Champions League Wrap-up: THE DANCE OF THE MAGIC MEN/ SANE AND CITY GO HAM/ THE MUNICH MASSACRE

    

 The Champions League Quarterfinals are now set....
     but what we saw in the Round of 16 will indicate what the                    future of the competition holds...
 Will Dembele be ready for the Quarterfinals vs United? 
 Will Ajax pull off yet another upset over Juve? 
 Are Liverpool & Barca on a collision course for the semifinals,                          with City and Juve destined for the same? 
 Will upsets continue to dominate the headlines, or will the old guard of Messi and Ronaldo take center stage in yet another final against each other?
                       JOIN US AS WE DISSECT.
                       LET'S DO THIS..................

MESSI V RONALDO

     The two greatest players of all time  (take your pick) went off in the Round of 16, with Ronaldo's impressive comeback hat trick (to overcome the 2-0 deficit) taking the most votes for best performance of the two, however the mere fact that they both still attempt to top each other, match after match (regardless of what league they may be in or the fact they're in their 30s) is astounding.
       You had to know it would happen....we knew Messi would seek to top Ronaldo (or at least a friendly "equaling"...well maybe not for these bloodthirsty hounds)

although his own club wasn't facing the same "do or die" odds that Juventus were.
         Even still, Ronaldo's hat trick was equaled (at least, Ronaldo fans) by Messi's 2 goals and 2 brilliant assists, not to mention right as the second half began, the Barca captain had an outrageous chipped effort cleared off of the line at the last moment (after disgusting play from Arthur to keep his surging run from midfield going).

        Messi profited from the openings created by the presence of Ousmane Dembele, on from the bench in the 70th minute, but the little magician had already scored a goal at that point (one of the coolest Panenka penalties ever), while Ronaldo was utterly dependent on the service of his teammates, providing 0 chances to his peers in what was a slightly selfish "I will carry us because I'm the only one who can" type of mentality so many despise and love the Portuguese man for.
       Meanwhile, Messi does it in his own way, where he knows his goals will blaze the trail, though it is his play-making abilities that accelerates Barcelona into being the most high octane team in the world.
      These two performances were as pure of a Ronaldo v Messi showdown as they come: down to how the goals were scored, the fact that both penalties scored by each player were from blatant dives, etc everything is being compared, contrasted, dissected and analyzed...just like this.

      Ronaldo was as selfish as his critics hate him for, but his transcendental finishing is exactly why Juve bought him and precisely what makes him the most marketed (and marketable) player of all time. By the way, don't you remember that Juve have lost a cackle of finals dating back to the mid to late 90s, in 2003 to bitter rivals AC Milan and now two in 2015 and 2017?
        Barcelona and Juve are two clubs led by the two greatest players and are both on an intensive Champions League mission, especially Lionel Messi.
        They could be headed for a UEFA assisted collision course in the final......
       In the 2nd leg vs Lyon, Messi was as decisive, creative and selfless as his fans love him for with unending devotion and respect, but he "wasn't as good as Ronaldo" say the Ronaldo fans. "He isn't a big game player," I was told by a few Ronaldo supporters, "the Champions League is CR7's tournament" etc upon etc.
        It seems as if Messi fans don't love Ronaldo, but can respect his game, while Ronaldo supporters only seem to dismiss any and all of the Argentine's prowess.

        Messi will always do more than Cristiano. He'll always create more, dribble more (I can't remember the last time I saw Ronaldo beating a player off of the dribble), pass in excess of his counterpart and it genuinely feels like it means more to him.
        Ronaldo will wait, he'll pout, he'll treat his teammates like absolute crap (another detail that seems to be forgotten), the Portugal star will stay dormant for long periods of time, maybe passing 35 times for his season high, getting involved very little in the match itself. Yet when the ball is surfed into the box, there may be no one (other than his rival) who's better at finishing chances off. For him to score 2 hat tricks against Atletico Madrid in European competition is absolute madness.
        But it must be said: Messi gets the best out of his teammates, while Cristiano is the star profiting from all of their hard work. You will never see Ronaldo gladly hand a penalty kick to a comrade, while Messi won't just hand the ball to his fellow players, he'll even pass the penalty like he did against Celta Vigo a few years ago.
        Who knows....maybe Ronaldo is a rapist...maybe he's guilty...but what if he's been set up?

The case is still up in the air as requests for his DNA have been rebuffed. Warrants have been issued from the state of Nevada for the DNA of the man his parents named after Ronald Reagan.
        It seems one hat trick and you can kill anyone...do anything...certainly we know now that you can, like Ronaldo, potentially commit that crime and get away with it because of the talent.
          We know both Messi and Cristiano had tax evasion cases,

we know they were most likely guilty, but due to their lack of intimate knowledge in the machinery of their respective financial apparatuses (not so much their lack of knowledge of taxes going unpaid under Spain's outrageous tax laws: mostly money going to the ultra-elite in Madrid government, while Spain trembles on the brink of rampant unemployment and financial crisis).
          Both have choked on the big stage too, with Messi missing penalties against Chelsea in 2012 Champions league semifinals, Chile in the 2016 Copa America final shootout and Ronaldo missing his penalty in the epic shootout against Chelsea in 2008, failing to show up against Germany in Euro 2008's quarterfinals, France in the 2006 World Cup, Spain in the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 (Bruno Alves' miss denied Ronaldo an opportunity in the shootout).
        They've had their statistics and their time in the limelight, with Messi being in the Champions league goalscoring lead over Ronaldo for years until Madrid's run of the last 3 seasons. Ronaldo deserves the respect, but when you hear idiotic commentators calling Messi "average", you want to give in to slapping people to wake them up: assists and overall influence on a match matter too, though.
        Messi is the most complete player of all time.
        Ronaldo is the best finisher of all time, yet you could place Messi at least at 2nd, let alone 1B (Christ's sake the guy scored 80 goals one season and 50 in the last 10). His assists are always as high, or just below his goal statistics.
        So let's think of it this way; actually chill out...watch them...enjoy them...take it in....we'll never see such a duo of gunslingers, chiefs of their tribesmen, kings of their hills again. We may never witness such expert finishers and distributors of the ball (Ronaldo's assist numbers are extremely underrated, while Messi's are outrageous)...we'll never see two players (at this level) playing in tandem with such consistency, such potency in the stats that they post, the records they proceed to break, the matches they win and the titles they've achieved....hell, we may never see two players like this ever again, let alone a symbiotic metamorphosis of one-upsmanship that parables of a biblical nature are written for.
         .....let the debate continue....

     MAN CITY & SANE EXPLODE     
       

        Elsewhere, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling led an eruption against Schalke after 38 deadlocked minutes in a feisty display from the struggling German club, looking as if they could frustrate Guardiola's team and steal a goal.
        Instead, once Ilkay Gundogan began launching deadly accurate long balls up over the top and in the blind area on the shoulders of Schalke's back line (their fullbacks, in particular, were dizzying after the German-born Turk fed a simmering ball to Bernardo Silva, who dove to connect with the ball and was taken down in the box, denying his goal-bound effort.
         Immediately upon scoring the penalty in jovial Aguero fashion, City became rampant, with Kyle Walker feeding Raheem Sterling a sublime through ball down the lines that split the left back in two next to the byline, with the Jamaican born Englishman cutting it back to Aguero who ricocheted it off of the post.
         It wasn't before long that a similar ball was played in and Sterling pulled off the same move, only this time producing an  unrepentant back-heel to Aguero who made no bones about it.

This was followed by a ridiculous Zinchenko through ball (see the running pattern here) to Sane who passed a low, hardcore shot through the Schalke keeper to make it 3-0 before the half.
          I thought City would pass Schalke to death in the second half and wrap it up 4-0, but instead Pep Guardiola unleashed his men to send a message in the second half, producing a high octane, thoroughly entertaining jaunt through the Schalke defense time and time again, with Ilkay Gundogan sending a myriad of Xavi-esque balls over the top that repeatedly ended up in goals, with Gundogan directly responsible for two of them (though no assists officially).

        What we should've expected was Leroy Sane demanding more from himself in the second half, not content with a single goal (against his former club) in each leg. David Silva was hungry too and played Sane in with yet another through ball that the German tucked away, only for the goal to be wrongfully disallowed for offside...even after VAR review.
         City remained unmoved and kept their enthralling play at its optimum, with Sane sending in a blistering cross to the back post for his buddy Raheem Sterling to tap into the net (a goal that was nearly disallowed for offside, wrong again). Even still, Manchester's more cultured club kept at it and Sane produced his 2nd and 3rd assists from filthy play: a smart, pinpoint cutback into the box that Bernardo Silva roughed into the net and yet again, another through ball assist to the substitute Phil Foden for his first Champions League goal, pulling it around the keeper and then slapping it into the net with his left foot, an absolutely astonishing goal that put an exclamation point on a history-making match.

          Sane produced a world class showing to remind Guardiola who should be starting at Left wing for Manchester City, a mentally tough response from the German to his recent malaise: 1 goal and 3 assists (another goal wrongfully disallowed). The afro'd German produced 3 assists to 3 different players, with 3 different passes (a through ball, a cross, and a cutback).
         Is it still the group stage?



BARCA RUTHLESS AGAINST LYON

        The 7-0 Manchester City performance (no doubt) inspired Barcelona to fly high against Lyon. The tie was stuck at 2-1 after a sick Panenka penalty from Lionel Messi and an otherworldly Suarez dribble and assist (to Coutinho for the walk-in goal)

 were followed by scary moments of Lyon play for a Barca fan, culminating in Lucas Tousart scoring from a botched clearance by Busquets and Roberto  (I specifically detailed this sequence as a potential way for Lyon to score on Barca in my match prediction article https://uninterruptedsportsodyssey.blogspot.com/2019/03/lyon-arent-afraid-of-barcelonabut-is.html).
       There were frightening moments for the hushed Catalan fans as Nabil Fekir got on the ball more and took aim with a few decent attempts on goal that made the blood pump.

       But special credit must go to Ernesto Valverde, for if he didn't sacrifice (the still recovering from being hurt) Arthur for the tackle-hearty and aggressive panache of Arturo Vidal, plus the match-altering substitution of Ousmane Dembele for Coutinho,

Barca could very well have surrendered another goal to Lyon in that period of the match. Which begs another question...why did Bruno Genesio not start Houssem Aouar? Or even play the Algerian / Frenchman?
       This allowed Barcelona comfortable, steady and measured control in midfield, as Arthur and Busquets controlled the ball with ease until the midway point of the 2nd half.
       In that second half, before Dembele had come on, Lionel Messi was beginning to be crowded out of possession and was being double or triple-teamed and he gave the ball away in scoring positions. However, once Dembele came on, the space that Messi had exploited all match, the room that had been clogged in the second half, opened up like the bloodgates from The Shining

    as Barca showed City what club really began shooting teams to pieces in the Champions League.
        The threat of Dembele's pace attracted so much attention, the fantastic and high operating Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi now had the entire center of the pitch to dictate play, then when the predictable Lyon press collapsed on the South American forwards,

they'd simply spread the play out wide to Dembele or Alba for the outlet. Although Coutinho had a much-improved performance, the movement and silent before erupting skill that Ousmane Dembele possesses is a meteoric step above.
       Simply put, the presence of Dembele's runs on the left wing in transition made Lyon delirious and from one of these situations, Messi floated a breathtaking chipped ball across the face of goal where, of all people, Gerard Pique slid to punch the ball in for his 7th goal on the season, 5 of which have been directly assisted by Leo.
       To finish it off, Messi drove another counter-attack and slid it out to the sprinting Dembele to blast in for his 13th goal of the season, marking the 5th goal in the 5-1 blowout victory.

       Dembele's strained hamstring made him a substitute for the match, however, Valverde risked him knowing full well what he would produce. In the end, Ousmane has torn his hamstring and will now be out for another month, missing La Liga matches against Betis and Atletico among others.
        But with the Frenchman being available for the

1st leg of the quarterfinals and with an important international break coming up, this could've been worse: Barcelona could be out of the Champions League.
        Instead, Valverde made the right choices, pushed the right buttons and all at the right time, although Sergi Roberto at right back is a weakness that could be found out and exploited by a left winger like Sadio Mane or Sane, which would call for the faster, more natural fullback Nelson Semedo to be utilized.

        Valverde has all of the pieces to the puzzle in his squad: he could've rushed Samuel Umtiti back from injury and threw him into another intense match  (like he did against Atletico in November, which reignited Umtiti's injury) though he opted for the fully healthy and ready Clement Lenglet, who's had a marvelous season. Valverde only rushed the just injured Dembele into the match to change the game at the most vital of moments and I applaud him for that. He also understood that Lyon was grabbing more of the ball and in the final third.
        To ease those pressures, the much-criticized Barca manager threw on a possession winning midfielder in Vidal to work and harass worn out Lyon players, the Chilean's tenacity was such that it seemed to kill Lyon's mentality each time he attempted a tackle. And to relieve Messi and Suarez from a ton of work deeper in the pitch, he subbed the Frenchman on and it won them the match.
        Now all he has to do is rest Messi, Alba, Pique, and Busquets, and Barca will be in it for the long run. Barcelona still have injury worries, and although Messi looked just fine, Dembele is only out for a month, Umtiti is easing back into it and Arthur has been taken care of gradually, there's still noticeable fatigue amongst the spine of this team, with Pique, Busquets, Rakitic and Messi hardly missing a match (Messi was only spared some rest thanks to his broken arm).
          The decisions Valverde makes will firmly establish how far the Catalans go in the tournament, no more no less. He has the best squad on planet earth, the best player in the world, the two most expensive and prolific young talents in the world; he has a bevy of midfielders from the aggressive violence of Arturo Vidal, the unearthly accuracy and dominance of Arthur Melo, the renegade rustic finesse of Ivan Rakitic etc (and we're not even talking  about Riqui Puig or Carles Alena); in attack, Malcolm should be starting every match while Ousmane is out hurt, or in defense Jeison Murillo or La Masia product Chumi can easily play in lieu of Gerard Pique.
        He has the players, he has the squad, Valverde has the best of the best available and it's now down to him to push the right buttons, as he definitely did vs Lyon.

THE MUNICH MASSACRE

         In Munich, Liverpool was steadfast as Bayern held close to the ball as if it were their only child, their passing more possession than penetration and more careful than clinical in the absence of all-world right back / midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
        Truly, without Kimmich's runs, his crossing and creative abilities in the final third and his underrated defending were all missed greatly, while the 33-year-old Rafinha (who knows why he's been at the club this long) struggled to do anything other than passing it around.
         While Bayern was busy being "in control" the aggressive tactics of Liverpool won out as their soaking up of pressure gave way to bold pressing, forcing mistakes from great passers like Thiago Alcantara or Alaba.
          I said in the preview article (https://uninterruptedsportsodyssey.blogspot.com/2019/03/liverpool-v-bayern-x-factors-vibe-and.html) that a long ball from the back would create a collision between Mane and Neuer, which Van Dijk's unreal 90 yard assist nearly caused; however, showing his dexterity, unearthly athletic ability and his recent streak of insane finishing,

Mane stopped the ball right before Neuer got there, fooled the German with his back turned, took a spinning touch around the World Cup Lev Yashin Award winner and then lifted it up and beyond everyone into the corner of the net, an absolutely magical goal.
         This was exactly what Liverpool wanted, with Bayern coming out of their  possession-hibernation and pushed for goals. They forced one in thanks to the lone defensive error from any of the Reds back line, with Robertson being left for dead by Gnabry as he smashed in a cross meant for Lewandowski, only for Joel Matip to be cruelly given an own goal for his effort to clear the cross.

         Despite the goal, Klopp had his team continue their rampant pace, gaining pieces of possession from Bayern and frustrating their slower midfield that almost seemed scared of pressing anyone.
           As chances kept flowing, it was obvious Liverpool were going to get their goals and just as predicted in the preview, Van Dijk headed Liverpool

  in front and another Mane goal (from a scathing Mo Salah assist) finished Bayern off in criminal style.
        What we've got is 8 teams capable of beating anyone, excepting Porto perhaps: Tottenham will face City, Liverpool will get the chance to blow Porto out for a second straight quarterfinal, Barcelona will have a rematch of the 2009 and 2011 finals when they take on United and Juventus play Ajax in what looks like UEFA attempting to set up a Liverpool, Barca, Juve and City semifinals.
       
       Stay tuned as we analyze those coming matches and the next Assistkings Quarterly drops.
              Give us your thoughts & Thank you for reading!

NOTABLE STATS:

- ARTHUR MELO attempted 73 passes, completing 72 of them in 74 total minutes for 99 percent accuracy and a key pass to Messi that was cleared off of the line

-LEROY SANE had 3 assists in 22 minutes to 3 different players using 3 different passes

-LIONEL MESSI with 5 shots on target vs Lyon