Champions League review: discontent for Real Madrid in a chaotic conclusion to group play
欧冠综述:皇马队内满是不满,小组赛收官阶段乱象丛生
The big winners
It was billed by broadcasters as “Matchday Mayhem”. Finally, after 17 of the 18 final day matches had finished, came a chaotic denouement. Not even José Mourinho’s long Champions League heritage had included a moment like this, though his wild celebration was familiar. Benfica were beating Real Madrid 3-2, and Mourinho’s former club were already dropping out of the top eight. “I was told [the scoreline] is enough, so let’s close the door,” said Mourinho.
That wasn’t all though: Benfica needed another goal to save themselves, and their keeper, Anatoliy Trubin, was sent up for a corner with seconds of the match remaining. His headed goal from Fredrik Aursnes’s cross was a bullet, and the Estádio da Luz fell into raptures as Benfica grabbed a place in the knockout phase at the death. The eight-round, 36-team group stage had its moment of drama to breathe life into a format many have criticised. The best had been saved for last. Mourinho had also beaten Madrid for the first time in his career.
Within English football, there is not much triumphalism that five of the top eight – those who skip what has become known as the “punishment round” – are from the Premier League. Each of Arsenal, with their perfect record of eight wins from eight, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City are just glad to avoid an extra two matches, respite from the relentless schedule of what has been a bruising domestic season.
Most eye-catching for English teams was Chelsea’s win at Napoli, with João Pedro scoring twice as Antonio Conte’s team eventually ran out of steam. It was a significant victory in Liam Rosenior’s early days as head coach. Newcastle may have made it into the top eight had Harvey Barnes converted a late chance against Paris Saint-Germain, but his team had to settle for a 1-1 draw, which means they enter the knockout round. “The Premier League is such a strong league it can only make you better,” said the Newcastle manager, Eddie Howe. Had they not conceded in the last moments to Kairat’s Ricardinho, Arsenal would have become the first team in competition history to win eight matches in succession by a two-goal margin, hence Piero Hincapié’s rage at the visitors’ consolation goal, which made it 3-2.
Edging out Real Madrid, PSG and Inter in the top eight were Sporting Lisbon, who finished seventh. They followed up last week’s defeat of holders PSG with another piece of late Portuguese drama. Alisson Santos’s 94th minute winner was enough for a 3-2 win over Athletic Club who, alongside Villarreal, were one of two La Liga clubs to exit at the group stage. Sporting’s coach, Rui Borges, has made many forget about Ruben Amorim after last season’s title – and now they are holding their own among the European elite. “They don’t care about the time; they want to play, they want to fight for the game, and they want to be the best,” Borges said proudly of his team.
Surprise finishers in the top 24: Olympiakos, Club Brugge – for the second season running – and Qarabag, who squeezed through, despite a 6-0 loss to Liverpool. Qarabag forward Abdellah Zoubir said: “I’m French, so I’d love to play Paris in the next round, even if they’re the best team in the world right now.”
As was the case last season, the champions face two playoff matches, though perhaps that can help add a competitive edge away from Ligue 1. Sneaking through in 23rd place, with a truly seismic victory at Atlético Madrid, were last week’s darlings, Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegian season does not kick off until March.
Player of the week
Trubin delivered that golden moment, but Benfica’s star on the night was Andreas Schjelderup. The 21-year-old Norwegian scored twice, and has been linked with a move to Brugge, among others. “I should have scored four goals today,” he said, which said something about Real Madrid’s defending.
They said it
For Madrid, Kylian Mbappé pulled few punches after the match. “It hurts to be in the playoffs. We need to fix our issues; we are too inconsistent. We deserve to be in the position we’re in,” said the Frenchman. Álvaro Arbeloa’s regime has not got off to a strong start, and discipline is a clear problem. During those manic last few moments in Lisbon came red cards for both Raúl Asencio and Rodrygo, the latter for dissent.
The pundit’s chair
Is something afoot at Liverpool? For the second week in succession, Steven Gerrard, hardly known for his Roy Keane-style invective, put the boot into Arne Slot. On TNT in the UK, Gerrard criticised Slot’s comments that losing to PSG last season helped Liverpool win the Premier League. “They were 15 points clear [when they lost to PSG in the Champions League],” said Gerrard. “In my opinion they had the league wrapped up by that point. The frustration and the emotion of going out of the UCL, for a player or a fan, it hurts. It kills you. To sort of say that went and helped you when you are already 15 points clear, you can understand the frustrations.”
Looking ahead
Friday’s draw will decide who plays whom in the knockout phase playoff, with teams knowing from their league position they will end up on one of two paths. For example, there is a 50/50 chance of Benfica and Real Madrid being drawn together. If not, Real will play Bodø/Glimt, and Benfica face Inter, another former Mourinho employer.
Jamie Carragher, speaking on CBS’s broadcast, ahead of celebrating his birthday with dancing lessons, had this to say about the bracket as it opens out: “I’ve just seen Liverpool’s potential opponents. Honest to God, this new format, I’ve had enough of it. We finished top last year and we got Paris Saint-Germain. We finished third this year, listen to this; Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus and we finished third. If you finish third you can’t get them, you can’t have Atlético Madrid in there!”
Arsenal’s reward for their dominance of the group stage is playing one of Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund or Olympiakos in the last 16. Like all of the top eight, they are at home for the second leg.
核心单词解析
1. denouement
含义:n. 结局;收场(尤指赛事、戏剧的戏剧性结局)
例句:The chaotic denouement of the Champions League group stage made it a memorable matchday.
翻译:欧冠小组赛的戏剧性收官,让这个比赛日变得令人难忘。
2. raptures
含义:n. 狂喜;欢腾(rapture 的复数,常与 fall into 搭配)
例句:The Estádio da Luz fell into raptures when Trubin scored the late winning goal for Benfica.
翻译:当特鲁宾为本菲卡打入补时制胜球时,光明球场陷入一片欢腾。
3. respite
含义:n. 喘息;暂缓;短暂休息(常与 from 搭配,表 “从…… 中解脱”)
例句:Avoiding extra playoff matches gives the teams a much-needed respite from the busy schedule.
翻译:避开额外的附加赛,让球队从繁忙的赛程中得到了急需的喘息。
4. bruising
含义:adj. 激烈的;艰难的;令人疲惫的(形容比赛 / 赛季的高强度)
例句:English teams have experienced a bruising domestic season with frequent tough matches.
翻译:英超球队经历了一个艰难的国内赛季,硬仗接连不断。
5. relentless
含义:adj. 不间断的;残酷的;持续施压的
例句:The players are tired of the relentless schedule of both domestic and European matches.
翻译:球员们早已厌倦了国内赛事与欧战无缝衔接的密集赛程。
6. seismic
含义:adj. 震撼性的;重大的;具有深远影响的(形容胜利 / 事件的重要性)
例句:Bodø/Glimt claimed a seismic victory over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League group stage.
翻译:博德闪耀在欧冠小组赛中,取得了一场战胜马德里竞技的震撼性胜利。
7. invective
含义:n. 痛斥;谩骂;激烈抨击(多指言语上的严厉指责)
例句:Steven Gerrard is hardly known for his Roy Keane-style invective in football commentaries.
翻译:史蒂文・杰拉德在足球解说中,向来不以罗伊・基恩式的激烈抨击著称。
8. dissent
含义:n. 异议;反对;不服(体育赛事中多指对裁判判罚的抗议)
例句:Rodrygo received a red card for dissent after arguing with the referee in the dying minutes.
翻译:罗德里戈在比赛最后时刻与裁判争执、表示不服,因抗议判罚被红牌罚下。
9. manic
含义:adj. 混乱的;狂热的;躁狂的(形容比赛的紧张激烈场面)
例句:The manic last few minutes of the match saw two red cards and a dramatic winning goal.
翻译:比赛最后几分钟的混乱时刻,出现了两张红牌和一粒戏剧性的制胜球。
10. bracket
含义:n. (赛事)对阵表;赛程表;括号(文中特指欧冠淘汰赛赛程)
例句:Football fans are eager to see the new bracket for the Champions League knockout phase.
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