Manchester City lost on penalties to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. Pep Guardiola's team failed to achieve the European double achieved by only two English clubs in the past.
The penalty shoot-out at the Etihad stadium was fatal for the English champions, as it rewarded a working-class Real Madrid, devoted almost exclusively to the defensive phase. Borussia Dortmund, capable of prevailing over Newcastle and Milan in the group stage, then of eliminating PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid, may be the surprise of the season. The German club has reached the ceiling of Europe on one occasion (plus one final, 2013). It will be Carlo Ancelotti's turn to challenge his former Bayern Munich player, in what is already shaping up to be an early final. But if PSG's qualification, despite its daring outcome to the detriment of Barcelona, was plausible, the surprise lies with Borussia Klopp's side, the youngest and most inexperienced of the European teams. It is only the second semi-final in its history.