The Champions League delivered one classic and one truly forgettable contest amidst a mixed week of semi final action. The good news? There's more football to be played.
And so concludes a Champions League week of two halves. It's a bit unfortunate, really, that the semifinals unfolded as they did. To be honest, Bayern Munich-PSG should be a final. They are, by some distance, the best two teams in Europe. They also play the best football. Sure, soccer tournaments are supposed to be full of intrigue, and giant-killings are fun. But having them play in a semi, while Arsenal and Atletico Madrid face off in the other, feels like we're being robbed of a seminal moment.
Still, we must take what we can get. And this was hardly a week to complain about.Bayern-PSG was electric, modern football at its best. PSG won the first leg, 5-4, but the only shame is that it ended.Arsenal-Atleti, meanwhile, was the slog that everyone expected. No one seemed desperate to win, and the game reflected that. It was fitting, all said, that the teams begrudgingly shook hands after a 1-1 draw - and that both calls came from soft penalty kicks.
The good news is we have second legs to worry about. PSG-Bayern should really be more of the same. Luis Enrique promised after full-time that his side would not simply defend a one-goal advantage at the Allianz Arena. Atletico-Arsenal really should open up at the Emirates, even if both teams would somehow be happy to draw again. It has been a gripping week, and next should be even better.
GOALwriters break it all down in another edition of...The Rondo.