Xavi's done a great job at Barcelona. Great talent out of Masia. Cabarsi 17, Yamal 16, Balde 20, Gavi 19,Perdi 21 Fermin Lopez 20 will all be around for the next decade.
Yeah was watching them games last night and was thinking anything can happen. Liverpool should be the latter stages of the UCL and with a fast start, something mental could happen. Going to need the players to have their shooting boots on. really enjoyed the champions league games last week or so. It’s great once its get to this stage. Next year even more meaningless games for tv money
Thought the exact same thing last night, as well as the fact we beat them 5-0 at home four years ago (Jota hattrick). Of course the elephant in the room is that LFC are playing absolute tripe at the moment, but get the first goal before 20mins, keep it tight & things could get interesting.
That could easily happen tomorrow. I wondered at the time if the game/score would've been different if the foul had been inside the box, doubt the ref would've sent the player off. Psg more than likely would've scored but Barca would've still been ahead with 11 men on the pitch.
After Celtic's wobble past few weeks, Rangers have gone and thrown the league away in 2 games. Only a win at Celtic Park gets them back in it.
Probably not a bad thing. I don't know where we'll find the form but beat Fulham and Everton then Wednesday nights league table puts a little bit of pressure on them before they play Brighton. Another extra time on Wembley pitch this weekend please.
City could have done with having Cole Palmer for penalties. Delighted that gimp missed in the manner he did.
Pep really is the most overrated manager in the history of football and so happy that muppet Silva missed in the manner he did! Was hoping City and Arsenal would get through to help out Premier League chances but am absolutely delighted both were bounced out! Think Munich be much happier playing Madrid than Man City as well!
Stewards enquiry on 34 year old kyle walker lasting 120 mins of football in his first game back from injury?
Didn't see any of it. I heard Saka was anonymous though so I'm imagining he had some limp by the end of that game.
A lot of City fans are blaming Haaland. Football writers wondering if Cole Palmer was the calm head that would have gotten them through last night. It's so fucking reductive. Players have tough spells,even Haaland. That's when other world class players step up. Sometimes they don't, so much of football can come down to luck. I don't know if Cole Palmer would have scored or created a goal last night,but neither does anybody else. And the idea that Cole Palmer or any player is immune from the emotional impact, pressure or fatigue that effects players in the kind of situation City are dealing with, is silly. When you've last seasons treble winners, who are top of the league now,playing in a CL quarter final against Real Madrid,and falling just short,and by all accounts in a game they could have just as likely won, yet there will be endless discussions about all the things they got wrong, shows how absurd football discourse is. It's like the way Liverpool fans will have to defend Klopps perceived underperformance, despite the almost certainty that there's not another manager on the planet who could have produced better Liverpool teams in the same circumstances, or even to a lesser extent the criticism Arteta will get now because he hasn't turned Arsenal into a team that can finish ahead of City or win the Champions League. I'm not saying teams shouldn't always be trying to improve or people shouldn't discuss where teams have fallen short, because no manager or team will ever get everything right. But there's no acknowledgement anymore of the general nature of football, where no matter how many good decisions a club or a manager makes,you're still dependent on a certain amount of luck.
I thought it was strange that they put two consecutive players in the penalty shoot out who'd never b4 taken a penalty. I'd have put Foden after Silva..especially when he'd missed. It's probably not as strange as the fact neither Silva or Kovacic had taken a penalty in professional football. Apparently pep said both haaland and de bruyne looked to come off coz they were wrecked. Going all out on 3 or 4 fronts right to the end of the season definitely takes its toll..even on the best players. Madrid were lucky...and definitely played for penos after the equaliser...but that's the luck of the draw
Before Haaland arrived the City lads used to take turns in missing penalties. On that subject, Damien Delaney described the penalty shoot out as a lottery. I think that's pure bullshit, scoring penalties and winning shoot outs in a skill.