I Believe In Miracles

An incredible night of European football shone a light on all that is good about the continent’s foremost club competition.

I Believe In Miracles

Benfica goalkeeper Anatoli Trubin’s 98th minute header against Real Madrid to send his team into the playoff stages of the Champions League may have stolen the headlines butWednesday eveningwas just a wonderful night all round as an advert for the joys of European football. It was also perhaps a boost for the standing of the new Champions League system which still has its detractors, and was greatly helped by the television coverage of the events.

The unbridled joy in the reactions of the pundits on television said it all about the action that was taking place. Shouts, cheers, laughter and a genuine lack of belief at what was going on provided the soundtrack to a fantastic evening’s entertainment filled with great goals, shocking results and almost endless change. The stats workers were kept on their toes all evening with the league table on the side of the screen often being redundant already by the time it had been updated.

Arsenal and Bayern Munich were already pretty much guaranteed the top two spots but everything else in the top 8 was really to play for. There was also a whole host of permutations as to who would qualify automatically and who would have a chance of even making the playoffs. Boy did we know all about them by the end of the night.

Liverpool, utterly hopeless and without direction in the Premier League of late, put on one of their European masterclasses, outplaying a Qarabag side that has caused problems for many others and winning 6-0 to secure third place. Wirtz, Salah and Ekitike in particular combined splendidly, Szoboszlai did wonderful Szoboszlai things and Virgil Van Dijk got an unprecedented three assists in one game. If only Arne Slot could get his men to play like this on a regular basis.

Another team who have been woeful in the Premier League of late are Spurs but, like Liverpool, and like last season, Europe has been much kinder to them, providing a beacon of hope amongst the perennial doom and gloom. A 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt earned then fourth spot and eased the pressure on manager Thomas Frank, at least until their next Premier League loss.

Below this there was actual chaos with the teams sitting in fifth to eighth (the cut-off to avoid the playoffs) changing seemingly every few seconds. Barcelona made everyone wonder after going behind at home against FC Copenhagen after just four minutes and not responding before half time. However, a much more clinical second half ensured a fifth place finish and a sigh of relief from all of their fans.

Chelsea had been ahead, only to then find themselves 2-1 down at Napoli, who themselves were fighting just to try and secure a place in the playoffs. The game turned on a wonderous second half strike from Joao Pedro who lashed the ball across Alex Meret and into the top corner to equalise. He scored again with just under 10 minutes remaining to finish the job, secure an automatic spot for his team and end the European dreams of the Italians for this season.

Manchester City secured eighth place courtesy of a mostly uneventful victory over Galatasaray, and Sporting Lisbon, a team who over the last couple of years have lost a manager who was seen as a once in a generation icon there, and their top goalscorer, somehow bounced right back to beat Athletic Bilbao and finish in seventh. The fact that the epic celebrations following Alisson Santos’s 94th minute winner were soon eclipsed elsewhere shows just how incredible the happenings were.

That Santos goal was effectively the one that resigned Real Madrid to the playoffs and the 15-time champions endured a torrid night in Lisbon against Sporting’s neighbours Benfica, now of course managed by the much maligned Jose Mourinho. In a rollercoaster game, the Spaniards had gone 1-0 up before falling 3-1 down. Mbappe pulled one back to make it 3-2 but the Madrid players became visibly frustrated resulting in two stoppage time sendings off before Trubin’s incredible moment of glory that sparked wild scenes in the TV studio and gave us another incredible Mourinho image of the wily, grey-haired veteran celebrating with a ball boy.

Other huge names also missed out on automatic progress including Inter Milan, despite a win away in Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle who cancelled out each other’s chances with a draw in the French capital. They will all now be resigned to playing two extra games to try and propel themselves into the knockout phase proper.

Perhaps even more stunning than the fight for the top 8 though was the effort of the teams that were trying just to stay in the competition, like Benfica. Bodo Glimt, fresh off a 3-1 win over Manchester City last week and not even playing their domestic season in Norway yet, secured another upset by winning away against Atletico Madrid, a stunning achievement for a small club.

Olympiakos secured their passage by winning away against Ajax and Club Brugge cantered to a 3-0 home victory over Marseilles which not only guaranteed their own progression but also knocked the French team out. Monaco were another who just about secured their qualification with a 0-0 draw at home against Juventus.

Even those who just missed out gave it their all and provided nailbiting tension. Pafos banged in four goals against Sparta Prague while trying to overturn a big goal difference deficit, Union Saint-Gilloise secured an unlikely 3 points over Atalanta which played a big part in costing the Italians a place in the top eight, and PSV pushed Bayern Munich hard before eventually succumbing to defeat.

There is no question that all teams are desperate to stay in Europe’s most prestigious football competition which led to some of the scenes that were witnessed. That this drama is allowed to play out in one simultaneous televisual feast only enhances the impact that it has and widens the scope of the individual stories.

It is clear that there are still some fairly major issues with this iteration of Europe’s top competition. The fact that one country can have six entries into a so-called ‘Champions’ league is still a sticking point. More money going to teams from the top leagues who already have an advantage over those with less resources is also questionable.

Added to this is the fact that some of the early matches can lack the intensity of a shorter group phase as there is time to build up points. The added games mean more stress on the schedule of players that are often already pushed to the limit and there is also the added cost for fans for extra matches and travel.

However, if the tournament can still provide scenes like Wednesday night which show the excitement that football can bring to supporters then it has to be weighed up whether it is worth it after all. I for one was thoroughly entertained and will wait excitedly to see what the knockout phase will bring.