Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel
Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel meet inside the ultra-modern version of a competition that has taken in Bayern Munich v Mainz, Bayern v Borussia Dortmund, Manchester metropolis v Chelsea and now town v Bayern
The real enterprise give up of the Champions League begins this week with the very last 8 going head to head inside the area-final first legs.
With greater groups left from Italy than every other united states and Benfica additionally via to the latter degrees, there may be a distinctive shape to recent years.
ought to we be in for a wonder winner and how might Chelsea and Manchester metropolis, the ultimate League’s closing representatives fare?
BBC recreation looks at a number of the key speaking factors.
can you name every Champions League area-finalist?
Manchester metropolis v Bayern Munich – Guardiola v Tuchel again
Guardiola is going lower back to stand his antique membership for the first time considering the fact that leaving Bayern Munich for Manchester city in 2016.
He become anticipating to stand a Julian Nagelsmann group again (having beaten his Hoffenheim twice in 2018-19), but the German facet recently sacked him and appointed Thomas Tuchel – a name Guardiola is even extra familiar with.
The managers have met 10 instances earlier than in the course of a decade-long competition with Guardiola winning six and Tuchel three – those successes all coming in a six-week spell among 17 April and 29 may 2021.
That run – which included Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-very last and Champions League very last wins over town – led to a feeling that Tuchel had the threshold on Guardiola. In that very last Guardiola famously did now not play a protective midfielder in a tactical gamble that failed.
but city beat Tuchel’s Chelsea two times within the most beneficial League final season, and with four wins and a draw in Germany, which includes the 2016 DFB-Pokal final, Guardiola without a doubt has the a lot better report.
Guardiola has had a combined time against his old clubs. He has confronted Barcelona four instances since leaving – two times with metropolis and twice with Bayern. He received of these, but the other fits were 3-0 and 4-zero defeats.
Real Madrid v Chelsea – can Lampard do a Tuchel?
In 2020-21, Chelsea commenced the season with Frank Lampard in charge and ended it with Tuchel leading them to Champions League glory.
In 2022-23 Chelsea began the season with Tuchel in rate and could quit it with Lampard hoping to lead them to Champions League glory.
Lampard is the fourth man to control Chelsea this season after the sacked Tuchel, the sacked Graham Potter and quick period in-between boss Bruno Saltor.
he is hoping to preserve up an uncommon club subculture, triumphing a ecu trophy within the first season of his reign – although in contrast to the others that is his 2d spell in price.
Remarkably (even making an allowance for their love of chopping and changing bosses) Chelsea’s remaining 5 eu trophies have all come with managers who had taken over that season.
four of these five took for the duration of the season, three of them after Christmas.
Potter may additionally have was hoping to sign up for that membership however he become sacked closing week, with Bruno in brief having that possibility too – he had to begin with been anticipated to be in charge till the end of the season.
In 2022 it was Potter’s predecessor Tuchel and the Champions League. The German had taken over in January.
Italian Maurizio Sarri gained the 2019 Europa League in his handiest season as Chelsea boss.
Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez led Chelsea to the 2013 Europa League, having been meantime manager from November.
The season earlier than, Roberto di Matteo were interim boss for much less than 3 months whilst he took them to 2012 Champions League glory.
And in February 1998 the overdue Gianluca Vialli changed into made Chelsea player-supervisor and guided them to a ecu Cup Winners’ Cup victory that summer season.
Dave Sexton is the best Chelsea supervisor to win a european trophy greater than a year into his reign, the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup.
So can Lampard, who gained the 2011-12 Champions League as a Chelsea player, add his name to that list?
in their manner in the area-finals are european royalty real Madrid, although Chelsea have a very good record against them – losing handiest as soon as in seven conferences.
this is the bottom percent of losses against real (14%) of any facet to have performed them as a minimum 5 instances in Europe.
AC Milan v Napoli – can Kvaratskhelia maintain excellent season going?
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a first rate throwback and some thing which appeared impossible in modern football.
9 months in the past the average football fan would in no way have even heard his name, with all Kvaratskhelia’s football being played inside the Georgian and Russian leagues plus two Europa conference League appearances.
And now the Georgian winger is absolutely a celebrity and one of the shape players in one of the nice teams in eu football, Serie A’s runaway leaders Napoli.
In Serie A, Kvaratskhelia has 12 dreams – handiest behind 4 gamers – and 10 assists – more than all people else.
Paris St-Germain duo Lionel Messi and Neymar, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Arsenal ahead Bukayo Saka are the best different gamers to have double figures for each dreams and assists in Europe’s pinnacle 5 leagues.
within the Champions League nobody has extra than Kvaratskhelia’s 4 assists.
Kvaratskhelia and Napoli will be hopeful that story can maintain with a surprisingly kind zone-final draw – against AC Milan, who sit 22 factors underneath them inside the table. but Milan did beat them 4-zero in advance this month.
Inter Milan v Benfica – can everybody forestall Schmidt’s facet?
you would no longer know this become a Benfica team who bought over £200m really worth of skills this season.
First it become superstar striker Darwin Nunez to Liverpool for a price of among £64m and £85m – after which midfielder Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea for £107m. more than 30 different players have left the membership this season.
And yet under German journeyman supervisor Roger Schmidt, they appearance nearly unbeatable.
In 46 video games in all competitions since appointing the former PSV boss inside the summer they’ve best misplaced twice – but one among them become on Friday at home to Porto.
They finished pinnacle of a Champions League organization related to PSG and Juventus, picking up 13 points more than the Italians – after which blew away club Bruges in the final 16, costing Scott Parker his process.
they are seven factors clean of Porto at the top of the Portuguese league as they close in on a primary trophy due to the fact that 2019.
most effective Italian groups stand between them and a first european Cup final due to the fact 1990, with the winner in their tie in opposition to Inter playing AC Milan or Napoli within the semi-finals.
if you are viewing this page on the BBC information app please click right here to vote.
Read More: Pentagon leaks show South Korea dissatisfied with sending weapons to Ukraine
Leave a Comment