Celtic's 'brutal' Champions League defeat | Peps press conference 'mind games' |Could Arsenal 'rein in' Liverpool?
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories, making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Chris Latcham and joining me are Miguel Delaney from The Independent and Sam Dean from The Telegraph. Welcome to you both. Let's start with the Guardian's front page and of course that Celtic focus, gentlemen. I think most people would have assumed that Bayern Munich would have had a big chance, but it came so, so late. Real heartbreak, Miguel, for Celtic on the night.

Yeah, and like, I mean, right, even though Bayern as the wealthier club ended up dominating the latter stages, creating a lot of chances, Schmeichel had to make some brilliant saves before that last error. It was hard not to feel that Celtic, for their sheer defiance, deserved something more for the night, almost deserved to go through for the way they responded, the way they took the lead, given the financial gap between the squads. And yeah, and just even, I suppose, the manner of the goal. It's hard for it to be worse in terms of kind of the emotional punch. It was so unlucky the way it happened. Yeah.

but they did do themselves a huge credit on a wider note

This isn't a comment on company as a manager in terms of quality, but I'm talking about at the moment one of the luckiest managers in Europe, given how he got this Bayern job and given this is his first big game and the way it's ultimately ended. Well, yeah, real sympathy for Celtic there. Yeah, interesting. Relegated with Burnley, got the Bayern Munich top job and then laboured to the win tonight. And they did labour in the end. The way that it happened will be what stings Celtic the most, won't it, Sam?

Yeah, that's right. And I think also those chances that Celtic had in the first half too, so many of them, they were just carving open the Bayern defence in a way that I don't think anybody in Munich was expecting. And I do wonder if they'll look back at some of those chances and regret not taking them. Of course, they did take the lead in the end through Nicolas Kuhn after about an hour of action, but there were so many chances that were wasted in the first half. And that was the moment when Bayern looked to me the most vulnerable,

and after that goal went in for Celtic it almost sort of woke Bayern up a bit and for the last half an hour they were clinging on and as Miguel says the nature of that goal with Schmeichel making a great save and just falling to the wrong person even the way the ball went in it was almost like a blocked tackle that forced the ball in it was

horrific and you could see the kind of despair on the Celtic faces. I think Schmeichel kind of fell on his back with his arms outstretched just in absolute agony at that goal and I think they knew they were close to producing one of the best performances by a Scottish team in Champions League for a long old time and they became so close to getting it and it was snatched away right at the death. So a brutal night but certainly as Miguel says, one that they'll be really proud of.

Yeah, really proud. If we look at the back page or the front page of the Times Sports Supplement, Heartbreak for Brave Celtic. Considering how they've performed in Europe over recent seasons, Miguel, how do you think Celtic fans will reflect on this run in the Champions League? Well, it does feel like progress. Now, I suppose some of this is actually predicated on the new system in that...

like almost the harshest view possible would be that they sort of ended up getting to the same stage with more games. Ultimately, they haven't got through to the last 16, but they've won all the games they needed to. They got through the initial group stage into that top 24 when a lot of teams of similar revenue in the modern game is how it's looked or how it's measured didn't, including some wealthier clubs. So, I mean, that is to their credit. And yeah, I suppose...

it is one of progress. From a wider perspective though, just as it struck me as Sam was talking there, because I think this is relevant to what's going to happen next. I mean, for the last decade or so, really since they won, they kind of, a resurgent Bayern won the treble again in 2013. We've had them as kind of just standard contenders for the Champions League. But after a night like that,

The number of chances that they call for, I think if you're one of the English side or one of the other stronger candidates like Real Madrid, potentially Paris Saint-Germain given their own assurances, you'd be fancying that Bayern now, especially if you've got pacey players to really get at that defence because it looks so weak or so vulnerable. And yeah, that's where there is maybe some regret for Celtic, but I don't think you can really criticise them for that again given the wealth gap between the clubs now.

Yep, Celtic can hold their heads high, but ultimately a bridge too far for them. If we have a look at the back page of The Sun, Sam, and focus on the next big staging point, jump-off point in the Champions League, it's the big one of the round. Real Madrid against Manchester City. Madrid have the edge after snatching the leads late, late, late last week. And this headline about Pep Guardiola lying when he said, we've only got a 1% chance of going to the Bernabeu and getting a result. What do you make of all that?

It's quite interesting. It feels relatively unusual for Pep Guardiola to be sort of

Is this mind games? I'm not sure whether they are or not, but it's not the kind of thing he normally does. Unless, of course, you do go back to his time as Barcelona manager when he produced a very famous press conference ahead of a Champions League meeting at the Bernabeu, in which he really sort of turned on the Madrid press and on Jose Mourinho. And he kind of used that to his advantage to really fire up his team on that occasion back in 2011.

And I suppose it's possible that he's trying to do something similar here by saying one thing one day and another thing the next. I think for me, I was more intrigued and more interested really in his comments on Jude Bellingham and the referee situation that's been raging for the last few days after Bellingham was sent off at the weekend for using expletives. And I think it's fair to say from Guardiola's comments that he's not taking the side of Bellingham here. I think he made the point effectively that

You just shouldn't swear at the referee at all. And I wonder if that too is part of it to put a bit of focus back on the Real Madrid players after all this talk about referees. And we know what the Madrid press are like and what Madrid are like as a club. And if they can use anything to their advantage, including pressuring the officials, they will. So I do wonder if Guardiola is trying to use this press conference effectively

in a sort of way that he doesn't often do in the Premier League games and ahead of games in this country. It's mind games, it's subplots. There's so much going on ahead of this one. And when we look at the Mirror Sports back page, Miguel, ultimately, you can't hide away from the fact, regardless of subplots, we have to be the real deal to get the job done in the Bernabeu. Not many teams go there and win.

Well, yeah, I mean, interestingly, City are one of the few in the last decade, having beat them in 2020 in the kind of disrupted COVID season where they played the second leg months later. And that was Zidane's Real Madrid. But I think that's where it's actually quite interesting for this tie because although these teams have now met so often in the Champions League, this is going to be, I think it's the fifth in six years. City have never gone to the burnabout absolutely having to win. So even that game in 2020, that was a first leg.

And obviously just, I mean, this is maybe what Guardiola's getting at a little bit. And I wonder is even some of what he's saying just a way to kind of almost, you know, offer a little bit of public second guessing, just change the dynamic around the discussion. But yeah, it is a huge test. I suppose it's a huge test. I've been at that stadium where...

When a refereeing decision goes against Madrid, the whistles are loud. I remember Buffon being irate about a late penalty. I think it was Oliver that gave it against Juventus in 27-18 in the last minute, which could have prevented Madrid getting knocked out. Ronaldo scored. They went through. And

And I suppose Guardiola, from his own experience of Barcelona, as a player and manager, knows maybe how intimidating it can be for referees there. So I suppose, I think Sam is right, I think that's maybe the more interesting aspect of this, that it feels like, given there's been so much talk about refs and how clubs are essentially almost using more means than ever to try and kind of put pressure on them, that given Madrid are the original masters of this, it's fair game for Guardiola to get involved in that sense.

Yeah, loving the Champions League this season. It feels like it's wide open, not quite clear who's going to emerge victorious. The Premier League title race, Sam, still focusing on the back page of the Mirror Sport, is not quite cut and dry, but there are way less horses in the race, shall we say. Arna Slott can't wait for home help in the title race. Big week coming up for Liverpool. Aston Villa on Wednesday night, then they've got Manchester City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

Suggesting perhaps if he can park these ones, get through this week, then they'll be on the home straight. What do you make of that?

Yeah, I think if you look at the fixture list that Liverpool have, this next seven or eight days could be decisive, I think, for the whole title race. As you say, they've got Villa tomorrow night, Man City away on Sunday, and then next Wednesday they've got Newcastle. Those are three really difficult games. And after that, basically throughout March and into early to mid-April, they've not got anything quite as difficult coming up.

So when you look at the fixture list and if you're Arsenal, for example, you'll be looking at this and circling this week as the possible opportunity for Liverpool to slip up. My feeling is if they're going to slip up, it will be now. And if not now, then probably never. So I do wonder if this time next week will be

almost crowning them champions already, which I think some people have done in the last few weeks anyway. But I think this could be decisive for sure. And there are a few other factors at play here. I think you could probably argue that Arsenal have the easier run in when you look at the away games they've got, at least. Liverpool probably, including these three games coming up, have a harder set of games. But that point

gap is so big, that seven points, and it could be ten tomorrow night, that it really does feel almost insurmountable now, especially when you consider the injury issues that Arsenal have got and no strikers and no goals. And I was looking at that situation earlier and it's quite remarkable, really, the contrast in firepower between the two teams. If you combine the goals scored by Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, all four of whom are injured for Arsenal,

Their goals represent 45% of Arsenal's goals in this league campaign. So, Arsenal are without almost half of their goals for this season, for the next month at least, and in some cases for the whole season. So, it's going to be really tough to get through it. And I think if Liverpool win these next three, I think that should be that. Yeah, you seem very up to speed on your stats. Let's bring up the article that you've written on it, which is why you're so hot on that particular subject, Sal, with the Telegraph.

Let's have a quick look. There we go. So we've heard why you think that it's going to go to Liverpool. It's weighted that way. Can you see any way, Miguel, that Arsenal can rein them in? I think it's where this week, as Sam has touched on there, and he's written about it so extensively and so well, of course, is where it's so important because it's not just about Liverpool's...

difficult spell. It's also the other side of it, again, as Sam has referenced, that Liverpool have this spell at the exact point where Arsenal's injury crisis, at least in attack, is at its worst. But of course, there is another way of looking at that. If Arsenal get through this, and we saw, I suppose, how Mourinho was used against Leicester the weekend, if Arsenal can just manage to get through this, get these rules against West Ham and then Forest, and then you're closer to maybe Saka and Martinelli get back,

and Liverpool maybe drop points in one of those games, then it does just change the dynamic slightly. And then something that had been a weakness can become a strength because you've actually, you've come through the most difficult period. And if possible for Arsenal, the gap is closed. But all that said, I think when you bring it down to the pure maths,

And given Arsenal's issues and given that really there is that seven point gap. So we're at a point now where Liverpool need to slip up three times. And that's predicated on Arsenal actually being perfect from here on in. I think that would have been possible after their camp with a full squad of players as happened last season. It just feels like it's asking too much right now. But, you know, it's the Premier League. Anything is possible in that sense. It's not...

So Sam, if we bring up your article again, we can see that you've crunched the numbers. We can see that there's graphs over the faces of Mikel Arteta and Arnaud Sloch. How do you see the final points tally breaking down?

Yeah, so I was asked to actually predict each game, which is a difficult task because obviously we don't know and there might be injuries or suspensions or anything could happen. But my predictions very much kept Liverpool in top position. And I think if you look at history, they very much got historical precedent in their favour. Only once in the Premier League has a team had a greater success.

As a lead greater than six points after 25 games and not won the trophy, and that was famously Newcastle United back in 95-96, who had a 12-point lead and then finished four points behind Man United. So history very much is on Liverpool's side. The fixture list is perhaps just about on Arsenal's side, but the injury crisis will probably hurt them there too.

As Miguel says, never say never with the Premier League, but it feels increasingly unlikely. Miguel, let's focus on a piece you've written for The Independent inside the Premier League's injury crisis that is shaping football's future. You ask any of the managers, specifically Ruben Amorim, Ange Postacoglu, the list is not a short one. Injuries are really shaping this season, Miguel. What have you been digging into?

Yeah, and I actually think, given what we just discussed before the break, it still has the potential to really shape the outcome of the season in a way that doesn't usually happen. As you've said there, Latja, it's also down to the extent of injuries. There's some obvious reasons for this. One is what is now basically a four-year fixture crunch after the break from COVID. We had three major tournaments in three years.

obviously kind of greater demands on the players. And they've come out on the other side of that. And both FIFA and UEFA have decided to expand their tournaments. I mean, this season, the biggest effect has obviously been the two extra games, at least in the Champions League. And that's a double effect of also taking away the Premier League's usual January break with more fixtures in there as well. So hence, we're seeing hamstrings snapping. That's been the biggest effect.

giveaway and as people in football will willingly say muscle injuries like that particularly hamstrings and quads are giveaways of overuse and while the obvious main issue with this is the fixture list and one of the things I go into in the piece is that it's remarkable that the fixture list is such a mess

but basically there's no will to fix it because to a certain degree all the major bodies are almost at war with this. No one wants to give way. You only have to look at the tension between FIFA and the Premier League about the Club World Cup and now whether Manchester City and Chelsea should get delays to the start of the season. The Premier League's response to that has been this is a competition that's been imposed on us. There's no obligation for clubs to play it and it's a massive moneymaker.

And obviously FIFA are just seeing the wealth the Champions League generates and want their own. But within that, there is actually another response because that is the unfortunate reality for clubs. And I suppose it's how managers and staff deal with this. And I think I mentioned at the top there,

It has the potential to distort the season, say, if Liverpool get an injury crisis. But what I've been told so far, I suppose, and what has started to come out, and you can see it in Liverpool's lower injury list, is that...

the phrase that's been used to me is that in contrast to their rivals Liverpool have been a much more performance led club this season they've actually opted for less intense training sessions and I point to actually some studies from some clubs in the championship who say in situations where you've got a game every three days training less actually means winning more and

And I think over the last few years, obviously recruitment gurus and sporting directors have become kind of prominent names in football. I do wonder, given this is the new reality, whether we might start to say the same about some of these performance staff and fitness specialists. Yeah, it's a really interesting piece, Miguel. Sam, do you think we're at a pinch point? Because as Miguel mentioned, we've had a lot of football crunched in after COVID, three major tournaments back to back to back.

Is this going to ease as we move forward or is this going to get worse? Well, as Miguel mentioned in his piece, which is obviously very good,

This is really showing no sign of changing or slowing down at all, really. The point about the three years backing up, I think, is an interesting one. The truth is, I think a lot of medical staff at clubs don't precisely know what's causing this. I think a lot of them assume that the load issue is the problem, that the players are simply playing too much. But it's hard to say, for example, whether the players are now paying the price for the World Cup being in the middle of the season two years ago in Qatar, for example.

or if they're paying the price for the football being too intense for the last six months. Does it accumulate over that length of time or does it build up over a short, intense period between games? So it's really hard for these people to judge. And they're having to juggle all this and balance all this while managers are looking for results. I think that's part of the problem. And again, Miguel goes into this issue in the piece that you've got performance directors and medical staff saying a player might need a rest here or need six days off.

But the manager is saying, "I need that player to play on Wednesday night in the Champions League." And there's a huge difference in terms of the demands from the different people within the club. And if the power skews more towards performance directors, is that going to be better for the players but worse for the product, for example? And are managers going to allow that to happen if they're the ones with their jobs on the line?

It's a really tricky issue. A personal view is I wonder if we might get to a point where players start campaigning to have a minutes cap over the course of a season. And that adds an almost strategic tactical element to it where players

Players and managers have to kind of pick and choose when they play and space out their minutes more. But that feels like a long way away still. Yeah, that would be intriguing if that comes in. Speaking of someone who's had their fair share of injuries, Emma Raducanu, who's featured in The Telegraph. She was beaten in the Dubai Tennis Championships and actually was in tears on court in the first set, Miguel.

There was a line I just read there before we came on, you know, where she says it's supposed to be a fun game. And it's so sad to see a player talk about that. Mercifully, we're in a kind of a sporting world now where there is more allowance, particularly for individual sports, to talk through these things and talk about kind of because I mean, it can be a lonely, difficult place, especially when players struggle to perform. And I suppose there's something all the more interesting for Radhika Anu as well. Maybe she feels this.

in that she basically had that three-week period of her career where we're talking about someone who was like performing like a top five player but that's in the context of someone who's young and still developing and there's obviously like there's there's almost a disconnect there which she herself is still trying to navigate and unfortunately we see it in scenes like tonight but it's one where as we could see from the response to her after defeat uh there is sympathy and uh you know we we

We only hope that she bounces back and returns to winning. Yes, we certainly do. Sad to see that on court from Emma Raducanu. Sam, I want to bring your attention to the Suns' back page. Lewis Hamilton, I suppose in football, most players would want to play in the white of Real Madrid, but most Formula One drivers would want to wear the red of Ferrari, and F1 fans got to see Lewis Hamilton in the red of Ferrari at the big glitzy launch at the O2.

Yeah, this feels like almost the football equivalent of doing keepy-uppies at the Burnabout in front of 80,000 supporters. So, yeah, it's a very exciting, interesting time, obviously, for Hamilton, given his age and how long he's had to wait for this Ferrari move. And I think a lot of people will be sort of

watching with kind of curiosity, perhaps in a way they haven't been watching Hamilton for quite a few years now, to see what it's like for him at a new environment and a new team and, as you say, in a new colour. And it was interesting hearing him talking about how he feels sort of revitalised and re-energised and it's all new and different and fresh for him. And that's something quite endearing about that, really, given his age and how long he's been doing this for.

Obviously, for his sake, we can only hope that that freshness and enthusiasm lasts throughout a very long and no doubt gruelling campaign. Hopefully, he certainly looks cool in the red. We are out of time, but I just want a score prediction from each of you for the big game on Wednesday night. Real Madrid against Manchester City. Madrid 2-1 up in the tie. Miguel? I think Madrid could win 2-1 actually. 2-1 or 1-0. I'll probably lean towards 2-1. Sam? 3-1 Madrid.