Watching 18 Champions League games at once was entertaining but overstuffed
A Guardian columnist described attempting to watch 18 Champions League matches at the same time on the final group-stage match day as entertaining but overwhelming, saying the information overload from TV, laptop and phone made it hard to judge whether it was a brilliant night of football.
The piece says the format pushed jeopardy right to the end and that simultaneous fixtures make it likely something interesting will happen, with the as-it-stands table changing constantly — Chelsea were described as moving from eighth to 12th and back to sixth as goals went in. The evening produced a dramatic goalkeeper goal from Anatoliy Trubin that squeezed Benfica into the playoffs, and José Mourinho is quoted as saying: “We knew that he could it … We know that the big guy is capable of this, it’s an amazing goal for the guy,” while the writer also praises the Ukrainian commentary for the moment.
Other moments noted in the piece include Paris Saint-Germain winning a penalty after Bradley Barcola handled the ball, prompting criticism of Ifab’s handball law; Viktor Gyökeres and Brugge goals; Manchester City and Liverpool removing any jeopardy for their groups; Copenhagen leading Barcelona; Sporting turning a game around; Napoli taking a lead; Newcastle equalising; Spurs scoring and João Pedro’s strike; Bodø/Glimt winning at the Wanda; and Marcus Rashford scoring a free kick in Barcelona’s 4-1 win against Copenhagen, the article says.
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