Hail GFOP!

José Mourinho’s return to Chelsea, a club he had two intense divorces with, was hard not to be touched by, because it was evident last night that memories of their shared glory now supersede any bitter residue. Even though his Benfica side narrowly lost, it didn’t seem to matter to one of football’s eternal main characters, because Mourinho selects his own narrative arcs; he always has.

There was also the continuation of one of football’s finest contemporary romances, as the Champions League’s sole Arctic participant, Norway’s Bodø/Glimt, very, very nearly gave Spurs a receipt from their Europa League semi-final defeat to them four months ago. The resident bullies of this competition, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atlético Madrid all won convincingly, but let’s face it, last night was just an amuse-bouche for today’s feast: Barcelona vs. PSG.

Having this fixture at this stage of the tournament is like when a headline act plays a secret afternoon Coachella set under a pseudonym. To see Luis Enrique return as king to the club he won his first treble with 10 years ago, is the ultimate equilibrium, regardless of tonight’s result. 🏆

ii. It was also great to see the USMNT’s Yunus Musah collect his first assist—a game winner, no less—for Italian club Atalanta since joining them on loan in the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 win over the Belgian Pro League’s second-best side, Club Brugge. For a player who struggled for playing time at Milan last season, this looks like a potential green shoot of progress. 🇺🇸

iii. If you’re left with even more questions after yesterday about what’s happening at Chelsea or Liverpool at the moment, let Rog and Rory walk you through their two big defeats from the weekend. You can watch that here. 📺

iv. After a week of Champions League action around Europe, the Premier League returns to our loving arms this weekend. Have a burning question about Everton welcoming unbeaten Crystal Palace to Hill Dickinson? Or maybe what to expect from Mamardashvili for Liverpool? Send us a video for Friday’s Big Weekend Preview. 🗣️

PS - Brighten up your day as these Mancunian non-football fans try to guess the names of Premier League players. Moe Snails 4 ever. 🙃

Cheers,
Tommy Stewart

The Champions League Is Better on Discord🍻 

Liverpool Lose a Game (and GK) in Türkiye 🫨

Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool 🇹🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

This was Liverpool’s return to Istanbul, the city where they completed arguably the greatest comeback in Champions League history 20 years ago. In a frenetic opening barrage, Liverpool were immediately punished as a missed attempt by the Reds led to human ping-pong ball Barış Alper Yılmaz winning a penalty on the counter via Dominik Szoboszlai’s wayward elbow and flailing arm. Victor Osimhen semi-smoothly knocked it home from the spot past Alisson, who later had to be substituted following an injury that made a bad night woeful for Arne Slot. Through a constant chorus of whistles, Liverpool dominated possession but rarely looked truly dangerous until they appeared to have won a typically late penalty in the 88th minute. Ibrahima Konaté attempted his best amateur dramatics after it appeared he was taken down with a high foot, but VAR showed the Galatasaray defender got to the ball first as Slot’s side tasted defeat for a second time in four days. Maybe they didn’t appreciate the early-hours fireworks display from Galatasaray fans after all.

More: Is this Liverpool's transitional season coming a year late?

Chelsea 1-0 Benfica 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇵🇹

It was befitting that José Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge, the place he cast himself as “the Special One” in a lovable heel run that resembled prime Stone Cold Steve Austin, ended 1-0. Unfortunately for him, he was on the wrong side of a scoreline he spent so many happy times with, but it was his Benfica side who took the initiative early until they became masters of their own unravelling when an Alejandro Garnacho cross was put in by their own defender, Richard Ríos. And in a mildly hallucinatory moment later in the match, Mourinho played peacemaker, attempting to hush Benfica fans who threw a tirade of abuse at their former player, Enzo Fernández. The quality of Enzo Maresca’s side saw them stumble to the finish line to escape their run of poor form, but not before the reemergence of a familiarly ugly recent trend, as substitute João Pedro saw a second yellow and was sent off in the 96th minute. Although Maresca said post-match “it’s not any concern or issue,” this is the third red his side have seen in as many games, numbers that might make even Mourinho wince.

More: Faux-humble Mourinho plays his part on oddly tender Chelsea return, courtesy of Barney Ronay.

FK Bodø/Glimt 2-2 Tottenham 🇳🇴 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

In a Europa League semi-final rematch against a different version of almost the same Tottenham team they were knocked out by in May, Norway’s FK Bodø/Glimt persistently tested Spurs goalkeeper Vicario early, with a vengeful storm of shots from everywhere. Although Tottenham somehow reached the break with a clean sheet, former AC Milan man, Jens Petter Hauge, scored near the start of the second half, but his joy appeared to be brief when Rodrigo Bentancur finished two minutes later. The goal was wiped off by VAR and Hauge reminded us again why he was once a child star, sauntering through the Spurs defense to smash home, with the 25-year-old having a mid-career comeback akin to Ke Huy Quan. But as they showed at the weekend, this Tottenham side under Thomas Frank aren’t typically Spursy. Micky van de Ven initiated a comeback with a captain’s header, as Spurs rode more waves of Norwegian attack until the 89th minute, when a scrappy own goal bounced in off Bodø/Glimt sub Jostein Gundersen, allowing Frank to breathe a relieved sigh into the arctic air.

More: This might be the most wholesome Tifo you’ll see all day/month/year.

Elsewhere in the Champions League: FC Kairat (More on them below) 0-5 Real Madrid, Atalanta 2-1 Club Brugge, Marseille 4-0 Ajax, Inter 3-0 Slavia Praha, Pafos 1-5 Bayern Munich, Athlético Madrid 5-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

A Few Great Goals from Yesterday’s Action 🚀

📬 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters:

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🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

Real Madrid Played Where Last Night? Say Hello to FC Kairat 🇰🇿

Considering Kazakhstan’s Kairat FC vs. Real Madrid was billed as one of the biggest mismatches in Champions League history, last night’s 5-0 loss against the 15-time winners doesn’t look too bad. Kairat is a city closer to Jakarta, Indonesia than Madrid, whose superstars travelled 4,000 miles to play their match in Asia, which is novel given it was in a European competition. The reason they play in the Champions League is because in April 2002, Kazakhstan was admitted as UEFA’s 52nd member after leaving the Asian Football Confederation the previous year, meaning that on a logistical rather than geographical basis, they qualify for this competition.

FC Kairat were founded in 1954 under the name Lokomotiv—which was befitting given that Kazakhstan was under Soviet rule until 1991—but were renamed Kairat in 1956. Before the team beat Celtic in the Champions League play-off to qualify for the tournament proper, midfielder Adilet Sadybekov proudly said, “All of Kazakhstan will hear the anthem in Almaty, and for everyone, I think, it is also a small dream come true,” which is a statement that will permeate through this tournament in every game they play.

More: A deep dive into the of Kairat FC and how they got to the Champions League.

Today’s Matches Worth Faking a Meeting for 📺

Barcelona vs. PSG (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

This is Kendrick vs. Drake, Ali vs. Frazier, but actually it’s better. This is the final we nearly had last season, but now we can finally salivate as Luis Enrique returns to the club that he shared a reciprocal love affair with as both player and manager for many years. Unfortunately he won’t be taking his treble winners to the famous Camp Nou because it’s still under construction, meaning this match will instead be played in the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. According to the Ballon d’Or rankings, eight of the world’s top 10 players play in these two squads, so it’s unsurprising they’re two of the tournament favorites, although PSG are ravaged by injury. While Lamine Yamal should make a timely return for Hansi Flick’s side, Enrique is without Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Vitiniha, Marquinhos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and midfielder João Neves, so he’s essentially driving a Ferrari without an engine. 

Arsenal vs. Olympiakos (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇷

Mikel Arteta would be feeling very different about this fixture had Gabriel not stolen a 96th-minute win at St. James’ Park on Sunday. He was affable and self-deprecating in his pre-match press conference yesterday, where he was joined by William Saliba, who was fresh from penning a new bumper contract at Arsenal and very serious when he said, “I’m sure soon we will be able to win some trophies,” which is good news because they’re joint-favorites for this one. The French center-back, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White, could all be rotated back into the Gunners’ starting XI, as Arteta’s ability to flex his deep squad’s muscles looks impressive with more players returning from injury. Olympiakos are top of Greek’s Super League as they typically are, but facing Arsenal will feel like a different sport compared to their usual opposition. 

Monaco vs. Man City (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+) 🇫🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Although City’s season has been mixed, their one constant beacon of excellence has been Erling Haaland. As well as the 12 goals he has for club and country so far this season, football’s Ivan Drago has broadened his game, sometimes turning battling center-back and even occasionally dropping in deep as a square peg No. 10. Pep’s side impressively beat Napoli in their first UCL fixture, but a trip to Stade Louis II in the south of France represents a different challenge. Monaco’s manager, Adi Hütter, once said he “hates boring football,” echoing the philosophy of his opposite number, and while his side are fourth in Ligue 1, they were beaten 3-1 by Lorient at the weekend. Their top scorer, albeit largely from the bench, is former Barca starboy, Ansu Fati, while at the back they’ve been shored up by the arrival of former Bayern and Spurs defender, Eric Dier.

You can find the full list of today’s UCL fixtures here.

News & Notes from Around Football 🗞️

• The Harry Kane Story: How a marriage of convenience turned into true love (and 102 goals in just 105 games).

• Only three footballers have ever won three straight Ballon d’Or awards. And only one of them is currently under 30.

• Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal made 130 senior appearances before turning 18. That is almost as impressive as it is concerning.

• After an unimaginable tragedy, Indonesian football has a positive story to tell.

• Mikel Arteta wants his players to communicate more like Royal Air Force pilots because, well, of course he does.

• One of the world’s most historic stadiums will (most likely) be demolished.

• And lastly, how do you explain this photo to 2022 you?

Who Played There? 🤔

Here’s this week’s starting XI where we’ve left out one player from Chelsea’s 1-0 victory against Manchester City in that quiet 2021 Champions League final in Porto:

Email us (or reply to this newsletter) with your answer for a chance to win a much-coveted MiB patch!