On Saturday, the debate arose in Carrusel about whether or not in England the Premier was valued more than the Champions. It was a fight between guardiolistas and old radio players. These accused those of underestimating the Champions League in case Guardiola crashes again in a competition that he only won as a coach with Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. In their support came an incontestable fact: fighting as they are City and Liverpool the Premier in a handkerchiefBoth have booked quite a few players ahead of their visits to Spain this week, including De Bruyne and Salah, the respective stars. De Bruyne stayed on the bench. Salah played some minutes.
In other words: both coaches preferred to reserve strength for the second leg of their semifinal even at the risk of leaving a point in their exciting heads-up. I’m not surprised. For some time now, there has been a bunch of clubs on the starting line of each Champions League that are required to win. It is a phenomenon that began with Abramovich and his stated goal of making Chelsea Champions. The other investors of the so-called ‘Big Six’ came out to that wheel with greater or lesser success, in particular City, the club-state that shoots with gunpowder from the sheikh. His case is the same as that of PSG, who almost became a coach for the Champions League not won.
And it also happens in classic economy clubs. Bayern accumulates ten consecutive ‘bundesligas’, a monotony that requires the impact of a Champions League. Something similar happened recently to Juve with their nine consecutive. In Spain, Madrid and Barça have taken their rivalry to such a level that it can only be settled with the supreme title. Messi’s brilliant time at Barça has been overshadowed by Madrid’s persistence in dominating ‘that beautiful and desired cup’. For some time now, national titles no longer satiate certain clubs as before, including City and Liverpool. Guardiola and Klopp made it clear on Saturday.