Predicting the outcome of the Champions League quarter-finals can be a fool’s errand, as Michael Richards found out the hard way.
Footage of the CBS Sports pundit making his semi-final picks last week resurfaced on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, once the quarter-finals concluded on Wednesday night.
Richards predicted Arsenal would progress against Bayern Munich to set up an all-English final against Manchester City, whom he backed to knock out Real Madrid.
The second semi-final, meanwhile, would be an all-Spanish affair with Atletico Madrid getting the better of Borussia Dortmund over two legs and Barcelona dispatching Paris Saint-Germain.
Richards then expected City and Atletico Madrid to meet in the final, with his former club lifting the Champions League for a second consecutive season.
Micah Richards got his quarter-final predictions spectacularly wrong
The CBS Sports pundit predicted Arsenal will face Manchester City in the final and that Atletico will play Barcelona in the other semi-final
As it turned out, Richards got every single prediction wrong and it didn’t take long for viewers to revel in his misery.
‘These English pundits are clueless,’ wrote the user who shared the footage of Richards’ predictions on X.
Several others echoed the feeling: ‘English pundits are the most bias people on the planet, they’re not even ashamed to show it,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Behold the football knowledge of English pundits!!! What an embarrassment’, while a third commented: ‘They think UCL [the Champions League] and PL [Premier League] are the same thing’.
Another, meanwhile, suggested Richards’ football IQ was ‘not existing’.
City’s quest for a second consecutive Treble ended at the Etihad on Wednesday night as they lost 4-3 on penalties to Madrid.
After last week’s thrilling 3-3 at the Santiago Bernabeu, the visitors took an early lead as Rodrygo tapped home 12 minutes in.
Real’s goal appeared to galvanise Pep Guardiola‘s men, who dominated proceedings and eventually levelled the score through Kevin De Bruyne‘s 76th minute goal.
But despite their superiority, City could not find a way past Real and found themselves on the losing side after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic missed from the spot.
City’s defeat means the Premier League will not be represented in the semi-finals for only the second time in six seasons after Arsenal were knocked by Bayern Munich.
Held to a 2-2 draw at home at the Emirates last week, the Gunners lost 1-0 at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night to Joshua Kimmich’s second-half goal.
And the Bavarians could face Bundesliga rivals Dortmund in the final at Wembley, after they beat Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate.
Dortmund – who incidentally played Bayern in the final at Wembley, when it last hosted the showpiece in 2013 – lost 2-1 in Madrid last week, before winning 4-2 at home on Tuesday night.
Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen put Edin Terzic’s men two goals two the good in five first half minutes, before a Mats Hummels own goal and a smart finish from Angel Correa put Atletico ahead on aggregate midway through the second half.
Their relief, however, was short-lived as Niclas Fullkrug and Marcel Sabitzer scored twice in three minutes to send Dortmund through.
The Black and Yellow will face PSG in the semi-final, after the Ligue 1 champions staged a comeback of their own against Barcelona.
Manchester City lost 4-3 on penalties to Real Madrid at the Etihad on Wednesday night
Arsenal were beaten 1-0 at the Allianz Arena and lost 3-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as PSG won 4-1 in Barcelona after losing the first leg 3-2
Borussia Dortmund beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 to progress 5-4 winners on aggregate
The Catalans won the first leg in Paris 3-2 and extended their aggregate lead as Raphinha prodded home a cross from Lamine Yamal after 12 minutes.
But the pendulum of momentum swung decisively the other way when Ronald Araujo was sent off for a fouling Bradley Barcola and left Barcelona to play with 10 men for an hour.
PSG restored parity just before halftime courtesy of a smart finish from Ousmane Dembele, and they were level on aggregate 10 minutes into the second half when Vitinha’s shot fizzed through a crowd of players from the edge of the area and past Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Kylian Mbappe then got in on the act, converting a penalty Dembele won after being brought down in the box by a reckless challenge from Joao Cancelo, before scoring PSG’s fourth late on.
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