📯2026/27 Champions League Pool | ⚽️ Discussion | sponsor TBA

[slaman29]

Update: Lask won 5-1 without even scoring a penalty. Damn, how did they find the energy to last until the very end? Very intense and good football.

Unbelievable! Celtic out, LASK and Sabah in, well, I think we really have a special group stage (and the big teams must be very happy too lol free points

Any update on sponsor yet @buwa? I see another Champions League thread asking about sponsorship actually Like seems everybody is asking!!

[cryptofrka]

Scottish league must be truly terrible. LASK is a bad team and they had xG of 5 yesterday, in a game in which Celtic just needed to defend.

There's a funny story regarding Sabah, they are led by a coach that succeeds wherever he goes. The only place where he 'failed' was in Hajduk - meaning, he won the Cup after 9 years but was still deemed not good enough by the board because he lost the Supercup to Dinamo on penalties.

___________________

I hope Dinamo wins today - this team deserves the CL. I have to say that Viking does as well.

[KTChampions]

Update: Lask won 5-1 without even scoring a penalty. Damn, how did they find the energy to last until the very end? Very intense and good football.

Unbelievable! Celtic out, LASK and Sabah in, well, I think we really have a special group stage (and the big teams must be very happy too lol free points
~

Are you sure about this? It's clear that the opponent was Celtic and there's no point in drawing far-reaching conclusions, but Lask seemed to me to be both skilled and physically prepared to at least try to overwhelm its opponents with tempo. This isn't always pleasant even for the top teams which try not to strain themselves too much during the group stage.
I noticed that despite the fact that 4 games are being played today, there will not be a single comeback... because the result of the first game is a draw everywhere, lol. I don’t see anything to bet on, maybe only AEK - Levski exact score 0-0?

[leea-1334]

So sad Sabah FK lost the game,,, now they have to win to have a chance. Just personally prefer not to see a team like Beer go to Champions League  

And now they made big comeback. After conceding early goal and being down 0:2 they still managed to send game to extra time, scoring equalizer on completely last attack in regular time. Hapoel player got second yellow card in extra time and it was decisive factor.
I'll brag a bit - Sabah coach Valdas Dambrauskas becomes first manager from my country (Lithuania) who reached Champions league group stage.

I am more of a neutral here but I am actually quite happy to see Sabah progress rather than the Israel team,,, but that is nothing to do with football and just the way I never saw this team before. Very proud of your Lithuanian coach, I doubt I will ever see a Singapore coach go far, since even in our country the coaches are almost all foreigners  

[darxiaomi]

Update: Lask won 5-1 without even scoring a penalty. Damn, how did they find the energy to last until the very end? Very intense and good football.

Unbelievable! Celtic out, LASK and Sabah in, well, I think we really have a special group stage (and the big teams must be very happy too lol free points

Any update on sponsor yet @buwa? I see another Champions League thread asking about sponsorship actually Like seems everybody is asking!!

I didnt see the game but i just follow the result in their last 10 minutes and i couldnt believe what was happening, i mean how a team like Celtic can let it go or drop a huge diference like this one in just a few minutes? Is crazy  they were 4-0 in the global and they allow LASK to score 4 goals in one half(i know in one half were 3 but you know what i mean) to send the game into extra time and they manage to lose it in that one.

The worst of all is ..... LASK i mean a team who is not a super stablished team is just a team for Austria.

[LTU_btc]

Bodo made good use of their advantage today, I watched 15-20 minutes of their power play and bet on them to win with a handicap of -1.5 with odds of 1.67. And right at the end of the first half, they scored two goals. The only thing I didn't like about their play was their finishing - they tried to roll the ball into the net, much like City did before Haaland arrived.
It's unbelievable, but Lask won 4-1 and now it's extra time. I think Celtic are already psychologically destroyed.

Update: Lask won 5-1 without even scoring a penalty. Damn, how did they find the energy to last until the very end? Very intense and good football.

Damn, my post aged so badly . Still, not as bad as Celtic performance yesterday - ba-dum-tss. Scottish clubs in recent years already become joke, but this is next level shit. No idea how LASK found faith and motivation to make such comeback. I watched last 30 minutes of regular time and extra time and Celtic were so bad that I'm not sure how they survived until extra time.
Today I already will refrain from predictions...

Very proud of your Lithuanian coach, I doubt I will ever see a Singapore coach go far, since even in our country the coaches are almost all foreigners  

In our football he is like exception from the rule - we don't have any other coaches with big achievements and working in foreign clubs. In local league probably more than half coaches is foreigners too.

[CLS63]

Unlike the first match Fenerbahçe managed to qualify for the Champions League after an 18-year break by playing an amazing game today. I must admit that I got really emotional after the match ended. I played that famous Champions League anthem after it ended and I'm still listening to it...

P.S.: The referee was really too bad. It is proud to win despite him.

[slaman29]

Fenerbahce 18 years gap? I would never have guessed this!!

Are you sure about this? It's clear that the opponent was Celtic and there's no point in drawing far-reaching conclusions, but Lask seemed to me to be both skilled and physically prepared to at least try to overwhelm its opponents with tempo. This isn't always pleasant even for the top teams which try not to strain themselves too much during the group stage.
I noticed that despite the fact that 4 games are being played today, there will not be a single comeback... because the result of the first game is a draw everywhere, lol. I don’t see anything to bet on, maybe only AEK - Levski exact score 0-0?

As sure as I always am that I will win in BSFL every week = in other worse, not sure at all

I do agree I might have looked down on LASK's ability to score many goals but I just remember that Celtic always allowed many goals at higher level, I am still very sure the top teams will be happier to see Sabah and LASK instead of Celtic for example, but I could be wrong.

The worst of all is ..... LASK i mean a team who is not a super stablished team is just a team for Austria.

Maybe we will both be proven wrong but this is my thinking. Experience 100% matters in Champions League!!

[Altryist]

 After the first match, I thought Lyon would have the advantage because they managed to draw away, and I expected them to avoid defeat at home. But I think Fenerbahce played a great first half, capitalizing on Lyon's defensive mistakes and scoring two, early goals. That's why by the middle of the first half, Fenerbahce were already up 2-0. In the second half, they didn't sit back and defend, but continued to contain the game more in the middle of the field and also tried to attack. I think this was a very sound strategy, and it was very difficult for Lyon to equalize with this kind of play. So, congratulations to Fenerbahce on reaching the Champions League group stage.

[cryptofrka]

Unlike the first match Fenerbahçe managed to qualify for the Champions League after an 18-year break by playing an amazing game today. I must admit that I got really emotional after the match ended. I played that famous Champions League anthem after it ended and I'm still listening to it...

P.S.: The referee was really too bad. It is proud to win despite him.

Really? This sounds unbelievable to me. When I started watching football, they played it regularly - although just the group stages
Welcome back, Fener deserves to be there.

Dinamo, however, proved once again last night that they don't. Still, that was a tough penalty to concede after going 1-0 up.

[xzone]

After the first match, I thought Lyon would have the advantage because they managed to draw away, and I expected them to avoid defeat at home. But I think Fenerbahce played a great first half, capitalizing on Lyon's defensive mistakes and scoring two, early goals. That's why by the middle of the first half, Fenerbahce were already up 2-0. In the second half, they didn't sit back and defend, but continued to contain the game more in the middle of the field and also tried to attack. I think this was a very sound strategy, and it was very difficult for Lyon to equalize with this kind of play. So, congratulations to Fenerbahce on reaching the Champions League group stage.

They definitely went into the match with a very sound strategy, scored two goals, and thus advanced to the next round. Every player at Fenerbahçe played with great dedication, and I think the team's new signings were very successful. It's also a huge achievement that they'll be back in the Champions League after 18 years.
Lyon was a strong team, not easy to beat, but Fenerbahçe succeeded this time. I think they will be more successful this season than they have been in a long time

[Luzin]

Unlike the first match Fenerbahçe managed to qualify for the Champions League after an 18-year break by playing an amazing game today. I must admit that I got really emotional after the match ended. I played that famous Champions League anthem after it ended and I'm still listening to it...

P.S.: The referee was really too bad. It is proud to win despite him.

Congratulations to Fenerbahce, but one of the players made me angry. He is Matteo Guendouzi, a former Marseille player who is a rival of Lyon. Even his middle finger made me lose respect for him. I'm sure FIFA or UEFA will soon conduct an investigation, and this could harm both the team and himself. But on the other hand, I saw one player who was very chill, he's Kante, he looked relaxed and walked straight to the locker room. I'm impressed with him.

Fenerbahce is a good team, their squad is filled with experienced players from major leagues. This combination successfully got them into the UCL this season. Although I'm not convinced they can pull off a surprise, just qualifying for the UCL is enough to make their supporters happy. Because it took them a very long time to reach this stage.

[darbitmobilerecovery]

Unlike the first match Fenerbahçe managed to qualify for the Champions League after an 18-year break by playing an amazing game today. I must admit that I got really emotional after the match ended. I played that famous Champions League anthem after it ended and I'm still listening to it...

P.S.: The referee was really too bad. It is proud to win despite him.

Really? This sounds unbelievable to me. When I started watching football, they played it regularly - although just the group stages
Welcome back, Fener deserves to be there.

Dinamo, however, proved once again last night that they don't. Still, that was a tough penalty to concede after going 1-0 up.

What the actual f*ck!!!!! Man i have to went and check it for myself and it was real i cant believe it, for me it was like they were always losing up in group stages and some years only in Europa League but 18 years without Fenerbahce in the main stage of Champions League was not in my books, like cryptfrka said it was a ussual for me when i started to see football.

This show how bad the turkish football is doing overall, how a team that big is not in the main european competition for 18 years, just crazy.

[leea-1334]

Very proud of your Lithuanian coach, I doubt I will ever see a Singapore coach go far, since even in our country the coaches are almost all foreigners  

In our football he is like exception from the rule - we don't have any other coaches with big achievements and working in foreign clubs. In local league probably more than half coaches is foreigners too.

I honestly cannot draw many comparisons between our countries but for me in Europe even the smaller countries have a big priority on sports as part of mental health.

Here,,, they promote physical activity and outdoors rather than sports so it is cycling, walking, exercise,,, I wish it promoted football more for example. If you wanted to be a licensed coach you usually have to pay for yourself, no benefit.

[paco92x]

Unlike the first match Fenerbahçe managed to qualify for the Champions League after an 18-year break by playing an amazing game today. I must admit that I got really emotional after the match ended. I played that famous Champions League anthem after it ended and I'm still listening to it...

P.S.: The referee was really too bad. It is proud to win despite him.

How is that possible—18 years without the UCL? I just can’t imagine a club like them missing out on the UCL for that long. I’m just shocked. Once again, Dinamo are without the UCL. It was a tough draw for them getting Viking, but I can’t help thinking that they should have passed them easily.

[BABY SHOES]

How is that possible—18 years without the UCL? I just can’t imagine a club like them missing out on the UCL for that long. I’m just shocked. Once again, Dinamo are without the UCL. It was a tough draw for them getting Viking, but I can’t help thinking that they should have passed them easily.

Last played in the 2008/09 season lost in the group stage, it was quite a long time absent for Fenerbache, it's crazy now that they are back in the Champions League again, is it possible that this is thanks to other popular players despite their age?

Damn it... I chose LYON to win.

Ahhh I do not believe in Dinamo, in the first leg made a bet to Dinamo his real win them in the draw hold, the second leg did not decide to bet on this team, but who screwed up was LYON itself.

[KTChampions]

What do you think about the draw, colleagues? https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/2027/2002239/
It seems like this year there isn't a single top team with a difficult schedule (like PSG had last year), but there are some teams with easier games than others, for example, Real Madrid:
Inter (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), Leipzig (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away).
Liverpool have a similar schedule, so Mbappe and whoever is the Liverpool scorer could already score 15 goals in the group stage haha.
Separately, i can note huge luck: LASK, Viking and Sabah will play with the most famous teams, the fans will be happy.

[Decimetre]

What do you think about the draw, colleagues? https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/2027/2002239/
It seems like this year there isn't a single top team with a difficult schedule (like PSG had last year), but there are some teams with easier games than others, for example, Real Madrid:
Inter (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), Leipzig (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away).
Liverpool have a similar schedule, so Mbappe and whoever is the Liverpool scorer could already score 15 goals in the group stage haha.
Separately, i can note huge luck: LASK, Viking and Sabah will play with the most famous teams, the fans will be happy.

I see that these draws are very fair, especially to the big boys. Real Madrid has nother opportunity to prove a point. Just like you mentioned, this means more goals for Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid is set to hit them hard. The group stage is going to be interesting and I guess more goals for the top players. Liverpool has Isak, he could have this season all to himself and give them goals. I want Isak to have a good season at Liverpool this season as he will be leaving the attack this season alongside Gakpo. Champions league football is different from other games because every team comes with a high morale to win.  I may not say the winner but I think there will be more goals this season unlike last season's 655 goals due to the not very fair mix. I will be focusing total on the number of goals instead of win or loss because every season has its own surprises and I don't have good strength to talk about who wins from this earlier stages until the games become intense.

[LTU_btc]

What do you think about the draw, colleagues? https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/2027/2002239/
It seems like this year there isn't a single top team with a difficult schedule (like PSG had last year), but there are some teams with easier games than others, for example, Real Madrid:
Inter (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), Leipzig (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away).
Liverpool have a similar schedule, so Mbappe and whoever is the Liverpool scorer could already score 15 goals in the group stage haha.
Separately, i can note huge luck: LASK, Viking and Sabah will play with the most famous teams, the fans will be happy.

I haven't analyzed draw for each teams, but I think that every season we have something similar - some big clubs get very easy draw, while some others don't have that much luck and even may have problems to reach next round.
According to FMD
https://x.com/fmeetsdata/status/2093043400677154954
Sabah (surprise, surprise), City (not sure why) and Lens got most difficult draw, while Real, Stuttgart and Inter got easiest one.
And yeah, fans of these smaller clubs can be happy as they will see some best clubs playing against them. Some may prefer easier draw, but with easier draw they still wouldn't have much chances to achieve something.

[RaltcoinsB]

How is that possible—18 years without the UCL? I just can’t imagine a club like them missing out on the UCL for that long. I’m just shocked. Once again, Dinamo are without the UCL. It was a tough draw for them getting Viking, but I can’t help thinking that they should have passed them easily.

Last played in the 2008/09 season lost in the group stage, it was quite a long time absent for Fenerbache, it's crazy now that they are back in the Champions League again, is it possible that this is thanks to other popular players despite their age?

Damn it... I chose LYON to win.

Ahhh I do not believe in Dinamo, in the first leg made a bet to Dinamo his real win them in the draw hold, the second leg did not decide to bet on this team, but who screwed up was LYON itself.

Lyon weren't actually in very good shape. They hadn't played very well in the first match either. As a Fenerbahçe fan, I knew we would beat them. They played better in the second half, and two of their goals were disallowed thanks to the VAR system. Our players are now experienced, and we can compete at the Champions League level. It was also very satisfying to stay in the Champions League by beating a tough team. If I remember correctly, last year we lost to Lille in the playoffs and were eliminated in extra time. This year, at least, there were no surprises, and we qualified for the Champions League.