As always, this week of the UEFA Champions League was full of entertainment and surprises in which Mourinho’s Chelsea were ousted by fast improving Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid lost at their home to Schalke while Bayern Munich provided us a breathtaking display of attacking football to thrash Shakhtar Donetsk by 7-0.
FC Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were the favorites to reach the quarter finals of UEFA Champions League this week. But to the surprise of everybody, Laurent Blanca s PSG ousted Chelsea in an exciting clash at Stamford Bridge. German side Schalke also came very close to eliminating Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. But Pep Guardiolaa s Beyern Munich and FC Porto had no such troubles in reaching the next stage of Champions League.
Here are the five things we learned from Champions League.
Jose Mourinho Is Not a The Special Onea , Is He?
The shocking exit of Chelsea at the hands of PSG on Wednesday helped True Blues to one uncomfortable realization: the only thing Mourinho excelled at this season is in playing mind games.
After the red card of Ibrahimovic, PSG played with 10 players in the majority part of the game against Chelsea in their own back yard. But still Mourinhoa s Chelsea, who were the favorites to reach the quarters, failed to take benefit of this and made an early exit.
Jose Mourinho, the self proclaimed a special onea , had the most expensive squad at his disposal at Real Madrid. What aas expected from Mourinho at Real Madrid was La Decima. But despite having some world class stars like Ronaldo, Ramos, Benzema, Di Maria and Casillas at his disposal, Mourinho spectacularly failed to help them win the holy grail of European football. Florentino Perez sacked Mourinho in the summer of 2013 and appointed Carlo Ancelotti as his successor. Result? La Decima in his first year, with the core of the team almost same.
Jose Mourinho joined Chelsea amidst much fanfare in 2013 and after acquiring the likes of Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Felipe Luiz and Diego Costa last summer, the expectations were quite high from him in Europe. But despite having one player advantage, Mourinho failed to take the benefit of the same on Wednesday.
Looking at the a achievementsa of Mourinho in the past 5 years, is he really worthy of being labelled the a Special Onea
Real Madrid No Longer Feared In Europe
Real Madrid were the runaway favorites to win Champions League until last month. But it seems that Carlo Ancelottia s men are struggling badly to find their rhythm as the attacking trident of BBC – Bale Benzema and Ronaldo – is not able to pose any serious threat to the opposing teams.
Prior to the game against Schalke, Real Madrid had lost some important games in La Liga while they had also surrendered lead to FC Barcelona at the summit of Primera Division. But expectations were high from them against Schalke on Tuesday but they again failed to impress anybody at Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid are still in the tournament but FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich look much more powerful than they do at the moment.
PSG Are The Giants In Making
After their first leg 1-1 draw against Chelsea, not much was expected from PSG at Stamford Bridge. They even lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic to a red card in the first half but Laurent Blanca s men held on to their nerves to shock Chelsea.
UEFA Champions League is the ultimate test of the mental as well as the physical strength of any football club, and looking at their Wednesdaya s performance, PSG look ready to make it big in Europe in years to come.
Jose Mourinho tried his best to outwit PSG prior to the match and Chelsea players made their life miserable on the pitch all of the 120 minutes but the likes of Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Edinson Cavani rose to the occasion and helped the French champions reach the quarter finals.
PSG are still not at the same level of Barcelona or Bayern Munich but looking at their recent progress, they certainly are on a right track.
Pep Guardiolaa s Bayern Munich Are A Treat To Watch
Bayern Munich certainly dona t enjoy the glamour of FC Barcelona or Real Madrid but at the moment, the Bavarians are playing the most beautiful football in the entire Europe and Pep Guardiola deserves the credit for this.
Guardiola played with 5 attackers in a game against Shakhtar Donetsk and Bayern Munich displayed the excellent brand of attacking football in the entire 90 minutes to thrash Ukrainians by 7-0.
Bayern Munich have some world class players like Ribery, Robben, Muller and Lahm in their squad and they are certain to reach the later stages of the tournament this year. But Josep Guardiolaa s men have not really been tested, either in Germany or in Europe, so far and this fact may go against them when they face a team like Barca or Real Madrid in future as this will be their first big test of the season.
Watch Out For FC Porto
FC Porto have made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League without attracting much attention but looking at their recent performances, they seem to have the ability to cause a big upset in the later stages of the tournament.
Julen Lopeteguia s men put in a commanding display against FC Basel in both the games to emerge as the 5-0 winners against the Swiss side. FC Porto have some quality players like Danilo and Jackson Martinez in their squad who would certainly fit in well at any big club in Europe and by taking some inspiration from Borussia Dortmund or Atletico Madrid, they can also go far in the Champions League this year.
