Welcome back to the 90-Minute Breakdown!
Games
Last week’s UCL quarter-final first-legs were full of surprises. Arsenal stunned Real Madrid 3–0 at home, with two incredible free-kick goals from Declan Rice (more on him later). Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 3–1 in Paris, while Inter Milan edged Bayern Munich with an 88th-minute winner from Frattesi. Barcelona smashed Dortmund 4–0, and even with the second leg at Signal Iduna Park, a comeback was unlikely. Even though Dortmund triumphed 3–1 on Wednesday, Barcelona still progressed.
In the Europa League, Lyon and Manchester United drew 2–2, with both Lyon goals coming from errors by keeper Onana.
La Liga remains the tightest title race in Europe. Barça leads with 70 points, Madrid trails with 66 and Atlético with 63. With seven games to go, no one can afford to slip.
In the Premier League, Man City pulled off a comeback from two goals down to win 5–2 against Crystal Palace. Kevin De Bruyne scored a beauty and Ederson bagged another assist — the most by any goalkeeper this season. Liverpool stayed on top after beating West Ham 2–1 and Newcastle crushed United 4–1 to move into the top four.
Players
As promised, let’s talk about Declan Rice. The Englishman scored twice in Arsenal’s UCL quarter final against Real Madrid. Both were gorgeous, curling free kicks that got past Thibaut Courtois, one of the world’s best (and tallest) goalkeepers, and he scored them within 12 minutes of each other. Just insane.
Another major headline is Mohamed Salah, who has extended his contract with Liverpool after months of speculation about a possible summer move. Salah remains a key figure in Arne Slot’s starting eleven and has scored 27 Premier League goals this season. Virgil van Dijk is also reportedly close to a contract extension.
Raphinha continues to shine for Barcelona. He just equaled Messi’s record for the most goals and assists in a single UCL season with 19. With at least one more match secured, and likely more to come, he’s on track to break some serious records.
Lastly, Kylian Mbappé received the first red card of his career with Madrid in their match against Alavés and faces a one to three game suspension.
Opinion
One of the most disappointing performances last week came from Real Madrid against Arsenal. While they had a few chances, they looked nothing like the European giants they’re known to be. Arsenal had eight shots on target to Madrid’s three, made 52 attacking plays to Madrid’s 31, and ran about twelve more kilometers overall. In fact, Madrid covered the least ground out of all UCL quarter finalists with just 101 km, compared to Inter’s 125 km.
Madrid just looked disjointed. The team lacked structure and passion. With so many stars like Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham and Mbappé leading the attack, it sometimes feels like the squad is more about individual brilliance than collective drive.
Something I’ve noticed is how when Barça players celebrate, they often kiss the club badge. When Madrid players celebrate, they tend to kiss the Champions League patch with the number 15 on it, symbolizing their UCL titles. In my opinion, it says something about where their pride lies.
Real Madrid is still a legendary club, but right now, they seem to be missing that emotional connection to the institution.
