Praising the Unsung Stars of the Champions League Semi-Final 1st Legs
As football fans the world over geared up for what were, on paper, two incredibly exciting UEFA Champions League semi-final first legs, imaginations ran wild over the many permutations the matches could take.
With Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and, to a lesser extent, Atletico Madrid boasting enough firepower for a league of 20 teams, goals galore were forecast—particularly in City vs. Real—and excitement was expected.
But the first legs turned out to be ultra cagey. The game at the Etihad Stadium, sans Cristiano Ronaldo, lacked bluster; Gareth Bale took a long time to get going and, despite threatening in the final 15 minutes, he failed to get a single shot on target.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Wednesday’s encounter saw not the talents of Robert Lewandowski, Douglas Costa and Thiago Alcantara come to the fore, but those in red-and-white stripes instead.
All in all, the players many expected to star flopped, and those who were cast as bit-part performers took several large steps into the limelight.
Let’s honour two star men—one from each game—whose praises are perhaps still going unsung in the wider world.
Fernando, Manchester City
When two defensive midfielders are dominating—one from each team—it can make for a slightly ugly spectacle. That’s exactly what happened in Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Real Madrid, where Casemiro, and more particularly, his compatriot Fernando, were among the finest performers on the night.
Fernando’s City career has been an intriguing watch: He is capable of producing the sort of on-the-ball showing we saw at the Etihad on Tuesday night—after all, that's why he was purchased from FC Porto and had many fans at the time of his transfer—but we haven’t seen it anywhere near as often enough in England. He flits from spectacular to poor far too easily.
Real Madrid, then, could perhaps be forgiven for failing to expect him to turn up and clamp City’s midfield so effectively. Playing as the deepest midfielder in a 4-2-3-1-esque shape, he broke up play superbly in midfield and provided a legitimate screen for his central-defensive colleagues.
Often it can look like arduous work playing as a centre-back for Manuel Pellegrini, as rarely do they get an appropriate amount of protection.
When you see Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany tearing out 10 yards for an interception, missing, and putting the team in a perilous situation, half the time it’s not all their fault; the lack of a holder in front means they must make bold decisions eight to 10 times per game. They don’t all come off.
On Wednesday they had the protection required, and that showed in the error-free games both Otamendi and Kompany had.
Fernando was proactive in intercepting, read the game extremely well throughout, and his presence allowed Fernandinho to surge forward and break between the lines—a role he excels at when given the chance.
The Fernandinho-Yaya Toure axis has always felt slightly conflicted as both naturally want to push on (and both are at their best when surging), and the latter has always pulled rank and pushed on, leaving his Brazilian team-mate behind. In part, that's a waste of Fernandinho, but when paired with Fernando, we see his natural strengths jump to the fore.
But while Fernandinho was good on the night, Fernando was genuinely stellar; their tactical man of the match.
He showed just the right amount of aggression, stymied attacks high up with considered fouls and totalled four interceptions, per WhoScored.com. His positioning was brilliant, and he dropped in to cover the channels quite often when Real attempted to play more directly through Bale.
The post-match talking points revolved around the implications of Ronaldo’s absence and the fact Sergio Aguero once again struggled on the European stage, but Fernando’s conduct in a vital clean sheet should not be forgotten in a hurry.
Filipe Luis, Atletico Madrid
It must be true torture for Chelsea fans to watch Filipe Luis excel in every game at the highest level, while Guus Hiddink recycles an uninspiring cast of left-backs. It sparks thoughts of “what could have been?” and the blame rests squarely on Jose Mourinho’s shoulders.
Luis was bought by Mourinho in 2014 but then rarely played. The former Chelsea boss persisted with Cesar Azpilicueta on the wrong side and limited the Brazilian to Champions League group games, domestic cup matches and easier league tussles.
After making just nine Premier League starts, per WhoScored.com, he was sold back to Atletico a year later for a loss.
Now look at him.
He’s been largely excellent all season and, in the past month or two, he has found yet another gear.
His incredibly solid performances from left-back have been a key part of Atletico Madrid’s defensive resilience these past three matches in the Champions League, and on Wednesday he was one of the three best performers on the pitch.
The key thing to remember is that Pep Guardiola values width highly, and he tried very hard to maintain natural width in this game. The fielding of Kingsley Coman on the right—at the expense of Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller, who were benched—spoke of the Spaniard’s want to get around Atletico’s defensive set and trouble them from the byline.
Guardiola has form for this; in key games for Barcelona he fielded the likes of Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello in order to stretch the pitch as wide as possible, leaving clearly superior players on the bench as a result.
Coman managed to get to the byline twice, firing low balls into the box on both occasions. Both were dealt with, either by Luis, a covering blocker or Jan Oblak in goal. It was the right idea—it is impossible to play through the middle against Diego Simeone’s side as they pack it with bodies—but it doesn’t represent a clear route to goal.
BT Sport’s pre-match analysis highlighted the fact many of Bayern’s goals this season have come from crosses, including one against Juventus, where Lewandowski headed home emphatically against a defence that rarely loses a duel.
It was always going to be tougher against Atletico—even with linchpin Diego Godin missing—but Luis closed his flank for business and allowed little through.
On the opposite side Juanfran had a tougher time of it, with Juan Bernat making decoy runs inside in order to get Costa one-on-one on the flank, but Atletico more or less held firm. Koke and Saul Niguez (then later Thomas Partey) played key roles in filing back and helping protect, too.
With David Alaba’s form in flux and with him playing in plenty of different positions at the moment, it isn’t a stretch to suggest Luis is the best left-back in the world right now.
Magnificent against Barcelona and comprehensively unbeatable against Bayern Munich, he’s en route to what could be his finest season in football.
