When we left the journey we had just shocked the footballing world and beaten Barcelona on away goals after two outstanding performances to reach the Quarter Finals of the Champions League in our debut season. We are also in the FA Cup Semi Finals for the first time in this journey.
In this episode we will cover both of those knockout tournaments as well as the conclusion of league.
The FA Cup Semi Final Draw saw us up against Brighton.
April 2028
Match 31 - Brighton (H) 4-2
A good win against a surprise package in Brighton who are chasing European qualification too.
Mora got us off to a flyer in the first minute with Henrique scoring a first half brace to cement our advantage soon after. Brighton pulled one back before half time.
Almada got in on the action in the second half too before a Brighton consolation.
Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg - Real Sociedad (A) 2-0
In a rematch from the group stages where Sociedad pipped us to top spot.
We were evenly matched again as the first half was back and forth without much cutting edge.
It took a moment of magic from our main man as Henrique let a lofted ball drop over his shoulder and volleyed in from just outside the box.
Sociedad pushed for an equaliser and we grabbed a second in added on time as Wedau, in due to an injury at right back smashed home from 25 yards for his first ever goal for the club.
Match 32 - Sheffield United (A) 1-3
Sheffield United are another surprise team chasing European qualification this season and they capitalised on our midweek exploits.
We were poor with our only chance converted from a set piece by Guerra.
Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg - Real Sociedad (H) 2-0
We brought 2 away goals home with us from Spain, which puts us in a dominant position. We started strongly and went ahead early through an own goal.
We made it 2-0 just before half time all but sealing qualification. Jack Clarke with the goal.
The second half was a non event as it passed without any incident.
Wycombe Wanderers are Champions League Semi Finalists
Nice easy draw in the Semi Finals.........
FA Cup Semi Final - Brighton (N) 1-2
In our first FA Cup semi final of the Journey we got off to the perfect start.
The man for the big occasion, Henrique was put through by Almada and he tucked the ball away perfectly. 1-0 in the 35th minute.
Our lead didn't last long as Brighton equalised 4 minutes later to take us into half time level.
We started the second half well and had Brighton on the ropes but one moment of stupidity cost us.
Brighton were given the softest of penalties which was converted. We pushed for an equaliser but we failed to make any chances pay off and we miss out on our first major final.
Match 33 - Derby County (H) 2-3
After back to back cup competitions we were back in the league and with changes made due to the fixture pile up.
Bottom of the league Derby showed they were not done fighting as they cam from behind late to secure an unlikely 3 points.
We had lead after goals from Mora and Henrique but derby scored late to secure the 3 points.
Back to back defeats in the league has put European qualification in doubt.
Match 34 - Leicester (A) 0-0
A bore draw at the King Power Stadium as we rested players for the Champions League Semi Final in midweek.
Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg - Bayern München (H) 1-1
The expectations in the Wycombe camp was very low going into this tie. We had defied belief to get this far and we were going to need to do the same again.
Bayern started well and went ahead in the 19th minute to take advantage of their early dominance.
This woke us up and we started to put some attacking possession together. Jack Clarke, who has had a fantastic season broke through the defence to finish at the near post.
The game was pretty even after our equaliser and there were no more chances of note. At 1-1 after the first leg means we are still in the tie with an outside chance of progression.
Match 35 - Arsenal (A) 1-1
We travelled to North London on a poor run of form in the league with our attentions focusing on the cup competitions.
We went toe to toe with Arsenal in an end to end affair. We finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute as Substitute Vehap Reis fired us ahead.
Sadly we couldn't hold on and Arsenal equalised almost immediately.
We walk away with a point.
A tough month with 4 extra games added to the fixture list due to the cup competition. This has put some strain on the size of the squad and rotation has caused some indifferent results in the league.
May 2028
Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg - Bayern München (A) 1-2
A monumental effort was needed to qualify for the final as Bayern picked up an away goal on their visit to Buckinghamshire.
We got off to the best possible start as Mora scored in the 19th minute to put us 2-1 up in the tie. It also wiped out Bayern's away goal advantage.
We did however have a long way to go and we defended fantastically to make it to half time still 1-0 up on the night.
The second half was much of the same as Bayern penned us in for most of the second half. It only took 10 minutes of the second half for them to equalise. It was only a matter of time to be fair.
We had a few chances on the counter attack but failed to make them count and eventually it cost us. Bayern scored again in the 75th minute to put them 2-1 up on the day and 3-2 on aggregate.
We were still in with a shout as another goal would send us through on away goals and we came oh so close as Henrique smashed an effort onto the cross bar in the last minute of the game.
I could not be prouder of our debut season in the Champions League. We probably got their ahead of schedule in the grand scheme of this journey and to get as far as we did was exceptional.
With the Champions League dream over we now need to focus on the remaining three games of the league.
Sadly we have missed out on qualifying for the Champions League for next season so we are looking at the Europa League but we need to fend off a late charge from Norwich, Newcastle and Brighton for the remaining European places.
Match 36 - Bournemouth (H) 2-0
With an extra days rest for this Sunday game we started quickly with Henrique getting on the scoresheet in the 2nd minute.
We were dominate for the whole 90 minutes and the win was confirmed in the 61st minute through Contento.
Match 37 - Chelsea (A) 1-2
We have the unenviable task of being the first team to visit Chelsea after they secured the league title.
We gave the Champions a real game. We fell behind in the first half but bounced back just after half time through Obispo. His first for the club.
We couldn't hold on and Chelsea secured the win in the 84th minute.
Luckily Norwich, Newcastle and Brighton had all dropped points too meaning we were guaranteed at least 6th place. However with Brighton's involvement in the FA Cup final we were only headed for the Europa Conference League.
Match 38 - Manchester City 2-2 (H)
Manchester City have had an awful season. They dropped 200+ million pounds on players and have ended up finishing in midtable.
We fell behind early in the first half but bounced back immediately through Mora. The rest of the game passed us by and all the action occured in added on time.
Man City went 2-1 up in the 91st minute but our main man Henrique grabbed us a point in the 94th minute.
We had a difficult end to the season with the fixture pile up but to get to two semi finals and finish 6th in the league is a great achievement.
FA Cup Update
Manchester United did us a huge favour by winning the FA Cup in emphatic style.
This meant that we were bumped up to the Europa League with Brighton headed to the Europa Conference.
Final League Table
Awards
Our talismanic striker Henrique was the leagues golden boot winner with 27 goals.
Whilst I was named Premier League Manager of the Year.
Season Review
Its been a long tough season but we have come out of it the other side with some fantastic progression. We need to strengthen the squad and make some improvements to the youth facilities so we can start producing our own stars.
Cheers
Panda
If you have enjoyed this episode and want to fully catch up with our Journey so far you can start way back at the beginning here -
We also recently had our turn in a joint save with other FM creators called "The Far East Express. Please check out our three episodes with the link below. One hell of a journey going on in that save.
We also have an fascinating International save going as we attempt to take Jamaica to Gold Cup and World Cup glory after acquiring some new recruits who have been ignored repeatedly by England
