Hello Rank Squad!
It's time for the Champions League Takeaway - an immediate review of everything that went down in the Champions League this week as we had the second legs of the quarter finals and locked in our final four. Every matchweek, we're going to be ranking the three key takeaways from each of the games played that week, and looking at the games through that Ranks FC lens, to give you a sense of everything that we learned from each game.
We start with City's 1-1 draw in Munich which saw them progress comfortably after last week's massacre in Manchester. We discuss the mentality change for City ahead of another semi-final, the impressive performance of Kingsley Coman, and Bayern's gamble not paying off. Then, we're off to Milan to discuss what looked like a 3-3 classic between Inter and Benfica, but was actually less so. That said, Inter will be over the moon - we talk the experience of Inter's lineup, the positives that Benfica can take out of this and the fanbase's joy at Inter's homegrown Italian core.
Then in Part 2, we head back to London to discuss Real Madrid's thoroughly professional job dispatching an out-of-sorts Chelsea. There's some hope for Blues fans, in Lampard's tactics actually suiting this game quite well, but it's a Rodrygo love-in by the end as one of Real's Brazilian starboys takes another opportunity to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, in a competition he loves so much. We finish with the all-Italian affair between Milan and Napoli, which the Rossoneri edged; talking through Milan's Rafael Leão's one-man counter-attack, Napoli not needing to be too downhearted, and a defensive display which was worthy of some of Milan's legendary back lines.
It's Ranks!
If you want to take advantage of our free trial going on on Patreon right now, why not join us at patreon.com/ranksfc?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Manchester United End Klopp's Quadruple Dream (Postbox Excerpt)
Champions League Takeaway: Penalty Delight for Arsenal & Atléti, Rolls Reus Returns & Barça's Youth Injection
Ranking the Greatest European Goalscorers Ever
Champions League Takeaway: Madrid Edge Leipzig, City's Training Day, Bayern Breathe Again & Bossman Mbappé
Ranking Players Who Could Quit the Premier League
Phenomenal Foden Keeps Manchester Blue (Postbox Excerpt)
Ranking the World's Best Centre Midfielders
Liverpool Triumph in the Carabao Cup Final (Postbox Excerpt)
Champions League Takeaway: Arsenal Burned at the Dragão, Napoli Hold Barça, Penalty Drama for Dortmund & Inter Finally Break Atleti
Ranking the Best Value Transfers from Summer 2023
The MLS Season Preview Show
Champions League Takeaway: Bayern's Season on the Brink, PSG's Strength in Depth, Another Big Brahim Moment & City Edging Towards Perfection
Ranking In-Demand Managers & Potential Destinations
Ranking the Champions League Last 16
Ranking our Favourite Transfers of the January Window
Ranking the Next £100m Transfer
Ranking the Big Names and Likely Deals of Deadline Week
Ranking Football Careers at Risk
Ranking the Hottest Rumours of the Window #1: Mayoral, Gallagher, Ferguson, Olise &
Ranking Kylian Mbappé's Potential Landing Spots
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The 50/50 Podcast
Football Weekly
ESPN FC
Men In Blazers
Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ...