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

[snipie]

Seems that I had too good opinion about Milan, but they were awful today.
Benfica 1:1 PSG. Expected PSG to win, but Benfica gave good fight and probably result of game isn't surprising. And I think it's not bad result for both if you look at table.
Sevilla continue to amaze me how low they can go and Lopetegui isn't sacked still. Down 0:3 in 1st half and 2nd half becomes meaningless.
In other games everything as expected.

Milan result was disturbing since I find them better although bookies already picked Chelsea as favourite days before the game.
PSG result was unexpected for real and it made qualification very hard for Juve..
For Sevilla, nothing new, the team is in its worst shape this season.
In most groups, there is at least a team which will pass clearly to the next stage except for Group D and E where everything could happen to the ranking.

[CLS63]

PSG were just unlucky today. They could have really won the match thanks to their high effort in the second half. By the way Messi's goal was fascinating and it was a typical Messi goal actually. A very delightful finesse shot to the right corner of the goal. It reminded me of his old days with Barcelona. 

Benfica wouldn't be this much lucky to get a point in Parc des Princes. Juventus needed PSG to win this one as well so their job is even more difficult on the remaining three match weeks. If PSG win the next one and Juventus defeat Maccabi Haifa once again then Juventus are one point behind Benfica. So Juventus will definitely need to defeat Benfica away if they want to continue in the Champions League.

[CryptoPanda]

Napoli have shown they are ambitious this season, they brought the challenge to the top teams in the champions league. The game against Ajax was very interesting, Napoli showed great strength in dominating the game in both halves and scoring 6 goals from a come back which was amazing. Napoli's attack was terrific and kept Ajax defense on their feet all night. I see Napoli progressing pass the round of sixteen this season.

[Sebas.tian]

Seems that I had too good opinion about Milan, but they were awful today.
Benfica 1:1 PSG. Expected PSG to win, but Benfica gave good fight and probably result of game isn't surprising. And I think it's not bad result for both if you look at table.
Sevilla continue to amaze me how low they can go and Lopetegui isn't sacked still. Down 0:3 in 1st half and 2nd half becomes meaningless.
In other games everything as expected.

I don't think, PSG really played well in this match because many people predicted for them to defeat Benfica with many goals, but it was a surprised that the match end up with draw. If not their potential striker Messi that used his effort to embraced the 1 goal in the second half, Benfica would have defeat mighty PSG. I think, PSG coach need to work on their defense before their next match, because their defense is not too strong in this season compared to last season that they made goal difficult for other teams to achieve from them until they achieve the victory at the end of the match.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

PSG were just unlucky today. They could have really won the match thanks to their high effort in the second half. By the way Messi's goal was fascinating and it was a typical Messi goal actually. A very delightful finesse shot to the right corner of the goal. It reminded me of his old days with Barcelona. 

I don't consider it is an unlucky match for PSG. They had many matches like this in Champions League. They repeated it yesterday when the opponent is only Benfica. What will happen when they meet bigger clubs in Champions League, in quarter final or semi final.

Napoli have shown they are ambitious this season, they brought the challenge to the top teams in the champions league. The game against Ajax was very interesting, Napoli showed great strength in dominating the game in both halves and scoring 6 goals from a come back which was amazing. Napoli's attack was terrific and kept Ajax defense on their feet all night. I see Napoli progressing pass the round of sixteen this season.

With club like Napoli that has limited player resource, if they can not decide what are their main objectives in a season and overuse their limited player resources for many leagues, they will lose all at the end.

Players are human and they can not be overloaded, overplay in a long season and they won't be able to keep up their good performance in a long season. They can be injured and missing in many matches or they will be exhausted and have decreasing performance. Napoli must be careful on what they prioritize in this season, Serie A or Champions League.

[Razmirraz]

Haaland never stopped scoring goals for Manchester City, after scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United in the Premier League, Haaland again scored two goals against FC Copenhagen. Haaland performance was extraordinary, he had made it easier for Manchester City to win through goals that were born from him.
Manchester City must always maintain the quality of their game at a high level and support Haaland to always score goals to make it easier for them to achieve their goals this season. So far City have always failed to get the Champions League trophy, this time the City road is a little easier to achieve the target they have long wanted. Pep Guardiola must be able to present the UCL trophy for Manchester City because it has been a club dream for a long time.

[Oluwa-btc]

Seems that I had too good opinion about Milan, but they were awful today.
Benfica 1:1 PSG. Expected PSG to win, but Benfica gave good fight and probably result of game isn't surprising. And I think it's not bad result for both if you look at table.
Sevilla continue to amaze me how low they can go and Lopetegui isn't sacked still. Down 0:3 in 1st half and 2nd half becomes meaningless.
In other games everything as expected.

I must applaud Chelsea ( Potential Cow-Boys ) lol for the win last night I watched the game very well and even if you give Milan a second chance, I can clearly say that they're still gon pump and dump more goals innit Ac Milan's goal.
Raheem Sterling, any one saw how he was self centered ? Aubameyang would have secured two goals in that game but the pass didn't lw in at the right time that's sad for a top winger like sterling.

I was real impressed by the performance of Recce James, that shot was beautiful taken, perfect timing and good technique with the right power exerted on the ball

Yep's, still boggled at Sevilla, things aren't looking sexy for them, they are yet to play a good game not to talk of winning matches, I've been pondering what's taking them so long to get the manager out!

[CryptocurencyKing]

Seems that I had too good opinion about Milan, but they were awful today.
Benfica 1:1 PSG. Expected PSG to win, but Benfica gave good fight and probably result of game isn't surprising. And I think it's not bad result for both if you look at table.
Sevilla continue to amaze me how low they can go and Lopetegui isn't sacked still. Down 0:3 in 1st half and 2nd half becomes meaningless.
In other games everything as expected.

I don't think, PSG really played well in this match because many people predicted for them to defeat Benfica with many goals, but it was a surprised that the match end up with draw. If not their potential striker Messi that used his effort to embraced the 1 goal in the second half, Benfica would have defeat mighty PSG. I think, PSG coach need to work on their defense before their next match, because their defense is not too strong in this season compared to last season that they made goal difficult for other teams to achieve from them until they achieve the victory at the end of the match.

I wasn’t surprised with Benfica's performance. Benfica started with an intense and high press that unsettled PSG in the early stages. I knew what they were capable of. They have a good way of playing against a big team like that. Circulating the ball well and fast, with that way they put PSG on the back foot from the start. PSG are not used to facing such a flood of attacking waves, they were constantly exposed and on a good day Benfica would have scored more.

[Pulsar77]

I'm happy to see that Juventus got their first win in their group finally. It is crucial for them to defeat Maccabi Haifa in both matches if they really want to qualify from their group. This isn't a difficult task for them as long as they play consistently. Actually the first half of the Maccabi match was a little scary for them. Because they let their opponent come very often and things might have been more difficult for them if Maccabi weren't incapable of scoring a goal.

Juventus need to work on their defense more to prevent surprise results. The next match is against Maccabi again and this time it is away. I remember that Maccabi got ahead first against PSG but of course they couldn't resist PSG much after that. However if they do the same against Juventus I might doubt Juventus about a comfortable comeback just as PSG did. Hence they need to play more convincing.

[AakZaki]

What a bad luck from Barcelona, dominated the game almost during the whole match but failed to create some great goal chances. Dominated ball possession with such big percentage but created 2 shots on goal only is unbelievable. It proves that Inter with less ball possession were more effective to maximize their chance. Barcelona needs to win at least 2 of the 3 remaining matches in order to keep the chance to go to the PlayOff stage. The chance will be the 2nd leg between them against Inter and Victoria Plazen. Next match against Inter can be very crucial match to Barcelona, if they lose it again then we can say that their chance is so low unless they can beat Plazen and Bayern in the last 2 matches.

Yes this defeat made Barcelona even more difficult. They only have 3 points and are in third place. But I think the opportunity is still open, they still have a home game. Xavi had to take advantage of the situation.
Regarding the course of the game, in fact, I was very amused by Barcelona's style of play, it was a pity that they couldn't make a goal. The possible absence of some players makes it a little frustrating for Barcelona to find it difficult to break into inter's defence. Inter are also good at them being effective, they can make goals. At the moment the most important thing is the final result and congratulations to Inter.

[emrecemsan]

I can't deny the fact that Barcelona are in a more dangerous situation in the group now. However I don't think that we will watch Barcelona in the Europa League one more time. This would be devastating for not only Xavi but also the supporters. Because they have made a big progress since they entered a new phase with Xavi's management.

I'm aware that Barcelona couldn't even score one goal for two weeks in the Champions League. But I still expect them to fix the issues and come back stronger next time. My expectation from the Inter match in Camp Nou is none other than a Barcelona win. This would be a big motivation for sure. They are lucky to face Bayern Munich home as well. In short, they can actually collect 9 points in the remaining matches. It all depends on how much eager they will be to take wins. Xavi should motivate his players for this by doing his best.

[fuguebtc]

I'm aware that Barcelona couldn't even score one goal for two weeks in the Champions League. But I still expect them to fix the issues and come back stronger next time. My expectation from the Inter match in Camp Nou is none other than a Barcelona win. This would be a big motivation for sure. They are lucky to face Bayern Munich home as well. In short, they can actually collect 9 points in the remaining matches. It all depends on how much eager they will be to take wins. Xavi should motivate his players for this by doing his best.

Barcelona have spent a lot of money building up their squad this season. They now have a lot of star players in the squad. Barcelona have talented players like Lewandowski, Raphinha, Dembele, Depay, Torres and Fati in their squad. Even though the attack is so strong, they are not able to score. I would say it's Xavi's failure. Xavi should now find his attacking weaknesses. And the weak points must be strengthened. Barcelona will not qualify for the next round of the Champions League if their attacking weaknesses are not addressed.

[CLS63]

Congrats to Potter's boys. They did a really great job against Milan by getting a solid 3-0 win. There was a huge improvement in their performance not only offensively but also defensively. They needed to be more effective in scoring goals already and this is a good start. It is still early to judge a manager by only one match of course. There is a long season ahead of Chelsea and we will see how much consistent they will be able to stay.

Their job in Italy is going to be really difficult. But if they somehow get a win there then I will see their qualification from the group like guaranteed. Because I don't expect them to lose points against Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb by improving their performance more until those matches.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I think we all deserve to see a final between PSG and City , right ? This will a true clash between the best team right now but you can never count Real Madrid out even if I doubt they can make it again this year so PSG vs City should be the one. Favorites ? Hard to chose one but I would like a surprise this year.

I think Man City going against PSG would be a one sided affair even with Messi in there.  If you want a real clash then going against the current UCL champions which is Real Madrid would be the best match up for Manchester City at the finals imho.    And remember, Real Madrid eliminated Guardiola's boys at the semis last year.  So they'll surely be raring to go if given the opportunity to play them again.  And the match being a finals match...?  Goose bumps.

Well we can't forget that detail, Man City is a very powerful team, they also have a great coach like Peo Guardiola, and one of Guardiola's characteristics is that he likes to win every tournament, plus the UCL, and on the other hand although Real Madrid is right now with a squad of very veteran players, they are at their best, I wouldn't say that they are in the prime of life, but Real Madrid should never be left aside, and although now it is Little is said about that team, I think Barcelona should be considered, it is a very good team, and Xavi has been polishing it all this time, I think he managed to put together a better team and oh, take care of them.

I can't deny the fact that Barcelona are in a more dangerous situation in the group now. However I don't think that we will watch Barcelona in the Europa League one more time. This would be devastating for not only Xavi but also the supporters. Because they have made a big progress since they entered a new phase with Xavi's management.

I'm aware that Barcelona couldn't even score one goal for two weeks in the Champions League. But I still expect them to fix the issues and come back stronger next time. My expectation from the Inter match in Camp Nou is none other than a Barcelona win. This would be a big motivation for sure. They are lucky to face Bayern Munich home as well. In short, they can actually collect 9 points in the remaining matches. It all depends on how much eager they will be to take wins. Xavi should motivate his players for this by doing his best.

It is undeniable that Barcelona's performance is far below its performance, although it is in the UCL, but in the League they are doing well, but everything that Xavi has done to have a mega team, I feel that they still have a lot to prove, For me, Barcelona has to wake up quickly for everything that comes to them, the UCL is getting much more difficult and the teams are becoming much tougher and very difficult to win, of course this is what one always thinks because as the teams come out, the level of football is higher and the teams want to win much more, there are teams that the more they advance in the UCL the stronger they become.

Congrats to Potter's boys. They did a really great job against Milan by getting a solid 3-0 win. There was a huge improvement in their performance not only offensively but also defensively. They needed to be more effective in scoring goals already and this is a good start. It is still early to judge a manager by only one match of course. There is a long season ahead of Chelsea and we will see how much consistent they will be able to stay.

Their job in Italy is going to be really difficult. But if they somehow get a win there then I will see their qualification from the group like guaranteed. Because I don't expect them to lose points against Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb by improving their performance more until those matches.

When there are many stars, the specialists in knowing how to handle them are at Real Madrid, the technical directors of Real Madrid are the ones who know how to match them and who support and help each other, for Xavi this is a new challenge, I think that what is coming to Xavi is a lot of pressure, because really in the past transfer window the team that did the best for him is Barcelona, of course there are other teams that can also stand out, but the best prices, and the best transfers and acquisition of players are there, I think that the large number of people who bet on Barcelona just because they have good stars is very large.



Among other things, I really like the self-esteem that Neymar Jr has:

'I don't think there's a new Neymar' - PSG star insists he's no different after brilliant start to the season

WHAT HE SAID: "I don't think there is a new Neymar," he told PSG TV. "I think just that things have dropped into place. I'm having a very good start to the season, like when I came here and in my first two or three years.

"I'm very happy. I'm really happy to start the season with goals, assists, helping the team as best I can, and hoping to have a great season and keep going like this until the end."

Source: https://www.goal.com/en/news/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-new-neymar-psg-star-insists-he-s-no-different-after-brilliant-start-to-the-season/blt2c5bcd693e0b3995

These are the things that Mbappé may not like, but in the same way everyone is free to say what they want..

[Distraction]

I'm really mad at Barcelona as my betslip lost only because of their not being able to defeat Inter. But I really appreciate Inter's resistance against them because there was totally a different team there. It was like there was no sign of the Inter that played against Roma and lost by 2-1 home. Now they have a nice advantage of being three points ahead of Barcelona in the group.

However in the match in Camp Nou, I expect none other than a Barcelona win. I've checked the odds and Barcelona have a 1.46 odd for the win. This is a convincing odd for me to add to my new betslip for the CL. They must have learned their lesson from their mistakes in the previous match. I expect Xavi to prepare his players much better for next time. I can't stand watching Barcelona in the Europa League once again so they must win this one of the important matches.

[tokeweed]

^  Mou does that...  That guy could find a way to outfox the better squad.  It won't pass the eye test because it def will not look good but it's effective to get the W.  Lol.

Anyway, I'm watching City vs FC Copenhagen and bored out of my wits as I got no bet in the match.  And Haaland isn't even playing.  Some of the other match ups are pretty much so so too except for maybe Dormund and Sevilla which could be interesting.  But AC Milan vs Chelsea could be a good one.  What do you guys think of BTTS at 1.85? 

[emrecemsan]

^  Mou does that...  That guy could find a way to outfox the better squad.  It won't pass the eye test because it def will not look good but it's effective to get the W.  Lol.

Anyway, I'm watching City vs FC Copenhagen and bored out of my wits as I got no bet in the match.  And Haaland isn't even playing.  Some of the other match ups are pretty much so so too except for maybe Dormund and Sevilla which could be interesting.  But AC Milan vs Chelsea could be a good one.  What do you guys think of BTTS at 1.85?  

If you bet on both teams to score then this match is very unlucky for you. To tell the truth, I also thought of betting on that because of being quite logical. I thought that Milan would be much more effective in San Siro. This was one of their very important and tough matches in the group at the same time.

However look at the current condition of the match now. Tomori got a red card due to holding very early in the match. This was enough to push them into a difficult situation. Chelsea have been able to benefit from this chance great so far as they are in the lead by 2-0. Milan have only one shot in the second half which wasn't even on target. Milan are having another nightmare. If the matches in the group end up with current scores then Milan will be in third position being 2 points behind Salzburg. It'd be a big waste if Milan don't manage to qualify for last 16.

[LTU_btc]

I won't repeat what I said about Barca game in other thread, but shortly - it hurts. Celtic scored first against Liverpool, but final result 1:7 shows that you shouldn't mess with Liverpool.
New Bayer coach Xabi Alonso had positive start in Bundesliga, but now his team got destroyed by Porto at home 0:3. Stats shows that Bayer attacked more, but it's normal thing, considering that Porto took a lead early and didn't needed to attack that much.
Didn't watched Plzen - Bayern game. Bayern solved everything in 1st half and seems that they also let Plzen to play. They scored 2 goals and made 15 shots (6 on target).
Atletico didn't managed to beat Brugge at home. Now they have risk not get out of group, while Brugge unexpected leading group and already qualified for next round.

[8rch7]

A very extraordinary comeback was shown by Jorgen Klopp's men, even though they had fallen behind but Liverpool were able to rise and turn things around with a final score of 1-7, in another match Napoli were able to beat Ajax with a score of 4-2, with this morning's victory already It is certain that Napoli and Liverpool have already got tickets to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, I hope this will be the beginning of Liverpool's revival with a new formation and can continue the positive trend when facing Manchester city in the domestic league and can compete again for the top spot in the English Premier League .

[CryptocurencyKing]

Xavi's obsession with Spanish players will be his downfall. I don’t understand the favoritism. Just because they build a Spanish national at Barcelona and succeeded doesn’t mean he can replicate that. I think it's all over for Barcelona, Xavi is bias in his selections and that costs him yesterday.
You have players like De Jong and Kessie who are more experienced but yet chooses to play Gavi and Pedri all the time, even in decisive games that winning is important.