Champions League Awards: Kvaradona kills Bayern dream
Champions League Awards: Kvaradona kills Bayern dream Our Champions League Awards honour the best – and – worst of the semi-final second legs, as Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain progressed to the final. Moment of the Week The rematch between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain did not quite have the chaos of their nine-goal epic last week, but the Germans will no doubt feel they fell on the wrong side of the drama. Make no mistake, PSG deserved to progress at the Allianz Arena, but how the game could have been different if decisions had gone Bayern’s way.
First, Nuno Mendes avoided a second booking for a clear handball, with the play brought back to penalise Bayern for a handball of their own in the build-up. The evidence of whether the ball did strike Konrad Laimer was inconclusive. Then, with the tie still in the balance, an even more dramatic moment.
The referee waved away Bayern protests after Vitinha blasted the ball against teammate Joao Neves. The ball hit Neves, arm outstretched, on the forearm in the penalty box. Despite fierce protests from Bayern, the officials waved play on, the correct decision according to the current interpretation of the law, apparently.
If a handball occurs after the ball is kicked by one of the player’s team-mates then there is an exemption, another mind-boggling complication to a rule that has become increasingly less and less black and white. Given the harsh decision to penalise Alphonso Davies for handball in last week’s game and award PSG a penalty, the failure to punish Neves infuriated the Allianz Arena. Player of the Week Just how good to watch is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia?
Rarely do we see a winger built like a super-middleweight boxer, but Kvaratskhelia is just that. Tall, powerful, but with explosive acceleration and rapid changes of direction. He was a menace to the Bayern defence all evening, setting up the early opener to become the first player in history to score or assist in seven straight UCL knockout games.