⚽UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread -- 2023/24 | Prelim Qualifiers

[casperBGD]

all three tonight matches started, and still goalless
while Copenhagen is almost certain to be in group stage, with an away win, and home favorite against Rakow, other two are much more interesant

Rangers is playing against PSV, last season re-match, first match finished 2:2 as last season, will this one end-up 0:1 as last season, or PSV will find their revenge
AEK is chasing 0:1 from first match against Antwerp, will be a pretty tough match, and probably under goals till the end

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[Mustang Shelby]

I have to say Galatasaray played a bit more refrained style of football that wasn't really want us fans really wanted to see. We want to see attacking football, not side to side passing all game long and then try to defend football. We had two goals, one from penalty, another was a freekick that luckily got in (like the first game), it became a common joke that if they didn't had anyone at the wall, they would have won. Long story short, we are talking about a scenario where Galatasaray is playing timid and not defensive but more like slow, veeeery slow football. Thats not going to be good for us on the long run, it will definitely hurt us. Lets see Zaha and Ziyech and if any other transfers happens then them to get in, with them maybe it will get better.

Galatasaray has not yet fully reflected itself on the field. Players such as Hakim Ziyech and Zaha did not play with the team and I am looking at Galatasaray's squad right now, it was made in a way that could force all other teams in the group stage of the champions league. Maybe a defender can be added to the team because big mistakes are made in defense. These mistakes are unforgivable in the group stage at UCL.

[sana54210]

I have to say Galatasaray played a bit more refrained style of football that wasn't really want us fans really wanted to see. We want to see attacking football, not side to side passing all game long and then try to defend football. We had two goals, one from penalty, another was a freekick that luckily got in (like the first game), it became a common joke that if they didn't had anyone at the wall, they would have won. Long story short, we are talking about a scenario where Galatasaray is playing timid and not defensive but more like slow, veeeery slow football. Thats not going to be good for us on the long run, it will definitely hurt us. Lets see Zaha and Ziyech and if any other transfers happens then them to get in, with them maybe it will get better.

I didn't understand this way of play either. It was like they were aiming only to preserve the score advantage on aggregate that was all. But if you are a team with high level attacking power you should make use of this as much as possible. If you are taking on a bigger team then I can understand this style. But if the situation is the opposite then you should continue playing an attacking football as you did before.

Molde could have punished them really hard if they were a more capable team. They almost did this in fact if it weren't for the disallowed goal by VAR decision. I don't doubt Galatasaray's strength in offense area but don't think the same for defending unfortunately.

I would guess that there is so much money on the line that they didn't want to risk it. If they played attacking football and wanted to score then they would have probably given the other team a chance to counter attack and that is why I think it's quite obvious that they were not going to end up with that risk.

I think it should be important to defend during games like these, you are already up, and up on both aggregate and early on the game you found a goal, so why would you want to attack? They got the win in the end and they went ahead to the group stages as well. That's why it was such an important game and they did what they should perfectly without any trouble at all and it is a good win for them so it was the right decision.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

Rangers is playing against PSV, last season re-match, first match finished 2:2 as last season, will this one end-up 0:1 as last season, or PSV will find their revenge
AEK is chasing 0:1 from first match against Antwerp, will be a pretty tough match, and probably under goals till the end

PSV 2 - 1 Rangers, in the first half Rangers couldn't do anything, they even scored 2 goals, but in the 64th minute the match became fiercer and Rangers managed to score 1 goal. We don't know how this match ended, but what is certain is that PSV seemed to be on fire because they dominated the match from the first minute + their confidence is increasing because of the fans' support.

*Oops, I didn't know that PSV had already scored the 3rd goal, the counterattack was really fast lol now PSV is in the safe zone.

[Alpha Marine]

Rangers is playing against PSV, last season re-match, first match finished 2:2 as last season, will this one end-up 0:1 as last season, or PSV will find their revenge

Right now PSV is winning 3-1 and I think the game will stay like that till the end making the aggregate score 5-3 in favor of PSV. There is still plenty of time though and anything can happen to turn the tie around, but doubt Rangers will do that.
The game is being controlled by PSV and they're not giving Rangers a lot of chances, but we know that Rangers is a team that makes use of the few chances they get. It's evident in the fact that they scored the first shot on target they got.
Either way, I still believe PSG got this match on lock.

[Furious 7]

Rangers is playing against PSV, last season re-match, first match finished 2:2 as last season, will this one end-up 0:1 as last season, or PSV will find their revenge
AEK is chasing 0:1 from first match against Antwerp, will be a pretty tough match, and probably under goals till the end

PSV 2 - 1 Rangers, in the first half Rangers couldn't do anything, they even scored 2 goals, but in the 64th minute the match became fiercer and Rangers managed to score 1 goal. We don't know how this match ended, but what is certain is that PSV seemed to be on fire because they dominated the match from the first minute + their confidence is increasing because of the fans' support.

*Oops, I didn't know that PSV had already scored the 3rd goal, the counterattack was really fast lol now PSV is in the safe zone.

Score 5-1 now PSV really went on a rampage at the Philips Stadium.
The second half was like a nightmare for the rangers as they kept getting pounded and had already lost momentum after 3 early goals which makes them even more devastated now.
With this result it looks like we already know who the teams will qualify because looking at the time that is almost over not only for PSV alone ensures to be in the group phase because other clubs also Copenhagen and Antwerp ensure they are in the Champions League following Braga, Galatasaray and Young Boys who qualified yesterday.

Hmmm Copenhagen conceded the ball after I wrote this 
But the aggregate is still 2-1 and the clock is now at the 90th minute with only extra time left.

[MK-74]

It was a very easy game for PSV Eindhoven. I didn't think it would end so differently.

FC Copenhagen drew 1-1, but the score of the first game put them in the groups.

Royal Antwerp went to the groups by winning both games. I think they are a weak team for the Champions League.

[LTU_btc]

Score 5-1 now PSV really went on a rampage at the Philips Stadium.
The second half was like a nightmare for the rangers as they kept getting pounded and had already lost momentum after 3 early goals which makes them even more devastated now.
With this result it looks like we already know who the teams will qualify because looking at the time that is almost over not only for PSV alone ensures to be in the group phase because other clubs also Copenhagen and Antwerp ensure they are in the Champions League following Braga, Galatasaray and Young Boys who qualified yesterday.

Hmmm Copenhagen conceded the ball after I wrote this  
But the aggregate is still 2-1 and the clock is now at the 90th minute with only extra time left.

And after Rangers scored their goal, I thought that they have chance for comeback. But it took just few minutes for de Jong to score his team 3rd goal and end all Rangers dreams. Rangers didn't looked that bad to lose so big, but own goal that they scored was something awful. WTF Goldoson and Butland were doing?
So, I think it's safe to say that there were no big upsets in playoff round and favorites managed to reach group stage.

[morvillz7z]

AEK couldn't pull another escape like they did against Dinamo, at least they didn't ruin my acca, that would have been unfortunate...

[flipme]

I have to say Galatasaray played a bit more refrained style of football that wasn't really want us fans really wanted to see. We want to see attacking football, not side to side passing all game long and then try to defend football. We had two goals, one from penalty, another was a freekick that luckily got in (like the first game), it became a common joke that if they didn't had anyone at the wall, they would have won. Long story short, we are talking about a scenario where Galatasaray is playing timid and not defensive but more like slow, veeeery slow football. Thats not going to be good for us on the long run, it will definitely hurt us. Lets see Zaha and Ziyech and if any other transfers happens then them to get in, with them maybe it will get better.

Galatasaray has not yet fully reflected itself on the field. Players such as Hakim Ziyech and Zaha did not play with the team and I am looking at Galatasaray's squad right now, it was made in a way that could force all other teams in the group stage of the champions league. Maybe a defender can be added to the team because big mistakes are made in defense. These mistakes are unforgivable in the group stage at UCL.

In addition to what you said, I would like to add the following. All the opponents we played in the qualifying phase were teams that had played 15-20 games in their league, but our league has just started. There was another important problem for us, our qualifying phase opponents Zalgiris and Molde had artificial turf pitches. As a result, 1- we were not ready yet, 2- our opponents had match fitness, 3- artificial turf was a disadvantage for us. I think it was important to qualify for the group stage despite the big problems. I have no doubt that we will perform better in the group stage once our new signings adapt to the team. I realized that I miss being in the Champions League as a Galatasaray fan. The group draws will be held tomorrow. I am already very excited.

[CLS63]

The groups have been determined in the Champions League. The most difficult group has become Group F indisputably. I want to write my predictions for all the groups now.

Group A: I think that Bayern Munich and Manchester United are going to qualify from the group together.

Group B: I'm waiting for Arsenal and PSV to qualify for the next round. When it comes to Sevilla I expect them to go to the Europa League. Everyone knows what Sevilla will do in the Europa League.

Group C: Napoli and Real Madrid should be qualifying from this group comfortably. I expect Napoli to finish this group as the leader by making a surprise.

Group D: It is really very difficult to make a prediction for this group. I can say that I expect Real Sociedad to qualify from the group beside Inter anyway.

Group E: Atletico Madrid should be the leader comfortably. I expect the 2nd team to be Lazio as well.

Group F: All football lovers will be eyeing this group. I think that Newcastle and Milan will qualify for the next round. And I think PSG will be eliminated surprisingly.

Group G: There is no need to talk about this group much. Man City and Leipzig should be qualifying for last 16 comfortably.

Group H: I think Barcelona and Porto will qualify from the group very comfortably. It would be a surprise for me if Shakhtar even make difficulties for Porto.

[joker_josue]

Group D: It is really very difficult to make a prediction for this group. I can say that I expect Real Sociedad to qualify from the group beside Inter anyway.

Well, Benfica has to play very badly, really badly, to not get through this group.
In this group, I think that the ones who will pass are Inter and Benfica.
Don't forget that last year Benfica only left the competition after losing to Inter in the quarter-finals.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Group D: It is really very difficult to make a prediction for this group. I can say that I expect Real Sociedad to qualify from the group beside Inter anyway.

Well, Benfica has to play very badly, really badly, to not get through this group.
In this group, I think that the ones who will pass are Inter and Benfica.
Don't forget that last year Benfica only left the competition after losing to Inter in the quarter-finals.

Benfica lost Gonçalo Ramos to PSG on loan for this season. He made a huge goal contribution in the Liga Portugal with Joao Mario last season also. The number of their goals combined was nearly the half amount Benfica scored. Because of that we can say that they have lost an important level of power in the attacking line.

But of course they are still a competitive team now. However Real Sociedad's progress shouldn't also be underestimated. They made a good progress in the La Liga last season. Benfica just need to play carefully against them especially in Spain. As long as they do this I also believe in Benfica to reach last 16 round with Inter.

[LTU_btc]

Very happy about group that Barca got. Most important that we won't face Bayern . Porto will be tough one, but rest teams - Shakhtar and Antwerp doesn't looks capable to compete, probably they will fight for Europa league spot.
Group F is simply group of death. Return of Newcastle to Champions league after 20 years will be tough and it's impossible to predict something there. While Group B - I feel strong Europa league vibe here .
BTW, maybe I missed something, but are we going to have Champions league pool this year? @buwaytress

[Volgastallion]

Barcelona group its a fucking joke, seems like they build the group for them to finally see them passin to the group of 16 rounds after a few seasons of being droped to Europa League after the departure of Messi.

Atletico Madrid also have a very easy group to pass into the next stage, i hope to see them in the H2H round.

[buwaytress]

Hey guys, with group stage coming in just under 2 weeks, I'd like to invite you to join the coming prediction pool. Precise details are still being worked on but you can already check out the first post there to understand how the pools typically run. The new season shouldn't be much different but could introduce a more interactive section that I hope appeals to gamblers.

Check it out and register interest there: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5408229

Check the latest posts for updates on what to expect for the upcoming season.

[CLS63]

The Champions League is going to be underway by the matches tomorrow. There are really lovely matches like Milan - Newcastle and Lazio - Atletico Madrid as well. Especially one thing attracted my attention about Milan - Newcastle matchup. Milan were favoured @2.58 first but now it is the other way around. 

What do you think about this matchup? Milan have technically made a better start this season. I wonder if the reason why the favourite side has changed is Milan's huge defeat in the derby. I think there will be more people betting on Milan rather than Newcastle after seeing the attracting odds.

[Slow death]

The Champions League is going to be underway by the matches tomorrow. There are really lovely matches like Milan - Newcastle and Lazio - Atletico Madrid as well. Especially one thing attracted my attention about Milan - Newcastle matchup. Milan were favoured @2.58 first but now it is the other way around. 

What do you think about this matchup? Milan have technically made a better start this season. I wonder if the reason why the favourite side has changed is Milan's huge defeat in the derby. I think there will be more people betting on Milan rather than Newcastle after seeing the attracting odds.

on my side I see the odds being the same for both teams, Milan have 2.60 odds while Newcastle also have 2.60 odds, both teams have not been doing well and even though Milan only had one defeat, even so when we look at the games before that defeat and the state in which each team they beat were in, so we will see that Milan may have been lucky, but Newcastle are also not doing well in the Premier League, at least when I compare them with their performance in the Premier League. last season. So in this game it will be very difficult to predict the winner, for me there shouldn't even be a favorite before the game starts. I think the current value of each team's odds is fair, if Milan had beaten Inter, they would probably be considered favorites in this game

But in my opinion, anyone who would bet on Milan winning this game based on Milan's performance in the Inter game could be making a mistake, this is more like a game in which putting money on whoever wins is like trying to guess which lottery ticket it will be. the winner and I wouldn't bet on who will win this game. This is a group of unstable teams this season, PSG are not doing well in Ligue 1 and are coming off a defeat, Dortmund haven't had many wins but haven't had any defeats and are coming off a win, so I hope they can beat PSG, but strangely the bookmakers are putting PSG as the favorite, if it was just that I don't see the problem

but they are giving 1.78 for PSG and 4.10 for Dortmund, the bookmakers are greatly underestimating Dortmund and are placing PSG as favorites when in practice PSG is not superior to Dortmund, in my opinion in this game the odds should also be equal, because both teams are at the same level. But anyway, the bookmakers know what they're doing. but one thing is certain for me: in this group the teams are very unstable and unpredictable and betting on games involving any team in this group is a very high risk. It is probably wiser to bet during the game rather than before the game

[Distraction]

There is a really short time left for the match week 5 to start in the Champions League. It is nice to be back again after a long break of national matches.

There are some groups which are still pretty complicated and tough. For now I can say they are Group A, E and F. Maybe Bayern Munich have secured their lead mathematically. But the race for the 2nd place still goes on among 3 teams. The Galatasaray - Manchester United match ahead can be very decisive on this. I'm favouring Galatasaray here as they have already defeated them away.

In Group E the fight among top 3 teams is really tense. The Feyenoord - Atletico Madrid match can change things a lot. Atletico Madrid won before maybe but it wasn't easy at all. I'm still favouring them though by trusting their experience. They should be able to put an end to their sadness in the Champions League in the recent seasons.

And in Group F every team have a chance to move on. It feels like PSG will defeat Newcastle home to increase their chance for next round quite much.