Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is Pep Guardiola's kryptonite.
The charismatic German has beaten Guardiola more than any other manager — a total of seven victories for Klopp dating back to meetings between the two in the Bundesliga.
This is a remarkable achievement, especially if one considers how dominating Guardiola's teams (be it Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City) normally are.
If you would’ve offered AS Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco a Camp Nou first leg in which Lionel Messi is limited to naught, Di Francesco probably would’ve broken your hand in agreement. And then you’d have to inform him that his side would still lose 4-1.
Roma still have an opportunity to shock the world at the Stadio Olimpico in the return leg thanks to Eden Dzeko’s conciliatory away goal, but the club from the Eternal City is more realistically doomed after conceding four goals to a superior opponent.
The Juventus fans were giving Cristiano Ronaldo hell. The Portuguese forward had given Real Madrid an early lead but only some vital interventions from Keylor Navas kept the Spanish giants ahead in an enthralling Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday in Turin.
Then Ronaldo did what we should be used to by now. He did the incredible. He did the awesome. He did the unthinkable. He did the type of thing that only he can do: the most amazing Ronaldo bicycle kick goal you’ll see in the Champions League.
Some clever movement in the box from Real Madrid (and a basketball-style screen) left the Juventus defense befuddled and gave Real Madrid the lead three minutes into the Champions League quarterfinal first leg Tuesday.
Who else could it be??
Cristiano Ronaldo puts Real Madrid ahead early in Turin! pic.twitter.com/sBKCDsRvM6— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 3, 2018
With Bayern Munich attacker James Rodriguez returning to Spain to play Sevilla in the Champions League this week, the Spanish media turned its attention to the Real Madrid loanee with a staple of the country’s football coverage: unsubstantiated transfer rumors.
The rumor wasn’t all that juicy, just that Bayern will certainly move to make his loan permanent this summer by activating a clause that was included in the initial two-year loan contract signed last July.
A few weeks ago, Lionel Messi reached the landmark of 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League, joining Cristiano Ronaldo as the only footballer to achieve the feat. The following comparisons between the two were inevitable, because for the last 10 years, it’s just been Ronaldo and Messi at the top of the world’s premier club competition.
In fact, you’d have to go back to the 2006-07 season and AC Milan’s Kaká to find the last Champions League top scorer by season not named Ronaldo or Messi.