Not again! De Bruyne exits second straight Champions League final with injury

A real blow for Man City’s hopes

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne was a shock early substitution in Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter.

The Belgium playmaker had to come off after just 36 minutes, with Pep Guardiola bringing Phil Foden on for Man City. De Bruyne appeared to be struggling with a thigh issue in the minutes before that, receiving treatment once before.

The 31-year-old attempted to play on, but after having to attempt a sprint, sat down on the pitch at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

De Bruyne has had some miserable luck in the Champions League final. He was forced off at the hour mark in 2021 after a collision left him with multiple facial fractures. Man City would go on to lose that match 1-0 to Chelsea.

 

Man City would go on to win the Champions League 1-0.

More to follow…

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Champions League final referee says he accidentally spoke at far-right event

The Polish referee said he was “gravely misled and completely unaware” of the event’s ideology

Szymon Marciniak will still referee the Champions League final next weekend after apologizing for speaking at an event held by far-right politician Sławomir Mentzen.

Marciniak claimed he had no knowledge that the May 29 event was associated with the Polish extreme-right movement.

Mentzen, the leader of the Confederation party, does not seem like a great guy! Per The Guardian:

Mentzen is widely known for launching the political slogan “We stand against Jews, gays, abortion, taxation and the European Union”. In 2021 he made international headlines as the producer of a beer named White IPA Matters, which mocked the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a statement released on Friday, UEFA said they “unequivocally reject the values promoted by a group linked to this conference” and that after a thorough review, they opted to keep Marciniak in charge for a June 10 clash between Man City and Inter in Istanbul.

UEFA shared a statement from Marciniak, who also refereed the 2022 World Cup final.

“I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused,” the Polish referee said.

“Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question. I had no knowledge that it was associated a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation.

“It is important to understand that the values promoted by this movement are entirely contrary to my personal beliefs and the principles I strive to uphold in my life. I am deeply remorseful for any perception that my participation may have contradicted them.”

UEFA added that the anti-racism group “NEVERAGAIN” raised the initial concerns about Marciniak and subsequently requested that he be retained for the match because “removing him would undermine the promotion of anti-discrimination.”

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‘El Chiringuito’ opens with three silent minutes of sad Guti

This is pure TV gold

Real Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday in devastating fashion, and club legend Guti was extremely sad.

He was so sad, in fact, that the infamous Spanish TV show “El Chiringuito” decided to lead its show with three silent minutes of Guti being sad.

After Man City hammered Madrid, many Blancos fans likely didn’t have the words to describe how their all-powerful side could have been made to look so ordinary.

Guti didn’t know what to say either. But he didn’t need to say anything. He just needed to stare off into space and look sad. Thankfully, “El Chiringuito” was there with a bold and masterful editorial decision to kick off its Wednesday night show.

The camera angles. The fades in and out. The suspenseful yet downtrodden soundtrack. The backdrop of sad Madrid players. And Guti — the saddest and quietest man on earth. This is TV gold.

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Champions League final 2023: Kickoff time, teams, TV, streaming and more

Manchester City and Inter will face off in Istanbul for the European title

The UEFA Champions League final is on the horizon, with the biggest game in European men’s club soccer taking place in Istanbul this year.

Manchester City and Inter will square off in the showpiece, with City heavily favored to take home its first Champions League crown.

Inter has not been at its best domestically in 2022-23 but Simone Inzaghi’s side has been strong in the Champions League, advancing out of a group that also contained Bayern Munich and Barcelona before keeping clean sheets in five of its six knockout games so far.

City, meanwhile, has been typically dominant, with a +12 goal differential in six group-stage matches followed by a +14 mark in six knockout-round matches.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Champions League final.

When is the Champions League final?

The 2022-23 Champions League final will kick off on Saturday, June 10 at 3 p.m. ET.

Champions League final on TV and streaming

In the United States, the Champions League final will be available to stream in English on Paramount+. Television information will be forthcoming.

Where is the Champions League final?

The 2022-23 Champions League final will take place at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.

Istanbul last hosted the Champions League final in 2005, when Liverpool famously defeated AC Milan on penalties after overcoming a three-goal halftime deficit to tie the match 3-3.

Who will play in the Champions League final?

For the first time since its treble-winning 2009-10 campaign, Inter has reached the Champions League final. The Milan side defeated Portuguese opposition in consecutive knockout rounds, getting past Porto and Benfica, before beating arch-rivals AC Milan in the semifinal.

The Nerazzurri will be major underdogs against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side, which is looking to finally win Europe’s biggest club competition for the first time.

City got past Bundesliga opposition in back-to-back knockout rounds, eliminating RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich before knocking out defending champion Real Madrid in the semifinal.

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Four-star Man City rout Real Madrid to clinch place in Champions League final

Man City is off to Istanbul after a stunning performance

Manchester City may have just outdone itself Wednesday night.

The Premier League leaders steamrolled Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, taking a 5-1 aggregate win and sealing their second-ever Champions League final. They will face Inter in Istanbul on June 10.

In truth, the opening phases were shockingly one-sided, with Man City utterly dominant. Chances began to pile up: Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba did just enough to fend off Erling Haaland’s 13th minute header, and Courtois then produced a jaw-dropping save to paw another Haaland effort away in the 21st minute.

The Belgium goalkeeper was under siege though, and could do nothing as Bernardo Silva’s powerful finish gave Man City the aggregate lead four minutes later.

At that point, Man City had over 80% of the possession, with Real Madrid managing nothing even close to a shot. However, after finally managing to spark an attacking move, the visitors were inches from an equalizer thanks to Toni Kroos’ long-range rocket.

It was such a narrow miss, and this Man City team is ruthless. As such, it wasn’t all that much of a surprise that Silva responded to Real’s show of life by making it a brace, floating a header past Courtois after a deflection in the box.

Pep Guardiola’s side was truly in control, but it was only last year at this exact same stage of the tournament that Real came back from the dead to take an enthralling 6-5 aggregate win between these sides. The visitors came out of the locker room to offer their best phase of the game, pushing play into Man City’s half and getting their star wingers Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo on the ball more often.

However, any hopes for another impossible comeback were squelched by, of all people, Manuel Akanji. The defender had not yet scored a goal since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, but his glancing header on a Kevin De Bruyne free kick — with the benefit of a further deflection off of Éder Militão — made it 3-0 in the 76th minute, and 4-1 on aggregate.

Man City’s dream night didn’t even need a goal from Haaland, who was substituted off with the game in hand. That gave him a good seat to watch on as his replacement Julián Álvarez delivered an exclamation point just before full time.

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UEFA denies political unrest could move Champions League final from Istanbul

Reports this week suggested UEFA was considering moving the match to Lisbon

UEFA has denied reports that it could move the 2023 Champions League final away from Istanbul over fears of political instability.

Turkey will hold its presidential election on Sunday, with a runoff to follow on May 28 if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

There are fears of unrest in the country should incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lose to challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, which led to reports this week that UEFA had reached out to officials in Lisbon over the possibility of hosting the final.

UEFA denied those reports in a statement, saying it had not undergone any discussions with other potential hosts.

“Following some inaccurate and unfounded media reports, UEFA would like to clarify the position on the 2023 Champions League final,” the statement said. “The 2023 UEFA Champions League final will take place in Istanbul as scheduled, on 10 June 2023. UEFA has no discussions to the contrary with any political institutions, governments or national football associations.”

The winner between Real Madrid and Manchester City is set to face the winner of the tie between AC Milan and Inter at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on June 10.

UEFA will be under greater pressure than usual to ensure fan safety at this year’s final after a disastrous event last year in Paris, which an independent report said “almost turned into a mass fatality catastrophe.”

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Inter jumps all over AC Milan in Champions League semifinal first leg

Inter is in charge of the biggest Derby della Madonnina in 20 years

The Champions League version of the Derby della Madonnina was a dream for the blue half of Milan.

Inter scored two first-half goals to down AC Milan 2-0 in the first leg of their semifinal, with Edin Džeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan turning their side’s early dominance into a significant edge at the San Siro.

“It feels very good, especially because it’s a derby. We played away on paper. It’s a great result for us,” Džeko told BT Sport after the match. “Sometimes you get in this difficult moment where the ball doesn’t want to go in. Patience and work always pays off. I was calm knowing the goals would come as always. Today is the proof.”

Playing what is technically their home leg in a stadium the two teams share, AC Milan’s misery began in the eighth minute, with Džeko conjuring up a thunderous volley on an Inter corner kick.

On the positive side for the Rossoneri? UEFA has ditched the away goals rule. However, the negatives cover just about everything else, as Inter’s high pressure appeared to catch them off-guard throughout the first half. With stars Rafael Leão and Zlatan Ibrahimovic watching from the stands, AC Milan offered little threat of a comeback.

Inter made their superiority count, going up 2-0 just three minutes later. Federico DiMarco burst into space on the left before cutting the ball across the top of the box for Lautaro Martínez. The World Cup winner dummied the ball on for Mkhitaryan, who finished the move off with a powerful shot.

Things could have been worse, with Martínez initially winning a first-half penalty kick only for VAR to overturn the initial decision. Later, Inter felt hard done by after Rade Krunić was shown on replay to possibly strike Alessandro Bastoni with a closed fist while defending a set piece. No call was made, and on this occasion VAR didn’t intervene.

This was the biggest Milan derby in 20 years, when these teams met at this exact stage of the 2002-03 Champions League. Back then, AC Milan benefitted from the away goals rule, going through despite a 1-1 aggregate scoreline because their goal came in Inter’s “home” leg.

Despite the chances that they can avenge that particular outcome being high at this point, Džeko rejected the idea that Inter would ease up in the second leg.

“We’re an experienced team. We know what we’ve done today,” said the Bosnia and Herzegovina striker. “Nothing is yet finished. In the Champions League only great teams arrive in the semi-finals, so we have to be careful and concentrate like today.”

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Real Madrid vs. Man City defined by two world-class goals

Vini Jr. and De Bruyne’s goals were both just *chef’s kiss*

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City in a Champions League semifinal? Those words virtually guarantee golazos, and both teams delivered on Tuesday.

Vinícius Jr. and Kevin De Bruyne scored on incredible strikes in a tense 1-1 first-leg draw that underlined what two of the world’s top teams are capable of.

Man City did well to manage the early stages of the game, keeping Real Madrid at bay, only for Vini Jr. to continue his scintillating form by providing the opening goal. Los Blancos‘ breakthrough came on an absolute rocket from the Brazil attacker, who turned some excellent work from Eduardo Camavinga into a shot that nearly ripped a hole in the net.

“A great strike, a fantastic moment,” manager Carlo Ancelotti told BT Sport following the game. “An interesting game. Difficult for us in the first half, and the second half was much better. We had good control in the game.”

The Santiago Bernabeu was buzzing, but a typically well-worked Man City move turned into a 67th minute equalizer thanks to an unreal strike from De Bruyne. Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gündoğan brought the ball into the area, with the latter turning to lay the ball off for De Bruyne.

From 23 yards, De Bruyne used utterly perfect shooting form to produce a thunderbolt that was still rising as it flew past Thibaut Courtois.

The goal marked the third year running that De Bruyne has scored at this stage of the Champions League, a mark of the consistency of both player and club.

“He [De Bruyne] is a massive player for us,” Man City’s Rodri told BT Sport after the match. “Always he has been great, and he helped us in the moment we most needed it. We were suffering a bit because they were keeping the ball and with the goal he gave us the confidence to keep pushing. It is a good result for us.”

Pep Guardiola agreed with Ancelotti’s analysis of how the game played out, noting that “When we were better, they score. When they were better, we score.”

Grealish may have had the best summary of the level of play, the goals, the atmosphere, and everything else, telling BT Sport that he had a great time.

“I loved it, man,” said Grealish. “You can have a few nerves but these are the nights you play football for and dream of. At a stadium and a game like this, it’s like a dream come true.”

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The Champions League final could be held in the USA — and we’re not talking CCL

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said the showpiece could be heading stateside as soon as 2026

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has suggested that the UEFA Champions League final could be held in the United States in the future.

Čeferin said that holding the event in the U.S. would be a huge opportunity to cash in on the game’s growing popularity stateside.

In an appearance on the Men in Blazers podcast, Čeferin said: “It is possible [that the Champions League final could be in the U.S.]. We started to discuss about that, but then one year it is the World Cup, 2024 is Euro, this year is Istanbul, ’24 in London, ’25 in Munich. And after that let’s see. It’s possible, it’s possible. Football is extremely popular in United States these days. Americans are willing to pay this amount (gestures high with hand) for the best and nothing for the less. So they will follow European football as basketball lovers in Europe follow NBA.”

The president pointed to American TV ratings for UEFA events as part of a possible justification for bringing the Champions League final to the U.S.

“What shocked me actually is that our Euro (2020) finals, Europe national team finals, was watched by more people in United States than NBA Finals,” Čeferin said. “What shocked me is that 30 matches of the Euros, every match viewership was a Super Bowl viewership. So I think we are doing well.

“The problem is the time difference, because if you play [Champions League games on] Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12 noon in LA, it’s a problem.”

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Thiago Silva would like to see Chelsea have any kind of strategy

Todd Boehly’s first season as owner will end with tons of money spent, four managers, and zero trophies

Chelsea’s season is pretty much over after the Blues fell 2-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg on Tuesday.

The 4-0 aggregate defeat means Todd Boehly’s first season as owner will end with a lot of money spent, four managers, and zero trophies. Chelsea is currently mired in a miserable Premier League campaign that sees the club in 11th place, with caretaker boss Frank Lampard set to leave at season’s end.

The club has fallen flat in spite of (or maybe because of) an astronomical amount of investment in the transfer market. In January, Chelsea alone spent more on players than each of the other four top leagues in Europe.

Speaking to TNT Sports after Tuesday’s defeat, Chelsea defender Thiago Silva told some harsh truths about the club’s season. The Brazilian admitted that spending for spending’s sake isn’t the way to go, suggesting Boehly’s huge investment may have been detrimental to the club in 2022-23.

“We can’t be blaming the managers if we don’t take responsibility. It’s a hard period for the club, with a lot of indecision. Change of ownership, new players arriving – we had to increase the size of the changing room because it didn’t fit the size of the squad,” he said.

“A positive point is that there are amazing players in the squad but on the other hand there are always players that are going to be unhappy. There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick 11 from a squad of 30-something – that’s tough. Some can’t make the squad, we signed eight in January, we need to stop and put a strategy in place otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.”

The veteran did make a point to highlight the culpability of the players in the club’s awful campaign.

“Everybody talks too much about replacing managers. I think we, as players, must also take responsibility,” the Brazilian continued. “We have had three managers this season, plus a fourth with Bruno where we failed to win. We have lost today and with Lampard we have failed to win. Everybody is talking about the manager but we must look at what has been done wrong and try to change.”

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