The Champions League has long been the elite of football, and I mean a higher standard than international football too, which is hardly surprising given most elite clubs qualify regularly and their squads spend the best part of nine months together.
The compelling nature of the competition has worldwide appeal and certainly didn’t need any tweaking, although that is exactly what we will get with next season’s new format.
In fact, one of the best articles I have read this year came in the Guardian whose writer, Niall McVeigh, described UEFA’s drastic restructure of the group stage as likely to make it more confusing, not more competitive.
That debate is for another day, of course, but now there is another interference to contend with.
One which was introduced with good intentions but, simply, is making football a laughing stock on too many occasions to mention.
Not the actual VAR system itself, but the way it is being interpreted.
Yes, it creates Champions League highlights. Yes, it means the SBOTOP Champions League betting odds are on a knife edge more than ever before. But there really is no excuse for the farcical decisions which occurred in Copenhagen tonight.
Just a few days after a wretched weekend for VAR in the Premier League, here was more incompetence on the European stage.
No one can begrudge FC Copenhagen’s famous victory over Manchester United, who didn’t help themselves with farcical defending and a lack of concentration in key moments. Yet a laughable decision to send off Marcus Rashford three minutes before the break turned the match on its head.
The seven-goal thriller left United bottom of their group, but, due to Harry Kane’s late double for Bayern Munich, who have now qualified for the last 16, the Red Devils, Copenhagen, and Galatasaray all remain with a chance of qualifying.
United, though, can feel hard done for being the victims of a decision that was fundamentally wrong and was not the only one of the contest. There was also a ridiculous 13 minutes of first half stoppage time played and two penalties awarded (one for each team) which were bordering on absurd.
You can read the match report here but the way VAR is being applied is making it a spectacle which ruins the game.
In other Champions League 2023 news, Union Berlin may be going out of Europe but gained their first ever point in the competition in a 1-1 draw at Italian champions Napoli.
They got off the mark thanks to a David Fofana equaliser after Napoli had taken the lead through Matteo Politano.
Their Italian counterparts, last year’s finalists, Inter Milan, sealed their place in the knockout stages with a late Lautaro Martinez penalty at RB Salzburg. With Real Sociedad beating Benfica, it means their clash could well determine top place in their group and, potentially, though not guaranteed, a better draw in the last 16.
Another club sealed its place tonight. Real Madrid cruised past the minnows of Sporting Braga at the Bernabeu. The returning Brahim Diaz opened the scoring before 2022 final match winner Vinicius Jr. slotted into the bottom corner. The Brazilian then set up Rodrygo for the third as Carlo Ancelotti’s side reached the knockout stages for the 26th season in a row!
On a night when the application of VAR slumped to a new low, the final word goes to a player who is showing why he is as good as any striker in world football right now.
Kane’s brace against Galatasaray was not just decisive in sealing the Bavarians’ progress but just added to his impressive record. He now has 25 goals in 36 Champions League appearances and has already netted 19 goals in all competitions this term, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.
Bayern are also now unbeaten in 38 Champions League group games, winning their last 17 in a row—both outright competition records.
At home in the group stage, Bayern have won 28 of their last 29 games. They will be among the teams to beat in this season’s competition.
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