Champions League 2015/6

That was one hell of a performance by Atletico and a great game of football in the 2nd half.

Some in rte panel afterwards were claiming that Atletico are virtually living off scraps, selling their best and replacing them with cheap signings.
This season they have sold for about Eur 145m and bought replacements for about Eur 135m. Of course they are not super rich, but upper middling rich.

The competitiveness of the other game was affected by Benfica having scored no away goal and the 3 Benfica strikers were suspended. All the same Benfica were a pleasant surprise over the 2 legs and could be a real contender next season, there's a lot to like about their football.

Yeah I suppose Atletico's finances/tranfser activity were discussed with Real Madrid and Barcelona in mind. I think Dunphy went a bit far by calling them the Leicester of Spain alright. ;)

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

Yeah I suppose Atletico's finances/tranfser activity were discussed with Real Madrid and Barcelona in mind. I think Dunphy went a bit far by calling them the Leicester of Spain alright. ;)

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Atletico's finances/transfer activity were not discussed with Real Madrid and Barcelona in mind,
the comments by themselves were just downright wrong,
"selling their best players and having to buy economically" etc

If only it were true, but good Jesus the whinng about the "Barca dream" ending is as bad when they were all conquering.

A month ago this team were the greatest ever. Good Jesus.

Anyway, all the craic is over in the EL.
Coutinho makes it 2-3 now.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

If only it were true, but good Jesus the whinng about the "Barca dream" ending is as bad when they were all conquering.

A month ago this team were the greatest ever. Good Jesus.

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Well Bonnie, it's time for the great Bayern Munchen and Pep to take up the gauntlet of being the first ambassadors of top quality modern european football.
I wasn't aware that Bayern took such a brave stand against the Nazis before and during WW2 when a minuscule act of perceived defiance, meant death
They were branded a Judenklub by the Nazis.
I'm warming to this great German team, what a history they have.

Manchester City v Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid v Bayern Munich

Good draw for City as they can score goals and Real can concede them. Mind you the reverse applies as well of course. Possibility of another Madrid Final though.

Bit of a dream draw for Real Madrid all the same, especially having the home leg second. Atletico could probably have done with the home leg second, hopefully they don't picked up too many suspensions. Barcelona being taken out of the equation has opened it up... the bookies will indicate a Real Madrid v Bayern final, and it would be hard to disagree with them.

On what planet are the odds that Bayern aren't favourites for this fixture?

Out of the 4 teams remaining the only one to "hope" for are Atletico.

The other three for varying reasons are a pox on the game.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

On what planet are the odds that Bayern aren't favourites for this fixture?

Out of the 4 teams remaining the only one to "hope" for are Atletico.

The other three for varying reasons are a pox on the game.

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Why are Bayern a pox on the game? They are big but is it not mostly through self-generated wealth? I don't know so it's a genuine question.

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Originally Posted by RedBench

I really think Bayern and Real are the favourites to win the Champions League this year after Barcelona exit.

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Really, you think?:p

What a big yawn that game was, I ended up playing solitaire.
Jesus probably wept also.

There was one great passage of play around 75 mins where Real worked the ball beautifully in a tight space deep in their own half and then a few passes later ended up heading the ball against the bar.

The Times was funny this morning. Headline all about Joe Hart saving the day. Big photo of him blocking Pepe's (?) shot from close range. Player ratings then gave him 6/10 but Navas 7!

Dull game, but sets up second leg well. Real are 18 for, zero against at home in the CL this season. Will City score?

Looking forward to tonight.

I thought the second half was pretty good, well Real were good and City defended well. The first half was a bit disjointed, Real couldn't get anything going but always looked comfortable at the same time. Modric and Kroos were below par so there was no real link between defence and attack. They improved in the second half though and controlled the game really. It was never likely to burst into life too much without a goal being scored, with both teams reasonably happy with 0-0, but I didn't think it was boring either.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Will City score?

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Quite possibly but I suspect they'll need more than one, particularly if Ronaldo is back. City have had some good away results in Europe this season despite being brutal on the road in the PL.

While both teams were happy for most of the game with a 0 - 0 draw, I'd rather watch Ronaldo stretching out on the sidelines.
Marginally more interesting than watching Steaua Bucharest play for penalties.

What a goal from Saul. Great start to the game.

Bayern look out of sort. Long may it continue.

Every team are out of sorts against Atletico!

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

Every team are out of sorts against Atletico!

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70% possession and not an iota of what to do with it.

There was a great passage of play that summed up Atletico in the last 3 min; Koke got on the end of a a ball in his own box and headed it out and away. He then proceeded to follow the ball and ended up trying to stop the Bayern player who received it. Great stuff. They're relentless in defence. Love it.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

70% possession and not an iota of what to do with it.

There was a great passage of play that summed up Atletico in the last 3 min; Koke got on the end of a a ball in his own box and headed it out and away. He then proceeded to follow the ball and ended up trying to stop the Bayern player who received it. Great stuff. They're relentless in defence. Love it.

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As a neutral though would you like to watch two Atletico type teams playing each other? I am not so sure. If the Atletico systems proves to be successful, will other coaches decide to follow it ? Good for Atletico. Not sure that will be great for football if the main object becomes to stop others scoring and hope to nick one. They've only scored something like 57 goals in 37 games in La Liga.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

They're relentless in defence. Love it.

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Yeah it's brilliant to watch. "Look at them", said Dunphy, "they're like dogs after a bone". :D

Pity Torres didn't make it two but I suppose they got a couple of breaks as well. Do Bayern have it in them to keep a clean sheet next week? They'll probably need to.