Pep Guardiola was widely praised for putting on his “de-thinking cap” in Manchester City’s Champions League first-leg semifinal win over PSG, which basically meant that he stuck with the starting lineup that’d delivered Premier League and League Cup glory this campaign before holding his nerve (not doing anything) despite Paris
Prior to Tuesday, Ángel Di María had played 741 matches for club and country, receiving all of four straight red cards and 80 yellow cards. No one would ever say Di María is a hothead or has a habit of committing bad fouls — even Lionel Messi has more yellow cards in his career. So it makes the racist comment CBS announcer Jim Beglin said after the Di María red card all the more baffling.
Temporada 2018-2019: Batalla campal, remontadas épicas, consorcio de buen fútbol y dominio inglés. Liverpool derrotó 2-0 al Tottenham y se llevó el título de títulos de la UEFA Champions League. Por su parte, Chelsea vapuleó 4-1 al Arsenal y consiguió la Europa League.
The 19th overall meeting between Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola ended in favor of the Catalan maestro, giving him 11 wins, five draws and only three defeats after Manchester City produced a rousing comeback against PSG on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead back to the Etihad in the Champions League semifinals.
It looked like PSG was cruising. The first half went just about as well as Mauricio Pochettino could have hoped, with PSG leading by a goal, looking dangerous whenever it attacked and rarely troubled by Manchester City. One wonders what Poch said to his charges at halftime, because it all fell apart in the second 45, much like the PSG wall that completely failed to defend a Riyad Mahrez free kick.
When it comes to data and analytics in football, most people prefer looking at the statistical relationship between goals/assists and how that’s going to influence the performance of this goddamn Fantasy Premier League team that’s been tanking since December.
Just captain Harry Kane and be done with it.
But there’s an overlooked statistic that jams well with probability theory, namely, the player with the most nutmegs in Europe this season is probably the greatest footballer alive.
Wednesday promises to provide an enthralling clash as the high-powered offenses of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain do battle in the Champions League semifinal first leg.
Both sides lead their respective domestic leagues in scoring this year, with PSG having scored 77 goals through 34 games and Pep Guardiola's City posting 69 in 33. While City waltzes towards its fifth league title since 2011-12 and third in four years, PSG finds itself in the midst of an actual title challenge in Ligue 1 for just the second time in nearly a decade.
Pep Guardiola is in pure form. The Manchester City boss was in full flow in the press room ahead of the Champions League semifinals. His team faces Neymar and Kylian Mbappé's PSG on Wednesday, but far from being intimidated by the scenario, the man from Santpedor enjoyed it.
"I've rarely been happier than I am now to travel with this team to Paris and try to do my best in the Champions League," he said at a press conference that left a bunch of headlines.
Due to Paris St German's dominance of French football over the years, Ligue 1 has become one of the least competitive competitions in Europe. Since the club's Qatari takeover in 2011, PSG has won seven of the last nine Ligue 1 titles — nearly all of them by 10 points or more.
This season though has brought a welcome change to the Ligue 1 landscape. PSG has played slightly below its standards domestically (its eight league losses, including five at home, are the most in a decade), while the competing sides have noticeably improved, making for a scintillating title race.
It was a massive Sunday for USWNT players abroad as Alana Cook’s PSG hosted Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal showdown, while over in England Christen Press’s Manchester United continued its push for a place in next season’s tournament by welcoming Tottenham.
After knocking out eternal rival Lyon in the quarterfinals, PSG was sent crashing back down to Earth in the 13th minute after Jennifer Hermoso opened the scoring for Barça.