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 our first round of quarter final matches. 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 Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Chelsea at the Bernabeu, where Frank Lampard's Blues lacked real dynamism, and the spark and trickery of Vini and Valverde made them pay. We try to find some positives for Chelsea too, but ultimately this one felt like a bridge too far for a team lost with where they are right now.
Then in Part 2, we head for Milan, where Napoli were once again quashed as the Rossoneri came out on top in an all-Italian affair. We talk about the power of San Siro, Napoli's nightmare evening in the North, and Milan's refusal to kill the game off - will that cost them in Naples? Three B's headline Benfica 0-2 Inter, where Bastoni's long passing is given its due credit, Benfica's wilting under the lights is discussed in terms of fatigue and experience, and Barella's return to Europe's top tier of midfielders is heralded - he remains Inter's big-game Mr. Reliable. Finally we turn our attention to Manchester, to the most impressive performance of all 8, where City's intensity made Bayern melt in the Manchester malaise, the Barnsley Beckenbauer John Stones ascended to the throne of his namesake against his old club, and Dayot Upamecano had an evening we're sure he'd love to forget.
It's Ranks!
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Grading the Big-Money Moves Made This Summer So Far
Ranking The Biggest Rebuilds In Football This Summer
Ranking the MVP of Each League Champion
Ranking the Champions League Final
Ranking the Biggest Disappointments of the Season
Ranking Big Transfers to Be Wary Of This Summer
Ranking This Season's Most Exciting Endings
Ranking the Biggest Transfers This Summer
Ranking the Last Four in the Champions League, Europa League & Conference League
Ranking the Most Exciting Teams for Next Season
Ranking Interesting Under-the-Radar Players This Season
Ranking Why World Cup Qualification for Canada Means So Much
Ranking Roma and the Derby della Capitale
Ranking the Ballon d'Or Contenders for 2021/22
Ranking the Best Defensive Midfielders in the Game
Ranking Leeds United Under Marcelo Bielsa: The Good, the Bad & the Future
Ranking Europe's Best Title Races
Ranking Porto vs. Sporting & The Primeira Title Race
Ranking Every Champions League Team Before the Last 16
Ranking the Best Transfers of the January Window
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