Champions League 2017/18

[SF_]

Delighted for Pagnell. There's a man who's stuck with his team through thick and thin over the last 10 years (and more, predating this forum)

Liverpool deserved to go through.

City fans are plastic and Guardiola is a massive, massive bellend.

And there's your match report.

Definitely. Top 4 finishes, European campaigns, Suarez, Coutinho, Torres and cup finals, must have been horrid.

 

[St. Juste]

Well done for spectacularly missing the point. Deliberately one suspects, although perhaps I'm giving you too much credit. Van Dijk was one ridiculously expensive signing, rather than an almost entire team full. Also, his purchase was facilitated by the sale of Coutinho for an even more ludicrous fee. To the other team my comment was directed at coincidentally.

As for Roma, their achievement last night in getting to the semi-final eclipses all else in the competition. And I'm aware their team is worth less than Liverpool's, in the same way ours is worth far less than City's.

The Barcelona team is hardly full of very expensive signings, either.

Their two most expensive players were on the bench, or unregistered. The only starting player whose transfer fee comes close to that of VVD is Suarez, the rest are either home grown or relative bargains.

I don't really think Liverpool can take the moral high ground relative to big spending 'others'. They are not the biggest spending side, certainly relative to their opponents, but it's hardly a victory against Modern Football.

The other side that reached the semi final had their best player poached by Liverpool.

The hierarchy of the Semis will be as follows:

Real
Bayern
Liverpool
Roma

While it's true Roma pay significantly less in wages than we do, I'd wager the gap is similar to that between us and City. But yes, Roma being here is the much bigger upset.

Funny you should bring it up now, rather than when it looked like we would be carrying the significantly lightest wage bill to the semi finals.

Really? I don't have enough interest to check but I don't think hat would be the case.

Regarding your second point, I made it clear Liverpool would be the underdogs in semis against Barcelona, Real and Bayern. Now they are still underdogs, but very much the third of four.

Should be some good ties though, likely to be one representative per nation, a good mix of footballing styles and experience levels at this stage in the competition.

Would have probably preferred Juventus got through against Real, but pretty happy with the SF line up.

 

[SALTIRE]

Pissing himself before yesterday's match and now it's "Bring them all on"

Aye you are right, I was nervous before yesterday's game as we had something to defend, and I've seen a few Liverpool bottle jobs the last few years to be concerned.

However now we are through, I'm here for the ride, it would be phenomenal to beat Real or Bayern in the semi to get to another final, but if we got beat by them, so be it, they are heavy favourites against us anyway, we have nothing to lose.

 

[Bilo]

2-0 Juve here we go again

 

[mistermagic]

A Juve/Roma final would definitely shut me up back when I claimed that Serie A has low quality...

 

[Super_horns]

As someone once said when commenting on a Derby v Man City goal "interesting , very interesting "!

 

[Bilo]

Oh my god I don't even

 

[mistermagic]

Never should have sold that player. Got 4 lungs has Blaise.

 

[Pickleman1967]

Incredible, don't know who I'd prefer if I was a Liverpool fan; Real Madrid with all their CL experience or a Juve team who can come back from the dead like this...

 

[epic73]

Happy International Expose a Bald Fraud Week!

 

[Bilo]

Incredible, don't know who I'd prefer if I was a Liverpool fan; Real Madrid with all their CL experience or a Juve team who can come back from the dead like this...

I'd very much like to avoid Juve they're basically the blueprint for knocking us out. Going into the knockout phase they were the team I wanted the least, and this obviously doesn't change it provided they go through. No I'll have Bayern thanks, let these Italians kill each other if it comes to that.

 

[JimJams]

What a shit set of quarter finals this has been.

 

[Pickleman1967]

What a shit set of quarter finals this has been.

You so crazeee Jim Jams!

 

[Benji]

What a shit set of quarter finals this has been.

Football purists like us are rolling our eyes at all these scores. Hello? Has anyone heard of defending? 10 men behind the ball please.

 

[Pickleman1967]

Happy International Expose a Bald Fraud Week!

Are you talking about Trump? I'll have you know he has a fine head of hair, the rumours of a comb over have been greatly exaggerated!

 

[Pickleman1967]

I'd very much like to avoid Juve they're basically the blueprint for knocking us out. Going into the knockout phase they were the team I wanted the least, and this obviously doesn't change it provided they go through. No I'll have Bayern thanks, let these Italians kill each other if it comes to that.

I think I agree with you mate, if Juve get through this unprecedented reverse they will believe nobody can stop them.

 

[Super_horns]

That was predictable as much as the rest of the match had been unpredictable!

Unusual to see a player sent off - let alone booked for dissent!​

 

[Bilo]

What a fucking horrible way to go out. And it wasn't even a stonewall pen tbh.

 

[Pickleman1967]

Damn, now it is Real Madrid who will believe they are destined to win the cup!

 

[epic73]

Good call on the penalty imo.

 

[Laker]

Real getting help from the officials was highly predictable. The only real surprise is that it didn't happen with Barcelona too.

I don’t think you’re in a good place to comment to be honest....

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

Was very much hoping for a Juve victory and that was the worst possible denouement but I thought it was a pretty clear penalty tbh.

 

[Bilo]

Real getting help from the officials was highly predictable. The only real surprise is that it didn't happen with Barcelona too.

Uefa are literally the biggest losers if one or two sides continue to dominate year in, year out. It's not a conspiracy, nobody but Real wanted this to happen.

 

[Pagnell]

I don’t think you’re in a good place to comment to be honest....

We won 5-1, a decisive victory over two legs. It wasn't even close bar for 35 minutes of football. Real won 4-3 with a debatable penalty in the final minutes of the second tie. It's not even comparable.

 

[Gassy]

Not really sure how it's debatable, it's a penalty all day long for me.

Sad for Buffon but his reaction was terrible

 

[Bilo]

Not really sure how it's debatable, it's a penalty all day long for me.

Sad for Buffon but his reaction was terrible

It's a pen in the book, but so is every shirt pull which would result in 10 or 15 a game. Football refereeing is as much about common sense as it is about the book. Is that a penalty in the 93rd minute of a tied quarter final? Is it fuck. It should definitely be allowed, it's a tough challenge but it shouldn't have been given (just like a minor shirt pull in the 93rd minute shouldn't be given, either).

It's a serious problem in football how players are constantly trying to con the ref. You don't really see it in England just yet but most European teams have a defender falling over on every single set piece, literally, because it will give you enough free kicks for it to be worth sacrificing one defender for it. Take any given set piece in this tie and you'll see a defender falling over appealing for a free kick. I doubt there's a single exception.

The refs can't call it word for word by the book because the players don't give them the chance. Don't settle major games with iffy penalties because it only makes things worse. And Vasquez goes down like a sack of bricks even if he just feels a breath down his neck anyway.

 

[Gassy]

It's a pen in the book, but so is every shirt pull which would result in 10 or 15 a game. Football refereeing is as much about common sense as it is about the book. Is that a penalty in the 93rd minute of a tied quarter final? Is it fuck. It should definitely be allowed, it's a tough challenge but it shouldn't have been given (just like a minor shirt pull in the 93rd minute shouldn't be given, either).

It's a serious problem in football how players are constantly trying to con the ref. You don't really see it in England just yet but most European teams have a defender falling over on every single set piece, literally, because it will give you enough free kicks for it to be worth sacrificing one defender for it. Take any given set piece in this tie and you'll see a defender falling over appealing for a free kick. I doubt there's a single exception.

The refs can't call it word for word by the book because the players don't give them the chance. Don't settle major games with iffy penalties because it only makes things worse. And Vasquez goes down like a sack of bricks even if he just feels a breath down his neck anyway.

I see your point and I can't talk with the same experience that you can for European football, but what I can say is that ultimately as a defender, you cannot jump in like that in the box, especially not from behind. Sure, he goes down easily but it's a foul all day long, he's shoved the player and then wrapped his leg round him to kick the ball away, it's a dangerous tackle;

If he didn't get the nudge in the back i don't have much doubt that he would have scored.

I agree with your point about the shirt pulling, hard to argue with that. But at the same time, a penalty should be a penalty whether its 1st minute, 60th or 93rd.

For me the only way we can really tackle diving in the box is treating diving the same as the foul in the first place. If you deny a goal scoring opportunity its a red card, if you are caught diving in the box, it's also a red card for trying to cheat one. As soon as the red come out, you'll soon see players stop diving in the box

 

[JimJams]

There's nothing debatable about any of it. It's a penalty, deserved red card, shit end for Buffon. But Oliver has got it all correct. He didnt even need to make the challlenge cos Ascensio miscontrols it on his chest.

The fallout is quite embarrassing for Italy and Italian football. Some accusing Oliver of being bias against Italy. Which is odd given he was officiating in a game in which they were 3 goals up.
Buffon has said Oliver shouldnt be reffing if he cant "understand the importance of some moments". Which is crap really. Basically Buffon was disproportionally incensed because he's retiring and this was his last shot. That doesn't matter to the ref, and he shouldn't show leniency because of it because then he's not impartial.
Many people wanted to see another epic turnaround and are letting that cloud their judgement of the incident.

 

[Super_horns]

As I always say in such incidents - if that had been on the other foot the Italians would be saying well done ref - great decision and the Madrid boys would be claiming UEFA bias and calling out the ref.

 

[JimJams]

The uefa bias claim is absurd given Juve contested 2 of the last 3 finals.