Champions League Thoughts

Few expected Real Madrid to qualify – and not at the expense of champions Manchester City – but the fact remains that often the best teams do not win competitions.

There are too many variables: injuries, refereeing decisions, VAR and  penalty shoot outs.

Barcelona’s coach Xavi railed against a tough referee whilst City could not get over the line at the penalty shoot out.

Arsenal played well against a lacklustre Bayern Munich but could not get the result, reflecting their poor record at the business end of the Champions League.

Borissia Dortmund almost slipped unnoticed into the Semis but their opponents Atleticò Madrid are never easy.

PSG are perennial under-achievers but will fancy their chances of overcoming Borissia Dortmund to reach the Final.

No English clubs are left and Italian leading teams do not feature either.

One attractive feature is that many of the giants – especially La Liga ones – have moved away from Galacticos to young talent.

One of the many reasons that fans have grown disillusioned is the enormous wage of a Galactico, so to see an emerging young talent – though doubtlessly ruthlessly acquired and more than handsomely remunerated -can only please the supporters.