Surprises abound.
The first round of the Champions League may have been relatively low scoring in comparison to the two previous iterations of the competition – six goals across four games compared with 12 goals in 2016/17 and 14 goals in 2017/18. However, the scoring reduction did not correlate to a reduction in either the quality or the intensity of the games.
But before we look towards next week’s return fixtures, let’s reflect on the first round of this year’s Champions League quarterfinals.
1. VAR continues to provide clarity juxtaposed with controversy. Once again the overarching theme that connects these games was not the football taking place on the pitch but the decisions made off it–as a crouched referee farcically stares at a small TV screen. Video Assistant Referees (or VAR as it is more traditionally known) has been the talk of the round, once again. However, from my standpoint, VAR was applied correctly across all four games in checking the legality of goals (e.g., Ajax having a goal ruled out for being offside).
2. Tottenham are a one-person team – but it’s not Harry Kane. The tie of the round, especially in the United Kingdom, was Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City. The story going into the game was the opening of the new Tottenham stadium, a 62,000 seater stadium, which has a retractable pitch to reveal an NFL pitch below, a microbrewery inside, and cost almost a billion pounds to build. Following the game, I was drawn to how reliant this Tottenham team are on one player.
But it’s not ‘Mr. Tottenham,’ Harry Kane, who was rather uninspiring before limping off in the second half. It’s Son Heung-min.
3. Ajax are not the token team in the last eight. I, like many other avid football fans, scoffed when Ajax made the last 16 of the Champions League. Granted they are a team with talented young players, but they came through a relatively easy qualifying group. Because they were drawn against defending champions Real Madrid, I practically crossed them off my Champions League wall chart. Even then, their surprise win against Real was generally viewed as an ‘impressive overachievement.’ Like the round before, I practically wrote them off again against Juventus. However, Wednesday night’s performance highlighted that this is a team to be respected. Ajax outpassed and outperformed Juventus in all areas of the pitch. After falling a goal behind just before halftime, the team showed great character by pulling themselves back into a tie. Now this young team will go to Turin next week, disappointed not to be leading, but showing greater character and able to draw from experience. I will not be crossing them off the wall chart just yet.
4. Jose Mourinho made some good signings: Manchester United are experiencing a thrill ride under the tutelage of Sir Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (not actually knighted as certain newspaper reports may suggest). However, the main take away from Wednesday night is that this team owes Jose a thank you. Wednesday’s standout performer was Fred, a star bought by Mourinho from Shakhtar Donetsk for the considerable sum of 55 million and likened to rivals linchpin midfielder Fernandinho.
While Fred has struggled to find his feet and produce notable performances, on Wednesday he played exceptionally against two of the best midfielders in the world.
