The Champions League quarterfinal stage concludes this week, with the semifinal berths being decided. Below, we dissect the biggest talking points from Tuesday’s action in Europe’s premier club competition.
Milan’s dominance over Napoli is some feat
Getting the better of Napoli, Serie A’s runaway leaders, three times in less than a month is incredible in its own right. Holding one of the most prolific teams in Europe to just a single goal over that span is masterful. AC Milan fielded the same starting lineup in all three matches – including two daunting fixtures in front of 60,000 at the Stadio Diego Maradona, the most intimidating stadium in Italy – and not once could the Partenopei crack the code.
Milan relied on a cohort of unsung heroes in their 1-0 first-leg victory last week and required a similar collective effort Tuesday to keep Napoli from mounting a comeback. Mike Maignan saved a pivotal penalty kick in the final 10 minutes, and Milan’s back four dealt with a seemingly unending barrage of crosses into the area. Not so long ago, Milan struggled mightily on corner kicks, conceding more times than not. During Tuesday’s 1-1 draw – which gave Milan a 2-1 win on aggregate – the Rossoneri came away from 16 of them unscathed.
Milan continued to keep Napoli on the perimeter of the penalty area, forcing them to take pot shots and shuttling them into less dangerous scoring positions. The few times Napoli broke through the lines, they lacked the composure to finish. In the end, Italy’s champions-elect could only land four of their 23 shots on target. One of those was from the penalty spot.
Milan also suffocated standout winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who, when left alone, can dribble circles around his opponents. Two men covered Kvaratskhelia whenever he was on the ball and severely limited his options, with Milan captain Davide Calabria cutting off the inside, while Rade Krunic, Brahim Diaz, and Junior Messias combined to push Kvaratskhelia outside of his usual dribbling lane. All the Georgian sensation could do was send hopeful crosses into the area.
But Milan wouldn’t have progressed without their breathtaking counterattack. They couldn’t possibly outpass Napoli, a team with wizardly control of the ball and absolute maniacal pressing, so every touch counted. Milan were under incredible pressure in the first half and sometimes couldn’t keep the ball for more than three seconds at a time. The difference is they didn’t need a lot of it. They were ruthless with the few chances they created. Rafael Leao’s authoritative run down the gut of the pitch drew instant parallels with Ruud Gullit’s solo effort on the same ground in 1988.
Milan’s marathon with Napoli was fought like Barcelona’s four-match, 18-day slugfest with Real Madrid in 2011. It will live long in the memory of Italy.
Napoli’s celebrations will still go on
The people in Naples have been counting down the days until they finally clinch their first Serie A title in three decades. If Napoli can win each of their next three games, their celebrations will begin and run long into the summer.
That should make their Champions League exit a little easier to digest. This season has been historic in so many ways – Napoli hadn’t even reached the Champions League quarterfinals before – and it’s happening with a cast of players no one expected to compete for trophies. Preseason protests over the club’s apparent lack of transfer activity seem sillier by the day.
As harsh as it appears right now, Tuesday’s defeat on aggregate should encourage the Partenopei to keep building. That’s how Milan recovered from their humiliating group-stage exit last season. The Rossoneri entered the campaign with the intention of improving on their 2021-22 performance, and they’ve done so by finishing second to Chelsea in their quartet before beating Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli in the knockout round.
Napoli didn’t even play that badly Tuesday. They just missed certain details. Victor Osimhen’s absence from the first leg robbed them of a clear threat up front, and suspensions to key players Kim Min-jae and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa prevented Luciano Spalletti from again fielding his best team in the second. These aren’t necessarily excuses but mitigating factors Napoli hadn’t faced earlier in the season. Spalletti relied on a very short squad to reach the Serie A summit, but things changed when he had to dig into his roster. He hasn’t gotten as many reliable performances out of players he’s left on the periphery for large parts of the campaign. It’s one possible indication why Tanguy Ndombele, who’s made just six league starts, was at fault for Milan’s only goal of the game.
There are lessons to learn here. Instead of berating the coach for his choices and rueing a wasted opportunity, Napoli can find information in their sorrow. Maybe it’ll inspire the likes of Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia to stay put in the summer and have another go at the trophy that got away. Perhaps club president Aurelio De Laurentiis will double down on his investment in the squad. This doesn’t have to be a point of arrival. It can be a point of departure.
Unique opportunity arises for Lampard
Look, things have been glum for Chelsea under Frank Lampard.
The club icon hasn’t provided any boost upon taking over on an interim basis. Tuesday’s quarterfinal defeat against Real Madrid, a second successive 2-0 setback versus the Champions League holders, was Chelsea’s fourth loss in as many matches since Lampard replaced Graham Potter at the helm. The Blues have scored just one goal in that time.
If nothing else, though, there were some positive building blocks Tuesday. That’s all there is left for Chelsea at this point. Now eliminated from the Champions League and playing out the final weeks of the Premier League season while languishing in the bottom half of the table, the team has nothing tangible left to compete for. Lampard’s primary focus should be on trying new things and seeing what, if anything, sticks and becomes viable for whoever succeeds him as the permanent boss.
Tuesday was a perfect example.
Lampard opted to use N’Golo Kante and Conor Gallagher, two tireless pressing midfielders, in ostensible – and highly unusual – dual No. 10 roles behind a solitary striker (who isn’t really a striker, but that’s a whole other issue the club will surely throw more money at this summer). The approach, extremely defensive at face value, actually caused problems for Real Madrid, generating turnovers in dangerous areas and creating scoring chances. For the umpteenth time in the campaign, Chelsea wasted their best opportunities before being punished at the other end. Kante himself could – and perhaps should – have found the net twice at Stamford Bridge.
“I feel like we played well and had a lot of chances, definitely more and better chances than they did,” Gallagher said after the defeat that effectively ended Chelsea’s season. “But football is all about taking your chances, and we didn’t do that today.”
All else being equal, that’s true. But Chelsea are now in a weird purgatory, with nothing but pride to play for. It’s the perfect time for Lampard and his staff to experiment with bold tactical wrinkles and see if they can uncover something that will serve the club well in the future. Under normal circumstances, a manager in this situation would focus on self-preservation. But with Chelsea publicly courting other coaches and, presumably, informing Lampard that his tenure is only a brief interim stint until the end of the season, he has an opportunity to help guide the rebuild for the club he loves so dearly. In an otherwise lost season, that’s all that’s left.
Quick free-kick
Real Madrid play possum for fun
Real Madrid are the masters of giving the opposition false hope in the Champions League. For large portions of Tuesday’s match, Chelsea were the better, more threatening side. Stamford Bridge roared each time the Blues tested Thibaut Courtois, and the fans raised their voices in excitement and anticipation whenever the Premier League club raced forward looking for an opening. You could sense a little bit of optimism creeping into the home crowd. Real Madrid were unbothered. They bided their time, as they often do in this competition, before deciding that it was the right moment, quite literally for Rodrygo, to kick into high gear and quash any glimmers of hope for Chelsea and the partisan crowd. It’s a tale as old as time. And it always seems to work. Maybe their rope-a-dope approach will backfire one day. The other teams remaining in the competition can only hope.
Breaking down thrilling EPL title race with 10 games left
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One of the most intoxicating title races in Premier League history is, mercifully, ready to resume.
The quirks of the calendar – an FA Cup weekend succeeded by an agonizing international window – means the titanic tussle between Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City will have been on hiatus for a full three weeks before it gets back underway on Sunday.
But there are no more impending interruptions. With 10 matches remaining for each title contender, we’re barreling toward a resolution to the type of three-way battle that’s exceedingly rare in England’s top flight. There’s never been a season in the Premier League era where three teams went into the final day with a chance to hoist the trophy. This could be it. The last time it happened was the 1971-72 campaign, when Derby County won an incredible four-team fight, narrowly beating Leeds United and, ominously, Liverpool and Man City to the crown. We’re overdue for that kind of drama.
That three sides have converged this way at all is, frankly, remarkable.
These are the three best teams in the country by an enormous margin. They’re the only ones with an expected goal difference per game of plus-1.0 or greater this season. The next best mark, surprisingly, belongs to Mauricio Pochettino’s erratic Chelsea team at plus-0.36. So, yeah, it’s not close.
The three of them are also on a tear and show no signs of slowing down. Arsenal have won all eight of their league games in 2024, scoring 33 goals in the process; Liverpool have collected 22 of a possible 27 points in that time; reigning champions Manchester City have racked up 23 of 27 points. They’ve combined for just one loss since the calendar flipped – Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat against Arsenal in early February.
The only sides that look capable of halting their progress are each other, which makes this weekend’s clash between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad all the more significant.
Euro 2024 playoffs: Miraculous Ukraine comeback, big result for Wales
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Wales, Greece, and Poland registered statement wins Thursday, joining three other teams in next Tuesday’s playoff finals for the three remaining places at Euro 2024.
Ukraine staged an incredible late comeback against Bosnia and Herzegovina in its semifinal to keep its Euro dream alive.
The highest-placed team in FIFA’s rankings that’s no longer in contention to reach the tournament in Germany is 60th-placed Finland.
Here’s how the playoff semifinals across Path A, B, and C played out.
Path A
Mateusz Slodkowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Poland 5-1 Estonia
Estonia barely stood a chance. Down to 10 men as early as the 27th minute, the northern Europeans could only muster a consolation goal in a 5-1 loss to Poland. The Polish achieved the rout without Robert Lewandowski getting on the scoresheet and remain unbeaten in 21 Euro qualifiers at home, a magnificent run dating back to September 2006. Poland is trying to make up for a poor qualifying campaign in which it finished third in Group E, four points behind the Czech Republic and Albania. The country hasn’t missed the Euros since 2004.
Wales 4-1 Finland
The Red Wall might descend on Germany this summer. Wales’ raucous supporters have legitimate hopes of traveling to another major tournament after the Dragons scorched Finland without the retired Gareth Bale and with Aaron Ramsey, 33, on the bench after more injury problems. Teemu Pukki gave the visiting team some hope just before halftime following well-taken finishes from David Brooks and Neco Williams. But Wales needed just 73 seconds of the second period to restore its two-goal cushion via Brennan Johnson’s tap-in. Daniel James took advantage of a defensive error before rounding the goalkeeper in the 86th minute to give the host a resounding victory.
Playoff final: Wales vs. Poland, Tuesday 3:45 p.m. ET
Path B
David Balogh – UEFA / UEFA / Getty
Israel 1-4 Iceland
Iceland’s Albert Gudmundsson stole the show with an emphatic hat-trick against Israel on Thursday. His stunning free-kick into the top right corner canceled out Eran Zahavi’s opening goal for Israel, and he created a nice cushion for his country with a pair of markers in the final 10 minutes. Just before that, Zahavi blew an incredible opportunity to equalize the match at 2-2, missing a penalty awarded for handball against Iceland’s Gudmundur Thorarinsson. A red card to Israel’s Haim Revivo didn’t help the trailing side. Iceland is now a game away from making only its second-ever appearance at the Euros following its quarterfinal run in 2016.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-2 Ukraine
Ukraine scored twice with just minutes remaining in regulation to snatch what seemed to be a sure victory from Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday. Bosnia controlled play for most of the match and took the lead in the 56th minute when Mykola Matviyenko turned in Amar Dedic’s shot into his own net. But a colossal defensive lapse cost the Bosnians a chance to make it a record four countries from the former Yugoslavia at Euro 2024. Roman Yaremchuk came off the bench to equalize in the 85th minute and teed up Artem Dovbyk’s sensational winning header three minutes later to turn the playoff semifinal on its head. Ukraine now faces Iceland with a third consecutive Euro appearance at stake.
Playoff final: Ukraine vs. Iceland, Tuesday 3:45 p.m. ET
Path C
GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE / AFP / Getty
Georgia 2-0 Luxembourg
Two clever finishes from Budu Zivzivadze in Tbilisi assured Georgia of a place in Path C’s final – and all without the help of suspended talisman Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. But it wasn’t that simple for the host. Luxembourg thought it equalized during the second half, only for the goal to be eventually snatched away due to Maxime Chanot’s apparent foul 45 seconds earlier. Luxembourg’s Chanot was controversially sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and Zivzivadze effectively ended the match six minutes later with his second strike. Kvaratskhelia is available for the final.
Greece 5-0 Kazakhstan
Anastasios Bakasetas lashed home a penalty, Dimitrios Pelkas headed into the net’s roof, Fotis Ioannidis tapped in from close range, and Dimitrios Kourbelis added another header. And that was all before halftime. Kazakhstan’s impressive 2022-23 Nations League campaign and notable Euro 2024 qualifying wins over Denmark, Northern Ireland (twice), and Finland suddenly seemed ages ago, as Greece recorded its biggest halftime lead since October 1978 (5-0 against Finland). Aleksandr Marochkin’s embarrassing own goal in the 85th minute made Kazakhstan’s day even worse.
Playoff final: Georgia vs. Greece, Tuesday 1:00 p.m. ET
Look: Nike unveils beautiful kit selection for Euro 2024, Copa America
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Nike released a stunning batch of threads ahead of Euro 2024 and Copa America on Monday.
Days after Adidas launched its lineup for the summer’s top two tournaments, Nike followed suit with an array of colorful designs.
The U.S. manufacturer also announced redesigns for Canada and Poland, even though they’ve yet to qualify for their respective tournaments. The Canucks face Trinidad and Tobago in a one-off Copa America qualifier on Saturday, while Poland must navigate a four-team playoff to reach Euro 2024.
(All images courtesy of Nike)
Euro 2024
Croatia
Home
The square-shaped design that gives Croatia its unique look gets a slight upgrade. The home shirt features larger squares than ever before.
Away
Croatia’s away shirt plays on the national flag, with the traditional checkered pattern now on a slant.
England
Home
Influenced by England’s 1966 training gear, the home shirt has a classic feel with a rich blue collar and gorgeous trim along the cuffs.
Away
England embraces a deep purple hue for its away selection. The crest stands out with a contrasting off-white tint that makes the three lions pop.
France
Home
France’s home shirt may have the biggest crest of all of Nike’s offerings. The oversized rooster defines this shirt as much as the royal blue that’s made France’s kits a crowd-pleaser.
Away
The pinstripes mirror the colors of France’s national flag and span the width of the shirt in a simple, yet elegant design.
Netherlands
Home
Nike could’ve offered anything orange here, and it would’ve been perfect. But the Netherlands has something bolder and better to wear. The zig-zag pattern adds edge.
Away
The orange collar and cuffs pop alongside the three shades of blue Nike has chosen to create the abstract design on this work of art.
Poland
Home
Poland dedicates premium real estate on the country’s home shirt to its imposing crest.
Away
Poland’s away shirt is a daring choice. The graphic treatment adds texture, giving it a rugged feel while separating from the red tones of years past.
Portugal
Home
With possibly the best home shirt in Nike’s collection, Portugal leans heavily into its traditional red-and-green motif with a polo collar and thick cuffs. The logo sits prominently as well. A smash hit.
Away
Here’s another winner. Portugal’s away strip has a stunning textile imprint that gives off a cool summer vibe.
Turkey
Home
This is a menacing look. Turkey will look like a whirring red army with these imposing shirts.
Away
The classic red band returns to Turkey’s away uniform. Like the others, it features an oversized crest in the middle of the shirt.
Copa America
Brazil
Home
Nike goes big with Brazil’s crest and adds an intricate design to the same yellow hue the Selecao have used for decades.
Away
Brazil’s secondary strip feels like the beach. A horizontal wavy pattern covering the entire shirt mimics the country’s picturesque coastline.
Canada
Home
The only blemish in Nike’s lineup. Why is there a circle around the swoosh? And why are the shoulders so much darker than the body? None of it makes sense.
Away
The 13 pinstripes are supposed to represent the 10 provinces and three territories that make up Canada. Unfortunately, the rest of the shirt looks incomplete.
United States
Home
The United States men’s national team gets a classic home shirt with patriotic detailing along the color and sleeves.
Away
The gradient works perfectly with the red shorts the U.S. will wear at the Copa America.