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

[Daniel91]

There is absolutely no way that Napoli could be second with Ronaldo. First of all, we are not seeing them anywhere close anyway, and also Ronaldo is not "that" good anymore, if he was that good then some other team would have paid and got him instead, dude is not as good anymore. This means that Milan, Inter, Juventus would still be fighting for the top 3 spots and to be fair Roma is looking better generally.

Cristiano Ronaldo still not give up looking for new team participants on Champion League, although have many team confirmed not interested with him from Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Dortmund until PSG. Right now have rumors with Napoli but just one side only and not any official announcement from Napoli interested with Cristiano Ronaldo. I think not really bad if Ronaldo move to Napoli and make Serie A great competitive again for top standing team after AS Roma this season looks dominance.

Honestly, this whole Ronaldo story is getting a little funny or even sad.
He desperately wants to escape from Manchester and play in the Champions League but no one wants him 
After all, what can he offer a new club other than great marketing value?
Ronaldo has not been playing at his usual top level for the past few years, and as a player he is very selfish and harms the unity of the team.
His only motivation for playing in the Champions League is the desire to preserve his records, so that no one else surpasses them.

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[Pulsar77]

Honestly, this whole Ronaldo story is getting a little funny or even sad.
He desperately wants to escape from Manchester and play in the Champions League but no one wants him 
After all, what can he offer a new club other than great marketing value?
Ronaldo has not been playing at his usual top level for the past few years, and as a player he is very selfish and harms the unity of the team.
His only motivation for playing in the Champions League is the desire to preserve his records, so that no one else surpasses them.

You are totally right about it. Ronaldo is acting like a child now. I understand his ambition to play in the Champions League but there is nothing to do about this now. Especially because of his high cost for teams, they don't lean towards offering a deal to sign him. These days his name is called with Chelsea but I don't think that it is more than a rumour at the same time. Chelsea already have Aubameyang and they don't need to add Ronaldo to the team also.

Ronaldo should focus on helping his team to finish the season in top four in the EPL. This is the only way he can find himself in the Champions League again. Or they can focus on winning the Europa League title also which would carry them to the Champions League group stage. But their priority must be the EPL now of course.

[Franctoshi]

Ronaldo should focus on helping his team to finish the season in top four in the EPL. This is the only way he can find himself in the Champions League again. Or they can focus on winning the Europa League title also which would carry them to the Champions League group stage. But their priority must be the EPL now of course.

Seem Christiano Ronaldo is not even considering his age and retiring anytime soon looking at his urge to leave United during that transfer window period, he needs to be focusing more on his career and retirement to football at Manchester united and stop looking for other clubs where he will be having the opportunity to be featured in the champions league game competition, though he could still deliver anytime anywhere he finds himself, but I don't think that the Big Clubs will be needing his services anymore plus his price tag to sign him as he got few years left in his football career.

[Coyster]

Sure, liverpool actually have a really great players, but I don't think their main problem is bonding, I think the main problem is that Klopp tactics is outdated, other coaches already know how to counter it. Klopp need to find a variation, and be more creative.

Mate that is the same tactics that almost won them the quadruple last season, oh c'mon, they are struggling and there is no doubt about that, but to say it is all down to Jurgen Klopp's philosophy being outdated is outrageous to say the least, i know it is prolly up to the coach to solve the problems with the team, and i think he will do that, but tbh i don't think there is going to be any major tweak in the way Liverpool play their game. Having said that, mind you as well that the team is being ravaged by injuries at the momemt, and Jurgen can't actually wholly call on his first team players, i know injuries aren't really an excuse as it is the duty of the club to ensure adequade depth in the team, but it can be linked to their problems.

[Daniel91]

Honestly, this whole Ronaldo story is getting a little funny or even sad.
He desperately wants to escape from Manchester and play in the Champions League but no one wants him 
After all, what can he offer a new club other than great marketing value?
Ronaldo has not been playing at his usual top level for the past few years, and as a player he is very selfish and harms the unity of the team.
His only motivation for playing in the Champions League is the desire to preserve his records, so that no one else surpasses them.

You are totally right about it. Ronaldo is acting like a child now. I understand his ambition to play in the Champions League but there is nothing to do about this now. Especially because of his high cost for teams, they don't lean towards offering a deal to sign him. These days his name is called with Chelsea but I don't think that it is more than a rumour at the same time. Chelsea already have Aubameyang and they don't need to add Ronaldo to the team also.

Ronaldo should focus on helping his team to finish the season in top four in the EPL. This is the only way he can find himself in the Champions League again. Or they can focus on winning the Europa League title also which would carry them to the Champions League group stage. But their priority must be the EPL now of course.

Actually I read a rumor somewhere that the Chelsea coach was fired not because of the club's poor results at the beginning of the season but because he opposed bringing Ronaldo to the club 
Of course, it is very difficult to know what is actually true, because Ronaldo as a player has a huge marketing value for every club, but of course it is questionable how much more he can give to the club as a player.
Ronaldo found himself in a situation he did not want, that he has to play in the club he wants to leave and that he will not have the chance to improve his records in the Champions League.

[Distraction]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore. I mean that there is a much stronger and consistent Barcelona after Xavi's touch. They are already doing great in the La Liga and coming to this match by a huge 4-0 win against Cadiz. Lewandowski is really unstoppable these days. His scoring performance is very similar to Haaland. It will be quite difficult for Bayern Munich to stop him. They are already having problematic days recently in the Bundesliga. However they were quite effective against Inter by that 2-0 win. It seems like they have special strategies for the Champions League.

Taking all of these into account, the most reasonable choice for me is both teams to score. Maybe a 1.43 odd is not very high for a single bet but I'm thinking of adding it to a multi betslip. It would be very surprising to see one of them not scoring here. Maybe Barcelona might find the first goal comparing the productivity rates of these teams these days.

[mamesso]

~Snip~

Actually I read a rumor somewhere that the Chelsea coach was fired not because of the club's poor results at the beginning of the season but because he opposed bringing Ronaldo to the club 
Of course, it is very difficult to know what is actually true, because Ronaldo as a player has a huge marketing value for every club, but of course it is questionable how much more he can give to the club as a player.
Ronaldo found himself in a situation he did not want, that he has to play in the club he wants to leave and that he will not have the chance to improve his records in the Champions League.

Surprisingly enough if these rumors are true, Tuchel had to lose his job just for not including Ronaldo in his plans. Previously there had been rumors that Chelsea really wanted to bring in Ronaldo, but the rumors just disappeared so Ronaldo had to stay at Manchester United, who missed the UCL this season. But as far as I know, Tuchel was sacked because of the poor results that Chelsea continued to get and the climax was when Chelsea were humiliated by Dinamo Zagreb in the inaugural match of the UCL Group stage. If you look at several cases of dismissal of coaches by other clubs, almost all of the reasons are because the coach failed to improve the team's performance. But if the reason for the sacking of Tuchel was for opposing bringing Ronaldo to the club, it would sound very funny because cases like this have never happened before.

[D-law]

One of the most awkward matches of the week was Atletico Madrid - Porto by the way. Porto were quite impressive in Metropolitano Stadium. All of the goals came in the stoppage time which was quite interesting. Especially after Porto's equalizer I wasn't expecting a goal anymore. However the winning goal for Atletico Madrid came in a minute like 90+11.    I saw Atletico Madrid as very risky to bet on and stayed away from them. I wasn't wrong about my suspicions as it seems. They are still having serious issues and I wonder if Simeone will continue to manage this team after this season. There were some rumours regarding him to leave before so this might get real in the future maybe.

It's Ten years already as a coach at Athletico Madrid
He should consider taking a job else where like the Premier League
But they came back well into the match, some individual performance you want to always see.

[Luzin]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore. I mean that there is a much stronger and consistent Barcelona after Xavi's touch. They are already doing great in the La Liga and coming to this match by a huge 4-0 win against Cadiz. Lewandowski is really unstoppable these days.

Comparing Munchen and Cadiz is certainly different. their strength is far different. It's hard to guess what the final score will be, but they will play in Germany. That's Munchen advantage, I think they will win 2-0 or one goal difference. The history of the previous match was indeed Munchen superior and for now they are far different. In the league Barcelona are pretty good, while Munchen they drew in the last game against Stuttgart. Perhaps this is also a strategy to prepare against Barcelona to gain three points.

[Coyster]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore. I mean that there is a much stronger and consistent Barcelona after Xavi's touch.

I second that, as a matter of fact any person expecting Barcelona to suffer another similar thumping in the hands in the hands of Bayern Munich as has been the case in recent years, might be in for a surprise, this game is going to be pretty much different, and if not anything, competitive; i am not outrightly saying that Barcelona are going to win, but it is going to be a game contested at a very high level, it might prolly even end in a draw.

Having said that, Barcelona have the stronger confidence if we take a look at league performances coming into this game, Bayern Munich come into the game on the back off three straight draws in the Bundesliga, whilst Barcelona have been on a winning streak in their last three league matches, it might count for nothing at the end of the night, but before the game starts it would definitely give Barcelona confidence.

[abhiseshakana]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore. I mean that there is a much stronger and consistent Barcelona after Xavi's touch. They are already doing great in the La Liga and coming to this match by a huge 4-0 win against Cadiz. Lewandowski is really unstoppable these days.

Comparing Munchen and Cadiz is certainly different. their strength is far different. It's hard to guess what the final score will be, but they will play in Germany. That's Munchen advantage, I think they will win 2-0 or one goal difference. The history of the previous match was indeed Munchen superior and for now they are far different. In the league Barcelona are pretty good, while Munchen they drew in the last game against Stuttgart. Perhaps this is also a strategy to prepare against Barcelona to gain three points.

Bayern Munich is a big team and they have the same level as Barcelona. But if we look at the performance of the two teams in their respective leagues it seems that Barcelona is still better than Bayern Munich which in their last 3 matches Bayern Munich always gets a draw, while Barcelona always succeeds in getting full points. So even though Barcelona will play as guests, I think Barcelona will win this game because they are really in good shape and Lewandowsky is also on fire (the matches against his former team will further fuel his motivation).

[buwaytress]

Surprisingly enough if these rumors are true, Tuchel had to lose his job just for not including Ronaldo in his plans. Previously there had been rumors that Chelsea really wanted to bring in Ronaldo, but the rumors just disappeared so Ronaldo had to stay at Manchester United, who missed the UCL this season. But as far as I know, Tuchel was sacked because of the poor results that Chelsea continued to get and the climax was when Chelsea were humiliated by Dinamo Zagreb in the inaugural match of the UCL Group stage. If you look at several cases of dismissal of coaches by other clubs, almost all of the reasons are because the coach failed to improve the team's performance. But if the reason for the sacking of Tuchel was for opposing bringing Ronaldo to the club, it would sound very funny because cases like this have never happened before.

Just spend a good coffee break reading an item about Tuchel, had no idea he was going through a divorce during this whole fiasco. I don't know what's true or not about the circumstances surrounding his dismissal but he can't have had a good time making transfer decisions without technical help, nor with personal issues looming.

Speaking from personal experience, it could be just that he was seen as under a lot of stress, and they were just doing what they thought was the kind thing.

Enjoy the payoff, Tuchel, you'll have your pick of clubs after.

[rdluffy]

Any suggestion to tomorrow matches?

I find this odds interesting:



I think it's worth the risk to bet on Atletico, paying 2.50, even playing in Bayer's home.
Bayer only made 4 points on german championship with 6 matches played. Only 1 win in this season

Atletico only lost a match to Villarreal at the beginning of season, now the team is on track again.

[Minor Miner]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore. I mean that there is a much stronger and consistent Barcelona after Xavi's touch. They are already doing great in the La Liga and coming to this match by a huge 4-0 win against Cadiz. Lewandowski is really unstoppable these days.

Comparing Munchen and Cadiz is certainly different. their strength is far different. It's hard to guess what the final score will be, but they will play in Germany. That's Munchen advantage, I think they will win 2-0 or one goal difference. The history of the previous match was indeed Munchen superior and for now they are far different. In the league Barcelona are pretty good, while Munchen they drew in the last game against Stuttgart. Perhaps this is also a strategy to prepare against Barcelona to gain three points.

Bayern Munich is a big team and they have the same level as Barcelona. But if we look at the performance of the two teams in their respective leagues it seems that Barcelona is still better than Bayern Munich which in their last 3 matches Bayern Munich always gets a draw, while Barcelona always succeeds in getting full points. So even though Barcelona will play as guests, I think Barcelona will win this game because they are really in good shape and Lewandowsky is also on fire (the matches against his former team will further fuel his motivation).

If we consider the recent performance of these two teams then Bayern Munich will be ahead of Barcelona. Despite winning against Inter Milan in the last match, Bayern's performance in the last few games in the Bundesliga has been poor. Moreover, Barcelona's defense is stronger than Bayern Munich's.

But the important thing is that the next match is Bayern Munich's home match, in the home match all the teams are a bit stronger and the players are more confident. So it will be very difficult for the Barcelona players to defeat the Bayern Munich team.

[3meek]

I don't know who will win Sporting or Spurs, but I think it will be a three-point battle... Spurs look stronger, but Sporting have been excellent over the last three games... Bayer vs Barcelona I'll leave no comment, but I think both teams will score... Also Bayer vs Atletico Madrid should be interesting... Hopefully the Germans can beat them, although I don't think they have much chance... But bookmakers are giving them the same odds to win for some reason...

[bitzizzix]

I don't know who will win Sporting or Spurs, but I think it will be a three-point battle... Spurs look stronger, but Sporting have been excellent over the last three games... Bayer vs Barcelona I'll leave no comment, but I think both teams will score... Also Bayer vs Atletico Madrid should be interesting... Hopefully the Germans can beat them, although I don't think they have much chance... But bookmakers are giving them the same odds to win for some reason...

The match Bayern Munich vs Barcelona is one of the best matches on matchday 2 of the Champions League and one thing that is definitely interesting is Robert Lewandowski, because it will be a reunion stage for Robert Lewandowski Polish striker leaving Bayern Munich to join Barcelona who will meet later and will be a match which is interesting.
and for Sporting vs Spurs, I think Spurs will get the three points because they are in their best form in the EPL even though these two teams already have a winning capital in the first match.

[buwaytress]

I think it's worth the risk to bet on Atletico, paying 2.50, even playing in Bayer's home.
Bayer only made 4 points on german championship with 6 matches played. Only 1 win in this season

Atletico only lost a match to Villarreal at the beginning of season, now the team is on track again.

Yeah, same reason I bet against Leipzig in the last game (but they now have a new manager so you never know the effect in Europe, they already got their bounce back in Bundesliga).

I'd definitely take on Atletico in any group stage game, but I've got eyes set instead on BVB and Dinamo (tomorrow) who are both over 14/1 to win away.

BVB were horrible last game but they're always a threat against other attacking teams like City. Get 2 early goals, and keep punishing City is the way to go. Milan also irresistible but you always feel they can allow games to slip also, and Dinamo well, hungry as hell.

Today Barcelona @4/1 though? Now that's impossible to ignore.

[jakdanyel]

I have prepared a betslip like this whose total odd is 8.12 now:



I'm pretty confident with my choices for Bayern Munich - Barcelona and Liverpool - Ajax. Most people will bet on both teams to score for these matches so that makes me nervous at the same time.    Honestly I don't have second thoughts about Porto and Marseille as well. Porto could have even beaten Atletico Madrid away last week if it weren't for the red card. Club Brugge are in a really great shape these days but they had a big difficulty against Leverkusen here. Porto wouldn't lose any points in their home match. Marseille resisted Tottenham well last week despite the red card. Their general form is already amazing. We saw how weak Frankfurt were against Sporting. I don't think they can get any point here.

My biggest doubt is Inter. Because their recent performance isn't enough to satisfy me fully. Plzen are of course an easy team to beat for them normally. I just hope to see them playing more ambitious after losing to Bayern Munich last week. This is a big chance to boost their morale.

[skarais]

The match Bayern Munich vs Barcelona is one of the best matches on matchday 2 of the Champions League and one thing that is definitely interesting is Robert Lewandowski, because it will be a reunion stage for Robert Lewandowski Polish striker leaving Bayern Munich to join Barcelona who will meet later and will be a match which is interesting.

Yes, I hope it will be the best match for today's Champions League matchday 2. Bayern Munich and Barcelona appear to be both in their best form after brilliant performances in the first matchday with a win. Bayern Munich seems to be the favorites in this match as they are playing at home, but of course Barcelona's current form progress is not too bad to expect them to play well.

Barcelona itself seems to rely on Lewandowski, Dembele and Raphinha as attackers, which seems good. But I don't expect Xavi to rely so heavily on Lewandowski to score goals because I'm sure Bayern Munich will be very wary of him. As a former Bayern Munich striker I hope Lewandowski can help Barcelona gain an advantage by looking for the weaknesses of his former team especially in defence, he seems capable of doing well.

[Yawa2020]

Bayern Munich - Barcelona is the most interesting match of this week. Things are not like in the old times between these teams anymore.

Sad to see lewy against bayern! But  we have to accept it! Their former best player is now their best opponent. Although they are neither afraid nor overconfident! Its going to be the most interesting game of group stage. If bayern gets defeat then that would be dream comes true for barca and big lesson for bayern. If barca gets defeat then that would be even worst for them. Dear football fans enjoy the battle of two elite clubs!