REVIEW: Who deserves a UEFA Champions League final?
Juventus lost to Ajax (1: 2) at home and flew out of the tournament in the sum of two matches (2: 3). The Dutch became the first club to qualify for the Champions League semi-final after three qualifying rounds.
Italians Cristiano Ronaldo did not help the Italians; the striker will not play in the Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2010.
Before the match in Turin, another well-known Portuguese expert Jose Mourinho said that Ajax could win the Champions League, which caused a wave of discussions.
- There are teams that always feel a certain responsibility, especially if they have a rich history. "Barcelona", "Bavaria", all English teams participate in the Champions League for the title. “Ajax” is not one of them in people’s mind.
- However, the Dutch are able to claim it. In the first match with Juventus, they played without fear and without pressure, wanting to show everything they were capable of, said Mourinho in an interview with RT.
Rival of Ajax in the semifinals will be Tottenham, which lost to Manchester City (3:4, the first game - 1:0), but went to the semifinals on the sum of two matches. For Londoners, this is a historic success - the team has not played in the semifinals of the main European Cup for 57 years.
And the very opposition of the English teams turned out to be fantastic. By the 21st minute of the match, five goals were recorded, which is an absolute record in the history of the tournament.
But the most discussion of this match was due to another incident. In added time, the forward of “citizens” Rahim Sterling scored the ball, which guaranteed “City” participation in the semifinals, the fans managed to get crazy, and Guardiola celebrated his victory with the substitute players - and then the main arbiter went to watch VAR (Video Assistant Referee).
It turned out that the goal was scored from a small offside, so it was not counted. After the meeting, Pep said he was disappointed, and the Tottenham coachman Mauricio Pochettino was happy and proud.
The other semi-final will have "Barcelona" and "Liverpool". The Catalan club in the 1/4 finals beat Manchester United in the sum of two matches (4:0), and Jurgen Klopp's wards did not leave Porto (6:1).
"Barcelona" won the everyday victory over the "MJ", Messi without resistance, issued a double, leaving the goalkeeper of the British David De Gea and became the author of the best goal of the week in the Champions League.
The overall score of the Liverpool-Porto match clearly demonstrates the enormous difference in class between the rivals. With great strides, Salah, Mane and Firmino bring the “mersisaydtsevs” closer to the Champions League final.
The first matches of the semifinals will be held on April 30, the return ones - on May 7. The final tournament will be held on June 1 in Madrid.
Georgiy ASLANYAN
