There will be a German team in this yearโs Champions League final, and it is going to be Dortmund.
The romantics, myself included, were pondering the intrigue of the final returning to Wembley Stadium for an all-German showdown (Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund), reminiscent of 2013. We witnessed half of that scenario on Tuesday when Dortmund triumphed in Paris. We came tantalizingly close to completing the set on Wednesday when Bayern seemed poised for success in Madrid until a late collapse.
THE SAVES WE MADE THIS WEEK
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will be playing in the UEFA Champions League final. Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen will contest the UEFA Europa League final, while Fiorentina and Olympiacos will compete in the UEFA Conference League final.
May 22, 2024: ๐ฎ๐น Atalanta vs. ๐ฉ๐ช Bayer Leverkusen (UEFA Europa League final)
May 29, 2024: ๐ฌ๐ท Olympiacos vs. ๐ฎ๐น Fiorentina (UEFA Conference League final)
June 1, 2024: ๐ฉ๐ช Borussia Dortmund vs. ๐ช๐ธ Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League final)
Monday, May 6, 2024
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Graeme Souness turns 71, ๐ง๐ท Dani Alves turns 41, ๐ง๐ช Dries Mertens turns 37, ๐ญ๐ท Mateo Kovaฤiฤ turns 30
๐ฎ๐น Udinese ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Napoli (italian serie a) –
Napoli conceded a late goal (90+2โ) and missed out on a win, marking four straight games in the league without a victory. It is a valuable point for Udinese in their fight against relegation.
๐ซ๐ท Lille ( 3 ) – ( 4 ) Lyon (french ligue 1) –
Lille failed to secure the points needed to advance to third place, while Lyon edges closer to sixth place. The final 10+ minutes saw plenty of twists and turns, with four goals scored, predominantly by Lyon, enabling them to clinch a win despite trailing by two goals at the start of the second half against Lille.
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Crystal Palace ( 4 ) – ( 0 ) Manchester United (english premier league) –
Michael Olise opened the scoring in each half as Crystal Palace convincingly dismantled Manchester United. As it stands, Manchester United are not in a position to qualify for next season’s continental cup football competitions.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
๐ฉ๐ฐ Henrik Andersen turns 59 ๐ง๐ช Youri Tielemans turns 27, ๐ช๐ธ Dani Olmo turns 26, ๐ณ๐ฑ Cody Gakpo turns 25.
๐ซ๐ท Paris Saint-Germain ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) ๐ฉ๐ช Borussia Dortmund \ champions league – semifinal second leg
Borussia Dortmund traveled to Paris and replicated the score from the first leg. Mats Hummels had an outstanding night defensively, ultimately heading the only goal of the game into the net in the 50th minute, securing Borussia Dortmund a ‘2-0 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Jack Charlton wouldโve been 89, ๐ฎ๐น Franco Baresi turns 64, ๐ง๐ท Clรกudio Taffarel turns 58, ๐ช๐ธ Luis Enrique turns 54, ๐บ๐ธ Brad Friedel turns 53, ๐ง๐ท Lรบcio turns 46, ๐ฎ๐น Andrea Barzagli turns 43
๐ช๐ธ Real Madrid ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) ๐ฉ๐ช Bayern Munich \ champions league – semifinal second leg
Just as they’ve often done in the past, particularly in recent history, Real Madrid found a way to win a Champions League game. They appeared to be down and out when Alphonso Davies opened the scoring in the 68th minute, giving Bayern a 1-0 lead in the game and a 3-2 lead in the tie. It seemed the Germans were set to depart Madrid with a victory until Joselu, who had come on in the 81st minute, pounced on a spilled shot from Manuel Neuer to level the score for Real Madrid in the 88th minute. Within about three minutes, Joselu redirected another ball into the net, granting Real Madrid a 2-1 win in the first minute of added time. Although about 15 minutes of added time were played, that concluded the scoring. Real Madrid advanced to another Champions League final in pursuit of a record 15th title.
๐ง๐ช Club Brugge ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) ๐ฎ๐น Fiorentina \ conference league – semifinal second leg
In the first leg, Fiorentina secured a late win against Club Brugge, taking a slender lead with a 3-2 victory in Brugge. They then scored a late equalizer in Brugge to advance to the Conference League final. Lucas Beltran converted a penalty into a goal in the 85th minute, securing Fiorentina the decisive goal of the tie. With a 4-3 aggregate victory over Club Brugge, Fiorentina advanced to the Conference League final.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
๐ฉ๐ช Jupp Heynckes turns 79.
๐ฌ๐ท Olympiacos ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Aston Villa \ conference league – semifinal second leg
Aston Villa will need to overcome a two-goal deficit in Piraeus against an Olympiacos side that impressed in the first leg. However, instead, Aston Villa conceded two more goals. Ayoub El Kaabi, who scored three goals in the first leg, netted both goals in the second leg to see Olympiacos advance to the Conference League final with a 6-2 aggregate win over Aston Villa.
๐ฎ๐น Atalanta ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) ๐ซ๐ท Marseille \ europa league – semifinal second leg
Atalanta decided the game in Bergamo after a 1-all draw in Marseille. A 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille sent Atalanta to the Europa League final.
๐ฉ๐ช Bayer Leverkusen ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) ๐ฎ๐น Roma \ europa league – semifinal second leg
Leandro Paredes scored twice from the penalty spot as Roma overcame a two-goal deficit in Leverkusen against a Bayer Leverkusen side that doesn’t know how to lose. An own goal from Gianluca Mancini halved the score in the 82nd minute to give Leverkusen the winning goal of the tie, and Josip Stanisic, who entered the game in the 90th minute, scored the equalizing goal of the game seven minutes later to secure Bayer Leverkusen a 2-2 draw at home, winning the tie 4-2 on aggregate. Bayer Leverkusen preserves its unbeaten run.
