Beautiful Italy
Three teams left in the Champions League, two in the Europa League and one in the Conference League – the march through of the Italian teams in the European Cup is downright frightening. For years, Serie A lagged behind the competition from the other top divisions, now the great resurgence of Calcio. “Only we have three teams in the Champions League”cheers the ‘Corriere dello Sport’ and sees what was once poor “Italy at the top of Europe”. The Italians are correspondingly successful in the UEFA five-year ranking.
Arsenal out
Only the all-outstanding Premier League is ahead of Serie A in the season ranking. But the English are not immune to disappointment either. The departure of Premier League leaders FC Arsenal against Sporting Lisbon was not planned. Bad night for the Gunners, the ‘Mirror’ titled the penalty shoot-out (4:6) at the Emirates Stadium. The mood in Portugal is completely different: „Monumental“ was Sporting’s progress for the newspaper ‘A Bola’, which “unforgettable goal” Pedro Gonçalves celebrates from 46 meters to make it 1-1.
Pedris gutes Timing
After the European Cup is before the Clásico. On Sunday (9 p.m.) the groundbreaking La Liga summit will take place, which could bring a decision in the Spanish championship fight. If FC Barcelona wins at Camp Nou, the Catalans will pull away by a proud twelve points. If Real wins, the royals come back up to six points and can still hope to defend their title. However, this news increases Barça’s chances: „Classic with Pedri“, according to the headline of ‘Sport’. The gifted midfielder is returning from a muscle injury.
