Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Champions' League Update

In the first leg of its Champions' League Semi-Final, Manchester City went to Paris and beat Paris-Saint Germain 2-1.  City are now trying to defend that lead in the second leg at home.  In the first half of the second leg, City took a 1-0 lead -- giving them a 3-1 lead on aggregate.  PSG needs at least two goals in the second half to stay afloat.

Manchester City has never reached the Champions' League Final.

24 comments:

  1. After 50 minutes, Man City still leads 1-0 and 3-1.

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  2. There are literally no fans allowed at soccer matches in Europe, by the way.

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  3. After 55 minutes, Man City still leads 1-0 and 3-1.

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  4. After 60 minutes, Man City still leads 1-0 and 3-1. They are, as the British press says, soaking up the pressure.

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  5. And that's how you do it. PSG kept pressing and pressing and finally City hit them with a counterattack. Imagine a perfect fast break in basketball, but doing the length of the soccer field and with all passing done by kicking a soccer ball in a sleet storm. PSG chased as hard as they could, but City was just too "clinical," as the English press likes to say. The breakout ended with a perfect pass across the goal to a wide open City player who banged home a goal. City now leads 2-0 on the night, and 4-1 on aggregate, and they really do look like the best club team in the world.

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    1. My first full-time job in technology, after leaving newspapers, was in a marketing-department unit known by the acronym "PSG." It had previously been known as "PST," and my hiring came on the heels of a long, arduous struggle to have it graduated from a "T" to a "G."

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  6. I really can't exaggerate how great a goal that was. Just perfect passing, all the way down the field, at enormous speed, and then a perfect shot on goal. Wonderful stuff.

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  7. And don't forget, PSG reached the Final last year, and just defeated Bayern Munich -- the defending champ -- in the quarter-finals.

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  8. And now we have a red card on PSG, as one of their players just stomped on the foot of a City player with obvious intent to injure. It's like one of those dirty fouls you used to get when UK was beating LSU on the road.

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  9. Well, it's all gone a bit sideways now. Both sides are screaming at each other and the referee. Folks are down all over the pitch. Yellow cards are being handed out. There's a decent chance that we get a real fight before it's all over. With 72 minutes gone, City leads 2-0 and 4-1, and PSG is down to 10 men.

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  10. Things have calmed down. After 80 minutes, City still leads 2-0 and 4-1. This is a dominating performance.

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  11. After 85 minutes, City leads 2-0 and 4-1.

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  12. To give you a sense of how dirty and shameful PSG have been since the game got out of reach, the Guardian (which always takes the side of European teams against British teams) says that PSG should be down to 8 men by now.

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  13. It's over! City win 2-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate, and they are headed to the Champions' League final against either Chelsea or Real Madrid.

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  14. Today, Chelsea is hosting Real Madrid in the other semi-final. After the first leg, they were tied 1-1. After 30 minutes in London, Chelsea leads 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate. So we can expect Real Madrid to attack.

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  15. At the half, Chelsea leads 1-0 and 2-1.

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  16. After 55 minutes, Chelsea lead 1-0 and 2-1.

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  17. After 60 minutes, Chelsea lead 1-0 and 2-1.

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  18. After 65 minutes, Chelsea lead 1-0 and 2-1. They had a breakaway like Man City yesterday, and could have put Real Madrid in a big hole, but the goalkeeper made a great save.

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  19. After 70 minutes, Chelsea lead 1-0 and 2-1.

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  20. After 75 minutes, Chelsea lead 1-0 and 2-1.

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  21. Chelsea score a late goal and win 2-0 on the night, and 3-1 on aggregate. A surprisingly easy victory over one of the continent's great powerhouses.

    So we will have an all-English final, with Man City playing Chelsea for the championship of Europe.

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