⚽UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread -- 2021/22 winner - Real Madrid!

[MonaLeeTracy]

The presence of Xavi as Barcelona coach to continue the tiki-taka style,
Each coach has many variations on each tactic used, so it can't be considered taki-taki an outdated tactic.
When Xavi was still active as a Barcelona player, he became the brains of the tiki-taka game and could set the rhythm of the game and the chances he created turned into goals.
This trend is being carried out by Xavi to bring Barcelona back to the spirit of the game. when the tiki-taka strategy can blend in with all players, it will be very difficult to stop the flow of incoming balls. 6 trophies in one season is proof of how dangerous tiki-taka tactics are.

Xavi needs a genius trio or midfield duo and understands the tiki-taka style. Tiki-taka needs a mature midfielder, like Xavi and Iniesta did when they played under Pep Guardiola. Pedri is considered the most potential to continue the tiki-taki trend under Xavi leadership, but he is still very young and needs experience to be a maestro in midfield.
Barcelona failure to enter the last 16 was predicted long ago. Barcelona poor appearance made Xavi task even more difficult. New players might be the right solution to improve Barcelona performance.  Hopefully Barcelona can finish in the top 4 in La Liga so they can play in the UCL next season.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The postponed match, Atalanta - Villarreal is going to be played today if there is not any problem again. It was postponed due to heavy snow. And I think that Atalanta can win this match. Villarreal are ahead of them by one point and Atalanta must win not to be eliminated. Atalanta are in-form lately and they can do this I believe. But it would be a win by a one goal difference I guess.

Although Atlanta is still 1 point behind Villarreal. Yet I think Atlanta is much stronger than Villarreal as a team. Atlanta's performance has been stronger lately. They are playing very well. They are now fourth in the points table in Seria A. Villarreal's position in La Liga, on the other hand, is very weak. In the last 5 matches, they have lost 3 matches and won only one match.

[poldanmig]

The postponed match, Atalanta - Villarreal is going to be played today if there is not any problem again. It was postponed due to heavy snow. And I think that Atalanta can win this match. Villarreal are ahead of them by one point and Atalanta must win not to be eliminated. Atalanta are in-form lately and they can do this I believe. But it would be a win by a one goal difference I guess.

This is a decisive match for both teams, because one of them will accompany Manchester United to qualify for the round of 16, even though the match was postponed due to snow, but I think this match will still be exciting because both teams are currently fighting for one remaining ticket to win the match going to the next round, I personally will bet today for atlanta victory because to be honest I see atlanta is quite consistent in the season compared to villareal, even though villareal is in second position but they only have 1 point difference at this time, so atlanta must win if they really want to get the remaining tickets.

[$crypto$]

The postponed match, Atalanta - Villarreal is going to be played today if there is not any problem again. It was postponed due to heavy snow. And I think that Atalanta can win this match. Villarreal are ahead of them by one point and Atalanta must win not to be eliminated. Atalanta are in-form lately and they can do this I believe. But it would be a win by a one goal difference I guess.

Although Atlanta is still 1 point behind Villarreal. Yet I think Atlanta is much stronger than Villarreal as a team. Atlanta's performance has been stronger lately. They are playing very well. They are now fourth in the points table in Seria A. Villarreal's position in La Liga, on the other hand, is very weak. In the last 5 matches, they have lost 3 matches and won only one match.

It's a tough match but Atalanta will still be ahead at home I hope the snow won't hinder their game and keep playing competitively.
Even though they are one point behind Villareal but Atalanta's ability will be much better than the opponent, of course I will see from their domestic league statistics and this will affect this match in terms of the game.
You could say Atalanta is on fire.

[buwaytress]

Anyway, I thought we had hopes actually as the tide was turning but Walker got himself sent off and it's got to be over from here on...

Well, I know how that feels! In one little second, I wanted to place a bet on this game, but last time I bet on them against Crystal Palace they lost 0:2 at home, real disappointment! Also, they had that first place before this game and Leipzig needed a win for that third place and continuing in Europe League! So I skipped placing bets, and in the end, that was the right call!

Well, I actually caught that Palace win. It's kind of my thing to bet against City every time I see the odds are above 10 or even 15/1 (which was the case with Palace actually).

Last night wasn't my night either, didn't actually lose a lot but just games didn't quite turn out as I'd have hoped. Only Atalanta left tonight, but there's also not much value in that game unless you're into BTTS.

[ShowOff]

The presence of Xavi as Barcelona coach to continue the tiki-taka style,
Each coach has many variations on each tactic used, so it can't be considered taki-taki an outdated tactic.
When Xavi was still active as a Barcelona player, he became the brains of the tiki-taka game and could set the rhythm of the game and the chances he created turned into goals.
This trend is being carried out by Xavi to bring Barcelona back to the spirit of the game. when the tiki-taka strategy can blend in with all players, it will be very difficult to stop the flow of incoming balls. 6 trophies in one season is proof of how dangerous tiki-taka tactics are.

It was a fantastic past for Barcelona and I will always remember the glory they had, but now it looks like it will be difficult to repeat it. And in the end all doubts were answered in last night's Champions League group stage decider for the Barcelona squad. This is of course very unfortunate because this is not a common thing for Barcelona, ​​but given the team's condition and finances are very bad then I only consider it as a consequence they have to accept.

[Mahdirakib]

Xavi cannot be blamed for Barcelona's defeat. Barcelona's squad is very weak and inexperienced compared to other title-seeking squads. We can't expect much from such a team. Xavi has taken charge of the team. He will now stabilize the team somewhat. Fix their gameplay and strategy. Then next season if Barcelona can take some star players in the team then maybe they can be strong. I don't expect much from this team until new players are added.

Agree with you. Barcelona lost the first match in the same way against Bayern when Koeman was the coach. Barcelona is a broken team now, only coach can't fix the team lineup and performance. They need some good players in their squad. They are also having bad journey in LaLiga. Maybe Barcelona won't be able to qualify for next UCL season. They should bring some good players during the upcoming transfer window.

[karlriven3]

Villarreal and Atalanta over 2.5?

[Altryist]

It's a tough match but Atalanta will still be ahead at home I hope the snow won't hinder their game and keep playing competitively.
Even though they are one point behind Villareal but Atalanta's ability will be much better than the opponent, of course I will see from their domestic league statistics and this will affect this match in terms of the game.
You could say Atalanta is on fire.

Villarreal very often loves to play on defense, and perhaps this is the tactic they will adhere to today. In fact, all they need today is not to concede a goal. Atalanta has a very good attack, but when you know that you have to win, then in a hurry the game becomes not as good as always. I will be rooting for Atalanta today, but I do not rule out the possibility of a draw today.

[bikers online]

Xavi cannot be blamed for Barcelona's defeat. Barcelona's squad is very weak and inexperienced compared to other title-seeking squads. We can't expect much from such a team. Xavi has taken charge of the team. He will now stabilize the team somewhat. Fix their gameplay and strategy. Then next season if Barcelona can take some star players in the team then maybe they can be strong. I don't expect much from this team until new players are added.

Agree with you. Barcelona lost the first match in the same way against Bayern when Koeman was the coach. Barcelona is a broken team now, only coach can't fix the team lineup and performance. They need some good players in their squad. They are also having bad journey in LaLiga. Maybe Barcelona won't be able to qualify for next UCL season. They should bring some good players during the upcoming transfer window.

I think Barcelona's focus this year is not on being champions, although many people say no. xavi's arrival to Barcelona had to start from zero again. as strong as very weak star players go. I really blame Koeman for letting star players go, for example, Suarez, even though he's old, is no less great at scoring goals. With the rest of the season Xavi should improve his playing technique, Barcelona's signature tika-taka style of play.

[Cafex]

Atalanta - Villarreal game is ahead of us now if we don't see another postponement due to heavy weather conditions. I don't see any absolute favourite team in this game. I think that they have equal chance to win. But Atalanta must win if they wish to be present in the next round. And Villarreal are a team that have a strong defense. They can make things more difficult for their opponent. I'm expecting each of them to score.

[mia_houston]

Some great teams that used to play in the champions league but now they have to go down to play in the European league, barcelona and dortmund are two teams that this season has been quite disappointing for their fans because they were not able to progress to the round of 16 and had to be willing to be eliminated in the group stage match, however, what happened to Barcelona and Dortmund is still said to be quite lucky compared to AC Milan, which must be eliminated now.

[Jackl87]

Xavi cannot be blamed for Barcelona's defeat. Barcelona's squad is very weak and inexperienced compared to other title-seeking squads. We can't expect much from such a team. Xavi has taken charge of the team. He will now stabilize the team somewhat. Fix their gameplay and strategy. Then next season if Barcelona can take some star players in the team then maybe they can be strong. I don't expect much from this team until new players are added.

Agree with you. Barcelona lost the first match in the same way against Bayern when Koeman was the coach. Barcelona is a broken team now, only coach can't fix the team lineup and performance. They need some good players in their squad. They are also having bad journey in LaLiga. Maybe Barcelona won't be able to qualify for next UCL season. They should bring some good players during the upcoming transfer window.

A coach can not just magically transform a team that was performing pretty bad before into a top team within a few weeks, as you already said. I am pretty confident though that Xavi gets a lot of time in Barcelona to realize and to improve the way that he wants his team to play football. Xavi has such a high standing in Barcelona though that i i think he can really take his time to change things as he wants, even if he is not successful with it in this season i doubt that Barcelona would fire Xavi so quickly.
I doubt though that Barca can make some good transfers because they have 1,35 Billion € of debts, so there is no way that they can just buy a few good players, they have to rely on their own youth players.

[kayiboyu]

What a stressful matchday it was for the three teams (Milan, Porto, Atletico Madrid) in the Group B. After a great fight in each of the matches, Atletico Madrid stayed as a survivor in the Champions League. And Milan are the most unprofitable team now as they neither go to the next round nor to the Europa League. We will see what kind of a matchup Atletico Madrid will have next.

[ShowOff]

I doubt though that Barca can make some good transfers because they have 1,35 Billion € of debts, so there is no way that they can just buy a few good players, they have to rely on their own youth players.

It is reasonable to expect Barcelona to work with big investors from Arab countries just to improve the quality of the team again in the following seasons. I don't know what scenario they will do to improve the quality of the team which is currently starting to fade due to the generational transition. They could count on the academy players, but it definitely wasn't enough.

Xavi will not be able to change the quality of Barcelona as easily as we imagine, Barcelona does have to sacrifice big costs for the quality of a team that can be relied on again in big European competitions such as the Champions League. I know he will greatly influence the team's style of play, but without someone who is an expert in scoring goals in the team, it will be very difficult to win.

[RapTarX]

Atalanta are going to be playing a home game vs Villarreal today. And this is going to be the end for one of these teams in the Champions League. Villarreal are more advantageous now as we see them one point ahead. But Atalanta are a very capable team and this is a home game for them. They can win this if they give their everything. But if I bet on this game, I would choose both teams to score.

Atalanta is favorite for obvious reason but considering the strength and the odd for Vilareal (4.50), I will go with Villareal to win & both team to score. I guess the odd is quite good though it's an away match. If Villareal can score a goal first, I believe they will be able to not conceding a goal. I will win either of the bet 

[cygan]

the group stage is now over (in group f there is still the catch-up match bergamo - villarreal today) and there were 3 clubs that won all their 6 matches - fc liverpool, ajax amsterdam and bayern munich walked away victorious after every game.
Sebastien Heller (ajax) leads the scoring list with 10 goals, followed by R. Lewandowski with 9 goals.
the draw for the 1/8-final games will take place on monday, december 13

[laurenB7742]

This was the expected result. There is no hope that Barcelona will win. But they had the ability to draw. But they have shown very lightning performance. Their defense was very messy. The defense needed to be more stable before performing against a strong team. However, given Barcelona's poor performances since last season, it was only natural that they would not qualify for the next round of the Champions League.

I have also predicted that Barcelona will not qualify for the next round in UCL, the club is not good to that extent. Benfica won the club is a chance while Dynamo Kyiv has been so poor. I know Bayern will not mind they have qualified for the next round and mercilessly won Barcelona. This has never happened in many years but happened that Barcelona is finally missing UCL next round. Not only this, also that next year is becoming impossible for Barcelona to be among the clubs that will qualify for Champions League.

Barcelona have played 6 matches in the Champions League and managed to score only 2 goals. They conceded 9 goals. Barcelona scored two goals against Dynamo Kyve. I would say Barcelona have ruined the beauty of the Champions League this season. Hopefully they will prepare themselves better for next season. In particular, if Countinho, Dembele and Depay had performed their duties properly, Barcelona's performance would have been even greater.

[panjul07]

Villarreal and Atalanta over 2.5?

The odds of over 2.5 for this match is around 1.7, so it is worth the risk and reasonable enough to place.
Atalanta need a win to qualify for the round of 16, so they will play offensively to score goals.
On the other side, Villareal is also motivated to go further and a draw is enough for them but I do not think they will play with bus parking strategies.

[KTChampions]

At this point, all that remains is to define the last spot in Group F, between Atalanta and Villarreal. The meeting was postponed to today in Bergamo, due to heavy snowfall in the city.

The teams already supported:

Seeds (group winners)
- Manchester City (group A)
- Liverpool (group B)
- Ajax (group C)
- Real Madrid (group D)
- Bayern Munich (group E)
- Manchester United (group F)
- Juventus (Group H)
- Lille (G)

Not seeded (2nd place in the group)
- Paris SG (group A)
- Atletic Madrid (group B)
- Sporting (group C)
- Inter Milan (group D
- Benfica (group E)
- Villarreal or Atalanta (group F)
- Chelsea (group H)
- Salzburg (group G)

Seeded teams look so much stronger than non-seeded teams that it seems like they are a collection of teams from different tournaments (eg Champions League and Europa League). In fact, only Lille, PSG and Chelsea are not in their places. Judging by the formal balance of power, most of the unseeded teams should be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.