Athletic FC ⚽ This is The Athletic's daily football/soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive it straight to your inbox.
Hello!was Slip into your inbox just as Borussia Dortmund advances to the Champions League semi-finals…
Sabitzer’s absolute winner scene 🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/2ruzVwKxQm
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2024
Coming soon Athletic FC:
- champions league gravy
- OdegaardWonder Kid got better
- should EPL Penalties mimic that NBA?
- New PSR rules. Has it improved? perhaps.
The Champions League is here 🔥
6 games, 29 goals, etc. will continue in the future.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. However, we rate this season's Champions League quarter-finals as follows. Best 8 Thailand Best Batch The competition has come before. Or something like that.
to this point, 6 legs and 29 goals. But that's not all. All four games matched up perfectly, which is something you don't often say in the Champions League.
Bayern Munich could be sinking into the Bundesliga But they still had the talent to keep Arsenal wary. Nothing in this round is predetermined.
The Champions League has long been Europe's elite competition, but if it follows a predictable plot it could be a bit similar Solitary Marching Boys Club.
What we will get from this round of the top eight is soccer that we don't want to miss. more of the same please.
Away goal (no) rule
Until 2021-22, away goal rule It was a fundamental part of the Champions League knockout stage. If the scores are tied after two legs, the team that scores the most away goals wins.
Not everyone was happy UEFA shelved the policy But Tuesday's drama — Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain tear each other apart, as do Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid — Validated the policy change.
In years past, Barça could have taken a more conservative approach to the second leg against PSG. With 30 minutes remaining against Dortmund, Atlético would have won despite the score being tied at 3-3.
With UEFA abolishing the away goals rule, removed some of the psychology That gave birth. But I can't help but feel that the competition has an advantage.
Mbappé gives Barça a sign of reality ahead
Look, I know Barça. Kylian Mbappe. clearly. But when I saw him, Lead the charge towards the separation goal PSG's victory in Catalonia is something we should get used to more.
All things being equal, it won't be long before he does the same. In Real Madrid colors.
Barça's season is as good as over. An early red card helped them. PSG and its manager Luis Enrique Aiming for the high notes And Mbappé will put them in danger in the semi-finals. than dortmund.
That being said, I still think the winner of this season will come from Wednesday's draw. Manchester City vs Real Madrid It is a powerful country.
Wonder Kid's Curse
Martin Odegaard will take charge of Arsenal against Bayern Munich on Wednesday (Mark Atkins/Getty Images)
Asking Martin Odegaard to step up is a bit of a luxury. great for arsenalbut they blinked at the Emirates, so players like Odegaard have little choice but to find another gear.
There are no horses in this race, but Odegaard becomes Premier League champion It would be a good story. He is an amazing boy who has survived rough times, and when he joined Real Madrid in 2015, he was promoted from the mandatory position of an elementary school student. where are they now? He was stagnant in Spain and therefore lost territory.
The same thing happened to other exceptional teens. Remember Renato Sanchez? He signed for Bayern Munich for a multi-million pound deal but ended up losing out to Swansea City. Pass the billboard instead of a teammate?
Or Alen Halilovic, “Messi of Croatia”who got a chance at Barcelona but didn't make it?
Odegaard was 22 when he found his calling at Arsenal. This is a good lesson for aspiring soccer players — that Growing up is not the same as flash collapse..
EPL meets NBA? 🤝
Chelsea players fought over who should take the penalty against Everton (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Should soccer adopt basketball's core rules?
As more images come out, Argument over Chelsea penalty By Monday night, it got even more ridiculous. Especially since Everton were already toast at the time of the award.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino threatened: Blow up Nicholas Jackson and Noni Madueke and get rid of them If they continue to do the same again, at Stamford Bridge. It's probably a bit of a nonsensical threat, but in his shoes he would have read the Insurrection Act.
of Antics in the schoolyard Nick Miller was made to think about penalty takers. And it got him thinking about the responsibility of taking free throws in basketball. always falls to the player who is fouled.
There is no chance that soccer will imitate the NBA, especially since there are many sports where penalty specialists are appointed at will.
But the randomness a) prevents a toy-from-the-stroller scenario like Monday's, and b) significantly raises the stakes of the joke. attractive.
Rethinking PSR 💰
How will changes to financial rules affect clubs?
If there was any temptation on your part to spend time studying the existing minutiae of the Premier League Profit and sustainability rules (PSR) Just a warning, please don't do this.
As a result of last week's club vote, they are trying to change. Also. Everyone is dissatisfied with the current framework. The point deductions given to Everton and Nottingham Forest are a mess. Reconsideration was inevitable.
So, from the beginning, 2025-26 Premier League season:
- Clubs that qualify for Europe can pay the following costs: 70 percent Revenue from wages, transfer fees, and agency fees. For non-European clubs, the restrictions are as follows: 80 percent.
- this is, acceptable loss model (£105 million over three years under current rules).
Using the new team cost rules to look back at last season, you'll see that compliance isn't easy. Calculations suggest almost half of the Premier League could have run into problems.
deduction of points For serious violations, it will remain.
Wouldn't the natural reaction to these proposals be in favor of the big clubs, or person with the highest income?I hear you. Get ready for this growing competition.
Do you remember Portsmouth? 🏆
The decline and rise of a former FA Cup winner
There is an artistic level of chaos in some clubs. Portsmouth is one of them..
They are won the FA Cup in 2008 The former Premier League side had, until yesterday, been out of England's top two divisions for 12 years.
Promotion means they will be back in the Championship. It was like a skeleton. Kudos to the coach who saw the banner flying over his head during his first game. “No ambition, no plan.”
Catch a Match (Times ET / UK)
Manchester City vs Real Madrid A rivalry that never disappoints. The match will be played at the Etihad on Wednesday. Guillermo Rai believes meetings with City are more important for Real than El Clasico against Barcelona these days.
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal The setup is also beautiful and has produced some classic pieces over the years. Our writers have always looked around for other historic matchups that have come to fruition.Please say hello buffet battle.
Man City vs Real Madrid (3pm/8pm)
Second leg (3-3 aggregate).
Paramount+, TNT Sports 1.
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal (3pm/8pm)
Second leg (2-2 aggregate).
Paramount+, TNT Sports 2.
(Top photo: Xavier Lane/Getty Images)
