The night before Barcelona traveled to Manchester for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Man City, Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique made a “late-night” trip to a casino with former teammate Cesc Fabregas. This prompted the same reaction it always does when footballers do something that normal humans do: MEDIA OUTRAGE!!!
David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson sat near each other at the Parc des Princes for the first leg of PSG and Chelsea’s Champions League round of 16 tie. Though the two have had several cordial meetings since Beckham left Man United a few months after having a boot kicked in his face by Ferguson, this was the first time they’ve taken in a match together in this manner.
The following is an excerpt of their conversation while watching the game.
When parking the bus goes wrong. Chelsea suffer a broken window driving into Parc des Princes… pic.twitter.com/pxk7XSNqrK
— AS English (@English_AS) February 17, 2015
PSG’s Twitter account invoked the Chelsea parking the bus meme last weekend (jinxing themselves in the process) and before the two sides began their Champions League round of 16 showdown, Chelsea fueled a new round of jokes by literally having trouble parking their bus.
David Luiz is a man who likes to spread and express joy, but, sadly, he has chosen a profession where one man’s joy is too often interpreted as a personal insult to others. This is a result of the #RESPECT syndrome and football is currently being choked by its bitter self-importance.
Players are now expected to react as if they just watched the euthanization of their childhood pet when they score against their former club in order to satisfy the delicate sensibilities of far too many supporters and members of the press. So when David Luiz was asked what he would do if he scores against his old club when PSG face Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16, there was only one answer he was allowed to give.
PSG have been able to buy a lot of things, but successful banter apparently isn’t one of them. Up 2-0 in the 87th minute of their Ligue 1 match against Caen, the club’s official English language Twitter account decided to prod upcoming Champions League opponents Chelsea with a reference to parking the bus.
Normally the one-off cup final match balls are boring variations of the design that’s been used throughout the tournament, but for this year’s Champions League final in Berlin, Adidas decided to add ferocious multicolored bears.
The time has come. The prayers to myself to finally make this the season that I, Zlatan, win the Champions League have been completed and the Champions League round of 16 ties are set. Why have I not answered my own prayers sooner? Because Zlatan works in mysterious ways. Now it’s time for the Zlanalysis.
Like a tornado of bitterness and resentment trying to disguise itself as a friendly typhoon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Barcelona on Wednesday with PSG for the Champions League match that would decide the winner of Group F. Though he only spent one season with Barca, the events of that period were the basis for the most vitriolic passages of his autobiography and wounds that seem to still haven’t totally healed four years later. And so, all eyes were on Zlatan during the match. Just as he likes it.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique arrived at the Camp Nou for his side’s Champions League match against PSG dressed in a monochromatic wool sweater/headpiece combination that looked ridiculous.
FC Basel posted this cartoon on Instagram last night, celebrating beating #CFC, #THFC and #LFC in Europe recently. pic.twitter.com/SZhaNEYNzG
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) December 10, 2014
Swiss champions Basel held on for a 1-1 draw with 10-man Liverpool on Tuesday, eliminating the Reds from the Champions League after beating them earlier in the group stage. Following the match, a cartoon was posted to the club’s official Instagram account depicting a battered Liverpool player being carried away by a Chelsea player (whom Basel beat twice in last season’s Champions League group stage) and a Spurs player (whom Basel eliminated from the Europa League quarterfinals on penalties in 2012/13…before losing to eventual champions Chelsea in the semifinals). Read more