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2015-11-08T23:46:00.003-08:00

belgium lineup vs bosnia euro 2016 qualifiying

2015-09-03T11:05:00.002-07:00

The positive news for Belgium is that centre-back Vincent Kompany is available for selection after suspension kept him out of the meeting with Wales last time out.

He is expected to come into the side for Jason Denayer, while Wilmots also has a decision to make up front.

It is rare that Benteke and Romelu Lukaku feature in the same starting lineup, particularly with Wilmots known to favour a 4-5-1 formation. Benteke started against Wales and is reportedly likely to keep his place.

As for Bosnia, defender Damir Sadikovic will not feature because of suspension, but Roma duo Miralem Pjanic and Dzeko are both available and should start.

Meanwhile, the two goalkeepers - Belgium's Thibaut Courtois and Bosnia's Asmir Begovic - are club teammates at Chelsea.

Courtois
Vertonghen
Kompany
vermaelen
Alderweireld
Witsel
Nainggolan
Fellaini
De Bruyne
Hazard
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Cristiano Ronaldo's Goal vs. Liverpool Voted Best of Champions League Season

2015-06-10T02:15:00.002-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been knocked out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage, but he has picked up a consolation prize.

The Real Madrid star's goal at Anfield against Liverpool in the group stage, off a beautiful assist from James Rodriguez, has been named as UEFA's Goal of the Tournament, as per AS.

Second on the list was Ivan Rakitic's goal for Barcelona against Juventus in the final, with Lionel Messi's wonderful solo effort against Bayern Munich in third.

Barcelona talent will be too much for Juventus

2015-05-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Barcelona will beat Juventus in the Champions League final because they boast the better talent, according to Hristo Stoichkov.

The newly-crowned Liga champions swept past Bayern Munich in the semi-finals 5-3 on aggregate, while Serie A kings Juve overcame holders Real Madrid to set up the showpiece in Berlin.

Stoichkov, who won the European Cup with Barca in 1992, is in little doubt as to who should be favourites to lift the trophy on June 6.

"Barca will win, they have the most talent," the Bulgaria icon told television programme Al Primer Toque.

Stoichkov also had high praise for head coach Luis Enrique, whom he played alongisde at Camp Nou between 1996 and 1998.

"Has a very clear vision, he is a worthy coach for Barcelona," Stoichkov said. "Even though he was affected by [former sporting director Andoni] Zubizarreta's departure.

"He is a plus when it comes to managing the dressing room. He has character and he triumphed as a player like that."

Barca's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have been in fearsome form during 2015 but Stoichkov was keen to highlight the importance of the whole team during their remarkable recent form.

"He's one of a kind. He is and will be the best," he said of Messi. "But behind Messi, Neymar and Suarez, there are eight other players who make a team that works."

Finally, Stoichkov moved to defend under-fire Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and head coach Carlo Ancelotti, with both tipped for a summer exit.

"Iker Casillas didn't deserve what's happened," he said. "Ancelotti is a good guy and a good coach. He'll stay at Madrid if nothing strange happens."

Xavi Hernandez to leave Barcelona this summer

2015-05-19T09:21:00.005-07:00

Barcelona midfielder Xavi will end his long association with the Catalan giants at the end of the season, according to his father.

Xavi joined the club's famous La Masia youth system at the age of 11 and has developed into a central figure in a glorious era for them.

He won his eighth Primera Division winners' medal at the weekend and will be bidding for his fourth in the Champions League when Barca face Juventus in the final next month.

That match in Berlin on June 6 could be Xavi's last in the Blaugrana colours ahead of a reported move to Qatari club Al Sadd, having lost his regular starting place to Ivan Rakitic this season.

AS has reported that Xavi will announce the Al Sadd move at a news conference on Thursday, and the player's father, Joaquin Hernandez, told Cope Radio: "His ultimate dream would have been to finish his football career here [at Barca], but he is 35 years old and I think there comes a time to say 'enough' to the club.

"He was very fortunate to receive a truly impressive offer that allows him to continue to play football, to prepare as a future coach and rest a little."

Barca's final match of the season against Deportivo La Coruna this Saturday is therefore likely to be Xavi's last at the Camp Nou.

Fellow Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta paid tribute to Xavi on Tuesday, saying: "I am out of compliments. I will not find anyone at the stature of what he represents as a person and a player.

"The figures, the years, the feelings, his way of doing things are beyond any words. He is a unique player, unrepeatable and has been fundamental at the club and with the national team.

"It is a true pleasure and privilege to have had my entire career at his side."

Steven Gerrard greeted by guard of honour for Anfield farewell

2015-05-16T13:45:00.002-07:00

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard receives a guard of honour ahead of his side's Premier League contest against Crystal Palace, his final appearance at Anfield.

The 114-time capped former England international stated in the week that he was"dreading" the occasion.

Gerrard, who made his Liverpool debut as an 18-year-old against Blackburn in 1998, has made over 700 appearances for his boyhood club and is due to move to LA Galaxy at the end of the season.

Painful end for Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s superman for all seasons

2015-05-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

he man who puts the music together, the “Voice of Anfield” George Sephton, had begun the long goodbye with a playlist especially designed for the subject of all those flashing camera bulbs. Heroes, by David Bowie, was an early song. No More Heroes, by the Stranglers, was slightly damning about the players Steven Gerrard will be leaving behind but not entirely unfair considering the way they subsequently played. Breakfast in America, by Supertramp, was playing when Gerrard came out and the other tracks all formed part of the same narrative. Come Back by the Mighty Wah! then Nothing Lasts Forever by Echo & the Bunnymen. The records played and the crowd tried to imagine what it might be like when he is no longer there to return their acclaim.

Those supporters might have been forgiven if they had allowed a little insecurity to creep in. “This player, this man, is unique,” were the words that ushered Gerrard on to the Anfield pitch for the final time as a Liverpool player. The banners fluttered. The mosaic went up and the Kop formed a kaleidoscope of different colours. Gerrard entered through a guard of honour and, briefly, it almost slipped the mind there was a football match to play. Liverpool then sleepwalked through most of what followed.

It certainly wasn’t the end Gerrard must have craved when he came out into the sunlight with his daughters, Lilly-Ella, Lexie and Lourdes, and a man of his competitive instincts will be dismayed that he could not go out with a more fitting performance. The whole day, he said, had felt “very strange”.

Ultimately, though, there is only one reason why Liverpool 1 Crystal Palace 3 on 16 May 2015 will be remembered in these parts and the clue is this: there were photographs of we-all-know-who on 34 separate pages of the programme. The front cover showed him in typical pose – fists clenched, roaring to the skies, celebrating one of his 185 goals for the club – and there is artwork at the Tate gallery on Albert Dock that has taken less time to put together than the tribute the supporters created for his send-off.

Liverpool ended up putting out an appeal for volunteers to lay out all those different pieces of coloured card. One side of the ground spelt it out in red and white: “Captain.” In the Kop, his initials were formed in gold, his shirt number in white. Yet Palace refused to let him leave in the way he would have wished and, from the away end, there were further attempts to sabotage the love-in.

“Have you ever seen Gerrard win the league?” they sang. Someone wondered whether Born Slippy might have been on the playlist and Gerrard certainly did not play in a way that made you think Liverpool should examine his contract with LA Galaxy for previously unnoticed escape clauses. There were none of those surging runs of old. No big tackles, no match-defining moments and only one occasion when he took aim and actually hit the target.

A free-kick late on was curled over and his final attempt at a heroic act was miscued horribly. “What the fucking hell was that?” the Kop inquired en masse and Gerrard, with a thumbs-up, showed he did at least appreciate their humour.

Mostly, he looked what he was: an ageing great, grateful for the adulation but unable to shape matches in the way that once came so naturally. He has had an awful lot to think about over the last few days and when the game was done and he was ushered back out, with one final pat of the “This is Anfield” sign, it was tempting to wonder whether his mind went back at any stage to that first appearance against Blackburn Rovers in 1998 and the different kind of emotions he felt back then, at the age of 18.

His contribution that day was restricted to an 89th-minute substitute’s appearance in place of Vegard Heggem and, by his own admission, the truth is the occasion got to him. Paul Ince played him in on the right. “It was set up perfectly,” Gerrard later recollected. “With 41,000 eyes burning into me, I overhit the cross disastrously. The ball went 20 yards over the defender’s head and almost cleared the Centenary Stand. I could see the doubts on the fans’ faces as they watched me warm up. I could almost hear them say to each other: ‘Who’s this skinny little twat?’”

Since then, there have been another 353 games at Anfield. In total, this was his 709th appearance, including a record number, 472, as captain.

“Liverpool were made for me and I was made for Liverpool,” read one banner, borrowing one of his quotes. Another one was held up by fans from the Middle East. “All the way from Kuwait, just to say thank you.”

What he could not do was revive memories of better times, when he would never have let Liverpool buckle this meekly.

More songs were played at half-time. Nothing Compares 2 U, by Sinead O’Connor, then Please Don’t Go, by KWS. And then the end arrived and the Kop turned up the volume again. “I’ve been dreading this moment,” Gerrard said, taking the microphone. “I’m absolutely devastated I won’t play in front of these supporters again.”

On that first day against Blackburn, the teenage Gerrard was a bag of nerves, desperate to hear the final whistle. Seventeen years on, when it came here it was a sound he had never wanted to hear.

Liverpool vs CrysatlPalace

2015-05-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Liverpool 1-3 Crystal Palace: Steven Gerrard's final game at Anfield ends in humbling defeat

Steven Gerrard’s final game for Liverpool at Anfield ended in defeat as Crystal Palace came from behind to seal a deserved 3-1 victory.

Liverpool took the lead when Adam Lallana punished Martin Kelly’s mistake with a fine finish after 26 minutes, but Palace then assumed control of the game and equalised through the outstanding Jason Puncheon’s free-kick two minutes before the break.

The visitors moved ahead when substitute Wilfried Zaha bundled home in the 60th minute with his first touch just 23 seconds after coming on, and fellow substitute Glenn Murray wrapped up the victory by stroking home the rebound from his own saved penalty in injury time.

Driven on by a visibly motivated Gerrard, Liverpool applied heavy pressure in the last 15 minutes but Palace fully warranted the three points and denied a captain desperate to end on a winning note at home.

Steven Gerrard speaks to David Jones, Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp after his final game at Anfield as captain of Liverpool

The result sees Liverpool remain fifth and mathematically ends their chances of finishing in the top four, while Palace stay 12th but are now just two points off the top half.

Prior to kick-off, Gerrard emerged from the tunnel with his three daughters to a guard of honour from the two teams and rousing rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone from the Liverpool fans.

The first 25 minutes passed without incident as the game took on the feel of a testimonial, but then the hosts were gifted the lead when former player Kelly misplaced a pass to central defensive partner Scott Dann and inadvertently played in Lallana, who finished well high into the top-left corner.

Steven Gerrard bids an emotional farewell to Anfield and the fans he calls 'the best in the world'

Palace had begun to show signs of improvement prior to the goal and they created four excellent chances to equalise in the next eight minutes. After Joe Ledley and Yannick Bolasie had blazed over from the edge of the box, Puncheon had a curling shot well saved by Simon Mignolet and then Chung-Yong Lee scooped over with a back-post volley following a corner.

The visitors were now well on top and they deservedly levelled when Emre Can scythed down the marauding Bolasie and Puncheon subsequently scored a set piece for the second Saturday in succession by sweeping the resulting free-kick across goal and into Mignolet’s bottom left-hand corner.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes his side will miss Steven Gerrard's determination and professionalism once he leaves the club

Liverpool’s back three was struggling to cope with Palace’s lively front trio of Puncheon, Marouane Chamakh and Bolasie, but Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers persisted with his 3-4-3 formation and Alan Pardew's side duly continued to benefit after the break.

Puncheon fired over within 60 seconds of the restart and then the visitors had two penalties turned down in quick succession, both of which appeared to be valid claims,

Liverpool finally woke up just before the hour and went close with efforts from Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson, but Palace continued to push on and deservedly took the lead when Zaha scuffed home Bolasie’s low right-wing cross.

Crystal Palace midfielder Jason Puncheon credited his sides 'belief and character' on their way to a 3-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield

Bolasie almost made it 3-1 with left-foot shot from 15 yards after 66 minutes that cannonded off the crossbar, and although Henderson and Gerrard both saw shots fly wide as the hosts pushed for an equaliser, Murray's late goal did not flatter the impressive away team.

Player ratings

Liverpool: Mignolet (6), Can (6), Skrtel (6), Lovren (4), Ibe (6), Gerrard (6), Henderson (6), Moreno (5), Lallana (6), Coutinho (6), Sterling (5).

Subs: Lucas (5), Lambert (6), Sinclair (6).

Crystal Palace: Hennessey (6), Ward (6), Kelly (5), Dann (7), Souare (6), Puncheon (9), McArthur (7), Ledley (7), Lee (6), Chamakh (7), Bolasie (8).

Subs: Zaha (7), Murray (7), Mutch (6).

Man of the match: Jason Puncheon

Southampton winger Sadio Mane scores fastest ever Premier League hat-trick

2015-05-16T13:37:00.003-07:00

Mane's three minute hat-trick was the fastest ever in the Premier League

Southampton eased past Aston Villa in 6-1 victory

Previous record was held by Robbie Fowler at 4 minutes 23 seconds

It was also the earliest Premier League hat-trick coming after 15 minutes

£12million winger's first hat-trick for Southampton since joining this year

Vlaar gifted Mane and Southampton a second on 13 minutes 46 seconds as his poor back-pass sold Given short to allow Mane to bundle home from close range.

Mane then saved the best for last when he curled Shane Long's pass on the edge of the area past Given to seal his record-breaking hat-trick in fine style on 15 minutes and 18 seconds.

Long then scored twice to extend Southampton's lead to 5-0 before Christian Benteke headed home shortly before half-time to give the shell-shocked Villa fans at least some consolation.

Mane was surprised to hear of his achievement after the match but insisted the result meant more after a run of four league matches without a win.

He told BT Sport: 'It's great. But I think more important for me was the victory and we got that, so I'm happy for the team and the fans.

'We have a chance [to reach Europe] and we'll try to win the next game. It won't be easy but we'll keep going and try to win that next game.

'We have a great team.The last few weeks were not easy but we had to work every day and finally we got the victory.'

Mane's hat-trick, which came after 15 minutes 18 seconds, is also the earliest Premier League hat-trick in history with the previous earliest coming after 22 minutes courtesy of Dwight Yorke in Manchester United's 6-1 demolition of Arsenal in February 2001.

It was the 23-year-old's first hat-trick for the Saints, with the £12m man finding the net after 12 minutes 22 seconds, before adding a second after 13 minutes and 46 seconds, and completing his hat-trick after 15 minutes 18 seconds.

And former record holder Robbie Fowler took to twitter to acknowledge that his record had been beaten, pretending not to know what was happening.

Champions League final tickets: How much do they cost and where can I buy them?

2015-05-14T12:04:00.003-07:00

Unfortunately, if you're only just starting to look, you've left it a little bit late to buy tickets at a reasonable price from the official Uefa website.

Only 20,000 tickets went to season ticket holders and supporters of the two clubs, with a further 6,000 going on general sale. The rest of the tickets, 24,500, inside the 70,500-seat Olympiastadion in Berlin will go to sponsors, corporate partners and Uefa members.

Applications from the website took place between 5 and 23 March, with each applicant allowed a maximum of two tickets.

Those who did apply via the lottery, successful or not, were informed on 10 April, with tickets sent out by post at the end of the month.

If you were successful and have yet to receive your tickets through the post then visit the Uefa websites.

Tickets were priced between €70 (£50) for Category 4 and €390 (£280) for Category 1.

But now that they are no longer available, a search by The Independent revealed the cheapest tickets being sold on ticket exchange websites are now costing more than £1,500 each for single Category 4 seats, with Category 1 tickets going for around £3,000.

If you don't want to go alone, a premium is being put on multiple tickets - we found a pair of Category 1 seats at the half-way line for £12,000 each.

Hospitality packages, originally priced from €2,450 (£1,768) are now fetching between £5,000 and £20,000 each.

The final takes place on Saturday, 6 June

Patrice Evra will shake Luis Suárez’s hand at Champions League final

2015-05-14T12:02:00.002-07:00

Patrice Evra says he will shake Luis Suárez’s hand when the two players meet before the Champions League final in Berlin, but the Frenchman insists that he will make sure the Uruguayan striker “feels” him on the pitch.

The full-back departed the Bernabéu on Wednesday having reached a fifth European Cup final, with three different clubs. Waiting for him in Germany will be the side that twice beat Manchester United in the final and the man who wasbanned for eight games for racially abusing him while playing for Liverpool after the teams met in the Premier League in October 2011. Evra insisted that the battle between them will be restricted to the game itself.

“It doesn’t matter; the most important thing is that I play in the final,” Evra said. “I am proud to be what I am, I am proud about my colour, and I will shake his hand, it is no problem. But I will make sure he will feel me on the pitch.”

Suárez is also set to come up against the Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, whom he bit in a World Cup match last summer while playing for Uruguay against Italy. Suárez was punished with a nine-match suspension from international matches and a four-month ban from all football-related activities.

Juventus knocked out Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate to reach the final and Evra said that the unexpected nature of that result means that while Barcelona are the favourites, Juve will travel to their first final in 12 years believing that they can beat the Catalans. The full-back described it as “David versus Goliath,” but then few expected the Italian club to even get this far.

“Of course, of course [we can beat them]”, Evra said. “They are human beings. People forget, on Juventus’ team a lot of players have already won the Champions League. There are players who have played in finals, like myself. This is my fifth final. You never know. I believe in everything because if I didn’t believe we can win against Barcelona, I would ask the manager not to play me.”

“It’s going to be a tough game, David versus Goliath. But you never know. In football anything can happen. In Monaco we had our most difficult game, and against Madrid everyone thought they would win. That is where you see the great character and personality of the Juventus players.”

Evra added: “Barcelona is still Barcelona. I think against Manchester [United in 2009 and 2011] they were more a team, a very strong team,” he continued. “Now they have three players in the front, Messi, Neymar and Suárez, that can make the difference. You can be strong like in the last five, 10 minutes [against Madrid] but these three players can score any time. You have to be ready.

“We worked really hard. You have to congratulate the boss because tactically he’s really, really good. Game by game we believed we could do something big this year. I don’t know if people believed we’d make the final. But every time I play this competition I’m really confident to go to the final, like I did with Monaco, with Manchester and now with Juve.

“I don’t think I really realised. People said ‘It’s your fifth final’; I don’t realise. The most important is I don’t want to lose another one.”

Juventus, Barcelona can provide Champions League final to savour

2015-05-14T12:01:00.002-07:00

They're Europe's blue bloods -- Italy's most successful team versus the organization that calls itself "more than a club" -- but Champions League finalists Juventus and Barcelona will arrive in Berlin from opposite vantage points.

Juventus were in Serie B nine years ago after the Calciopoli scandal. The likes of Gigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio and Giorgio Chiellini were there in the second flight, and they'll be there at the Champions League final in Berlin on June 6, having lived through the fall and the rebirth. They approach this game with the humility of those who have tasted rock bottom but somehow know they belong at this level.

Barcelona, with Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi, were the defending European champions in 2006-07, the season Juve were playing against the likes of Cittadella and Crotone. This will be Barca's third trip to the Champions League final since then, after wins in 2009 and 2011, and some of their supporters will tell you that but for a cloud of volcanic ash in 2010 and a trip into the twilight zone in 2012, it would be their fifth.

Juventus will be the underdogs, and it's something of an unfamiliar position. After all, they are the establishment club in Serie A. Equally, Barcelona have long affected a countercultural air, partly for sociopolitical reasons of Catalan identity and partly because they are the yang to Real Madrid's yin.

Yet in Berlin, there is no question who will play the role of the insider and who will be trying to gate-crash the elite.

Barca will line up what is possibly the greatest attacking trio -- Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have scored 121 goals between them in all competitions this season -- since Alfredo Di Stefano, Paco Gento and Ferenc Puskas led the Real Madrid forward line.

The bulk of Luis Enrique's team is made up of guys who are used to winning, who are fully drilled in the Barca way, and who are not fazed by the rarified atmosphere at the top of the game's biggest club competition. You sense that if there is a hiccup, it will come from the newcomers: Suarez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ivan Rakitic. However, truth be told, their integration has seemed pretty seamless.

Juventus are a mix of veterans, with two gifted youngsters cast off by their previous clubs: Alvaro Morata and Paul Pogba. They've won plenty of domestic silverware and, as individuals, have European pedigrees as well. Carlos Tevez, Patrice Evra, Andrea Pirlo, Morata and Buffon have all played in Champions League finals in the past. The difference is that they haven't done it together, as a unit. Plus, when they reached Europe's biggest game previously, they were generally surrounded by better players.

Another contrast comes from the fact that while this Barcelona team will likely be kept together and continue to excel as a unit, the same can't be said for Juve. Cast your mind forward three seasons at Barca and, apart from Dani Alves and maybe Javier Mascherano and Iniesta (though you wouldn't bet against them), these guys could all still be around the Camp Nou.

Not so for the bianconeri. Real Madrid have a buy-back option on Morata, while Pogba will be the hottest commodity in the transfer market this summer and hanging on to him won't be straightforward.

At the other end of the age scale, Tevez is 31 and has never hidden his desire to play his final years at home in Argentina. Buffon is 38, Pirlo is 35, Evra is 33 and Stephan Lichtsteiner is 31. Whatever happens, this Juve team will need to be refreshed; many of these players won't get another bite before the window of opportunity closes.

And then there are the myriad subplots associated with this final. Suarez will come face to face with the darkest days of his past in the form of Evra and Giorgio Chiellini. Iniesta squares off with Pirlo in a battle of geniuses who could charge admission simply to watch them stroke a ball.

Then there's the head-to-head of Pogba and Neymar, who were born 11 months apart and are destined to be in contention as the world's greatest once Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exit stage left. Buffon and Pirlo return to the site where they lifted the World Cup in 2006.

Want more? Tevez face off against Messi less than a year after a World Cup final in which they could -- should? -- have led Argentina's forward line together, but which Tevez watched on TV instead because he was left out of Argentina's squad.

It's the Champions League final. The big boys are out. Savour it.

Champions League: Juventus into final after Madrid draw

2015-05-14T11:59:00.001-07:00

The "Old Lady" is back.

Thanks to a 58th-minute goal by ex-Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata, Italian football giant Juventus will play in the Champions League final against Barcelona on June 6 following Wednesday's 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 22-year-old Morata, who was sold to Juve for $23 million last July, also scored in the first leg of the semifinal last week, which Juve won 2-1. Both times the Madrid native chose not to celebrate against his home team.

Ten-time tournament winner Madrid, the defending champion, was bolstered early by a penalty decision given in the 22nd minute when Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini clumsily bumped into James Rodriguez in the penalty box.

"Tonight I think we played at our best," Madrid manager Carlos Ancelloti told Sky Sports. "(We had) good control, good opportunity, but we were unlucky."

The match, played in front of 74,500 at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeau Stadium, saw temperatures soar into the mid-30s Celsius, with players stopping for water breaks at every opportunity.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed a decisive penalty over the weekend which likely cost Real its La Liga title chances, didn't miss this time around. The Portuguese forward drilled the ball high and to the center of the net, straight past a helpless Gianluigi Buffon.

It was Ronaldo's 10th goal in a Champions League semifinal, a new record, and his 10th in this season's competition -- putting him level with rival Lionel Messi.

They also both now share the record of 77 career Champions League goals.

The two are involved in a remarkably prolific goals race for the season, with Ronaldo scoring 55 goals in all competitions to Messi's 53.

For Real Madrid, the buildup to the match was rife with stories. Saturday's 2-2 draw against Valencia gave Barcelona a four-point lead in La Liga with two matches to play, while veteran captain Iker Casillas endured whistles from Madrid fans; there is speculation this could be his last season in white.

Gareth Bale has also been the source of the home crowd's frustration, having been attacked in his car after a training session last month. Bale went scoreless for his seventh match in a row, and recently vented his frustration through his agent by saying he wasn't receiving enough passes.

The Welshman was lively throughout, and had several chances from close range, including a header under pressure from Patrice Evra in the 72nd minute.

"I was unlucky not to grab one," Bale told Sky Sports. "As long as I keep trying one usually goes in."

Bale also addressed his critics: "I think my general play has been good; my finishing is something to work on for next season. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I'll learn from this season a lot and take it into next season."

Two of the most decorated goalkeepers of their generation, Casillas and Buffon were playing in their respective 150th and 87th Champions League appearances.

The 37-year-old Buffon will be gunning for his first Champions League trophy, having represented Juventus in its most recent final appearance, a loss in 2003 against rival AC Milan. He endured a subsequent match-fixing scandal which saw Juventus relegated to the third division of Italian football in 2006 and stripped of two league titles.

French defender Evra will be playing in his fourth Champions League final, having won it with Manchester United -- and then teammate Ronaldo -- in 2008.

Barcelona clinched its place in the Berlin final on Tuesday with a 5-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich.

Buffon and midfielder Andrea Pirlo will have fond memories when returning to Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which was the scene of Italy's 2006 World Cup final victory against France, featuring both players.

Juventus will also be marking the somber 30th anniversary of the club's first European Cup success. The 1986 final against Liverpool was played despite a fatal crush at Brussels' Heysel Stadium which resulted in 39 deaths.

The tragedy resulted in all English clubs being banned from European football for five years, with Liverpool sitting out for six. After much debate, the match was played and Juventus won 1-0 on a penalty kick by Michel Platini.

Champions League: Neymar double helps put Barcelona in final

2015-05-13T04:37:00.004-07:00

There was no repeat of last season's semifinal capitulation, but Bayern Munich's hopes of winning the Champions League on home soil have been ended by another Spanish side.

Barcelona progressed to the final of European football's top club competition for the eighth time Tuesday with a 5-3 aggregate win over the German champion, despite losing 3-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Medhi Benatia gave the Bavarian fans hope of another incredible comeback when he headed home a corner in the seventh minute, but Barcelona's star forward trio combined twice to effectively seal the outcome inside half an hour.

Both times the moves started with Lionel Messi, then Luis Suarez provided killer passes to Neymar as Bayern's defense was caught on the counter-attack.

Robert Lewandowski made up for his first-half frustration with a fine equalizer from the edge of the area with half an hour to play, and Thomas Muller put Bayern ahead on the night with a similar curled effort, but last week's 3-0 deficit from the Nou Camp proved too much to overcome -- though the defeat did end Barca's 18-match unbeaten run.

For Barcelona it was sweet revenge from the 7-0 semifinal thrashing by Bayern two seasons ago, but for the Catalan club's former coach Pep Guardiola it was another last-four lament following last year's 4-0 home crushing at the hands of Real Madrid.

Luis Enrique has now emulated his former teammate Guardiola in leading Barcelona to the Champions League final, which the club last managed four years ago when it beat Manchester United to secure the title for the fourth time.

Like last year, Bayern has suffered a miserable end to the season despite clinching the Bundesliga title with weeks to spare. Guardiola has seen his side lose five successive matches, including defeat in the German Cup semifinals, and he will end this campaign with just one trophy -- having claimed four in his first year in Germany.

Barcelona, on the other hand, is on course to repeat the treble that Guardiola masterminded in 2009, with Enrique's team leading La Liga by four points with two games to play and facing Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final -- though both of those competitions are in limbo due to the national football federation's dispute with the government over new TV rights revenue legislation.

We're one win away from winning each of the three competitions," Enrique told reporters. "This is our mission."

Bayern fans were hoping for a repeat of the quarterfinals, when their team overcame a 3-1 first-leg deficit to thrash Porto 6-1 at home and secure a place in the last four for the fourth successive year.

And Benatia's header raised the roof, as the Morocco defender rose highest to nod home Xabi Alonso's corner.

But Barca quietened the crowd just eight minutes later when Messi's sublime pass caught out the home defense, allowing Suarez to set up Neymar with a simple equalizer.

The Brazilian then joined Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Shakhtar Donetsk's Luiz Adriano on nine goals in the competition -- second only behind Messi's 10.

The Argentine superstar headed on a long ball and Suarez again squared to Neymar on the left, and he beat World Cup winner Manuel Neuer at the near post.

At the other end, Barca's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Steger made several fine saves, including a reflex effort to first deny Robert Lewandowski and then claw the ball to safety off the line.

Lewandowski, playing in a mask to protect his broken jaw and nose, made up for his first-half misses when he danced free on the edge of the penalty area and left Ter Steger with no chance for his sixth of the competition this season.

The Poland striker and Bastian Schweinsteiger then combined to tee up Muller in the 74th minute for the forward's seventh Champions League goal, but Bayern was left to rue that first-leg defeat in the Catalan capital, where Messi's late double and another from Neymar put their team in complete control.

Of 125 first-leg games in the competition won 3-0, only six teams have managed to reverse that deficit.

"We knew they would push from the off and we got the two goals that calmed us down," Barca captain Andres Iniesta told reporters.

"In the second half they pushed forward, but we need to celebrate being in another final. We need to finish what we have started. We can't settle for less."

Defending champion Real Madrid will try to set up a second successive all-Spanish title showdown on Wednesday at home to Juventus, but faces a 2-1 deficit against the Italian league winner.

Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas is set to join Xavi Hernandez as the only player to have made 150 Champions League appearances -- the 35-year-old Barcelona midfielder reached that milestone when he came on as a second-half substitute against Bayern.

The final will be played in Berlin on June 6.

Champions League 2015: Real Madrid vs. Juventus Live Stream, Odds and Prediction

2015-05-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

The Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Juventus is fascinatingly poised after the Italian champions won 2-1 at home in the first leg.

Real produced one of their worst performances of the season in Turin, but they came away still in with a strong chance of reaching the final in Berlin.

Former Real striker Alvaro Morata had put Juventus ahead before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised. However, Ronaldo’s ex-Manchester United team-mate Carlos Tevez scored the winner to give Juve an advantage heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Read on for live streaming details for the second leg, as well as odds and predictions.

Real Madrid vs. Juventus

If Real want to reach the final for the second year in succession, the first thing they’re going to have to do is win the match. They are 4/7 to do just that, per Odds Shark.

According to UEFA’s official website, Real have previously won five of their seven home meetings with Juventus, and what is interesting is that all of those wins have been by a single-goal margin. That will be enough to send Real through to the final, if it finishes 1-0, which is a 13/2 shot, per Oddschecker.

However, a one-goal winning margin opens the door for Juventus to go through on away goals. A 2-1 win for Real Madrid, which is 8/1, perOddschecker, will send the tie to extra time. Real beat Juventus by that scoreline at home in the group phase last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading scorer in the Champions League semi-finals, with nine goals, per Real Madrid’s official website:

With the onus on Real to win and set the tempo, full-back Dani Carvajal has warned against the dangers of being too gung-ho in the early stages.

Carvajal said, per Marca (h/t Luke Augustus of the Mail Online): “We must keep a cool head, be patient and not go crazy. We know that a game of football last 90 minutes. We have to make them pay a high price for suffering without possession.”

Madrid needs at least 1 goal to reach Champions League final

2015-05-13T04:33:00.001-07:00

MADRID (AP) -- With the Spanish league title essentially out of reach, it's time for Real Madrid again to prove itself in the Champions League
The defending champions host Juventus on Wednesday in the second leg of the semifinals, trailing 2-1 from the opening match. A 1-0 win would be enough to advance on away goals.

Madrid will, as usual, look to Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the spark, while Juventus will again follow the lead of Andrea Pirlo.

''Juventus are back competing at the very highest level,'' Pirlo said, ''and a Champions League win would be a dream for the fans, for the club, and for me personally.''

Here are some things to know about Wednesday's match:

---CASCADE OF CRITICISM

Real Madrid followed up its 2-1 loss at Juventus with a 2-2 draw against Valencia, a result that dropped the team four points behind leader Barcelona with two matches to go.

Those two results have led to harsh criticism of some of the team's top players, including goalkeeperIker Casillas, defender Sergio Ramos and forwardGareth Bale.

Ramos, who was a key part of the defense that helped Spain win two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, played in the midfield against Juventus to cover for the injured Luka Modric. The tactic didn't work well as the 29-year-old Spain international gave the ball away twice at crucial moments.

---

WOUNDED WARRIOR

Giorgio Chiellini finished the first leg with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his head, and he's looking forward to more.

The Juventus center back was injured in a clash of heads with Bale. But that didn't stop him from putting in another stellar performance last week.

''We can't wait for Wednesday evening to come,'' Chiellini said. ''This is certainly the most prestigious and important game I'll be playing in since I joined the club. I've been here for 10 years and it's been 12 since we last reached the semifinals.

''We've never been as close as we are now,'' he said. ''The final is still a long way away and we'll need a super performance to get there.''

The last time Juventus was in the semifinals, in 2003, it lost 2-1 at Madrid before winning 3-1 in Turin to progress to the final, where it lost on penalties to AC Milan.

Juventus also knocked Madrid out in the last 16 in 2005 and the two have met twice in the group stage since then.

''I've played at the Bernabeu twice,'' Chiellini said. ''Let's hope it doesn't end like last year, when we lost and I was sent off, but instead like the first game, when we won thanks to (Alessandro) Del Piero's double.''

---

TACTICS

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who said he grew to regard Pirlo ''as a brother'' during their time together at AC Milan, needs to decide how best to handle him on Wednesday.

On the other side, Ronaldo will be left to charge up the left flank and Bale will play on the right, but Ancelotti must decide if the job of sole striker will go to Karim Benzema, who is back in training after an injury, or Javier Hernandez.

Hernandez has played only 296 minutes in the Champions League and scored one goal, compared to six goals in 597 minutes for Benzema. Ronaldo has scored nine goals in 975 minutes.

---

POGBA'S BACK

Paul Pogba is back, but it remains to be seen if he is back to his best.

Pogba played for an hour in the 1-1 draw against Cagliari before being substituted, 52 days after tearing a right thigh muscle at Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

''I'm always ready,'' the France midfielder said. ''I'm happy with my performance and with my level of fitness during the game. It was good. I did lots of running and I didn't feel anything so I'm on the right road.''

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has a full squad to choose from, had the luxury of resting most of his regular players on Saturday because the team won the Italian league the previous week. He is likely to stick with the same team that beat Madrid in Turin, bringing Pogba off the bench in the second half.

''Paul is the same as always, such a young lad with so much strength that he doesn't need to get back into the swing of things regardless of his two-month absence,'' Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli said. ''The Cagliari match was an important test and the boss will decide for Madrid.''

Pogba scored nine goals before his injury, including one in the group stage of the Champions League.

Real Madrid v Juventus preview: Champions League holders' season on the line at the Bernabeu

2015-05-13T04:31:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid entertain Juventus at the Bernabeu in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team are bidding to become the first since AC Milan in 1990 to retain Europe’s premier club competition.

Real's hopes of success this season look to rest on the Champions League after Saturday’s 2-2 La Liga draw at home to Valencia left them four points adrift of Barcelona with two games remaining.

But right-back Dani Carvajal thinks the home team cannot be too gung-ho against the Serie A champions and risk getting caught on the counterattack.

"We need to win, that is fundamental. However, above all, we need to have a cool head, be patient and not go crazy," he told the club's official website.

Former Real striker forward Alvaro Morata will be hoping to make a winning return to the Bernabeu with Juventus

"The game is 90 minutes long and we need to make that seem like a long time for Juventus and make them suffer without the ball."

Juventus have not been this far in the competition since also beating Madrid in the semi-finals 12 years ago, and defender Giorgio Chiellini has described the game as the biggest in his 10 years in Turin.

"We can't wait for Wednesday evening to come. This is the most prestigious and important game I'll be playing in since I joined the club," he said.

Juve midfielder Paul Pogba should return against Real on Wednesday

"I've been here for 10 years and 12 have gone past since we last reached a semi-final.

"We've got better and matured as the competition has worn on and getting past the last 16 and then the quarter-finals gave us added awareness in our own abilities.

"We've never been as close as we are now, but we've still got 90 really tough minutes to get through. The final is still a long way away and we'll need a super performance to get there."

Team news

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes to have Karim Benzema back for their Champions League semi-final against Juventus

The European champions could be close to full strength as midfielder Toni Kroos is expected to shrug off a hip injury he picked up against Valencia, while striker Karim Benzema is also set to feature up front after a month out with a knee problem.

The visitors seem certain to have Paul Pogba back after the French midfielder made a goalscoring return following almost two months out with a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Cagliari.

Opta facts

Juventus have won three of four Champions League knockout ties against Real Madrid. Real’s only win came in the 1998 final.

We look back at the 1998 final as Real ended their 32-year wait for European glory by beating Juventus 1-0 in Amsterdam

Real Madrid have won four of five knockout games v Juventus at the Bernabeu (the last four games and all three in the Champions League era). All four of those Real Madrid wins were in first leg games

There has not been a draw between these clubs at the Bernabeu.

These clubs have won 120 major trophies between them – Real Madrid 70 and Juventus 50.

Real Madrid’s total includes 32 League titles and 14 European trophies.

Juventus’s total includes 31 League titles and 8 European trophies.

These clubs have 12 European Cups (Real Madrid 10, Juventus 2) and 20 European Cup final appearances (Real Madrid 13, Juventus 7) between them.

Betting

Gareth Bale endured another difficult night in a Real Madrid shirt in the first leg

Despite taking a lead into the second leg, Juventus are 6/1 outsiders to lift the Champions League, though the odds on who will win this tie are finely balanced.

With home advantage, an away goal and only a one-goal deficit to overturn, Madrid are the slight favourites to advance to the final at4/5.

Only a 2-1 win for Real Madrid will take the game to extra time – a7/1 chance – making it 25/1 for the tie to be settled by penalties.

Juventus would happily take a goalless draw which is rated an 11/1 chance.

Watch Real Madrid v Juventus live on Sky Sports 1 and 5 HD at 7pm on Wednesday night

Bayern Va Barcelona UCl Semifnal Live Streaming

2015-05-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE

La Liga still set for strike as no agreement reached

2015-05-12T11:15:00.002-07:00

No progress was made at a meeting between the LFP and players' union AFE on Tuesday, so there will be no top-flight football in Spain this weekend

La Liga could yet be thrown into chaos this weekend as the competition is still set for a strike due to a dispute over television rights.

The Spanish government announced a new deal on April 30th that will see the introduction of a fairer system that will no longer allow Real Madrid and Barcelona to negotiate their own contracts for the broadcasting of their league games.

The new agreement was widely praised, but the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) believes that it only addresses some of the issues and called a strike for the last two weekends of the season, starting on May 16th.

That was seconded by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) last week and although talks took place between AFE and Spain's Professional Football League body (LFP) in Madrid on Tuesday, no progress was made and the strike will therefore still go ahead.

"No agreement with La Liga was possible," AFE president Luis Rubiales told reporters afterwards. "But at least we sat at the same table. We have spoken and everyone maintains their position at the moment. We will keep trying, but right now the strike still stands."

With the Champions League final to take place on June 6 and the Copa America set to start just days later, a strike would throw La Liga into chaos because there are no other dates available to play the final two rounds of fixtures.

If the strike does go ahead this weekend, it could also delay the outcome of La Liga, with Barcelona needing only to beat Atletico Madrid at the weekend to win the Primera Division title.

Another meeting is planned for Wednesday morning and RFEF president Angel Maria Villar, who was absent on Tuesday, is expected to be in attendance this time around.

Bale will be better than Ronaldo when Madrid start passing to him

2015-05-12T11:13:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Barnett believes his client's poor run of form at the Bernabeu is down to his team-mates not giving him enough chances to shine

"Pissed off" Gareth Bale can be better than Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of his Real Madrid team-mates, according to his agent, who thinks the forward is being restricted by being ignored in matches.

The Wales international has scored in just two of his past 18 Madrid outings, one of which saw his early strike dwarfed by Ronaldo's five-goal haul in a 9-1 destruction of Granada.

Bale has come in for criticism from all quarters - with pundits and Blancos fans alike venting frustration at his recent performances - but his representative thinks the blame lies at the feet of his Santiago Bernabeu colleagues.

"Real Madrid have to work with Gareth and pass the ball to him more," Jonathan Barnett told The Telegraph. "Give him more of the ball and let him show everybody what he's good at.

"He's going to be the best player at Real Madrid when his team-mates work with him and help him. Hopefully Madrid will come to terms with this.

"Most people would have been broken by this form but he is determined. He could have screamed and shouted or knocked on Carlo Ancelotti's office door but he doesn't want to upset anyone.

"I spoke to him on Thursday and while he’s obviously pissed off things aren't going well, he is desperate to get out there again."

Though the 25-year-old sounds far from content with how life in Spain is treating him right now, Barnett played down rumours linking his client with a return to the Premier League in the upcoming transfer window.

"Every top club in the world would want to sign Bale but he will be at Real Madrid next season," Barnett insisted.

"There's no way he is going anywhere in the summer. When we said he always wanted to play for Madrid, it was 100 per cent true and he's determined to be a success there."

Ter Stegen: Barcelona perfectly placed for treble

2015-05-12T11:09:00.001-07:00

The Catalans are four points clear in La Liga, already through to the final of the Copa del Rey and poised to see off Bayern Munich in the Champions League

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen believes Luis Enrique's men are perfectly placed to win the treble.

The Catalans moved four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga at the weekend, meaning they only need to win one of their two remaining games, against Atletico Madrid or Deportivo, to claim the title.

Barca have already set up a Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, while they will take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

"We are in a good position," Ter Stegen told Uefa's official website. "We are first in the league and in the final of the Copa del Rey.

"It could not be better but the Champions League is always special. Everyone wants the trophy and that is why we are fighting every day."

The German only arrived at Camp Nou from Borussia Monchengladbach last summer and is currently sharing goalkeeping duties with Claudio Bravo, who is Luis Enrique's preferred No.1 in La Liga.

The 23-year-old has had to become accustomed to just starting in cup competitions and he admits it has been a difficult situation to deal with.

"For me, it's a different style of game and that has been a big change, along with a different culture," he said of his move to Barca.

"But the most difficult thing is not playing on a weekly basis. But Bravo is playing very well in the league. He is doing a good job."

champions league semifinals 2015

2015-05-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona

2015-05-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions with four games to spare on April 26, but incredibly, they have not picked up a league point since and were beaten 1-0 at home to Augsburg at the weekend – hardly ideal preparation for this match. A third straight league title is obviously a big plus, but it does appear that it will be disappointment in the Champions League once again.

Bayern are five-time winners of the European Cup, but they suffered a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid at this stage last season and are more than halfway to that deficit after losing by three clear goals at the Camp Nou last time out. The Germans do have a 100% record at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League this season, however, winning all five home games on their route to the final four.

The omens might be against the German side, but they have beaten Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 and Porto 6-1 in Munich this season, with the latter result taking them into the semi-finals. Their overall home record against Spanish opposition is also very strong – winning 15 of their 22 games and losing just twice. That said, one of those defeats (4-0) came against Real Madrid at this stage last season.

Bayern have also recovered from an away first-leg defeat on 10 occasions – including against Porto last time out. However, that match was the first time that they had retrieved a two-goal deficit. They held Barcelona until the 77th minute last week, but a sensational double from Messi and a stoppage-time effort from Neymar has made this almost an impossible task for the German champions.

Few know Barcelona like Bayern boss Pep Guardiola, with the Spaniard winning 14 trophies during a four-year spell with the Catalan outfit. Five more trophies have followed at Bayern, but there are reports that he could be willing to leave for Manchester City this summer. One thing is for certain, Guardiola needs a miracle if Bayern are to make an 11th European Cup final this term.

One foot in the final of the Champions League and one hand on the La Liga title – it has been some week for the Catalan outfit.

Saturday's 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the league has left them four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid inLa Liga, who dropped points at home to Valencia.

That is a very strong lead with just two matches remaining, although a strike in Spain means that Barcelona are still waiting to find out whether they will travel to Atletico Madrid in the league on Sunday.

Luis Enrique's side have not been beaten in any competition since February 21, when they lost 1-0 at home to Malaga. They have also won each of their last eight games in all competitions and quite incredibly, only conceded once in the process. The treble is still very much on, but that will depend on whether their Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao goes ahead later this month.

Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have stolen the headlines in the last few months, with the trio now on 112 goals between them for the season, which is a club record. Their form has helped Barca win 38 of their last 42 games in all competitions, but Enrique's side also have the best defensive record in Spain – an area that has certainly improved this season.

In terms of this particular competition, Barcelona are seeking their eighth final appearance. They have won their last four away games in the Champions League, while they have actually only lost six of their 25 away games in Germany. What's more, Barca have progressed in 37 of the 39 European ties where they won the first leg at home, which is an incredible record.

In fact, the biggest first-leg lead that Barca have seen disappear was in the 1983-84 European Cup, when they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Manchester United having won the first leg 2-0 away from home. The Spanish side are also in their seventh Champions League semi-final in the last eight seasons, but they have not won the competition since the 2010-11 season.

Bayern Vs Barcelona

2015-05-12T10:58:00.006-07:00

The teams!

The team sheets have been handed in, and they look like this:

Bayern Munich: Neuer; Rafinha, Benatia, Boateng, Bernat; Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, Thiago; Müller, Lewandowski.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Daniel Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Neymar.

Referee: England’s own Mark Clattenburg and his assistants, Simon Beck and Jake Collin, and his additional assistants, Anthony Taylor and Andre Marriner.

So, Barcelona coming to town, three-goal deficit to overcome. Bayern, full of bullish pre-match noises, are going to go for this. There’s basically no way the next couple of hours aren’t going to be fascinating, even if it’s hard to see the Bavarians getting back into it. Perhaps some music might inspire them …

The best song ever written about comebacks

From which we can conclude that there haven’t been enough good songs written about comebacks. Anyway, this reached No20 in 1984. The haircuts are fabulous, and it’s a fine, soaring melody, surely ripe for a modern smash-hit cover version, with better production and less early-80s nonsense.

The worst song ever written about comebacks

Surely there’s no debating this one. The fine, tasteful, upstanding residents of the United Kingdom made this a No14 smash in 1961. Charlie Drake didn’t even have the excuse of being Australian – the man was as English as Pearly Queens and Coronation chicken.

Bayern Munich’s season may be listing ominously, with Germany’s champions required to overturn a three-goal deficit to the divine attacking talents of Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final second leg. But if the ship does go down at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, it will do so with the very public assurance thatPep Guardiola intends to remain at the club for another year.

As denials go this was at the more robust end of the scale. “I have said it 200 million times,” Guardiola told the media in Munich and beyond at his pre-match press conference. “I have one more year on my contract here. Next season I will be here and that’s all there is to it.”

But is it? For all Guardiola’s certainty a bizarre phony war of denial and counter-denial is currently sputtering away at one remove, with some reports going so far as to claim Bayern’s manager has signed a preliminary agreement to move to Manchester City this summer, since denied by Pep-friendly sources closer to home.

As ever in football it seems likely some truth lies on both sides, the rest in the grey areas between. Few things are ever entirely certain in an industry that is uniquely vulnerable to what Harold Wilson described as “events”. Certainly it is hard to shake the feeling that another pride-puncturing defeat at the Allianz Arena to go with last season’s steamrollering by Real Madrid and the cuffing aside at the Camp Nou might add up to something more toxic than just another near miss in Europe.

Luis Enrique v Pep Guardiola – who had the best debut season at Barca?

2015-05-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

The former team-mates have had similar first terms at the Camp Nou, but who enjoyed the more impressive start at the Blaugrana?

With one having won an incredible 14 trophies during his four-year reign as coach of Barcelona and the other yet to see out his first season, it seems a tad unfair to compare Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique’s times at Camp Nou.

However, with the former only a handful of games away from replicating the incredible European and domestic treble win that the current Bayern Munich boss achieved in his maiden year at Barca, it seems apt that the pair should be juxtaposed.

Despite being seven years apart, the debut seasons of the coaches at in Catalunya have had some striking similarities.

In the opening weeks of his time in charge of the senior team in 2008-09, Guardiola came under immediate pressure after picking up just four points from the first three underwhelming games.

While Luis Enrique’s start was more promising in terms of points, he was also subject to intense scrutiny, with his side not looking at their best. Also, as the season wore on, his tendency to rotate the team every week began to irritate fans and prevented the side from building any rhythm.

In each case, the early teething problems were quickly worked out, though. Guardiola’s men became a real force in La Liga and in the Champions League. The Blaugrana went top of the Spanish top flight after week nine, never to be knocked off again as they strolled to the title, while they also won the Copa del Rey and went on to beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final in Rome.

This season, the Catalan side have perhaps not been as dominant domestically, having to contend with Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid hitting incredible form with a 22-game winning streak. However, the league looks like it is in Barcelona’s hands with two games left to protect a four-point lead.

The coaches each have their attacks to thank for their remarkable achievements, having had the luxury of unbelievable forward trios at their disposal.

Guardiola benefited from Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, who scored 100 goals that season; his former team-mate has been able to rely on Luis Suarez, Neymar and the magnificent Argentine, who are already on 112 goals.

One of the main differences, though, is that Guardiola had much more of a rebuilding job to do than the current incumbent at Camp Nou.

The fledgling coach had to restructure an out of shape team which needed a lot of changes - no mean feat at a club like Barca, in your first senior management job. Ronaldinho, Deco, Gianluca Zambrotta were all sold on, while Lilian Thuram was advised to leave. Furthermore, the Spaniard made no secret of his desire to see Eto’o head for the exit too, but held on to him for another season.

When Luis Enrique arrived at Camp Nou from Celta, he was taking over a team which had also failed to impress the previous year, failing to win any silverware under Gerardo Martino. However, that was more down to the inadequacies of that predecessor than the team overall. The arrival of quality players such as Claudio Bravo, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez made it much easier for the team to gel. Jeremy Mathieu’s experience helped him settle in too.

Guardiola’s signings were of less obvious class considering the players who left. Dani Alves was the exception in a list of signings that included Martin Caceres, Seydou Keita, Aleksandr Hleb and 21-year-old centre-back Gerard Pique.

As well as making several changes to the make-up of the squad, the current Bayern Munich boss had to whip a lethargic team into shape while also building on the playing style and instilling a new mentality through his demands for perfection. His side’s relentless pressing off the ball and incredible passing game were crucial in the incredible success Barca achieved in his time there.

While Luis Enrique has brought his own ideas to the team, he has largely benefited from the work that Guardiola did before him, adhering to the attacking football philosophy of the club, but going somewhat more direct when required.

Another key difference is that the incredible 08-09 season was Guradiola’s first in management at the top level. His season at Barca B helped prepare him for the job, but the step up was huge and there was a lot of scepticism about his readiness to take over the hot seat from before he was appointed into the opening weeks of the season. If not for the endorsement of Johan Cruyff ringing in the ears of Joan Laporta, things might have been different.

Luis Enrique, though, was openly courted by Barca months before the end of last season after impressing at Celta following stints at Roma and Barcelona B. While the pressure was plentiful for the 45-year-old, he certainly had more leverage with the board and players than the fresh faced inexperienced Guardiola.

And Luis Enrique’s team have already surpassed Guardiola’s points tally in his first season (90 to 87 with two Liga matches left). They have scored more goals (107 to 105), conceded significantly fewer (19 to 35) and could win the same number of trophies in a very impressive debut year in charge for the coach.

However, considering the rebuilding job, his courage and influence to change so much in his first campaign as a top-flight coach, the winning mentality he brought to the team and his ability to prove his doubters wrong, it is Guardiola’s maiden campaign which will go down as the more captivating.