Champions League is wide open ahead of PSG vs. Borussia Dortmund; Lionel Messi makes history in Miami again

Welcome to the start of another week packed with some of the biggest football games you’ll see this season. We have more high-octane European semi-finals, starting with two exciting Champions League second legs. My name is James Benge, let’s go!

Football correction

All times US/East

Monday, May 6th
Pro League: Al Ahli x Al Hilal, 2pm Fox Soccer Plus
EPL: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United, 15:00 USA Network
Ligue 1: Lille x Lyon, 3pm beIN Sports

Tuesday, May 7th
Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain x Borussia Dortmund, 3pm Paramount+

The hotline

Champions League up for grabs

The final step on the road to Wembley is ahead of four teams this week, none of whom have been definitively eliminated from contention halfway through the semi-finals. Paris Saint-Germain have more work to do and perhaps more to fear if they cannot overcome their first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday. Falling to a team they were such huge favorites against would raise enough questions in the first place that it would almost certainly be their last dance with Kylian Mbappe would only add to the feeling that PSG’s wait for European glory won’t end any time soon.

Their task will be more difficult without Lucas Hernandez, the defender paying a heavy price for his attempts to deny Niclas Fullkrug a winner at the Westfalenstadion last week. He will miss not only the race, but also Euro 2024 and Luis Enrique has no one as solid to take his place, with Lucas Beraldo expected to take the place ahead of Milan Skriniar. Still, down the line, there are fairly easy adjustments for the technical team to make that can pay dividends, as Jonathan Johnson noted after the first leg.

• Johnson: “I expect Luis Enrique to adjust his attacking approach a little before then, with Mbappe’s positioning and involvement much better in the second half and [Ousmane] Dembele needs a slightly more clinical edge in front of goal. Randal Kolo Muani’s cameo was interesting in terms of work rate, but it could be Gonçalo Ramos’ predatory touch that makes the difference next week, depending on Paris’ approach to the scenario that still favors PSG – almost.”

Get Mbappe right and it might not matter if Julian Ryerson repeats his impressive first leg display. PSG may have enough to be slight favourites.

Don’t miss more from Johnson as he looks Advantage of playing at PSG’s home ground.

It looks like the same equation for the home team on Wednesday night when Real Madrid host Bayern Munich, following the thrilling and somewhat chaotic 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena last time out. Vinicius Junior twice punished Min-Jae Kim’s mistakes, erasing a brilliant second half from the Bavarians where Leroy Sane and Harry Kane gave them the lead. This was Bayern’s season in microcosm, with some of the best underlying metrics in Europe undone by clumsy work at the back. The outgoing Thomas Tuchel was too prepared to make that implication clear, criticizing Kim for being “greedy” in his defense.

Bayern have proven that when they defend well they can do a lot in Madrid, but we have long since reached the point where it seems shrewd to value some of the control over their own fortunes that Carlo Ancelotti’s team shows on nights like these. Real Madrid have survived late attacks from RB Leipzig and Manchester City to get this far. Is there something about this competition that gives them the relentless self-confidence to manufacture what would seem like luck to anyone else? There will be more time to discuss this game in Wednesday’s newsletter, but for now get people excited. This is what’s good.

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Midfield Link Game

Messi provides assists to make history

I’ll start by discussing how useful some of those assists were – Matias Rojas had a lot to do when his captain rolled the ball to him in 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls – but when you get five of them, the scorer will probably have to do most of the work at least once or twice. In any case, the brilliance with which Messi played on Luis Suarez for Inter Miami’s fifth goal was worth two assists, when he passed through midfield with his number 9 shirt and stopped in time to find space at the edge of the box to make a pass. killer.

For the first time in MLS history, a player recorded six goal contributions in one game: he assisted Suarez to record a hat-trick, scored another for Rojas and delivered one of those delicate shots to the goalkeeper to get himself on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Inter Miami’s records are being destroyed before Messi even completes a calendar year in Florida. He is already the Herons’ all-time assists leader and, with 23 goals in 25 games, it is a question of when, not if, he destroys Gonzalo Higuaín’s high-water mark of 29.

That Messi would be the best player MLS has ever seen was never in doubt when he landed in Miami last summer. The only question was whether he would still be motivated to be the best version of himself after leaving Europe behind. The 36-year-old can be just that and his teammates can attest to the standards they set. Rojas spoke with Total Sport USA after the match about how big the demands are when playing with the big man.

• Rojas: “It’s a big responsibility. There are two ways to play him: you can sink or you can swim. In my opinion, he is the best in history. You can play with the fact that he won’t understand your pressure or you let it go, and he solves all of that with what he does. That pass to me for my second goal was something I didn’t expect, but it makes it easier for you to take advantage of that chemistry, and for me and the team it did just that.”

It’s no surprise that Inter Miami is three points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, with a record of six wins and a draw in the seven games in which their best player started. Messi seems to be in a good mood. “I don’t think we’ll ever see anything like this again,” Miami coach Tata Martino said after the game. If Messi wants, though, maybe we can.

Top stories

Premier League title race going all the way: There is nothing stopping Arsenal and Manchester City in England at the moment. The Gunners were excellent in their victory over Bournemouth, so did their closest rivals when they defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers a few hours later.

Champions of Spain: It’s been a while, but Real Madrid’s 36th La Liga title confirmed on Saturday as Barcelona lost to Girona, a result that means both Catalan clubs have qualified for the Champions League.

Change underway at Juventus: The old lady of Italian football will also be back in style next season, but This does not mean that Massimiliano Allegri will keep his job.

Championship regular season completed: Saturday brought the final matches of the league’s regular season. Ipswich Town, who were in League One last season, have joined Leicester City in the Premier League while Tom Brady’s Birmingham City crashed into the third divisionand then was roasted by Bill Belic

Titles, UEFA, relegation and promotion: Which teams did what so far in Europe’s top five leagues with just a few weeks to go?

UCL 24-25: Who qualifiedwho is at risk of being left out and what to know before the changes to next season’s new format.

The back row

Best bet

• Premier League: Crystal Palace v Manchester United, Monday, 3pm
• THE PICK: Crystal Palace to win and three or more goals in the game (+190) – The appointment of Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park has breathed new life into Crystal Palace, winners of three of their last four Premier League games, the other drawn with Fulham. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s continued presence appears to be strangling Manchester United, a club that is now in real danger of disappearing from the European places completely. That pressure could give them energy at Selhurst Park tonight, but even in those circumstances, can one of the Premier League’s worst defenses really hope to hold back Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise?

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Kicking (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network’s New Unfiltered Talk Show Returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names in the Beautiful Game and share their stories on and off the field.

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