Clear your diary for Wednesday night because Bayern and PSG are probably at it again, by which time they will know which of Arsenal and Atletico are waiting for them…
We’ll know by Wednesday night which clubs will be heading to Budapest for the Champions League final and, 24 hours later, either Villa or Forest will be bound for the first European final in decades.
So too will Crystal Palace… they won’t blow their 3-1 lead over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa Conference League, surely?
The other big ties, though, are still in the balance…
Game to watch – Bayern Munich v PSG
We expected last week’s first leg to be a belter but what these two sides served up in Paris was an all-time classic. So we’d be expecting a bit much for the same again on Wednesday, right?
Nope. There’s every chance Bayern and PSG will serve up a second leg for the ages too.
The wonderful thing about Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique is that neither will have watched back the 5-4 and concluded: let’s tighten up. Certainly not to the extent of changing their structure or approach. And God bless them both for it.
We apologise for looking inward here, when Bayern and PSG should be celebrated in their own right, but it was entirely fair for those of us more immersed in the Premier League to watch in wonderment last week and ponder the difference between that and what Our League more routinely serves up.
Of course, it helps Bayern and PSG that each have a collection of incredible technicians, squads assembled intelligently, with resources plentiful enough that no corner need be cut. But neither club have done anything beyond the means of plenty in the Premier League.
And, sure, it’s easier to routinely adopt a balls-out approach when domestic dominance is almost a given, and minutes can be more liberally spread.
But, Christ, that game last week was on an entirely different level to anything that anyone other Bayern and PSG are serving up. So, sit back and enjoy once more because, more likely than not, it will be epic.
MORE: Was PSG 5-4 Bayern so good because the defending was so bad? Nine goals analysed…
Team to watch – Arsenal
Aesthetically, Arsenal have taken their fair share of stick this season and the comparison between them and PSG and Bayern is even more damning. But should we celebrate Mikel Arteta for posing a genuine threat to two teams who, in his words, served up the ‘best game I have ever witnessed’?
In his next breath, Arteta pointed at one of the reasons – fewer minutes, more freshness – for why Arsenal cannot do what PSG and Bayern do. But you just know he’d relish the chance to p*ss on either parade.
Before that, he has Atletico to deal with. And Arsenal’s strong performance in Madrid gives the Gunners a solid platform to go and reach their first Champions League final in a couple of decades.
Mercifully for Arteta, he was able to give some of his key players a bonus few minutes’ extra rest, with Arsenal making light work of Fulham on Saturday. That was important, but perhaps not a crucial as the buoyancy it ought to provide the Gunners after a long, gruelling stretch that no one seemed to enjoy.
Might a rare, routine win prompt Arsenal to feel a little more sure of themselves? They should take heart from their performance in Madrid, as well as a burning sense of injustice from some suspect officiating.
It won’t be as entertaining as Bayern v PSG, but it should be compelling in a different way, especially if Arsenal take confidence from a week that’s gone as well as they could reasonably have hoped.
Manager to watch – Unai Emery
For all the grief Arsenal and Arteta took by comparison to the PSG 5-4 Bayern, if we take the Gunners boss at his word, at least he enjoyed it. Unai Emery would have watched his old club in horror, at least in part, as momentum swung back and forth with no f***s given for control.
That’s not how Emery or Villa work. They are a team comfortable with slim margins but always precisely measured. Which makes the 0-1 at the City Ground a palatable deficit going back to Villa Park.
Emery is the Lord of the Europa League, a title only be bestowed upon those who know their way around the tempo of a two-legged tie.
Even after Villa went behind, in stark contrast to his tone at Craven Cottage the weekend prior, Emery was calling for calm, controlled possession, knowing full well there was another 90-plus minutes to win the tie at Villa Park.
“We could have won, drawn, or lost,” said Emery after, almost parroting Luis Enrique post-Bayern, but for very different reasons: “Because the match was so tight.”
So Emery might consider the first leg a job well done. But now he must prompt a two-goal victory, which is not a margin his Villa are used to chasing.
And the Villa fans are ready to turn after that disgrace of a performance against Tottenham.
Player to watch – Chris Wood
Nottingham Forest are a draw and a win away from the Champions League. And here comes Chris Wood to get them there…
His 20 goals last season were largely responsible for getting Forest into the Europa League but last week’s semi-final first leg against Aston Villa was only the second time this term the New Zealand striker has been able to play 90 minutes.
A knee injury kept Wood on the sidelines for almost six months and Forest have missed their talisman. But with Premier League safety looking likely, Wood’s return could spark Forest to fire to a European final.
“In the puzzle, he was the last piece for us,” said Vitor Pereira, who replaced a manager in Sean Dyche who never got the chance to field Wood in his attack.
The 34-year-old is an obvious goal threat but he occupies centre-backs like no other forward on Forest’s books and few others in the Premier League. He gives Igor Jesus room to play in the hole and narrows defences to allow Morgan Gibbs-White and Omari Hutchinson space on the flanks.
Wood was the difference in the first leg and Forest stand a much better chance of reaching Istanbul with the veteran in their attack.
