Well that was all a bit forgettable, wasn't it?
Mauricio Pochettino is no longer Paris Saint-Germain head coach after the two parties agreed to part ways.
The club confirmed their parting on Tuesday, with former Lyon and Nice coach Christophe Galtier expected to come in as his replacement.
It was an appointment that excited many and seemed to promise much, given the fine job the Argentine had previously done at Tottenham.
But as it transpired, Pochettino simply became the latest in a succession of top-class coaches to fall short of PSG's ultimate goal: winning the Champions League.
Frankly, when rumours of Pochettino's departure began to swirl in June, few would have been surprised. In reality, he's looked close to the brink for most of his 18 months in charge – some might even suggest he's lucky to have lasted this long.
Success tempered by failure
Let's not forget, the mighty PSG were pipped to the Ligue 1 title by Lille in the 2020-21 campaign, a few months into Pochettino's reign. His brief time in charge clearly wasn't seen as much of an excuse given there were reports claiming his job was already under threat by April 2021.
Talk of a potential return to Tottenham surfaced and then evaporated as PSG seemingly opted to stand by him, with the fact he got them to the Champions League semi-finals potentially showing there was a reason for optimism.
And then there was the connection with fellow Rosario-native and boyhood Newell's Old Boys fan Lionel Messi. Keeping Pochettino around surely couldn't do any harm with respect to helping the six-time Ballon d'Or winner settle in Paris.
While Pochettino can't solely be blamed for Messi not hitting similar heights to his Barcelona days, it's fair to say their connection has proven only anecdotal.
Of course, Pochettino does depart having won three trophies, including this season's Ligue 1 title. But at PSG, that is not even the bare minimum these days if good progress isn't made in Europe.
Were it not for Karim Benzema's almost superhuman exploits in the Champions League this season, who knows how far PSG would have gone?
They were 2-0 up on aggregate thanks to Kylian Mbappe's brilliance, but then Benzema took over. His 17-minute hat-trick in the second half of the second leg turned the tie on its head, and Madrid went on to enjoy similarly great escapes against Chelsea and Manchester City before beating Liverpool in the final.
Maybe that could have been PSG, but instead they were dumped out in the round of 16 for the fourth time in six seasons. The writing was on the wall for Pochettino.
A risk-free move or thankless task?
Joining Manchester United seemed to make sense as they stepped up their search for a permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Erik ten Hag was ultimately the chosen one, robbing PSG of an easy solution to their problem.
It might be going too far to suggest Pochettino's reputation hasn't been damaged by a lack of (European) success and finishing second in Ligue 1 last season. After all, he has arguably underachieved – but in the context of PSG since the takeover, which coaches haven't?
Former PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti has now won the Champions League twice since leaving the Parisians. Unai Emery took Villarreal to the semi-finals this season. Thomas Tuchel won the competition with Chelsea just a few months after being shown the exit.
While the point isn't necessarily that PSG were wrong to let Ancelotti leave or get rid of Emery and Tuchel when they did. Rather, Pochettino's inability to end the club's Champions League wait needn't define him or colour his reputation.
Pochettino will likely still be sought after the next time one of Europe's biggest clubs is on the look-out for a new head coach, because to succeed at PSG is arguably one of the toughest tasks in football.
Sure, they sit on a pit of money and it seems like they enjoy a clean sweep of the domestic trophies most years, but the gulf to the rest of Ligue 1 is generally so massive that there's a degree of PSG almost being underprepared when heading into European competition.
Perhaps Pochettino was wrong to take the job in the first place. Given their tendency to throw money around with little regard, placing greatest importance on big-reputation signings, there was always likely to be an element of the club being mismatched with a coach whose teams are typically hard-working. But he'd have seen it almost as a free pass.
Ironically, PSG have now insisted they are looking to change their ways, and move away from "bling-bling" signings. Even the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo potentially becoming available is reportedly not interesting them. We'll see how long that lasts, though.
PSG is a poisoned chalice, but as Pochettino's predecessors have shown, failure at the Parc des Princes needn't be his ruin. It's Galtier's problem now.
Flick: Barcelona need to learn how to win without Yamal
Hansi Flick has urged Barcelona to find a way to win without the absent Lamine Yamal, as he misses a second consecutive match with an ankle injury.
The 17-year-old missed their 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad which halted Barca's seven-match winning streak in all competitions before the international break.
Yamal has only missed two LaLiga matches since the start of last season, while Barcelona have lost both games this campaign in which he has not started, after coming off the bench in a 4-2 loss to Osasuna in September.
Flick said that his players need to show that they can win without their teenage sensation.
"Tomorrow I will put the question to the team, it will be a very good question for them [if they can win without Yamal]," Flick told a press conference on Friday.
"Against Real Sociedad, we didn't play well, and it wasn't because of Lamine's absence. He is a very important player for us, but we have options to also play well without him.
"He won't be able to play tomorrow, we don't know when he will be able to go back from his injury, but what is clear for me is that we want him to be back only when he is 100% recovered."
Yamal played a big role in Spain's European Championship title win earlier this year in Germany, winning the best goal and the Young Player of the Tournament award in his breakthrough campaign.
He continued to thrive this season with five goals and seven assists to help Barca to the top of the LaLiga standings on 33 points, six ahead of rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second place.
Yamal is also the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
Flick suggested that he may have to adjust his system, as it is hard to replace a player with such a mixture of speed, technique and finishing.
"We might be a bit limited by the absence of Lamine," Flick said.
"But we have a lot of players with great quality, and they can play in different positions. We'll see what we'll need and we'll design the game plan.
"It's always important after the international break to come back strong and with confidence. That's our goal for tomorrow."
'If we get relegated, I will be here', says Guardiola amid Man City charges
Pep Guardiola insisted he would stay with Manchester City even if the club is relegated as punishment for their alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, signed a new two-year contract extension on Friday, ending speculation over his current deal that was due to expire at the end of the season.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
During his time in charge, the Spaniard has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and their maiden Champions League crown last year.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
However, a hearing into Man City's 115 charges for allegedly breaking the Premier League's rules is also under way, but Guardiola said he will stay regardless of the outcome.
"I said that six months ago. If we get relegated, I will be here and next year we're going to come up to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now," Guardiola said.
He also revealed that he agreed to fresh terms at the Etihad in less than two hours.
"I felt I should stay here. Of course, because they want me. For obvious reasons, for the results and because we've known each other for a long time," he added.
"All my decisions have been like that, what I feel in the moment. I don't pre-convince, I wait. I decided to stay here and in just two hours we did it [agreed the contract]."
City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad this weekend on the back of four consecutive defeats - Guardiola's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
They have also won just three of their last 10 top-flight games against Tottenham (D2 L5) and are looking to win consecutive meetings with them for the first time since April 2019.
Despite their run of form, Guardiola was quick to point out his side's recent success, most notably becoming the first team to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
"When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations," Guardiola said.
"You're able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time, you're able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
"The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it happened.
"Did it happen in one season? No. When you've been somewhere eight or nine years, yeah, both sides of the run can happen."
Simeone grateful to hit landmark 700th game with Atletico
Diego Simeone says he is grateful to be managing his 700th game at Atletico Madrid, even as rumours swirl about his future.
The Argentine will hit the landmark on Saturday when Atletico host Alaves in LaLiga.
Simeone is nearing 13 years in charge of Atletico having taken the job in December 2011, and the 54-year-old has since transformed the side from perennial underdogs to dangerous rivals to Spain's big two - Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The club has won two league titles, one Copa del Rey and two Europa League trophies, while they also reached the Champions League final twice - losing to city rivals Madrid on both occasions.
However, they remain a force to be reckoned with and Simeone's record of 326 clean sheets is a testament to his side's defensive prowess.
"First of all, I'd like to thank all the people who worked with me on the coaching staff and who are not with us today, all the players who made it possible for me to be at the club for so long," Simeone told reporters.
"Miguel Angel (CEO) and Enrique Cerezo (president) for supporting me on the path and trying to follow it together, and our fans for the respect they have always shown me.
"I am absolutely grateful to Atletico, I am very happy to have been able to enjoy these 700 games."
However, Atletico's start to the season has led to questions being raised in the media about his future.
Atletico are third in LaLiga, seven points behind leaders Barcelona after five draws, while they are a lowly 23rd in the Champions League halfway through the new group stage.
But Simeone has a contract until June 2027 and is not bothered by speculation, saying: "I think about Alaves, I don't focus on anything else... I think about how to resolve an important match."
Atletico went into the international break with four straight wins in all competitions, and if they win on Saturday, it will be Simeone's 300th in LaLiga. He believes the next eight games will be crucial.
"Alaves is coming, we know them. They play direct, with speed... and a lot of guys we know because they have been here [at Atletico]," Simeone said.
"We need to take the game to where we think we can hurt them. It will be important to play at a high pace and that's what we'll be looking for."
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