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

[kassex]

Are you talking about a winning streak of 22 matches?

Not exactly that's one. Ancelotti don't follow a player rotation policy which leave him a injured team at the end of the season or at the time or crucial matches. That's happen with Real Madrid back in 0214/15 season IIRC. Since, Madrid is in winning streak, he can try with rotating some players and send some current players in rest. It's not easy to play 90 minutes two times in a week.

At the moment, Real Madrid has no players who can replace Casemiro, Cross and Modric. And in past matches, Ancelloti was forced not to rotate. Of the experienced players, there are Hazard and Bale, but alas, they are not ready to play at full strength and are unlikely to play in the future. Now the Covid-19 epidemic has disabled Modric, so he will rest for the next 2 weeks.

[Juse14]

In fact, it is not yet clear who should be more afraid in this pair. Both clubs are in crisis now, but before the games there is enough time to change the game and get the necessary game form, so whoever solves these problems will be the favorite in the upcoming confrontation. I hope it will be United and objectively speaking United has more potential for growth than Atlético.

It's silly to talk about the strength of the teams, because there are still two months left before the confrontation and a lot can change during this time. I have no doubt about the class and strength of Cristiano Ronaldo's game, but football is a collective game and 11 people participate in it, and a lot also depends on the efforts of the other players. I would not dare to talk about the greater potential of the Manchester United squad compared to Atletico Madrid, because Diego Simeone has proven throughout his previous career and skill at Atletico that he is able to remove stronger teams from his path, skillfully building the game and tactics of the team in such matches.

Past achievements are worthless, so they can be ignored. This season, Simeone received the world's strongest (as it seemed at the beginning of the season) bunch of strikers Suarez + Greenzman, and how did he dispose of it? Atlético continued to play tedious defensive football, which yielded mediocre results all season (they miraculously got into the Champions League playoffs and their position in La Liga is weak). What is the likelihood that Simeone will be able to radically change something? Historically, I see that it is very small. What is the likelihood that a great team (in composition) will finally start to play well? Much more since real changes are taking place in United (for example, a change of coach).

Atletico's defense is quite strong. Besides that, the counter-attack by Diego Simoeone's team is also very dangerous because they always counterattack quickly so MU must be vigilant.
but maybe if compared to Atletico's performance is better than MU at this time depending on how Rangnick can mix something new or not now because the possibility of MU will lose is quite large

[snipie]

I don't know if it was intentional or purely a technical error, but what is certain now is that many people think that there is a dishonesty in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 drawing.

Surely UEFA will say this is a technical error and it is impossible to speak of dishonesty, but of course there is a lot of speculation at the level of UEFA, only making a few mistakes but causing a lot of harm to other clubs, so I think this is certainly UEFA should not repeat it again.
But I saw that there was indeed an injustice in the lottery and this is the first time I've seen this draw twice, I know.

A lot of ink was sparked over this though but after all no one can judge UEFA about what happened. I believe that a team that wants to be a champion has to win vs whatever team it faces. Anyway, we have good fixtures over there in February

[diderdrogba]

The toughest ones among the last 32 round matchups are PSG vs Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United. PSG seem to be a little better than Real Madrid recently but we never know what can happen in this. Real Madrid are really strong this season and they are capable of eliminating PSG actually. Bu my favourite is PSG here. And in the other one, my favourite is Manchester United. Because they seem to be more capable than Atletico Madrid for now. But things can change until the CL games also of course.

[Silberman]

I don't know if it was intentional or purely a technical error, but what is certain now is that many people think that there is a dishonesty in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 drawing.

Surely UEFA will say this is a technical error and it is impossible to speak of dishonesty, but of course there is a lot of speculation at the level of UEFA, only making a few mistakes but causing a lot of harm to other clubs, so I think this is certainly UEFA should not repeat it again.
But I saw that there was indeed an injustice in the lottery and this is the first time I've seen this draw twice, I know.

And this is the big issue the mistake was so big and the stage so large that there is no way people are going to accept their explanations at face value, how it could go wrong something that is so important and that they had months to prepare for? It is true that systems fail but that fact that it failed at such moment seems suspicious to a lot of people, after all if they were having technical problems it would have been better to postpone the draw instead of holding the draw anyway, since now people have doubts about the legitimacy of the draw itself.

[Pulsar77]

I wonder if we can see a surprising result after the Villarreal - Juventus matchup ends. Villarreal have performed really good in the CL so far. But one important thing comes to my mind also that Manchester United defeated them twice in their group games. Maybe they weren't the most comfortable victories but in the end they did. Villarreal seem to have a lower chance to advance compared to Juventus. As long as Juventus don't struggle with serious injuries, they would eliminate Villarreal.

[DU18]

I don't know if it was intentional or purely a technical error, but what is certain now is that many people think that there is a dishonesty in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 drawing.

Surely UEFA will say this is a technical error and it is impossible to speak of dishonesty, but of course there is a lot of speculation at the level of UEFA, only making a few mistakes but causing a lot of harm to other clubs, so I think this is certainly UEFA should not repeat it again.
But I saw that there was indeed an injustice in the lottery and this is the first time I've seen this draw twice, I know.

Every year UEFA keeps changing every rule that applies in European competitions and they do it well, but instead they seem to have trouble regulating something quite as simple as the draw, isn't that a pretty strange thing?
I think the draw has been prepared for a long time, so there shouldn't be the slightest mistake in its implementation, but this season they made two mistakes in drawing of course it's quite embarrassing, even if we remember it seems like every year UEFA always make mistakes that give rise to speculation .

[jakdanyel]

When the results of the first drawing were released, to be honest I was very surprised because manchester united would face villareal again, even though it was clear that both teams were in the same group in the group phase and it happened repeatedly, but thankfully the drawing has been repeated so the team who are in the last 16 get their real opponents right now.

I don't know if it was intentional or purely a technical error, but what is certain now is that many people think that there is a dishonesty in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 drawing.

I agree that it was really not a very cool thing that they did. I don't remember any time like this that they made a big mistake while the draw is going on. They are already very experienced in this and nothing has changed. Consequently, people start to think like there must be something as a reason behind this action and it could be an on-purpose action. On the other hand, I think like "What could be the reason?" if they really did this on purpose.

[JeromeTash]

Not exactly that's one. Ancelotti don't follow a player rotation policy which leave him a injured team at the end of the season or at the time or crucial matches. That's happen with Real Madrid back in 0214/15 season IIRC. Since, Madrid is in winning streak, he can try with rotating some players and send some current players in rest. It's not easy to play 90 minutes two times in a week.

I noticed it too. The man has failed to rotated players especially the aging midfielders like Kroos and Modric, yet there are good replacements like Valverde and Isco at his disposal not forgetting camavinga.

I feel Real Madrid might suffer from the consequences of player fatigue at the business end of the season and tornaments.

[tazmantasik]

When the results of the first drawing were released, to be honest I was very surprised because manchester united would face villareal again, even though it was clear that both teams were in the same group in the group phase and it happened repeatedly, but thankfully the drawing has been repeated so the team who are in the last 16 get their real opponents right now.

I don't know if it was intentional or purely a technical error, but what is certain now is that many people think that there is a dishonesty in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 drawing.

I agree that it was really not a very cool thing that they did. I don't remember any time like this that they made a big mistake while the draw is going on. They are already very experienced in this and nothing has changed. Consequently, people start to think like there must be something as a reason behind this action and it could be an on-purpose action. On the other hand, I think like "What could be the reason?" if they really did this on purpose.

Still not understand why UEFA have make second drawing what the problem and mistake with first drawing still not clarify on the public, I see many time UEFA make big mistake but not any club like Real Madrid want to get new revolution on UEFA team. From super leagues ideas where club can get much money but still not agree by UEFA and now they not really contribute about how much money from champion league still not any clarify.

[Spack17]

It seems to me like that Ajax can advance to the quarter finals after having one of the best matchups which is against Benfica. I wouldn't like to underrate Benfica of course but it should already be seen clearly by many people that Ajax are in a much greater condition than their opponent now. The Ajax team are comprised of very talented players especially for scoring. I expect them to continue to show their real strength in this matchup also.

The round 16 results will be full of surprises. Is obvious that Ajax have a great squad, and also they are currently unbeatable in the Champion League. But no team is probably weak as far as Champion League is concerned. However, Benfica will be hosting Ajax in the round 16 Leg 1, and Benfica will struggle not to lose since is will be their home match. The match will be very tough, but honestly I don't think Benfica can be able to resist Ajax in both home and away. Anyway, Let wait and see how they plays.

It would be really interesting to see Ajax in the quarter finals actually. But I don't say that they don't deserve it. They totally deserve this opportunity because their group stage performance was absolutely marvelous. They won huge victories against all of their opponents and finished the stage as the leader comfortably. But after this round, they will have a much more serious opponent certainly.

[AndySt]

Still not understand why UEFA have make second drawing what the problem and mistake with first drawing still not clarify on the public, I see many time UEFA make big mistake but not any club like Real Madrid want to get new revolution on UEFA team. From super leagues ideas where club can get much money but still not agree by UEFA and now they not really contribute about how much money from champion league still not any clarify.

UEFA has certain rules according to which teams are distributed into baskets, and this time, for some reason, these rules were not followed, which led to a repeat draw. Speaking in general terms, Manchester United and Liverpool were not in their basket and it was perfectly noticeable during the broadcast. UEFA President Alexander Ceferin said on this occasion that something went wrong with the software and that they should depend less on technology. I would not scold UEFA so much about this, because it seems that such blatant blunders have never happened before and no one is immune from mistakes. As for the confrontation between Real Madrid and UEFA, this is a completely different story, which has nothing to do with this incident.

[emrecemsan]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

[BuNga_cute]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

Although the Champions League will take place in February next year, but with COVID-19 again attacking Europa now. This makes us worried that
some players might not be able to play when the Champions League matches return. So it could be a surprise that some of the favorite teams will
lose because some of the main players can't play. As a football fan, I am quite stressed with the pandemic situation with no sign of ending.
The COVID-19 situation with this new variant is spreading very fast. Even some matches in Europa have been postponed. If this continues, it will be
enough to disrupt the match schedule and even affect the outcome of the match.

[Nahl]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

Not only Liverpool players who got positive covid19 because I heard too Madrid players and Chelsea players got positive covid19 and most of these teams cannot play with full strength for at least until next few weeks and it can be serious problem too if these situations continue until February and possibly some of teams cannot playing well because of it

[Jasad]

The toughest ones among the last 32 round matchups are PSG vs Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United. PSG seem to be a little better than Real Madrid recently but we never know what can happen in this. Real Madrid are really strong this season and they are capable of eliminating PSG actually. Bu my favourite is PSG here. And in the other one, my favourite is Manchester United. Because they seem to be more capable than Atletico Madrid for now. But things can change until the CL games also of course.

all the teams that have entered the last 16 of the champions league, all of them are the best teams representing their countries, the most popular meeting between psg and real madrid that people often discuss, according to my prediction maybe psg will be able to beat real madrtit, we'll just have to wait in the future the next two months, is it according to what we predicted, or deviated far from our predictions..

[babo]

Are you talking about a winning streak of 22 matches?

Not exactly that's one. Ancelotti don't follow a player rotation policy which leave him a injured team at the end of the season or at the time or crucial matches. That's happen with Real Madrid back in 0214/15 season IIRC. Since, Madrid is in winning streak, he can try with rotating some players and send some current players in rest. It's not easy to play 90 minutes two times in a week.

in fact they are new strategies born from the fact that these players simply play too much
they exploit them to the bone (physically) and then rightly get tired and break
we are in the situation that they overpay them (unfair) and that they exploit them too much (unfair too)
in the end we (me) are interested in seeing fun games and not many games

[rmhuntley]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

Not only Liverpool players who got positive covid19 because I heard too Madrid players and Chelsea players got positive covid19 and most of these teams cannot play with full strength for at least until next few weeks and it can be serious problem too if these situations continue until February and possibly some of teams cannot playing well because of it

Still can't predict because 16 round stage begin on February ad now many player have positive covid 19, if some player get positive they will out from first and second leg because just separated one week only between first and second leg begin. I hope all team on 16 stage get their player without positive covid 19 and hope they can play at home and away without play on other stadium.

[CryptocurencyKing]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

Inter Milan is the Serie A champion and now they are the league leader. They will the tough challenge for Liverpool somehow. But if you want to reach the trophy, you must to overcome all of challenge, even we have to against the hardest teams. Honestly, No one is strong or weak here, the strongest is the one stand till end of the campaign. Inter is always the exciting prospect, one of the best in Italian football. Now till Feb still very long way so might change the football outlook with injuries or players not available due to covid-19. But with the way they defeated AC Milan, home and away during the group stage with the form they were in then, I think Liverpool will replicate that same display against this Inter Milan side too. Probably in that stance i believe LFC stands the possible chance.

[hahay]

There are still months to go for the last 16 matchups to be played in the Champions League. And the covid-19 situation is getting heavier in Europe now. Therefore, I think that it is really difficult to comment on the matches. For example, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive for covid-19 at Liverpool today and they couldn't play in the Newcastle match.

Not only Liverpool players who got positive covid19 because I heard too Madrid players and Chelsea players got positive covid19 and most of these teams cannot play with full strength for at least until next few weeks and it can be serious problem too if these situations continue until February and possibly some of teams cannot playing well because of it

Still can't predict because 16 round stage begin on February ad now many player have positive covid 19, if some player get positive they will out from first and second leg because just separated one week only between first and second leg begin. I hope all team on 16 stage get their player without positive covid 19 and hope they can play at home and away without play on other stadium.

If many of the players are positive for COVID-19 then I think the league will probably be paused and a new schedule made until the problem is resolved, because when many players are positive for COVID-19 it will cause the match to be postponed. I'm not sure they will continue with the remaining players, because most of those affected by covid19 are key players. If they have problems regarding injuries, of course, it is a different policy from players who are positive for COVID because this is a pandemic, of course they must also consider the safety and health of other players and staff.