It’s been an extremely mixed season in the Premier League for Leicester City, but the magic of their 2015-16 campaign has clearly followed them abroad. With a 2-1 victory over Club Brugge on Tuesday, Leicester City clinched the top spot in Group G, ahead of two-time Champions League winners FC Porto.
BREAKING: Leicester City qualify for the @ChampionsLeague last 16. pic.twitter.com/gBUdPH9TSt
For all of Tottenham’s sustained excellence throughout the 2015-16 Premier League season, they’ve now got absolutely nothing to show for it. Arsenal infamously pipped Spurs to the runner-up position on the final day of the season, launching an improbable St. Totteringham’s Day, and they’ve now thrown away their reward for finishing third by being eliminated in the Champions League group stage.
At the risk of showing too much disrespect to Leicester City, they were awarded a thoroughly easy Champions League group this season. Although they have done brilliantly in terms of their results, it is no secret that Porto, Club Brugge and Copenhagen have not provided the sternest of tests.
That will likely all change for them in the knockout stages, but as a fun exercise we've decided to look into the only five things in football easier than the Foxes' UCL opponents thus far.
Losing To Manchester City
There have been a litany of awesome players in the UEFA Champions League down the years, so much so that creating an Ultimate XI is a task that could, in theory, drive one to madness.
Football can be a cruel, cruel mistress. Fans have learned this lesson the hard way very well over the years. For every glorious triumph, there is a heartbreaking defeat. In certain cases, it seems baffling that it's actually happened.
These five slip-ups, from players and teams, highlight how you can never say "never" in this sport. Just when you think it's over, you can have the rug pulled out from under your feet.
Listening to Zinedine Zidane’s post-game press conferences after Real Madrid drop points is kind of like listening to a broken record. After Real’s 3-3 draw with Legia Warsaw in Poland, Zidane once again came out and used the same excuses to describe his team’s performance. There was a:
Cristiano Ronaldo, as we've previously covered, is one of the most looked-at humans in the world. It is our contention, though, that he is not looked at enough. With that in mind, won't you please take a moment and look at Cristiano Ronaldo?
It'll only take a moment, we promise. Unless you want to look at Cristiano Ronaldo for longer than a moment, which is fine and even encouraged.
The biggest news concerning Gareth Bale this week had been the monster contract extension he just signed with Real Madrid, earning him $428,347 per week until 2022. Following his wonder goal against Legia Warsaw in the Champions League, the talk is once again surrounding what he’s capable of on the pitch.
Two-time World Cup winner Daniel Passarella, a center back on Argentina’s triumphant 1978 and 1986 squads, recently called out Lionel Messi for what he perceives to be a weakness in the captain’s leadership qualities: “The leader of the group is something different to the way you play and the talent of each player. I admire Messi, but I think his personality, his way of being, is withdrawn and timid.”
Honestly, where do people get this s***.