English clubs stack top eight
FOR the first time since the 2009 Champions League quarterfinals, four English clubs have place settings at the top table of European football.
Yesterday’s announcement of the menu offered a buffet of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League sides.
Liverpool, last season’s beaten finalists, were handed arguably the easiest assignment, a tie against Porto, the Portuguese champions. Manchester United received the daunting task of facing Barcelona.
And in the second all-Premier League quarterfinal in consecutive seasons, Manchester City – favourites with most bookmakers – will take on Tottenham Hotspur.
For historical resonance, it is hard to top United’s tie against Barcelona, a twist of fate that returns manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the city where he wrote his name into Champions League folklore 20 years ago.
Solskjaer famously came off the bench to score the winner in the final against Bayern Munich and the evidence of his threemonth spell as Manchester United’s interim manager so far is that his capacity for extraordinary rescue acts remains undiminished.
The Norwegian caretaker manager has masterminded an incredible turnaround in United’s fortunes, winning 14 of his 18 games in charge, applying a Midas touch to the form of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, and pulling off that sensational comeback from a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16. Now Solskjaer’s ability to produce moments of theatre will be tested on a stage with which he is synonymous.
‘‘It was the biggest night I’ve had in football,’’ Solskjaer said. ‘‘I’ve had so many texts from friends saying this year is going to be the year that we’ll get through because of my number, 20, and it being 20 years ago.’’
It is an imposing tie for United, but also a winnable one. Barcelona have pedigree in this competition, and they have Lionel Messi who has scored eight goals and assisted three in only six Champions League appearances this season.
Against that, they are overly dependent on Messi, have struggled to integrate the former Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho, and in Ernesto Valverde have a coach who can be tactically outmanoeuvred.
One thing that might work in Barcelona’s favour is that the second leg will be at the Nou Camp. The draw initially gave United home advantage in the second leg, but due to a directive that United and Manchester City are not allowed to play at home on the same or consecutive nights, United’s tie was switched, with City given precedence due to United’s inferior league finish last season. The ghost of Jose Mourinho lingers at the banquet.
Manchester City face Premier League opposition at this stage for the second year in a row, having succumbed to Liverpool last season. Their status as favourites is justified: they have scored 26 goals in their eight matches in the competition.
Pep Guardiola’s team have access to a higher plane of attacking football that few, if any, of their rivals can reach. Tottenham, conversely, have conceded more goals than any other quarter-finalist.
Liverpool will be expected to qualify for the last four for the second season in a row. They have a distinct psychological advantage, having blitzed Porto 5-0 at the Estadio do Dragao when the teams met at the round-of-16 stage last season.
The final tie pits Ajax, conquerors of Real Madrid, against Juventus, two-times losing finalists. – The Times, London