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Good morning! A day when you stand still, like Andriy Lunin of Real Madrid, does not turn back. Future :
🖋️ Real Madrid’s evening after the end of the penalty plan
👀 Bayern Munich finds its marbles
😬 Arsenal and the sound of choking
🏆 FIFA Club World Cup: Who really wants it?
Lunin shines as City pay penalty
Something had to give.
Rewind to the final five minutes of Manchester City’s penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid last night and you’ll find both teams in marching mode. I’m talking completely spent.
A penalty shootout in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final was the only way to separate them – and it was Andriy Lunin’s cue to shine.
Lunin’s save against Bernardo Silva changed everything. City, whose dream of a ‘double treble’ was over, were initially in control of the shootout but the Etihad bubble could be heard bursting when Lunin gambled by standing still and guessing Bernardo through the middle.
A penalty shootout to forget for Man City 🫣#UCL pic.twitter.com/heNbuZbabd
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 17, 2024
(Video for UK readers above, for US readers below)
Bernardo Silva came down the middle. Andrei Lunin didn’t move! pic.twitter.com/OjOHXvhtVQ
– CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 17, 2024
It is possible that Bernardo was affected by losing the ball in the crowd while he was waiting to shoot. He seemed to be rushing. But it’s not the first penalty he’s given to the center, and Lunin was ready – aided by Kepa Arrizabalaga on the Real bench, who conceded to Silva in the 2019 League Cup final between City and Chelsea. Intuitively, he told Lunin to stay seated.
This change in momentum reminded me of Andrea Pirlo’s brilliant Panenka penalty for Italy against England at Euro 2012. The momentum of that shootout also turned into a flash.
I have only seen a goalkeeper do what Lunin did in the flesh once, during an English League Cup match involving Leeds United in 2016. The goalkeeper, Marco Silvestri, subsequently stated that going forward for a penalty is a serious mental test – because the urge to dive left or right (and the risk of looking stupid) is so intense.
Speaking of courage, how about City goalkeeper Ederson taking his final penalty last night? It didn’t count for anything – but it was perfect.
We need to talk about Kevin
Kevin De Bruyne must have woken up this morning thinking about the huge chance he missed at 1-1. It turns out he’s human.
His focus was textbook KDB though, and you never fail to be impressed with the way the Belgium international rocks City.
There is talk of his departure for Saudi Arabia this summer. He’s 32, his City contract is almost at its final 12 months and he and Pep Guardiola don’t seem as on the same page as before.
But watch him mix that with the best of the best and you can’t help but wonder: Is he really ready to leave this stage?
A real change of dynamic in summer?
Carlo Ancelotti summed it up well: Real were made to suffer.
The Etihad threatened to become a bit of a graveyard for them but defensively their form was fantastic under pressure. And in true Real style, they found a way.
It was the end of three Champions League meetings in three seasons between City and Real. Can we hope for a fourth next year? And if we can, will the balance of power be quite the same?
Endrick is on his way to Madrid. So, we assume, it’s Kylian Mbappe. Nine times out of 10, City took the lead in last night’s match. They were comfortably the better team – but Real will get stronger from here.
Tuchel on the verge of exit… with a CL victory?
It’s Real Madrid to Bayern Munich in the semi-final so let’s not count the pools, but is history about to repeat itself for Thomas Tuchel?
Bayern could be the second club – after Chelsea – where Tuchel did a poor job as a coach but left the building with a Champions League winner’s medal.
They need a major reset in Munich, regardless of last night’s victory over Arsenal. Joshua Kimmich, scorer of Bayern’s winning goal, is an example: criticized by everyone, including Tuchel, despite his many years of good service.
Kimmich was then the subject of his comments. “I received very little support,” he said.
Discord is never good for a club – and yet here Bayern are, chasing another European title. Funny old game.
Is Arsenal running out of ammo?
Arsenal have had a hell of a week. The Champions League gone, first place in the Premier League abandoned, their self-confidence shattered.
Mikel Arteta has spoken of “thin margins” at full-time, and the margins that matter to this Arsenal team are the ones that stop them winning major trophies.
They lost the Premier League title last season. There is a real fear that this will happen again.
New FIFA tournament misses top teams
The commercial success of the UEFA Champions League is one of the reasons why FIFA is significantly expanding its own Club World Cup. A revamp of the tournament will see 32 clubs from around the world compete in the United States next summer. But there are problems.
The competition takes place just after the European season, which raises the question of whether coaches will take it seriously. It’s unclear how interested TV audiences will be. And FIFA’s qualifying criteria mean some big clubs will miss out.
In 2025, there will be no Barcelona, no Liverpool, no Manchester United, no Arsenal. I would ask who really wants the Club World Cup, if the answer wasn’t clearly FIFA.
Around Athletic FC
🇫🇷 INEOS is only a minority shareholder in Manchester United but fully controls Nice in France. The Nice season has been losing momentum since the takeover of INEOS at Old Trafford. Some wonder if the focus has shifted.
🇲🇽 That crazy story we told you about the Tigres goalkeeper pointing a laser pen at a Monterrey player? It’s just part of the technicolor of a vibrant Mexican derby.
🇩🇪 Premier League winner at Liverpool but outcast at Werder Bremen. Naby Keita has been suspended by Bremen until the end of the season. It’s very political.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times in ET/UK)
🇮🇹 Atalanta vs Liverpool 🏴 (3 p.m./8 p.m.)
📺 Europa League quarter-final return (total 3-0). Paramount+, TNT Sports 1.
🏴 West Ham United vs Bayer Leverkusen 🇩🇪 (3 p.m./8 p.m.)
📺 Europa League quarter-final second leg (total 0-2). Paramount+, TNT Sports 2.
(Top photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)