Champions League | Matchday 6

BorisManUtd

Full Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Messages
3,649
So Leipzig, Porto, Dortmund and possibly Barca down to Europa League, plus one of Villarreal/Atalanta, with some solid teams like Lyon, West Ham etc already there, Europa League knockout stages should be more interesting this season.

On CL games tomorrow, group G is crazy and it'll be interesting to see what happens there, basically every team can still go through.
 

Wolf1992

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Apr 27, 2021
Messages
1,332
Supports
No team in particular.
Yes, of course… or, if you want a plausible reason, the Premier League is just the SuperLeague: most money, the best facilities, the best coaches, many among the best players.
What PL have done the best is get foreign top managers from other leagues, no way they would achieve what they are achieving now if they were coached by outdated british managers.

Every promising manager that appears in teams that aren't Barcelona,Real Madrid,Juventus, and Bayern is gonna get signed by PL clubs.
 

Lay

Correctly predicted Italy to win Euro 2020
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
19,790
Location
England
That's quite a record. Seems like these records are falling everywhere. Liverpool are apparently, to my surprise, the first English club to achieve that too.

Have clubs around Europe just got incredibly weaker? Milan, Porto, Atletico, Real, Barca, etc? I would think so.
100%. I think the UCL will be a little boring in the next couple of years (unless the team you support wins it obviously) due to how far ahead English teams are.
 

Dave Smith

Full Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
2,506
Supports
Anything anti-Dipper
100%. I think the UCL will be a little boring in the next couple of years (unless the team you support wins it obviously) due to how far ahead English teams are.
This is such an English centric mindset. When the Spanish or Italian teams were dominating, I doubt there was ever a view that the CL/EC was boring because their teams were the best.
 

hasanejaz88

Full Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
5,815
Location
Munich
Supports
Germany
Just saw the highlights of the Madrid Porto game, to be honest both should be banned from European competition for their antics. It really is time the footballing authorities clamp down on a disgusting culture of diving and fighting between teams. This is not the image you want to see of football (and is something that football is routinely mocked for).

Sevilla are another team that are utter thunderc*nts when it comes to diving and playacting.
 

B20

HEY EVERYONE I IGNORE SOMEONE LOOK AT ME
Joined
Aug 23, 2003
Messages
27,547
Location
Disney Land
Supports
Liverpool
Who, Morton? Mini-Me No? Phillips? Williams? Origi? If Milan were terrified of those five then I really don't know what to say.
Morton played really well for someone up past his bedtime. Barely misplaced a pass.
 

Godfather

Full Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
29,803
Location
Austria
Just saw the highlights of the Madrid Porto game, to be honest both should be banned from European competition for their antics. It really is time the footballing authorities clamp down on a disgusting culture of diving and fighting between teams. This is not the image you want to see of football (and is something that football is routinely mocked for).

Sevilla are another team that are utter thunderc*nts when it comes to diving and playacting.
Never seen a club as pathetic as Atletico when it comes to this. fecking embarrassment.
 

BrilliantOrange

Full Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,338
Supports
Ajax Amsterdam
Would of been fun to see a rematch with both teams at full strengths but it does not make sense for either to do that.

Good luck later!
I think I would have preferred if Ten Hag played more players on the verge of breaking through like you guys did. If it were up to me all of Gorter, Schuurs, Rensch, Taylor and Daramy (plus Tagliafico who is not a regulare but hardly someone on the verge or breaking through)
 

stefan92

Full Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2021
Messages
5,936
Supports
Hannover 96
Yes, of course… or, if you want a plausible reason, the Premier League is just the SuperLeague: most money, the best facilities, the best coaches, many among the best players.

It helps having Ceferin acting within UEFA as a Qatari puppet, though. The European Union is also failing its football industry big time by supporting hostile / external parties instead of their own.
You can't attribute Ajax' success to the strength of the PL. They simply have a great team.
 

Iker Quesadillas

Full Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
3,896
Supports
Real Madrid
That's quite a record. Seems like these records are falling everywhere. Liverpool are apparently, to my surprise, the first English club to achieve that too.
Have clubs around Europe just got incredibly weaker? Milan, Porto, Atletico, Real, Barca, etc? I would think so.
It's a meaningless record that nobody tries to achieve because it doesn't gain you anything. I wouldn't read anything into it. Pep's Barcelona only got more than 4 victories in the group stage once.
 

Mike Smalling

Full Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Messages
10,464
So after yesterday's results we can get PSG, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP and Inter. Most likely you can add Barcelona, Salzburg/Lille and Juventus to that mix.

Roughly a 50/50 chance of getting quite a strong opponent already in the first knock-out round. Salzburg, Sporting CP or even Barcelona would be nice though.
 

Bepi

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
3,875
Location
Italy
Supports
Juventus
You can't attribute Ajax' success to the strength of the PL. They simply have a great team.
In this forum’s words, they are a farmer team, adimttedly an excellent one, even overachieving in the recent years if you want to consider their budget? They can’t be considered legit contenders for the win, though, if you get the four English teams + Bayern, PSG and Real Madrid in the equation.
 

Nordmore

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 28, 2021
Messages
336
Yes, of course… or, if you want a plausible reason, the Premier League is just the SuperLeague: most money, the best facilities, the best coaches, many among the best players.

It helps having Ceferin acting within UEFA as a Qatari puppet, though. The European Union is also failing its football industry big time by supporting hostile / external parties instead of their own.
The PL is what it is today largely because they were the only league who cared about the Asian market 30 years ago. Which European league have matches at 13:00 PM ? Only the PL.
 

roonster09

Hercule Poirot of the scouting world
Scout
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
36,515
The PL is what it is today largely because they were the only league who cared about the Asian market 30 years ago. Which European league have matches at 13:00 PM ? Only the PL.
Is it also because of weather? It should be hard for Spanish clubs to play at 12:00.
 

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
The PL is what it is today largely because they were the only league who cared about the Asian market 30 years ago. Which European league have matches at 13:00 PM ? Only the PL.
They didn’t care about the Asian market, it was to get more games on tv because of the 3pm blackout. EPL is also the most popular league in America and that’s not on at an optimal time?
 

Hansi Fick

New Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
5,057
Supports
FC Bayern
They didn’t care about the Asian market, it was to get more games on tv because of the 3pm blackout. EPL is also the most popular league in America and that’s not on at an optimal time?
What would you say are the reasons that it's the most popular league in the US?
 

Siorac

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
23,789
So after yesterday's results we can get PSG, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP and Inter. Most likely you can add Barcelona, Salzburg/Lille and Juventus to that mix.

Roughly a 50/50 chance of getting quite a strong opponent already in the first knock-out round. Salzburg, Sporting CP or even Barcelona would be nice though.
The only one I really want to avoid is Atlético. PSG have a scary forward line but look vulnerable otherwise - which sounds awfully familiar, now that I come to think about it.
 

Mike Smalling

Full Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Messages
10,464
The only one I really want to avoid is Atlético. PSG have a scary forward line but look vulnerable otherwise - which sounds awfully familiar, now that I come to think about it.
Mbappe and Neymar would run riot against our backline, I would expect. Certainly wouldn't mind avoiding Inter and Juve either.
 

AjaxCunian

vexingwijsneus
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
4,230
Supports
Ajax & United
I wouldnt be as confident vs Barcelona as many are. Maybe Ragnick will severely improve us but the likes of Busquets, Frenkie, Pedri, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez are still far better in possession than our players and are able to control the game.

Depay is very hot and cold, not a big worry but if Fati/Dembele were fit it is still a very tricky fixture.
 

AltiUn

likes playing with swords after fantasies
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
23,493
I wouldnt be as confident vs Barcelona as many are. Maybe Ragnick will severely improve us but the likes of Busquets, Frenkie, Pedri, Gavi, Nico Gonzalez are still far better in possession than our players and are able to control the game.

Depay is very hot and cold, not a big worry but if Fati/Dembele were fit it is still a very tricky fixture.
Gengenpress is the natural counter to possession football and one reason why Bayern have so mercilessly battered Barca every time they've played them, think they're 2W-2D-8L vs Bayern. If we had a semi-decent version of Rangnick's Gengenpress implemented by February, I'd be quite confident of beating them, man for man we have the better squad and they have a relative rookie at the helm. That's without taking into consideration the fact we'll have knockout stage Ronaldo.
 
Last edited:

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
What would you say are the reasons that it's the most popular league in the US?
They like contact in their sport and none of the so called flopping. English football is blood and thunder when up against a La Liga game as an example.
 

hasanejaz88

Full Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
5,815
Location
Munich
Supports
Germany
What would you say are the reasons that it's the most popular league in the US?
It's a league where all communication, broadcast, media etc is in English. That's a major factor in is popularity throughout the world.
 

Strelok

New Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Messages
5,279
The PL is what it is today largely because they were the only league who cared about the Asian market 30 years ago. Which European league have matches at 13:00 PM ? Only the PL.
Yeah back in the 90s the PL was given for free in my country. Serie A was the top league back then but the schedule was terrible. Most matches were like 3 AM in the morning. PL was broadcasting at a much more convenient hour, for free and eventually everyone watching the PL.

La Liga realised this a couple years ago and tried to do the same thing. Many matches were broadcasting at a much more convenient hour than before. But it was a bit too late as now everyone are too used to watch the PL and many become fans of the PL clubs. You don't change club once you become a fan.

I read somewhere that the Asian market alone brought a third to the total broadcast rights of the PL. It's also one of the biggest football betting market worldwide I think.
 

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
Germany is kind of the same, that’s why you’re seeing a rise in popularity over there and more players coming to your shores.
There was a view from years of football that boring football was tactical. If you found boring football boring then you didn’t understand the game. Risk-less Italian football was great, the possession you to death and dive to waste time of La Liga was the best example of technical football on earth. Truth is it was boring and the English / German leagues attracted those who saw through it.
Look at the quality of manager in England and tel me that’s not tactical. Look the players and say they lack in a technical sense.
Those leagues fell through by being so insular and dismissive of football that wasn’t their own.
 

SportingCP96

emotional range of a teaspoon
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
9,873
Supports
Sporting Clube de Portugal
I think I would have preferred if Ten Hag played more players on the verge of breaking through like you guys did. If it were up to me all of Gorter, Schuurs, Rensch, Taylor and Daramy (plus Tagliafico who is not a regulare but hardly someone on the verge or breaking through)
Ya we had two guys become the youngest players to feature for us in the CL in the same game.

Goncalo Esteves at 17 and then Essugo at 16 . We also played nazinho 18 and played Ugarte (20) and Bragança for the first time in midfield together.

Front 3 also never played up together this season with 19 year old Tiago Tomas leading the line.

Back Up keeper also got minutes this game.

Overall I thought it was not a bad showing we made 3 erros which gifted Ajax goals but we were able to give young kids valuable minutes and experience while showing other bench players the confidence to start. Great way to win over the locker room even more and build better team chemistry.

Would of loved to see you lot do the same.

Hopefully we somehow meet again after the R16. Highly doubt Sporting go through next round unless we play lille, Wolfsburg , Sevilla or RBS.
 

Siorac

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
23,789
Mbappe and Neymar would run riot against our backline, I would expect. Certainly wouldn't mind avoiding Inter and Juve either.
I wouldn't mind avoiding them either but neither Juve nor Inter are particularly frightening this season - yeah, I know, we've been pretty shit too but we have a superior squad to both I think - and we have a very good record against Italian teams historically.

PSG... yeah, on second thoughts, either they or Atlético would be the worst case scenario though for different reasons.
 

SportingCP96

emotional range of a teaspoon
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
9,873
Supports
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Even France is in our sights, though I think they do too well in the Euro Leagues (topping poules) to catch them and even go for #5.

Without the 17/18 season, which falls away next season, we’re already well ahead of Portugal as is actually and with more teams able to score points that lead should theoretically extend. Porto is down to the EL and I don’t think Sporting will last another CL round in all honesty. It is possible, but they’ve shown a lot of exploitable weaknesses.
I think this is temporary due to Ajax having had some incredible European showings as of recent. The problem is the only club in the Netherlands who performs in Europe tends to be Ajax since 2017 so unless they consistently perform the way they have the last 3 years they will probable end up being behind Portugal again (France is unreachable because of PSG carrying the load).

Porto Benfica and Sporting tend to consistently perform in Europe either CL or Europa with Porto almost always getting through to the next round and Benfica being 50/50 but in the EL all Three teams consistently get very far in the competition and even Braga have become a club that gets some European wins.
 

V.O.

Last Man Standing finalist 2019/20
Joined
Jan 12, 2019
Messages
7,847
So after yesterday's results we can get PSG, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP and Inter. Most likely you can add Barcelona, Salzburg/Lille and Juventus to that mix.

Roughly a 50/50 chance of getting quite a strong opponent already in the first knock-out round. Salzburg, Sporting CP or even Barcelona would be nice though.
United vs PSG
City vs Lille
Chelsea vs Wigan
 

non profit football

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Mar 14, 2021
Messages
125
Supports
Chelsea
Kepa
Azpi, Christensen, Sarr
James, Barkley, Mount, Saul
Odoi, Lukaku, Werner

I expect a win and a good performance, Zenit has nothing at stake here and they have an important game for the Russian league this weekend, it will be a game to enjoy.
 

Harry190

Bobby ten Hag
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
7,603
Location
Canada
They didn’t care about the Asian market, it was to get more games on tv because of the 3pm blackout. EPL is also the most popular league in America and that’s not on at an optimal time?
It's a pretty good time to have those games on man. Your team wins, you have a great weekend, they lose, you have the whole day to feel sad.
 

InspiRED

Full Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
1,592
Supports
Outraged snowflakes
Lukaku pointing masterclass incoming. Watch and learn.
 

Mb194dc

Full Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Messages
4,595
Supports
Chelsea
Interesting lineup by the look of it, James and Barkley at CM? Good to see Havertz made the bench, was concerned about injury last week.

Having the early kick off is really a pain! Hope to watch second half.