Vieri predicted Liverpool's Champions League elimination: ‘PSG command play'
Christian Vieri called Liverpool's Champions League exit ahead of kick-off against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, as he feels that the Parisians will go all the way to the final, where he thinks they will go up against Hansi Flick's Barcelona.
Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage thanks to the heroics of Italy no.1 Gianluigi Donnarumma in the penalty shoot-out at Anfield on Tuesday night, following a 1-1 aggregate draw across the two legs.
While Liverpool had been among the favourites to reach the final this season, Vieri claimed ahead of kick-off that PSG are in 'the best form of the year', and that it is 'difficult to get the ball off them'.
Appearing as a guest pundit on CBS's Champions League coverage, Vieri gave his Champions League predictions: 'I'm gonna say two teams, the two finalists: PSG and Barcelona. Two attacking teams.
'They're in the best form of the year, PSG. The way I saw them last week, I've never seen them like that in the last five or six years. Tonight, we're going to see if PSG is a big team or not, because they're playing in Anfield Road, very difficult.'
.@vieri_bobo with a bold UCL prediction 👀 pic.twitter.com/GaOSMD4WiA
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2025
He continued: 'Liverpool is an amazing team and they're first in the league, but PSG command play. It's very hard to get the ball off them, they dominate, they had 70% ball possession, that means the other team never has the ball. I'm curious to see if they're going to do that away'.
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Yahoo
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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Is PSG v Atletico Madrid on TV? How to watch Club World Cup clash for free
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San Francisco Chronicle
37 minutes ago
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Gattuso named Italy coach as the Azzurri aim to avoid missing out on a third straight World Cup
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Former hard-tackling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was named Italy coach on Sunday, tasked with reviving the country's already-flagging World Cup qualifying hopes. Gattuso replaces Luciano Spalletti, who was fired last week after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 at Norway to spark fears that the four-time champion will fail to qualify for a third straight World Cup. Gattuso lifted one of those World Cups as a player, in 2006. "Gattuso is a symbol of Italian soccer, the blue shirt is like a second skin for him," Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina said. "His motivation, his professionalism and his experience will be fundamental to best face the national team's next matches. 'Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve, I thank him for the willingness and total dedication with which he accepted this challenge.' Claudio Ranieri was the Italian soccer federation's top choice to replace Spalletti but he turned down the offer. Gattuso's last coaching job was at Hajduk Split but he left the Croatian club by mutual consent at the start of the month after just one season in charge. The 47-year-old had previously coached AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille, among others. As a player, Gattuso also won two league titles and two Champions League trophies with Milan, where he made 468 appearances and scored 11 goals. His only goal in 73 appearances for Italy was a fierce 25-meter strike against England in a 1-0 win in November 2000. Gattuso's only trophy as a coach was the Italian Cup with Napoli in 2010. Italy is already nine points behind Norway in its World Cup qualifying group, albeit having played two matches fewer than the group leader. The Azzurri followed up its dismal opening loss with a 2-0 win over minnow Moldova last Monday in what was Spalletti's final match in charge. He had revealed that he was being fired the previous day. Gattuso's first match as Italy coach will be at home to Estonia on Sept. 5. Israel is also in five-team Group I. Italy hosts Norway in the final round on Nov. 16. Only the group winner advances directly to the 2026 tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The runner-up enters playoff brackets to be played next March. That was the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.
