (except with some of the refereeing).
Laurent Blanc: Did victory in the tie save his job? For a little while at least.
Schalke's emerging youngsters: All seemed to elevate their reputations with top Bernabeu performances.
Bad Week
Jose Mourinho: What was looking to be a great season will now always be scuffed slightly.
Andriy Pyatov: The hardest-working (to least effect) goalkeeper in action this week.
Walter Samuel: Time catches up with all of us (and it caught up with Samuel a while ago).
England's co-efficient: Will four qualification spots soon be downgraded to three?
Gareth Bale: Perhaps the scapegoat for something bigger, but becoming a scapegoat nonetheless.
