Nunez passes Premier League audition

Star man: Darwin Nunez
Image: Star man: Darwin Nunez

The performance of Darwin Nunez will leave the club's hierarchy rubbing their hands together as their star man must have added millions to his asking price.

There have been reports that Manchester United,Newcastle andArsenal have been linked with $60m moves.

The Uruguayan has scored 32 goals in 37 appearances this season.

If this was a chance for the player to see if he could cut it against the best in the world, then he passed it with flying colors, even though he had little to do.

This is a forward who is ready to play in English football. He can run, hold the ball, and finish. Potential suitors will be impressed by his ability to play through the middle or out wide. He could have walked away with the match ball in this strange match where the Reds were in complete control but were unable to hold on to it as they conceded three goals and two more were ruled out for being out of line.

The records will say that he only scored once, but he had the ball in the net three times. It was unfortunate that he was slightly ahead of the play on both occasions, which caused the assistant referee to raise his flag. Alisson was forced into a very smart low save on a spectacular drive from the edge of the area.

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He is a player. Lewis Jones.

Atletico's unsavoury approach

Tempers boiled over late on at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium
Image: Tempers boiled over late on at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium

The tactical approach of Atleti Madrid is legitimate. They were one Angel Correa shot away from taking the game into extra-time in front of their own fans after three hours of football against the most formidable team in Europe.

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That is not to say that they behaved badly in this tie. The antics that saw this quarter-final tie with Manchester City end in such acrimony should not be lumped together with their obdurate tactics.

There is always a place for tactical variation. This two-legged tie was an absorbing watch. Phil Foden had blood on his head from the Felipe foul. The over-the-top aggression that Savic seems to enjoy? The game doesn't need that.

It's too easy to say that it's part of what makes the team good. It detracted and distracted from what the players were trying to do when they were chasing a late goal. Adam Bate is a man.

Man City's win comes at a cost

The team stood up to the challenge. The ball could not be kept in the second half. He will not like that. Blocks were there. There were people in the cauldron. Tough tests are part of the game. The city did that.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Pep Guardiola speaking to the press prior to their clash against Sporting Lisbon at Manchester City Football Academy on February 14, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Man City manager Pep Guardiola believes advancing to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League is an incredible achievement

The problem for Guardiola is that they don't have the luxury of focusing on the Real Madrid game. Domestic matters are also included.

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The team is 12 points clear at the top of La Liga and out of the Copa del Rey. They might need to win every game in the league to win the title, even if they don't play at Wembley on Saturday.

Injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker in Madrid - after both played the full game against Liverpool on Sunday - underline how difficult it will be to continue to contest three different competitions let alone win them. This victory may have come at a cost.

Adam Bate is a man.

Terrific Tuchel, ginormous James

Star man: Reece James
Image: Reece James starred as Chelsea came close to creating a classic Champions League comeback

We don't do managerial ratings here at Sky Sports - just ones for players - but if we did, Thomas Tuchel would have been close to a 10/10.

Real Madrid was outplayed for large parts and outthought for most of the time. They are in their own back yard. The plan was to play with bravery to hurt the La Liga leaders in the search for goals but also to keep Vinicius Jr and Benzema quiet at the other end after the pair had completely destroyed them in the first half. It worked well.

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Thomas Tuchel says he was disappointed in seeing the referee smiling and laughing with Carlo Ancelotti after the game and feels it was bad timing.

Great players are needed to carry out such instructions.

Tuchel has a lot of them.

His side played with amazing discipline but also mixed that in with a throbbing energy all across the pitch that didn't allow Real Madrid's key players time to lift their heads and work their magic. Maybe they allowed it twice.

It was unfortunate that Luca Modric, Vinicius Jr and Benzema were gifted enough to take those half chances. Every time you watch it, you will be in football heaven.

The tactically astute performance of Reece James typified the way he coped with Vinicius Jr.

There were other heroes. Mason Mount ran until his legs couldn't run anymore and scored a fantastic goal, Ruben Loftus-Cheek adapted his game very nicely to play in a diamond midfield and supported James when he needed to, whilst Marcus Alonso provided his usual quality but backed it up with an error-free performance.

James stole the show.

Reece
Image: Reece James was Chelsea's star man against Real Madrid

His defensive prowess to smother the Brazilian despite being booked after just 10 minutes was bordering on ridiculous at times. He made eight tackles on the night. The amount of defending the academy graduate was shown. Even when Benzema ventured into the area of the pitch, he was there to stop him, flicking the ball away from him with his toe to deny the Frenchman a clean strike at goal from eight yards out.

After the game, Benzema asked for James' shirt, which said it all.

Lewis Jones.

Emery's magic touch in Europe

Samuel Chukwueze scored the decisive goal against Bayern Munich
Image: Samuel Chukwueze scored the decisive goal against Bayern Munich

Unai Emery has an amazing record in continental competition and his latest giant-killing serves as a reminder of that.

The club has only been in the semi-finals of the European competition once before, and that was under Emery's guidance.

The 50-year-old deserves a lot of credit for the success of the club this season, as he has four previous managerial victories.

It was even better that the team that was nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga was eliminated from the competition.

In the cauldron of the Allianz Arena, where they had hammered 20 goals in their previous six games, it was even more impressive that Emery outmanoeuvred Nagelsmann in the first leg.

They defended perfectly, shutting off the spaces that were used to operate in and forcing them to resort to a succession of hopeful crosses from wide areas. They did so with confidence and conviction when they had the chance.

The word "masterclass" is bandied around too much in modern football, but Emery's performance over the two legs against one of Europe's strongest sides must go down as one.

In Spain and Germany, they did the same thing, but they did it for a period of around 20 minutes after half-time.

When they have a European specialist like Emery guiding the way, they will not be afraid of Villarreal. Nick Wright.

Lewandowski's last European act for Bayern?

Robert Lewandowski shows his dejection after the Villarreal game
Image: Robert Lewandowski shows his dejection after the Villarreal game

Robert Lewandowski showed once again why he is one of the world's deadliest strikers when he showed once again why he is one of the world's deadliest strikers.

The Pole had struggled to exert himself in the first half against the two centre-backs, but when his chance arrived after the break, he seized it in typically clinical style.

His goal, a low shot taken early which bounced into the net off the post, was his 13th in the competition this season, a remarkable total which may yet earn him the golden boot despite the fact that he did not play in the quarter-finals.

It was his 30th knockout stage of the competition, making him only the third player to reach that milestone behind Lionel Messi and CR7

The question now is whether he will continue his quest for European glory at another club next season. Barcelona are very interested in signing him and are likely to be his only other option this summer.

Bayern's early elimination from the competition he covets most won't help them keep hold of him as he ponders his next step.

Nick Wright.