In danger: Man City face fight to make Champions League play-offs after Juventus loss
There TAFC was on Tuesday, mulling over Paris Saint-Germain’s dim Champions League prospects, without clocking that Manchester City would step up and say, “Hold my beer.”
Even with their poor recent form, you’re inclined to let City take care of themselves, because they usually do. They’re blessed with know-how. They’re blessed with Pep Guardiola. History says it’ll be all right on the night, with trophies at the end of it.
But make no mistake: it’s conceivable that UEFA’s all-singing, all-dancing Champions League revamp reaches the knockout phase in February without City being one of the 24 teams involved. A 2-0 defeat at Juventus last night has them on the edge. Guardiola and his players don’t look in any frame of mind to maintain their balance convincingly.
Step by step, their demeanour is getting worse, despite Pep trying to smile it out in Turin.
I don’t say this lightly but I’ve never seen a Guardiola side look so demoralised — probably because no Guardiola side ever has.
Stars in stripes
With City, we’re talking about the reigning Premier League champions, probably the best side in the history of the competition when it comes to getting it done. They won the Champions League in 2023 and would have won it again last season had they not been edged out in an epic quarter-final with Real Madrid that went to penalties.
True, the game last night was fairly even — but City routinely find themselves in 50-50s these days. They’re not smashing anybody. They were picked off in the second half by Dusan Vlahovic and then by an acrobatic volley from Weston McKennie (above), teed up by USMNT colleague Tim Weah. It’s the first time an American has assisted an American in the Champions League.
The Champions League table has City in 22nd, stuck on eight points with two league-phase matches to play. They’re not going to qualify for the round of 16 in March automatically as one of the top eight teams. PSG sit a point behind them, outside even the 16 play-off places, and they host City next.
One or other of the two clubs will be as good as cooked after that. It’s hard to believe it might be City.
Plenty to play for
We’re pausing now until matchday seven in the middle of January, but the table is shaping up. Arsenal are in business after crushing Monaco 3-0, and likewise Barcelona after a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund. Lamine Yamal’s assist for Ferran Torres’ winner was another effortless gem (above).
A couple of things to note: two French clubs, Brest and Lille, are on course to go through as top-eight finishers. That wasn’t predicted. As sceptical as I was about the play-offs, the eight two-leg ties could include City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Atletico Madrid. Bring it on.
Investigation re-opened: Police will look again at sexual assault claims of ex-Fulham Ladies captain
In October, The Athletic published two important investigations: one into alleged sexual offences by Mohamed Al Fayed, the late former owner of Premier League club Fulham, and a second concerning criticisms of a police probe into sexual assault claims against an ex-Fulham employee.
That employee, Gary Mulcahey, categorically denies any wrongdoing. The claims against him came from players who were once part of Fulham’s women’s team, including Ronnie Gibbons.
The investigation into Ronnie’s claims was originally closed with no action taken but she has now been told by London’s Metropolitan Police that the investigation into her allegations will be reopened.
We’ll continue to cover this story as it develops.
News Round-Up
World Cup clapping: Saudi Arabia gets 2034 approval from FIFA
I’m not saying the method of choosing the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups was sycophantic but rather than casting votes per se, FIFA’s members were asked to clap if they approved.
Anyway, no surprises. The 2030 tournament goes to (deep breath) Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. I’m guessing the moon wasn’t available this time. And 2034 went unopposed to Saudi Arabia. We’ve got you covered with all the gen, such as it is this far out from boot meeting ball in either event, plus a look at the players who might star in Saudi in 10 years’ time.
FIFA is banging the Saudi drum unapologetically, despite the friction about human-rights issues. There were virtually no objections from FIFA members either. England’s Football Association backed the bid, saying it could be a “catalyst for positive change” — a cliche straight out of the tombola and blind to events in Russia since it hosted the 2018 tournament.
Slip service: Were boots to blame for Cucurella errors?
Back in 2017, I watched Mateusz Klich pay the price for wearing the wrong boots in a rain-soaked Leeds United game (he chose blades instead of studs, or vice versa). He slipped and gave away a goal, and has always reckoned the head coach, Thomas Christiansen, took against him because of the error.
It happened to Marc Cucurella in Chelsea’s win at Tottenham last weekend. You’ll most likely have seen him stacking it in the lead-up to both Spurs goals (exhibit A: above) before frantically changing his boots on the touchline.
He made a joke of it afterwards by posting a photo online of the dispensed-with Pumas in a bin (he then swiftly deleted it — I’m assuming the manufacturer got in touch). It turns out that Cucurella had switched from his usual type of Puma boots to another — but both had metal studs, seemingly of the same length. It’s not at all clear what the issue was.
As he was swapping pairs, he seemed to be intimating that one of Chelsea’s kit staff might be to blame. Good luck with that. In the words of Swindon Town’s kit manager Steve Hooper: “It’s 100 per cent on Cucurella. You decide as a player what boots you want to wear.” That’s him told.
Around The Athletic FC
- Mexico’s Liga MX is poised for the start of the two-legged final of its Apertura tournament tonight, Club America versus Monterrey (both of whom have peaked in the play-offs). Between Monterrey forward Brandon Vazquez and Club America’s Alejandro Zendejas, there’s some USMNT interest.
- For such a big name in American circles, Gio Reyna is oddly anonymous in Europe. He got a rare start for Dortmund against Barca in the Champions League yesterday, and it went pretty well. It needed to.
- On the subject of Dortmund, Tifo Football has done a nice little video on their famous yellow wall — second only to the brick road in yellow circles.
- The NFL bandwagon is off to Berlin. The city’s Olympiastadion — home of Bundesliga club Hertha, and site of this summer’s Euros final — will host a regular season game in 2025, one of eight overseas matches the NFL is planning for next year.
- A bold shout by James Horncastle: after watching Atalanta run visitors Real Madrid close in the Champions League on Tuesday, he thinks they can win the Serie A title. I’m here for it.
- Most clicked in yesterday’s TAFC: Wolves’ Mario Lemina takes on the world.
Catch a match (Times ET/UK)
(Selected games)
Europa League (all Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports unless stated): Viktoria Plzen vs Manchester United, 12.45pm/5.45pm; Ajax vs Lazio, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports; Lyon vs Eintracht Frankfurt, 3pm/8pm; Rangers vs Tottenham Hotspur, 3pm/8pm.
Conference League (all Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports): Astana vs Chelsea, 10.30am/3.30pm; Fiorentina vs LASK, 12.45pm/5.45pm; Copenhagen vs Hearts, 12.45pm/5.45pm.
Liga MX Apertura final, first leg: Club America vs Monterrey, 9pm/2am — Fubo, ViX.
And finally…
Set-piece kings 👑
Set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has his own mural in North London 🎨#UCL pic.twitter.com/Ll7AxAB5ku
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 11, 2024
Once upon a time, set-piece coaches weren’t even a thing. Today, they’re such a thing — and such a thing at Arsenal especially — that their king-of-the-corners Nicolas Jover now has his own mural on their patch in north London.
How far can this go? Are loans managers destined for similar adoration? Will a club’s head of HR get a terrace chant? All bets are off.
(Top photo: Sportinfoto/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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