The Weekly Take, Issue 364: Hell Has Frozen Over

Paris Saint-Germain have just won the UEFA Champions League.

Read that sentence again. This is neither AI nor a simulation. Yes, PSG really did win it all.

For years I have been firmly on the “PSG will never win the Champions League” bandwagon—and understandably so. Year after year after year, the Parisian club would somehow find new ways to bungle their Champions League campaign despite often having a stacked squad—and this was reflected in the fact that at one point, PSG were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 five times in seven seasons—and though they made it to the final in one of the other two, that was the Covid-impacted 2019-20 season and must therefore be regarded as an outlier since its conditions were a one-off.

Even earlier this season, PSG struggled to even make it through the league phase, eventually avoiding complete elimination but only finishing in 15th place. This meant that PSG would have to go through a play-in for a spot in the last 16. After beating French compatriots Brest in the play-in, PSG advanced to the round of 16 where they would face would-be English champions Liverpool. PSG were widely tipped to be soundly beaten by the Merseysiders - but that’s when the switch suddenly flipped.

PSG would go on to knock Liverpool and subsequently Arsenal out of the tournament before winning the Champions League for the first time in club history with a spectacular 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena - the most one-sided Champions League final of all time. The PSG that showed up to the final could not have looked more different to the one which barely scraped through the league phase as they exorcised their Champions League demons in the most remarkable fashion imaginable.

The outcome of the final was never in doubt from the opening whistle; in fact, it could even have been said of Inter that they were rather fortunate to have lost by just five goals as the margin of victory could easily have been larger.

While there are multiple reasons as to why PSG were able to turn things around in the way they did, one of the most significant has to be the mid-season acquisition of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli. PSG’s signing of the Georgian for €70 million is already looking like an absolute bargain. “Kvara”, who was clearly Napoli’s best player at the time of his departure and even having played just half a season, was one of the key factors behind Napoli’s Serie A victory this season, picked up right where he left off when he arrived in the French capital.

Kvaratskhelia ended up being “the missing piece” that PSG had needed all along; the club’s Champions League form did an almost complete reversal following his arrival at the Parc des Princes. Arguably more than any other player, Kvaratskhelia embodies the new-look PSG - able to make game-changing spectacular plays out of nowhere, yet always willing to put in a real shift and do the dirty work such as making important tackles or tracking back. There aren’t too many wingers about whom this can be said; it’s one of the many reasons why Kvaratskhelia has now emerged as a bona fide Ballon d’Or contender.

In fact, if I had a Ballon d’Or vote, I would actually have Kvaratskhelia as my first-place vote ahead of two other wingers - I’d have Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in second and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in third. The impact that Kvratskhelia has had this season on not one, but two different clubs can’t be understated. Had he not left Napoli, he would’ve been Serie A’s Player of the Year by a large margin and had he never arrived at PSG, they would certainly not have won the Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain have widely been praised for their transformation from a team overly dependent on a handful of superstars to a true team where everyone has become a contributor. Arguably no player has exemplified this idea this season than Khvicha Kvaratshkelia - so in that sense, it’s fitting that his acquisition was the turning point of PSG’s season. While what the team as a whole has accomplished is certainly not to be downplayed, there’s no question that signing Kvaratshkelia gave their victorious Champions League campaign the kickstart it needed.

The Weekly Take, Issue 363: Three Legends Sign Off

The end of the Premier League and La Liga seasons also meant the end of the stints of three of the all-time greats—two players and a manager—at their respective clubs. Luka Modrić and Kevin De Bruyne wrapped up their tenures of 13 and 10 years at Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively while in Real’s dugout, Carlo Ancelotti concluded his second spell at the helm of Los Merengues; his return to the Santiago Bernabéu took his total time spent in the role to six years.

All three were able to finish on a high note: Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad while Manchester City beat Fulham; both wins were by 2-0 scorelines. In Real’s match, a Kylian Mbappé brace was enough to secure Real’s victory; as for City, İlkay Gündoğan’s spectacular bicycle kick put them a goal ahead before half-time; after the break, Erling Haaland’s penalty made all three points safe.

However, given the events of the day as well as the fact that both teams had already clinched Champions League qualification for next season, the actual results of both matches seemed almost inconsequential - and understandably so. Modrić, Ancelotti, and De Bruyne leave as unquestioned legends of their clubs with impacts that will forever resonate at the Bernabéu and the Etihad Stadium.

Just a few months after Modrić signed for Real back in 2012, no one would ever have believed that more than a decade later, the Croatian would be leaving the club to a standing ovation from the entire Bernabéu and a guard of honour not only from his teammates, but even Real’s opponents on the day. His time in the Spanish capital certainly didn’t start as he’d hoped - such were his early struggles that Modrić was commonly cited as the worst signing of the 2012-13 seasons.

As the years passed, though, things would change. Modrić would cement himself as an indispensable part of the Real team which would win three consecutive Champions League titles from the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons and become not only one of the best midfielders in the world, but of all time. Modrić’s crowning achievement was, of course, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018. He leaves Real having represented the club in almost 600 matches and having won four La Liga titles and a joint-record six Champions Leagues.

Having coached Real to the Champions League title in 2013-14 before being somewhat surprisingly fired after a trophyless season a year later, Ancelotti returned in the 2021 off-season with unfinished business - and it didn’t take him long at all to right that wrong. In his first season back at the Bernabéu and third overall, Ancelotti helmed yet another Champions League title run to go with a La Liga title - the fourth Champions League of his career including the two he won with AC Milan in the 2000s.

Two years later, Ancelotti would once again take Real to a league and Champions League Double. With five Champions League titles under his belt, Ancelotti leaves to take over as the Brazil national team’s new head coach as clearly the greatest of all time - at this point there isn’t really a reasonable case to be made for anyone else anymore.

Over in England, De Bruyne’s final match for City came as a substitute to a rousing reception, entering to a standing ovation of his own. A decade ago, De Bruyne arrived at the Etihad as one of the most promising young midfielders in the world, fresh off winning the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year award with VfL Wolfsburg in the 2014-15 season. De Bruyne soon emerged as one of the best midfielders on the planet; he was an integral part of six Premier League titles as well as City’s Champions League title run in the 2022-23 season - part of only the second Treble to be won by an English club.

Twice selected as the Premier League Player of the Season, De Bruyne played over 400 matches at City over his remarkable career. A statue of the Belgian which will stand outside the Etihad has now been confirmed to be in the works; it’s a well-deserved honour for a player who leaves as perhaps the greatest player in Manchester City’s history.

Although it remains to be seen just how Real Madrid and Manchester City will bounce back from their club icons’ departures, whoever replaces them will certainly have some of the biggest shoes to fill.

The Weekly Take, Issue 362: Limping Towards the Finish Line

The race for the Premier League’s three remaining UEFA Champions League spots will go down to the final matchday. In contention for these three berths in next season’s tournament are Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest.

Prior to the most recent matchday, there’d been an extra qualification spot up for grabs; however, Arsenal claimed it with a 1-0 home win over Newcastle. Declan Rice scored the only goal of the match early in the second half to ensure that the Gunners would qualify for the Champions League for the third season in a row.

Despite the loss, the fate of Newcastle’s Champions League qualification remains in their own hands with just one league match remaining. All the Magpies have to do to clinch Champions League qualification and potentially a top-three league finish for the first time since 2003 is beat Everton at home. Should they do so, Newcastle would not be able to finish any lower than fifth regardless of what the other teams in contention would be able to do.

That being said, based on their recent form, there’s no guarantee that Newcastle will be able to close the deal. Having won just two of their last five league matches, the reigning Carabao Cup champions have fallen into a spotty run of form at the absolute worst time possible.

What really doesn’t help matters - and perhaps the main reason why Newcastle lost to Arsenal - is the groin injury suffered by star striker Alexander Isak. The Swede has beyond any doubt established himself as a truly elite striker and is far and away Newcastle’s best player; however, following this injury, he’s now a doubt to return for the match against Everton. Without Isak leading the line, Newcastle lacked that extra bit of punch up front; it was that “X-factor” that Newcastle were missing which likely prevented them from getting the better of Arsenal’s defense.

It should be noted that in Newcastle’s reverse fixture against Everton earlier this season, Newcastle only managed a goalless draw - and this was without Isak. Should Isak be absent for the season finale, Newcastle’s path to next season’s Champions League becomes that much more difficult.

Another factor which is more than likely playing a role in Newcastle’s late-season decline in form is fatigue. While fatigue certainly impacts every team at this stage of the season, Newcastle are one of the teams which will feel its effects more than most. This is because for all that he has achieved over almost four full seasons at St James’ Park, head coach Eddie Howe still has one glaring issue which he has not corrected. By and large, Howe has less willing to rotate his starting 11 than have many of his opposite numbers - and while this has provided stability, it has also increased the physical toll on Newcastle’s key players.

What makes this point stand out even more is the fact that Newcastle weren’t involved in any continental tournaments this season. As such, with Newcastle guaranteed a spot in at least the UEFA Conference League in 2025-26, Howe will have to get used to rotating his squad more often - not doing so will be to the obvious detriment of the team.

All things considered, regardless of how the final matchday goes, Newcastle’s season has to be deemed a resounding success simply because of their historic Carabao Cup triumph - the club’s first title of any sort since 1969. However, in order for Newcastle to sustain this success instead of dropping off right away as they did last season following a Champions League qualification the season before, they’ll likely have to make important off-season acquisitions.

Among the most notable names linked with a move to Tyneside include English defenders Marc Guéhi and Fikayo Tomori as well as Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos who is rumored to be targeted by Newcastle should Isak leave in the off-season. While none of these players would likely push Newcastle into title contention next season, they’d nonetheless give a further push to Newcastle’s bid for back-to-back Champions League qualifications for the first time in 23 years.

In a nutshell, although Newcastle United don’t seem to be finishing the season in quite the way they’d hoped, there are significantly more positives than negatives that they can build on - potentially for another Champions League campaign?

The Weekly Take, Issue 361: The BayArena - Forever the House That Xabi Built

Heading into Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga match against a resurgent Borussia Dortmund, Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso confirmed that an unforgettable stint of almost three seasons at the BayArena would be ending at the imminent conclusion of the current campaign.

Once the match started, it was obvious that the Leverkusen players were significantly jolted by the announcement - and understandably so. Die Werkself, who had just surrendered their Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich, were nowhere near their usual standard as they succumbed to a 4-2 loss against Die Schwarzgelbe.

Leverkusen actually opened the scoring in the 30th minute via Jeremie Frimpong; however, just three minutes later Julian Brandt scored against his former club to make it 1-1. Dortmund would then go into the half-time break a goal ahead after Pascal Groß set up Julian Ryerson who put Dortmund ahead.

Dortmund would then go on to score twice within a four-minute second-half span with Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy getting on the scoresheet. It was Guirassy’s 19th league goal of the season, tying him with Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick in second place on the league’s goalscoring rankings. In stoppage time, Leverkusen substitute Jonas Hofmann emulated Brandt by scoring against his former club; however, at this point it was completely irrelevant to the outcome.

It’s more than understandable that Leverkusen were clearly rattled by Alonso’s announcement that he’d soon be leaving the club. Alonso has taken Leverkusen from a relegation dogfight to far and away their most successful era in club history and the clear second-best team in Germany behind Bayern Munich.

When Alonso took over from the recently-fired Gerardo Seoane in October 2022, Leverkusen were second-last in the league and seemed likely to be in contention for relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season. Alonso’s hiring raised eyebrows for many as he had never been a first-team head coach up to that point - let alone one of a club in one of the major European leagues. However, as the weeks and months passed and the wins piled up, Alonso silenced the skeptics again and again. When the season wrapped up, Alonso had taken Leverkusen all the way to sixth place and a spot in the following season’s Europa League.

That, however, would pale in comparison to what the man from the Basque Country was about to pull off. The next season, Alonso took Leverkusen to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles. Not only that - it was the first time that Leverkusen had won the league title in the club’s history, and they even did so without losing any matches along the way. Despite not being able to cap things off with a Europa League victory, there’s no question that what Alonso did in 2023-24 is among the greatest managerial feats of all time - making the fact that he was snubbed for the Johan Cruyff Trophy, awarded to the world’s best football coach, in favor of Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti particularly egregious.

This past season, Alonso proved that the season before was no fluke. Though Leverkusen weren’t able to defend either of their titles, they nevertheless clearly distanced themselves from every other Bundesliga club not named Bayern Munich. Alonso will now leave Leverkusen having turned it from an afterthought to a bona fide powerhouse of European football in less than three years - a feat made all the more impressive given their lack of financial resources and general prestige prior to his arrival.

Regarding player development, Florian Wirtz has turned into a true superstar with Alonso at the helm while the likes of Victor Boniface, Álex Grimaldo Patrik Schick, Lukas Hradecky, and Jonathan Tah, among others, have all had career-best seasons with Alonso in the dugout.

As Alonso prepares to leave Leverkusen for Real - the club for which he played for five years - to replace Ancelotti, he will certainly have enormous shoes to fill upon his arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu. The same can certainly be said about whoever goes on to replace Alonso at Leverkusen.

Although Xabi Alonso’s stint in charge of Bayer Leverkusen will be a relatively short one, there’s no question that it will be one which will never be forgotten. Someday, there ought to be a statue of Alonso put up just outside the BayArena.

The Weekly Take, Issue 360: An Obvious Opportunity Missed

A decade and a half after their iconic Champions League semifinal, Barcelona and Inter Milan faced off at the same stage of the tournament. The fixture 15 years ago saw Inter come out on top by a 2-1 aggregate scoreline, largely because José Mourinho, who was coaching Inter at the time, comprehensively out-strategized his opposite number Pep Guardiola over both legs in what has since gone down as perhaps Mourinho’s greatest tactical performance ever.

Back in the present day, the result of the first leg has set up a scenario in which the return leg could end up delivering a level of hype and drama to match the 2010 semifinal. The first leg at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys finished in a 3-3 draw.

Despite entering the match as the clear underdog, Inter defied the odds to score the first two goals of the match within 21 minutes; in fact, the first of the two arrived before even one minute of gameplay had elapsed. Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries put Inter in a commanding position early on with both scoring highlight-reel goals; Thuram with a backheel and Dumfries with a scissor kick.

However, Inter eased up too soon and ended up heading into the half-time break on level terms after Barça scored twice before the interval. Three minutes after Dumfries’ goal, Lamine Yamal surged into the penalty area before scoring a spectacular goal of his own, curling it into the net off the Inter far post. Later in the first half, Raphinha set up Ferran Torres who duly took advantage of the opportunity and made it 2-2.

After the break, Dumfries scored his second to put Inter back ahead around midway through the second half; however, this didn’t last as just two minutes later, Raphinha’s shot struck the crossbar before coming off Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer en route to the back of the net.

Despite dominating the match and having the vast majority of the goalscoring chances, Barça weren’t able to come out on top. Should they end up being knocked out of the tournament following the second leg at the San Siro, the Catalan club will undoubtedly rue the many missed opportunities they had throughout the first leg.

One major point of concern which Barça must certainly take note of heading into the second leg is their defense against set pieces. Both of Dumfries’ goals came by way of corner kicks. All season long, Barça haven’t exactly been the best at defending against aerial attacks - and this came back to bite them. Though it has to be said that Dumfries’ first goal was a genuinely excellent finish, the point nonetheless remains that on that goal as well as his second, Barça’s defending was evidently substandard - and Dumfries made the Blaugrana pay for it on both occasions.

In some ways, Barça fell right into Inter’s trap. Simone Inzaghi and his Nerazzurri team knew just how Barça intended to approach this match and set up accordingly. It could be argued that despite what the number of shots attempted and possession statistics might imply, Barça were actually the reactive team while Inter were proactive even if on the surface it might not have appeared as such. This might just end up being a case of history repeating itself - an Inter team without the raw talent that the Barça team they’re facing comes out on top due to having a better gameplan.

Finally, Barça have to get more out of their players not named Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. The wingers are far and away the club’s best players - evidenced by the fact that they could realistically finish first and second in the Ballon d’Or rankings. However, apart from them as well as Torres, Barça’s players simply didn’t rise to the occasion in the first leg. It should go without saying that Barça can’t constantly fall back on their aces to bail them out every time - especially at this late stage of the tournament when every contribution from every player counts.

Having said all of this, there’s still no question that Barcelona remain the obvious favourites not only to advance to the final, but also win it all. Nevertheless, cracks in the armour have become apparent following this match against Inter. Barça were arguably let off the hook in the first leg - another performance like this could see them eliminated from the tournament.