Portuguese clubs are thriving but Spanish sides have reached a historic low. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have taken a welcome step back.
Winners
Portuguese clubs
Benfica and Porto are guaranteed safe passage and Sporting have retained absolute control over their fate with a game remaining.
Only four countries have ever had three or more representatives in a single season’s Champions League knockout stage. It is an achievement which England, Germany, Italy and Spain have taken for granted but Portugal stand on the brink of something special. Those three clubs do not see eye to eye but there should be mutual respect for such a ground-breaking accomplishment.
For a country which has its talent routinely snatched away, the Primeira Liga seems to have only grown stronger. Benfica sold Darwin Nunez, Everton, Gedson Fernandes, Pedro Pereira, Jota, Nuno Santos, Roman Yaremchuk and Carlos Vinicius, while loaning out many more and shedding some big names – Jan Vertonghen and Adel Taarabt – on free transfers. They reinvested less than half of the money they received in sales this summer back into the squad but their business has been phenomenal and the precursor to a 19-game unbeaten start.
Porto lost Fabio Vieira and Vitinha to the vultures but did not even manage to directly replace them in the market and after some early issues, Sergio Conceicao has rediscovered their inimitable grit and fighting spirit; they conceded six and scored only once in their first two games of this group stage, but have rebounded to concede no goals and score nine in the subsequent three.
Sporting might yet miss the party but their draw with Tottenham – while ultimately fortuitous given the stoppage-time VAR shenanigans – showcased their skill yet again. Given their most expensive signing of the summer was Wolves spare part Ruben Vinagre, a player immediately loaned out to Everton, it is no mystery why Ruben Amorim is attracting such admiring glances.
For three clubs from the same country to keep thriving on the continental scene in such adverse circumstances is healthy for the coefficient but also the perception of Portuguese football as a whole. They accept, acknowledge and embrace their combined role towards the bottom of the food chain, but that doesn’t mean they will let it hold them back.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp won’t make the mistake of considering it a turning point in this maze of a season, but Liverpool needed that.
They also seem to need to feel a sort of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…