Champions League Round of 16 (14th Feb - 15th Mar)

Fully Fledged

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Somewhere in between. They have good enough players to be a top 8 team in England, but they were very lucky in CL so far. Lucky with the group, and lucky to return from Spain with only a 1-2 loss.

From this point forward, it's impossible to get lucky anymore for them.
But fair play to them they have still finished as the furthest English team in The CL even if they get a battering in the next round.
 

Brwned

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More like Jardim effect

Goes to show what having more than 8 months with players, coach & playing style can do for you - on top of a City side that are still missing a few key pièces (FBs & Striker). Now Messi critics got a better glimpse of the sort of sitters Di Maria, Higuain & Kun have bottled over the years. It is also interesting how both the home & away matches had virtually idential halves played out, Monaco dominating the first & City the 2nd. Moreover, the Stones critics should acknowledge what we witnessed in the 2nd half too - just how great he can become

Amazing first half performance from Monaco, perhaps one of the most dominant ones I have ever seen. Mbappe will get the headlines but every big club should be considering Bernardo Silva.

City will be better no doubt and success will come despite many hoping for Pep failure, they simply are not there yet - moreover, injuries have cost them dearly as well.
You really don't think Guardiola deserves any criticism? Come on. That's just a weird obsession at this stage.
 

FCBarca

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You really don't think Guardiola deserves any criticism? Come on. That's just a weird obsession at this stage.
When one team or coach does exceedingly well, not sure why it translates directly to another coach doing poorly. I doubt very much Pep had much to do with Kun missing all those chances. I would say it is odd the way both teams performed in both legs & halves in similar fashion - is that on the coaches? Hard to say

Like I mentioned in my post, Pep has had 8 months with a squad with key injuries/absences whereas Jardim is in his 3rd year of the project - a project, mind you, that was largely ridiculed in France in his first season

Out of curiosity, where would Pep be deserving of criticism here? For not sitting back and defending their advantage? You'd be asking him to betray his philosophy to playing and that wasn't why they crashed out. Only thing you could remotely look for criticism is how they couldn't seem to find the confidence to deal with Monaco in the first halves of both matches yet somehow did in the 2nd. Or perhaps not having played Nolito considering they were getting nothing of note from the wing other than Sane - Sterling disappointed, for me
 
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giorno

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Dortmund-Leicester

This would be perfect
FECK THAT. ANYONE BUT JUVE THANKS

Ha. Coefficients . Doesn't matter anymore mate. UEFA crumbled to Italian club pressure now all the big leagues get guaranteed top 4 no matter what.
Nope. Top 4 countries get 4 teams, but it's not fixed. Coefficient still matters

Real usually gets the easier draws while Barca and Bayern have the tough draws, to it's Real - Leicester. Bayern probably against Juve, again.

Would love to finally see Dortmund - Barca.


My prediction:

Real - Leicester
Bayern - Juve
Barca - Atletico
BVB - Monaco

Would be typical UEFA.
Well.....arsenal, moyes utd, real madrid, shakhtar donetsk, porto, barcelona, juventus, benfica, atletico madrid vs schalke, dortmund, bayern, schalke, atletico, juve, roma, wolfsburg, city. I'd say you've been fairly lucky yourselves, though not as much as us
 

Ludens the Red

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FECK THAT. ANYONE BUT JUVE THANKS


Nope. Top 4 countries get 4 teams, but it's not fixed. Coefficient still matters


Well.....arsenal, moyes utd, real madrid, shakhtar donetsk, porto, barcelona, juventus, benfica, atletico madrid vs schalke, dortmund, bayern, schalke, atletico, juve, roma, wolfsburg, city. I'd say you've been fairly lucky yourselves, though not as much as us
They'll only just move the goalposts again. It's UEFA, Ligue 1 is far too behind the PL anyway. considering PSG's repeated poor CL performances and little progress from French teams in the Europa, can't see that changing anytime soon.
 

SCP

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They'll only just move the goalposts again. It's UEFA, Ligue 1 is far too behind the PL anyway. considering PSG's repeated poor CL performances and little progress from French teams in the Europa, can't see that changing anytime soon.
PSG has benn doing the same as EPL teams, Lyon is doing the same as United in the Europa League, Monaco is doing the same as Leicester.

Fake news.
 

Ludens the Red

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PSG has benn doing the same as EPL teams, Lyon is doing the same as United in the Europa League, Monaco is doing the same as Leicester.

Fake news.
So how exactly would doing the same close the gap? Also bare in mind, not only this season counts, we could look to last season where a PL side made the CL Semi Final and a Europa Final. How did the French teams get on last season?
 

carvajal

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I would like to avoid Juve(although It would be nice to see Higuaín at Bernabéu and have a look to Dybala).
My first option would be Barsa.I wouldn't like playing against them in a final or semifinal and since we don't have so much pressure for the C.L I just want a top match.
Since everybody says that we will get the easier tie,then I would choose Leicester.It can be a nice match.Personally I think that Mónaco is easier than Leicester(for Madrid at least).
Madrid-Bayern is a classic and I love the days before the game with the Bayern players provoking,however we played quite recently so I would prefer to wait some years.
If we don't get Barsa then I'd like Barsa-Bayern/Juve
 

Raees

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Barca v Leicester would be a dream matchup. Messi v Vardy, Neymar v Mahrez.
 

schwalbe

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I would like to avoid Juve(although It would be nice to see Higuaín at Bernabéu and have a look to Dybala).
My first option would be Barsa.I wouldn't like playing against them in a final or semifinal and since we don't have so much pressure for the C.L I just want a top match.
Since everybody says that we will get the easier tie,then I would choose Leicester.It can be a nice match.Personally I think that Mónaco is easier than Leicester(for Madrid at least).
Madrid-Bayern is a classic and I love the days before the game with the Bayern players provoking,however we played quite recently so I would prefer to wait some years.
If we don't get Barsa then I'd like Barsa-Bayern/Juve
Barca and RM won't meet before the SF, that's an unwritten law.
Bayern - RM is my favorite match up, but i'd really like to see that in a final, not in a QF. Bayern and Madrid have reached 24 finals combined, but never met in one. It's about time for that.
Although i would be a bit worried that we gift you the title and make you the first club to defend it, the same as we bottled it against Chelsea.
 

adexkola

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Any tie at this level will be excellent. I'd like to see one of Monaco or Leicester make it to the semifinals, so that tie would be brilliant.

Out of the rest, pair Dortmund with Real Madrid, Barcelona with Atletico, and have the classic Munich Turin duel.

Ideally, the semifinals would have Dortmund, Leicester, Atletico and Juventus. Any team winning would be refreshing to see. I'm slowly warming to Leicester again (the cnuts).
 

Seij

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We are the best team left in Europa and the favorites on paper, but with the way we've been playing lately, I'm not at all optimistic.

As for the CL, Bayern and Barcelona are guaranteed to be drawn in the same side of the draw. They will meet either in QF or SF. I imagine Juventus will also be on that side of the draw. Atletico might join them.

Real, Leicester, Monaco, and maybe Dortmund will make up the other side, with Dortmund and Real not set to play each other until SF.
 

Inter Yer Nan

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I really hope Atletico win it this season. So unlucky not to have won it twice recently (and a minute away in the 70's) I think they deserve one. If they were at the same level as last season I'd feel really good about their chances, but the level has dropped. Luckily the same can be said of Barca, Real and Bayern.

Juventus may be worth a punt too. It's pretty open. The only certainty is no matchup between Barca, Real or Bayern until the semi's.
 

HisDudeness

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Barca v Leicester would be a dream matchup. Messi v Vardy, Neymar v Mahrez.
Not if you're a Leicester fan... to an extent. You'd want Monaco... to have a better chance of progressing further.

Buffon saying they wouldn't want Leicester lol Of course they do. Monaco team are the least experienced.
 

MullerUtd

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Not if you're a Leicester fan... to an extent. You'd want Monaco... to have a better chance of progressing further.

Buffon saying they wouldn't want Leicester lol Of course they do. Monaco team are the least experienced.
Does he really believe himself when he said that? :lol: hate it when footballers come out with such patronizing comments.
 

giorno

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Does he really believe himself when he said that? :lol: hate it when footballers come out with such patronizing comments.
I think he means it. For teams like juventus and atletico madrid, facing barcelona, bayern or madrid is easier as they can play the game they want to play. Against leicester, they'd have to play on the front foot, and they're not particularly good with that.

Add the fact that leicester players will be so pumped up for this that will literally run through walls. They'll bring a level of energy and phtsicality no other team is likely to match. And in 180 minutes, anything can happen, and form is key

In 2015, the team that gave juve the most trouble was monaco...
 

schwalbe

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We are the best team left in Europa and the favorites on paper, but with the way we've been playing lately, I'm not at all optimistic.

As for the CL, Bayern and Barcelona are guaranteed to be drawn in the same side of the draw. They will meet either in QF or SF. I imagine Juventus will also be on that side of the draw. Atletico might join them.

Real, Leicester, Monaco, and maybe Dortmund will make up the other side, with Dortmund and Real not set to play each other until SF.
You guys really need to reach the CL again. There's no such thing as a side in the draw anymore, there's an extra draw for the SF after the QF has been played. That rule was changed years ago.
 

Kentonio

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Out of curiosity, where would Pep be deserving of criticism here? For not sitting back and defending their advantage? You'd be asking him to betray his philosophy to playing and that wasn't why they crashed out.
Oh gosh no, we could never expect a manager to 'betray his philosophy' for the sake of anything so tawdry as actually winning. :lol:
 

Godfather

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I think he means it. For teams like juventus and atletico madrid, facing barcelona, bayern or madrid is easier as they can play the game they want to play. Against leicester, they'd have to play on the front foot, and they're not particularly good with that.
Juventus? They play on the front foot pretty much in every game in Seria A and have won it how many times now?
 

giorno

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Juventus? They play on the front foot pretty much in every game in Seria A and have won it how many times now?
They really don't. They live off their individual talent, set pieces and the fact 80% of teams that play against them have already lost before kick-off. They are terrible at playing on the front foot, they rely on a high pressing line to win the ball back in the final third and attack an unsettled defence. They are a transition & counterattack team through and through.

This isn't Pirlo's juventus anymore
 

Godfather

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They really don't. They live off their individual talent, set pieces and the fact 80% of teams that play against them have already lost before kick-off. They are terrible at playing on the front foot, they rely on a high pressing line to win the ball back in the final third and attack an unsettled defence. They are a transition & counterattack team through and through.

This isn't Pirlo's juventus anymore
Well I take your word for it. Still can't take Buffon's comments seriously tbh.