Fifty years ago, in the now-defunct competition the European Cup-Winners Cup, a British team went to Lisbon to play Portugal’s Sporting. The tie became forever remembered because of confusion over the away-goals rule.
Glasgow Rangers were the visitors and finished a see-saw, 230 minutes - it went to extra-time - against Sporting with the aggregate score at 6-6. They were puzzled when, having lost the game in Portugal 4-3, the referee told them the contest needed to be settled by a penalty shoot-out.
The spot-kicks went ahead, Sporting winning them, before it was established the referee had made an embarrassing error. Rangers’ three away goals were in fact enough, under rules that had been in operation in Europe’s club football tournaments for a few years, to have taken them through. The result was reversed, the spot-kicks annulled, and the Scottish club went on to win the competition.
The away-goals rule, where, in the event of a draw over a two-legged tie, the side who has scored more away from home progresses, had been used in Uefa competitions from the mid-1960s. But, as of this week, following an overdue reform, it no longer applies in the knockout rounds of the major club competitions organised by European football’s governing body.
Part of the reason the rule has been abandoned is that the sport at elite level has altered. So-called ‘home advantage’ has reduced. Travel is easier, so away teams no longer suffer the same levels of fatigue as they used to. The standard of pitches has improved uniformly, so the same skill-sets are valid home or away. Referees, now backed up by VAR, are less open to the suspicion that they might be influenced by a partisan home crowd.
PSG 1 Real Madrid 0 - plater ratings
-
PSG RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7. The Italian stopper was a spectator for the majority of the match as PSG had total control. Dealt adequately with the little action he saw. Reuters -
Achraf Hakimi – 9. The former Real Madrid player was always a threat going forward, using his pace and athleticism. Very good use of the ball and defended well. AP Photo -
Marquinhos – 7. The Brazilian looked comfortable all night. Was calm and composed in possession and defended well when called upon. AP -
Presnel Kimpembe – 7. Wasn’t asked to defend much, but did his job and contributed with the ball, feeding his midfielders and looking to play through the lines. EPA -
Nuno Mendes – 6. The Portuguese left-back was an attacking threat, supporting. Got played around a couple of times, but kept Marco Asensio in check. EPA -
Danilo Pereira - 7. Solid performance in the middle of the park. Good, simple use of the ball and helped to control the game by breaking down Madrid’s attacks. EPA -
Leandro Paredes – 9. Like a metronome in the PSG midfield, the Argentina international controlled the tempo of the game, and was always in the right place to break up play and set up an attack. EPA -
Marco Verratti – 8. The Italian international was his usual tenacious self and alongside Paredes and Danilo controlled the game for PSG in the first half. Too much energy for his Madrid counterparts. EPA -
Angel Di Maria – 5. Wasteful when it mattered, poor decision making in and around the Madrid box. The Argentine missed the best chance of the first half when he failed to get over the ball, firing over from Mbappe’s cross. Replaced by Neymar after 72 minutes. AP -
Lionel Messi – 7. The seven-time Ballon D'or winner was always a threat, finding space in between the lines. Seemed to come alive after his penalty miss and played some lovely through balls for Neymar and Mbappe. Reuters -
Kylian Mbappe – 8. Used his pace well, getting in behind early on a couple of occasions and was always willing to test Carvajal. Got some success, but needed to find a better end product. His perseverance was rewarded, however when he scored PSG’s deserved winner deep into injury time. Reuters -
the after latching onto a lovely through ball from Messi. HIs effort just drifted wide of the far post. Nice back heel to Mbappe in the lead up to the goal. Getty Images -
SUB: Idrissa Gueye (Danilo, 87’) N/A – The Africa Cup of nations winner was introduced towards the end. Did little wrong in his short cameo. EPA -
REAL MADRID RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois – 8. The Belgian international had a busy evening, making multiple saves from Mbappe and dealing with sustained PSG pressure. Excellent penalty save to deny Messi. Couldn’t do anything about the goal. AFP -
Dani Carvajal – 5. Toughest job of the night for the Spain international, playing directly against Mbappe. Some good recovery tackles, but got squared up too many times, even with help from Modric and Asensio. EPA -
David Alaba – 8. The former Bayern centre-back had to be alive to the danger of Messi, but he defended well and won his fair share of individual battles. His timing of tackles around the penalty box was excellent. Getty Images -
Eder Militao – 7. The Brazilian defended well under pressure and showed decent use of the ball. AP -
Ferland Mendy – 6. Good battle with Hakimi, but couldn’t get himself forward to be as potent an attacking threat as he would’ve liked. EPA -
Toni Kroos – 6. Good strike from 30 yards that just dipped over the bar midway through the second half, but a quiet night for the German playmaker as Madrid’s midfield were dominated. Getty Images -
Luka Modric – 6. Uncharacteristically wasteful in possession at times and did most of his good work in his own half helping out defensively. EPA -
Casemiro – 8. Picked up a booking in the first half which will keep him out of the second leg but gave everything he had for the rest of the match. Madrid’s best performer. AP -
Vinicius Jr – 5. Ineffective going forward. Got into some good positions on rare Madrid attacks but made poor decisions. AP -
Karim Benzema – 6. Didn’t get much change from PSG’s defence. Also didn’t get much service, but Madrid would’ve been looking for him to hold the ball up more and link play better than he did. AP -
Marco Asensio – 6. Lots of effort defensively, but didn’t affect the game in the attacking third. No real penetration and a lack of a final pass was the story of Madrid’s night. EPA -
SUB: Lucas Vazquez (Carvajal, 72’) N/A – Should’ve done better for the goal, didn’t get his body in the right position to defend. EPA -
SUB: Rodrygo (Asensio, 72’) N/A – Had no real impact on the game. AP -
SUB: Eden Hazard (Vinicius, 72’) – Came on for Vinicius with eight minutes left, but couldn’t influence the proceedings. EPA -
SUB: Fede Valverde (Modric, 87’) – Replaced Modric late on, and you could argue his presence was missed from the start. AP -
SUB: Gareth Bale (Benzema, 97’) – Got three minutes at the end, and again did well in his short cameo as he continues to earn more game time. EPA
So it was that, with away goals no more valuable than home ones for the first time in more than half a century of European Cup knockouts, Manchester City went to Lisbon 50 years after Rangers had been there. They put on an exhibition of how home advantage counts for very little. Sporting 0, City 5 set a record for efficiency on the road: no away team in the Champions League had previously led by four goals or more at half-time.
It felt like a fitting endorsement of the end of the outdated away-goals rule, not least because, in Lisbon, the crowd had been impressively loud and loyal to the home team even as Sporting were being torn apart by City.
There was rousing noise at the San Siro on Wednesday evening, too. But, by the end of the night, the well-supported home team, Internazionale, had been beaten 2-0 by Liverpool.
Having struck off their away-goals rule, Uefa are now confronted with the possibility that, rather than home advantage, a new bias is shaping their premium club competition: English advantage. This week, the holders of Portugal’s league title and Italy’s reigning champions were out-thought by the strongest two clubs in England. By the end of next week, the champions of France, Lille, and the champions of Spain, Atletico Madrid, may well have buckled under the Premier League bulldozer.
Manchester United will on Wednesday host an erratic Atletico. A day earlier, European Cup-holders Chelsea meet a Lille who are a long way shy of the pacesetting Ligue 1 season they enjoyed in 2021-21.
Inter’s head coach, Simone Inzaghi, described Liverpool as “one of the best teams in Europe.” He speaks for a consensus. City and Liverpool, first and second in the Premier League, are widely tipped to go all the way to the final unless they are drawn to meet one another before then.
They may also be encouraged by the setback encountered by the club deemed most likely to interrupt an English grand slam: Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga title-holders trailed 1-0 for 79 minutes of their first leg at RB Salzburg, who are outsiders but skilled masters at the kind of quick counter-attack that the away-goals rule used to encourage.
“We made too many mistakes,” admitted Julian Nagelsmann, the head coach of a Bayern who at the weekend lost 4-2 to unheralded Bochum. A late equaliser from Kingsley Coman at Salzburg saved them from a second upset in the space of four days, but they look more vulnerable than either City or Liverpool.
Paris Saint-Germain, 1-0 winners against Real Madrid in their last-16 first leg, might yet prove the biggest obstacle in the way of the English juggernaut. But for City and Liverpool, the European fixture they should fear most is a tie that pits them against one another.
