"The current iteration..". Never seen the word iteration being used in this context.
I remember PSG doing well in the past but then I also remember Man City winning European trophies before the megabucks came to Maine Road.
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"The current iteration..". Never seen the word iteration being used in this context.
I remember PSG doing well in the past but then I also remember Man City winning European trophies before the megabucks came to Maine Road.
Clubs from 8 different countries in the last 8 of the Europa League. Wonder when that last happened? Great to see though, albeit that the CL is as predictable as ever, a slight German slump this year aside.
2004-05 UEFA Cup - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E...Quarter-finalsQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
A couple of reasonably close calls in between. There were two teams from Belgium last season which was a bit unusual and also a Bucharest derby at the q/final stage 2005-06. I'd forgotten about the trouncing Zenit gave Bayern Munich in the 2008 semi final.
Winning this would save Wenger surely?
And still a possibility that two Red Bull teams will meet each other.
Surely there has to be some sanction against Liverpool for the attack on the Man City bus last night? If not it becomes open season on away buses ?? Great first half performance mind you.
It was right outside the ground right? I suppose you could argue its a policing matter primarily, and the club can't be held too responsible. I've heard it claimed authorities are sometimes a bit hesitant to go after Liverpool for fan behavior problems, but they were fined for what occurred in the stands of the 2016 Europa League Final (though it was really just a financial slap on the wrist). It might happen again.
Yes, right outside the stadium I think. Rightly or wrongly, if the club doesn't face some sanction, what's to stop yobs at every ground attacking the away buses in the hope of intimidating the away side and thereby gaining a perceived advantage.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
I was surprised to see a window shatter. I would have thought that Man City with their billions would have fitted shatter proof windows on the coach.
Well now, weren't they two interesting results? Two teams who pride themselves on attacking football have once against shown that you also to be able to defend. City may bemoan the fact that they had a goal incorrectly disallowed when 1-0 but then their first goal should have been ruled out for a foul by Sterling so that evens itself out. Managers are myopic of course and don't see such things - they only see the injustice perpetrated on their team. I didn't see the Roma v Barca game (too busy wringing my hands as each QPR goal hit the back of the net) but Barca have been shown to be vulnerable on their travels so it wasn't the "shock" the media are portraying.
5-1 over two legs and guardiola blames the ref!Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
such nonsense spoken this season about city being one of the all-time best EPL teams. not a patch on the great arsenal or man utd teams of the EPL era
Pep's just not used to his current position, losing three games in a row - at least two of them in embarrassing circumstances - and facing an away trip to Spurs in a few days, so it could be four (when was the last time that happened to them?). Looking for any excuse to deflect from the sudden blip. Chances of them messing up the run-in are miniscule but the gloss has been taken off their season a bit regardless.
Certainly not as good as the Sheffield Wednesday side of the 1928/29 and 1929/30 era ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
Buffon's post-match rant after being sent off last night is something else, a real "They can't touch me anymore so I'll say what I like" thing: https://www.msn.com/en-ie/sport/uefa...cid=spartanntp
"If you can’t handle the pressure and have the courage to make a decision, then you should just sit in the stands and eat your crisps." - Actually, the reverse happened. The referee had great courage in making the decision knowing what was at stake. The easy way out would have been to wave play on and not give the penalty. So what is he saying? If a side comes back from the dead, the other side should not be awarded what was a fairly clear penalty both for the nudge in the back and the tackle from behind.
Who would want to be a referee after garbage like that?
Somebody who has garbage for a heart, it seems. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Still unrepentant https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2018...in-underrated/
Good piece. I didn't realise Juve had such high moral standards historically!
Being an old cynic, I usually don't enjoy the hype surrounding games but I certainly enjoyed those two semi-finals. I wonder when is the last time a team scored 6 goals in a semi-final and didn't go through. A lot of talk of porous defences but sometimes the attacking play is so good, it's not the defence but the brilliance of the attack. I thought this in particular for the Madrid vs Bayern game. Some of the latter's one touch play was excellent and very hard to defend against. Liverpool, on the other hand, do have a dodgy defence but if you can score 7 goals, what's the problem. Looking forward to the Final.
I thought the Liverpool Roma tie was comical to be honest, the defending, the refereeing, everything. Credit to Liverpool for displaying the quality to expose Roma's naivety in that half hour spell in the first leg but, outside of that, it was well below what you'd expect at that level.
I agree about the other tie to a large extent. Real didn't help themselves with the way they were set up, hopefully they'll be less open in the final!
Is that not entertainment ?Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
I found the second leg of Real Bayern entertaining. I can't say I was overly engaged by the game last night, depends what you're after I guess.
To be perfectly honest, I derive my entertainment from many factors in a game and would have preferred a tighter game with both teams good at both ends. The poor defending for several of the goals over both legs actually took away from the game for me. I'd have preferred an example of football being played at its best at this stage of an elite competition. Context is everything. Had than been a group game or even a last 16 game I'd have been more forgiving, but last night bugged me just as much as it entertained me.
That's a much better way of putting it.
The Monaco Manchester City tie bugged me last year too but, as you say, at least that wasn't a semi final.
I've been struggling watching any kind of soccer for a long while but he takes the biscuit. The pettiness of his arguments sometimes...Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
Remember when he drew with Wolves (?) in the EFL Cup and he blamed the ball?
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I'm with Stutts re these games. If we wanted to watch basketball....
That being said I hope we get a goalfest in the final because I want Liverpool to win and that's the only way it will happen.
I thought we shouldn't let the Final pass without a comment even though I will be out and won't see it. The winner will probably be the team which defends the least badly of the two so my money (not really) is on Madrid. It's a toss up which I like the least: Klopp or Ronaldo so I am totally neutral on this one. In Spain I follow Real Betis if only for the reason a barman gave me a Betis jersey when I was in Seville for the 0-0 between Ireland and Spain (under Charlton) in 1992. Alas I no longer fit in to it but I liked the green and white stripes (stripes and green - ideal for me really).
So forecast: 4-2 Madrid.
Real looked a tired team at times this season, in the second legs against Juventus & Bayern in particular. They played (close to) their strongest team in their final league game last weekend, Zidane deciding that the game should keep them sharp rather than resting guys at the end of a long season. I wonder could that have been a mistake when facing a younger, energetic Liverpool side who have had a two week break? Winning back-to-back Champions League has proved notoriously difficult so for this team to be on the verge of three is remarkable and they're probably not given the recognition they deserve (compared to Barcelona 09-11 anyway). Another win tomorrow could change that but I fear for them a little, hope I'm wrong though!
Why are you up for Madrid ? I can't really make my mind up who I'd like to see win. I used to like Liverpool primarily because they always had a rake of Irish playing for them. Now there's n'er a sign of a tricolour unless it's from Cameroon or Senegal. If Liverpool set off on the front foot like they did for example against Man City, it could be their evening but the odds are in favour of Madrid 6/5 vs 9/4.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
I'd always have supported Man Utd so pretty natural reasons for not liking Liverpool, although at this stage I'd probably dislike them more than a I actually like United.
I've always preferred Real to Barcelona also, and actually love this particular side. Big Bale fan too despite what he did to our Joshy. :o
So, this is a very easy one for me.
How about that then? Are Liverpool lost without Salah? Could Karius have been any worse? Will Dunphy ever stop writing off Madrid and Ronaldo after they win something?
That could destroy Karius and his career. Mistakes that were as bad as you could imagine, on one of the biggest stages possible.
True - though Ulreich made as bad an error in the semi-final and it's almost forgotten now.
Not a great game overall though. Got a feeling Real had weathered the early Liverpool storm when Salah went off. Real were comfortable winners after that, though they did need Karius' intervention in the end.
Bale's other goal was superb; better than Ronaldo's equivalent (which to me is a contender for the most overhyped goal of the tournament - cracking goal, but got excessively talked up purely because it was Ronaldo)
Only saw the goals, not the game, and then only one glimpse. Is there any rule how far a player has to be away from the keeper when he's entitled to block a keeper's kick out from his hands or a throw ? The other mistake: he seemed to be in two minds about whether to punch or catch. Keepers get a lot of stick sometimes for going for the two handed punch instead of catching - now we know why they go for the latter option sometime.
I wondered about the stated rules too when I saw Karius complaining. Looking at my favourite PDF from FIFA, page 123 appears to cover this under three possible infringements. Benzema didn't prevent the keeper from releasing the ball, clearly. I think the ball had been released when Benzema stuck his foot out, so he can't be sanctioned for attempting to play the ball while the keeper was in the process of releasing it. And I don't think Benzema restricted the movement of the keeper in any way, he just darted in front of him as he played the ball.
I can't find any reference to a specific distance a player should be away from the keeper when the keeper has the ball in his hands, or as he is playing it from that position.
Unfortunately for Karius, a mistake in a final is far more memorable, and two mistakes as bad as they were is off the charts really. I don't think I'd even remember the name Petr Kouba if it wasn't for his error in the Euro 96 final, which was nowhere near as bad as the Karius ones. Being a historic 'Golden Goal' added to it but still.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I doubt many Bayern fans have almost forgotten Ulreich's mistake either. :)
It's being claimed Karius was suffering from a concussion when he made the two errors.
As has been pointed out elsewhere, Karius and Ramos had a, shall we say, collision of some sort a few minutes before Benzema's goal. Whether it was deliberate or accidental is a matter for debate. It's likely it's what Karius was complaining about to the ref's after the Benzema goal.