European Champions League 2020/21

[philipl]

Two rounds of the league format already completed.

I had expected the English contingent to struggle but the quartet top their groups and would have had a 100% record but for Chelsea's draw with Sevilla.

Mancs' win in Paris and demolition of RB Leipzig the most unexpected- I had them as sure to be knocked out. They are 16th currently in the EPL.

Real Madrid rock bottom of their group currently will surely stir themselves while troubled Barca are going very well with that win away at Juve. 

[speeeeeeedie]

I don't pay much attention to the early group stage matches as it's usually a foregone conclusion. However the 2020-21 start has been interesting. Lots of goals, some surprise results.

Oh, and Man U got beat tonight.

[AllRoverAsia]

11 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

I don't pay much attention to the early group stage matches as it's usually a foregone conclusion. However the 2020-21 start has been interesting. Lots of goals, some surprise results.

Oh, and Man U got beat tonight.

MU have been watching us take corners and last night, perfection

[Oldgregg86]

Leicester played tonight and had vardy, Evans, soyuncu, Barnes, Perriera, Perez and Mandy not playing and guess what, you couldn’t tell. They played in the same style with the same intensity and every player new there role. They put four past braga without reply. Yes two of those came on later when the game was already won. That’s 7 first team players out of the usual 11. They rotate players and nothing changes . Every year they have had huge losses in selling players , chilwell, maguire, Mahrez, Kante and still they continue to improve. Now look back over the excuses our manager and fans have trotted out and we haven’t sold a single player and Tony has had two seasons extra and I still don’t know what the best formation is , who the best players are to play said formation or even who takes our free kicks. People need to wake up and smell the coffee with Tony because tonight’s Leicester manager showed what proper management is. Tony the nice guy like ole the nice guy can’t get the best out of the players and isn’t tactically astute enough to win enough games to get us were HE said we were aiming for. Ole is under pressure and pochettino is being lined up as I write. Meanwhile Tony shrugs his shoulders as we go again. Where is it we’re going again . That’s right mid table mediocrity

Edited November 5, 2020 by Oldgregg86

[speeeeeeedie]

One round of group games left to go. This BBC has a good summary of what teams are through and what is left to play for; Champs League scenarios

Liverpool are through as winners, and as Atalanta play Ajax next week for the other qualifying spot he can play the u18's without upsetting anyone. It may keep him quiet about injuries for a week or 2.

PSG are a good team but Man U gifted them the win yesterday putting their qualification hopes in jeopardy. They play Leipzig who they beat 5-0 at home, but this Man U team is Jekyll and Hyde so who knows what team will turn up.

This ESPN article rips into the manager; Solskjaer not up to it - ESPN

Anyone can progress in Group B. Real could go out. 

 

 

 

[philipl]

Mancs getting spanked in the first 15 minutes. Leipzig already 2-0 up.

OGS screwed up again.

[Atko's Engine]

On 03/12/2020 at 15:03, speeeeeeedie said:

this Man U team is Jekyll and Hyde so who knows what team will turn up.

Looks like it's the latter tonight.

[speeeeeeedie]

19 hours ago, Atko's Engine said:

Looks like it's the latter tonight.

Yep. They only started playing with 20 minutes to go.

I've said from day 1 that Solskjaer isn't good enough to be a top level manager. Episodes like last night prove it. 

The PSG-Istanbul game was called off. According to my TV coverage the 4th official told the referee to speak to "that black lad over there" as he was irate over a decision and expressing his disgust. The officiating crew were all Romanian so spoke in their local tongue. Black in Romanian is "negru". Demba Ba heard this and went ballistic. 

Was it racist? I have no idea. 

 

 

[speeeeeeedie]

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by speeeeeeedie
duplicate post

[speeeeeeedie]

The group stage is over. Despite a good start the drama somewhat fizzled. Here are the teams who made it through;

Group winners: 

Germany - Bayern Munich,  Borussia Dortmund

Italy – Juventus

England -  Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea

Spain - Real Madrid

France - Paris St-Germain

Runners up: 

Germany - Borussia Monchengladbach, RB Leipzig

Italy - Atalanta, Lazio

Spain - Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla

Portugal - Porto

Teams cannot be drawn against another from the same country in the last 16.

[speeeeeeedie]

The knockout stage draw was made today. 

Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Manchester City

Lazio vs. Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid vs. Chelsea

RB Leipzig vs. Liverpool

Porto vs. Juventus

Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Sevilla vs. Borussia Dortmund

Atalanta vs. Real Madrid

[philipl]

Can easily see Chelsea and Liverpool losing those and Pep disappearing up his own exhaust. 

[chaddyrovers]

Surely this put champions league and any UEFA competition at risk of being now

 

 

[frosty]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Surely this put champions league and any UEFA competition at risk of being now

 

 

They can still leave their homes for training and matches I think. The tweet doesn't tell the full story at all really.

[rigger]

6 minutes ago, frosty said:

They can still leave their homes for training and matches I think. The tweet doesn't tell the full story at all really.

I thought they would only be allowed to train or play under lock-down rules, not self-isolation rules.

[roverandout]

Really hope musiala chooses England 

[speeeeeeedie]

Porto and Dortmund are into the last 8. 

Haaland was too much for Seville although they weren't far away at the end.

10 man Porto beat Juventus on away goals after losing 3-2 in Turin. They played more than an hour (including extra time) with 10 men. Ronaldo did absolutely nothing. Pirlo may not last long. Inter are top of Serie A, a good few points ahead of Juventus.

Liverpool play Leipzig in Hungary today. Probably a blessing for them as they've lost every game at Anfield in 2021.

Barcelona fanboys will be hoping for a repeat of their comeback against PSG from a few years ago. It won't happen though. PSG to move on as a formality.

[frosty]

Watched Juve v Porto last night yep, really good watch, especially the second half and extra time. Despite conceding three Porto were very well organised and Pepe, as much as I don't like him, was excellent. Saying that, Juve played right into their hands - lost count of the amount of crosses that they played in, Cuadrado in particular must have racked up tons. Chiesa's second came from one but overall they were easy for Porto to deal with. Juve's midfield is pretty devoid of any genuine creativity though so no surprise they kept ending up going wide.

Ronaldo was static and, from what I've seen of him lately, isn't much use at all anymore unless a chance falls to him in the box. He's scored plenty for Juve but they signed him to help them win the CL - exits to Ajax, Lyon and Porto since then don't look good. Saying that the hiring of Sarri and then Pirlo haven't helped.

[roverandout]

3 hours ago, frosty said:

Watched Juve v Porto last night yep, really good watch, especially the second half and extra time. Despite conceding three Porto were very well organised and Pepe, as much as I don't like him, was excellent. Saying that, Juve played right into their hands - lost count of the amount of crosses that they played in, Cuadrado in particular must have racked up tons. Chiesa's second came from one but overall they were easy for Porto to deal with. Juve's midfield is pretty devoid of any genuine creativity though so no surprise they kept ending up going wide.

Ronaldo was static and, from what I've seen of him lately, isn't much use at all anymore unless a chance falls to him in the box. He's scored plenty for Juve but they signed him to help them win the CL - exits to Ajax, Lyon and Porto since then don't look good. Saying that the hiring of Sarri and then Pirlo haven't helped.

Players like ramsey rabiot are nowhere near champions league quality 

[speeeeeeedie]

20 hours ago, roverandout said:

Players like ramsey rabiot are nowhere near champions league quality 

Rabiot is a favourite on the BBC gossip page. Every transfer window his name pops up. He spent time at PSG, and now Juventus both good clubs. But I agree with you that he's missing the quality that top players have.

Liverpool won 2-0. Same ground, same result as the first leg. They looked like a different team than their Prem one. I think RoverDom said in the Prem topic that Fabinho needs to be in midfield. He was last night and was outstanding. Thiago was also very good. 

PSG-Barcelona finished 1-1. Messi missed a penalty late in the first half. If that went in it would have put them 2-1 up and made the second half interesting. Alas not and PSG eased through.

[ben_the_beast]

1 hour ago, speeeeeeedie said:

PSG-Barcelona finished 1-1. Messi missed a penalty late in the first half. If that went in it would have put them 2-1 up and made the second half interesting. Alas not and PSG eased through.

Funny game this one.

Barca absolutely hammered PSG first half yet the majority of the chances fell to Dembele who squandered the lot. Had Suarez still been there I imagine it would have been a different story. They could have easily been right back in the tie and looked a little like Barca of old. 2 absolutely ridiculous penalties awarded by the English ref. It really is ruining the game. And an absolute thunderbolt from Messi which was worth tuning in alone just to see. 

Second half Pochettino switched things up and nullified Barca more and they ran out of steam. Great game to watch though.

[speeeeeeedie]

This week saw City and Real Madrid through on Tuesday, Bayern Munich and Chelsea yesterday.

City's progression was a formality, they were too good for Monchengladbach. Real outclassed Atalanta who aren't the same side without Gomez.

Bayern were far too good for Lazio. Chelsea moving on was a small surprise, although they are unbeaten under Tuchel. Atletico were not good at all last night. They didn't seem to be as organised as usual. On their day they are exceptional. I can't stand their antics but enjoy watching them.

The last 8 are; 

Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Porto, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Dortmund, PSG.

The draw is tomorrow. It is setup such that quarter final and semi final ties are done at the same time.

 

[Silas]

Europa... but even Jose's midas touch can't overcome being Spursey. I think it must be an incurable disease. 

[gumboots]

Oddly enough, my son pointed out to me that I saw Orsic, the Dynamo Zagreb scorer, play for Ulsan in the Asian Champions League in 2018

[Silas]

49 minutes ago, gumboots said:

Oddly enough, my son pointed out to me that I saw Orsic, the Dynamo Zagreb scorer, play for Ulsan in the Asian Champions League in 2018

Over in the far east?

What were crowds/atmosphere like?

Did it feel different to a British match day? 

Do they sing songs about the ref? 😀