Tale of three football matches
Football (soccer kind) is often called chess on grass. This week, we got to see three very different but on their own merit exciting matches that showcase just how incredible sport football is. After the weird and confusing new group stage system of Champions League, we got into first round of playoffs and back to some level of normalcy in the competition.
The three matches that caught my eye this week were Tuesday evening's Atletico Madrid - Club Brugge, Inter Milan - Bodø/Glimt and Juventus - Galatasaray.
The first match between the Spanish giant Atletico Madrid and Belgian underdog Club Brugge started from an exciting 3-3 situation after the first leg. With both teams on equal footing, we saw a fast-paced back and forth match where dangerous attacks followed each other on both ends of the field. I can't remember when was the last time I saw a similar game. A lot of great offense and quite equally on both ends. The game reached half-time in 1-1 tie and it wasn't until the second half that Atleti gained the decisive momentum and eventually advanced to the next round with a 4-1 win with the incredible performance by Norwegian Alexander Sørloth.
Sørloth was not the only Norwegian hero of the evening though. After a heroic ending to the group phase that saw Bodø/Glimt advance to the playoffs after a tie with Dortmund and two victories over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, we saw the Norwegian team defeat Inter Milan in the first leg on their home turf 3-1. Despite the loss, many expected Inter to overtake their opponent in Stadio San Siro.
Everything but! This game started as a 90-minute survival effort: we didn't see the fast back and forth like in Madrid earlier that evening but a match where one team kept the ball and tried to break the defense. And then, Jans Petter Hauge scored the opener for Norwegians in the second half and 14 minutes later his team mate Håkon Evjen increased the total lead to already 5-1. While Inter got one goal near the end, it couldn't break the underdog's defense and Bodø/Glimt advanced to the next round. If the first game was a bullet chess match, this one was a slow and methodological classic chess match.
My favourite comment online after the match was this anonymous comment:
I thought the Olympics ended? Why are Norwegians still collecting medals in Italy.
Chef's kiss!
And to finish off the first round of playoffs, we saw yet another type of game between Juventus and Galatasaray. Galatasaray won the opener a week earlier in Istanbul 5-2, setting up another Italian team with a disadvantage going into the second half in Turin. Unlike Inter, Juventus got into a fantastic chase. With an opening goal in the first half and two more after a red card and playing with one man less, they managed to take the game into an overtime with a huge momentum advantage.
Yet, Juventus couldn't take advantage of their momentum. In the end of the first half, Victor Osimhen scored the first goal of the night for Galatasaray and Barış Alper Yılmaz crowned the night with a 3-2 goal, leading Galatasaray into the next round.
These three matches were all exciting and entertaining and showcased some of the best that football and sports in general can offer. A huge upset by the underdogs on their way to a Cinderella story and a heroic comeback that fell just slightly short in the end. I can't wait to see what the next round of playoffs will bring us.