UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season

[len01]

I see many people who say Erling Haaland disappear in the field like you say, because they think Haaland is not suitable for the games against stronger teams and that's why people think Haaland is just a player who can have good performances against the teams with a weak defending system, while he is not because other teams usually focus on Haaland to make this player stop.  

Erling Haaland has been ghosting in important games and it's becoming disturbing because he can't win prestigious awards with this types of performance. The game against Newcastle was an important game and he got the lowest rating. Newcastle united currently is one of the best teams in the premier League and they have the best defense so instead of supporting Erling Haaland ghosting against them, he should be criticize so he can improve his games or very soon all his goals won't get him anywhere. We have good goal scorers but that's not what football is all about and that's why Messi is still been favoured over him for the Ballon D'or discussion because Erling Haaland has wasted all the opportunities (Finals) he had to prove himself.

I do not know what influenced Haaland performance to decrease this season whereas last season he had a very good performance and was able to score very many goals in the EPL. it makes sense if you say that Haaland is not suitable for matches against stronger teams because in the UCL final at that time Haaland could not do anything even other players who were able to perform well scored for Man City. I also agree with what @CryptopreneurBrainboss said if Haaland seems to need to be criticized and given an evaluation of his mistakes in the match against Newcastle yesterday so that he knows what mistakes are so bad that Haaland performance is not optimal and this will be a tough task for Guardiola to know about Haaland problems and get him back to being a high ranked player again because otherwise its likely that Haaland will still have a poor performance rating until the end of the season.

on the one hand Man City still has ambitions to get a trophy in the UCL and if this flagship player cannot improve his performance immediately I think it will be a little difficult to get another UCL trophy.

[1715372434]

1715372434

[Oluwa-btc]

Manchester city can't get to the level they were last season, winning the treble isn't something you do every year and Manchester city has lost so many important players that were key to their performance last season that it'll be very difficult for Pep Guardiola to get the boys performing as  they did last season. Manchester city hasn't replaced those players that left and instead of Pep Guardiola attacking Chelsea at the press conference for spending, he should spend too that's the only way he wins games and trophy. Pep Guardiola doesn't build players, he only buys already made players and make them better with other quality players playing around them that he buys so instead of complaining about other clubs spending, he should fix his club.

Erling Haaland has been ghosting in important games and it's becoming disturbing because he can't win prestigious awards with this types of performance. The game against Newcastle was an important game and he got the lowest rating. Newcastle united currently is one of the best teams in the premier League and they have the best defense so instead of supporting Erling Haaland ghosting against them, he should be criticize so he can improve his games or very soon all his goals won't get him anywhere. We have good goal scorers but that's not what football is all about and that's why Messi is still been favoured over him for the Ballon D'or discussion because Erling Haaland has wasted all the opportunities (Finals) he had to prove himself.

Winning the treble was an all time performance that happens once in a while for Manchester City, I also doubt that would be possible this season not even next season. Kovacic was signed after IIkay Gundogan left and he's not the perfect replacement for Gundogan, he holds possession but not a risk taker and creative as IIkay Gundogan so wrong signature. Riyard Marhez also left, who's in for him non. Maybe City are currently avoiding over spending. So with Kevin and Silva lost to injuries we don't expect pass influx into the attackers like we do see.

Last season, against Newcastle United, Erling Haaland did not just score bit also contributed to the goal scored by Bernado Silva. And you expect so much from the lad who has got no Kevin De Brunye? They have a great understanding but Kevin absence means Erling wouldn't score for some games due to no creativity. Tough game against Sevilla, I expected them to be tired and fatigued. And it's very wrong to compare Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland, Haaland needs midfielder's to work for him to score but Messi is all in one.

Such Comparisons can be between players like Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandoski. Pep Guardiola lashing out on blues outrageous spending is crazy. You can just ignore but is Pochetino the right man for Chelsea or another test running of failed managers? Hahaha

[topbitcoin]

About Haaland in the Champions League, I can say that he has been quite impressive in this tournament also. He scored so many goals here last season. Maybe he couldn't make much impact on the semi finals and the finale but I can't overlook his overall effort just because of that.

Manchester City are playing great as a team. They don't rely on only one player such as Haaland. The semi finals and the finale were great examples for that. It is the truth that Haaland is an important piece of the puzzle. But Guardiola has a system working like a clockwork now. Even when Haaland isn't in-form the rest of the players can make up for that.

I just know every player in Manchester City has a role to play, Manchester City does not really rely on any player for victory to take place, I think this is one the secret for success in winning trophies. Haaland played major role last season for Manchester City in premier league and in Champions league though in the semi finals and finals game he could not score goal for Manchester city because he was thoroughly marked by the opponent playing against Manchester City because he was a threat to them.

It is true that in important matches such as the semifinals or the Champions League final last season, Erling Haaland seemed to disappear on the field and his role as the pillar of the team at that time was immediately replaced by other Manchester City players who had freer opportunities to score goals. I don't think it's a problem as long as the team can use every player available and actually I'm quite annoyed because Pep Guardiola very rarely changes his players in the second half. So when they should have had the opportunity to score goals through supersub players, they still relied on the players who were there from the early minutes.

I see many people who say Erling Haaland disappear in the field like you say, because they think Haaland is not suitable for the games against stronger teams and that's why people think Haaland is just a player who can have good performances against the teams with a weak defending system, while he is not because other teams usually focus on Haaland to make this player stop.  

I have different thoughts in this case, when Haaland's movement is shut down by several marking players it does not mean he is not suitable to play with a big club, it's just that in this match Howe realized that if Haaland was left alone then Newcastle would face a lot of problems so Howe did some special guarding to Haaland so that every pass made to Haaland could be cut from the start.

His space was narrowed and his movements were limited which is why he could not perform more like before.
It doesn't mean he's bad because he still plays well, it's just that the marking done by Newcastle players is better which makes him frustrated in this match.

[makishart]

I see many people who say Erling Haaland disappear in the field like you say, because they think Haaland is not suitable for the games against stronger teams and that's why people think Haaland is just a player who can have good performances against the teams with a weak defending system, while he is not because other teams usually focus on Haaland to make this player stop. 

Are you kidding? I meant is there a proof why haaland was not suitable against the strong team. What about UCL last season? haaland was always scoring a lot against the big club in UCL. It sounds nonsense if you called that haaland was not suitable for the game against the big team.
Haaland was not able to perform so well due to the lack of good pass toward him. There might be someone who will supply the ball for him. Haaland was rarely getting the ball. It was also impacting his performance in the match against newcastle.
He was a natural striker and he will always try to maximizing his positioning. We are still in the early game of english premier league. Haaland gonna performs even better in the upcoming match.
Just wait and see everything gonna be okay for him.

[swogerino]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.We are used to see them almost every year in the group stages and I think that because of that the result of yesterday game was a surprise.Congrats to AEK though.

[bering]

I think the match between Rangers vs PSV for play off stage could be considers as a big match because both teams can be saying as big teams at their domestic league besides that i can see the recent performance from them is very impressive especially for PSV that in the last 5 matches PSV can able to gets perfect results with 5 wins in all competitions so this match is very interesting to watched because both teams had same ambition want to being an the winner and qualified to the next stage and on 2022 PSV and Rangers also have been met at the same stage for play off match but Rangers can able to eliminate PSV and qualified to the group stage with 3-2 total agregate and this time i am sure PSV want to get revenge from Rangers

[Blitzboy]

`

I see many people who say Erling Haaland disappear in the field like you say, because they think Haaland is not suitable for the games against stronger teams and that's why people think Haaland is just a player who can have good performances against the teams with a weak defending system, while he is not because other teams usually focus on Haaland to make this player stop.  

I honestly dont grasp the criticism around Haaland. He's consistently proven himself in major competitions, especially the UCL. I recall the previous season where he notched up goals against top-tier teams. Are we neglecting those? The issue, in my viewpoint, isnt with Haaland. Its more about the supply chain. How can he convert if he's not getting the right balls and passes? I noticed a similar pattern in the match against Newcastle. The guy needs proper ball supply to work his magic. We're merely into the early phases of the English Premier League, and Im quite confident Haaland will showcase his talent soon enough. Let's not dismiss him quickly based on a few isolated performances.

[tusandii]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.We are used to see them almost every year in the group stages and I think that because of that the result of yesterday game was a surprise.Congrats to AEK though.

Football is a sport that has many surprises and there are even lots of unexpected things to happen where the final result may not match expectations, especially since this is the Champions League, which is the target or desire for all clubs to have a title here.
If you think about it and look at the qualifying matches that have been carried out, Dinamo Zagreb looks strong enough to be able to qualify for the Champions League, but in reality they have to lose their place just because they were defeated by AEK on aggregate from both Legs 3 - 4.
Now AEK has a slightly safer place in the Champions League and for the next play-off match they will meet Antwerp and this will be a slightly difficult match for AEK.

[Strongkored]

I think the match between Rangers vs PSV for play off stage could be considers as a big match because both teams can be saying as big teams at their domestic league besides that i can see the recent performance from them is very impressive especially for PSV that in the last 5 matches PSV can able to gets perfect results with 5 wins in all competitions so this match is very interesting to watched because both teams had same ambition want to being an the winner and qualified to the next stage and on 2022 PSV and Rangers also have been met at the same stage for play off match but Rangers can able to eliminate PSV and qualified to the group stage with 3-2 total agregate and this time i am sure PSV want to get revenge from Rangers

The odds for the two are not much different, so it's almost difficult to predict who will qualify to play in the group phase. It looks like PSV will make an opportunity this time as a way of revenge because as you said this is the same as last season's meeting where Ranger managed to get rid of PSV.
Both of them are good in their local league, but it doesn't seem like it will affect us to be able to predict well who will qualify, Ranger might be able to repeat last season's experience, but of course, PSV will prepare well so they don't fail again with the same club to be able to play in the group phase.
Of the twelve teams that competed in the playoffs, only SC Braga was the most favored over their opponent Panathinaikos, but because Panathiniakos managed to get rid of Marseille, of course, Braga could not underestimate his opponent because it was a surprise that the Greek club might make another surprise so they could qualify for the group phase.

[mamesso]

~Snip~

Manchester city are having big problems with their squad depth as they just lost Kevin De bruyne due to a hamstring injury in the game against Burnley. However, Manchester City strength in the EPL is still quite strong where they were able to play quite well in the match against Newcastle United. Where in this match they were able to win by a narrow score.

So, if we look at Manchester City in the Champions League this season, of course they really need the figure of Kevin De Bruyne in every game they play. And we hope that Kevin De bruyne can return to the team as soon as possible to help manchester city in the important matches they play on the Champions league.

The loss of Kevin De bruyne slightly affected Manchester City appearance, he was an important player in Guardiola squad, he also very often helped the process of creating goals through his assists. Manchester City managed to win by a narrow score over Newcastle in the EPL, once again Manchester City managed to overcome tough opponents without the presence of Kevin De bruyne.
Guardiola really hopes that De Bruyne can return as soon as possible to help the team fight for the Champions League, his presence also greatly affects the number of goals and the productivity of Haaland goals. The two of them collaborated well in Manchester City success last season. This season there has not been much change in the Manchester City squad, and their performances are still consistent.

[rendravolt]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.We are used to see them almost every year in the group stages and I think that because of that the result of yesterday game was a surprise.Congrats to AEK though.

I didn't expect this match to end so dramatically and Athens' win with an aggregate advantage of 4-3 should knock Dinamo Zagreb out. Even though yesterday I was also looking at the results of other league matches and accidentally saw Dinamo Zagreb's scoreboard which was already 2 goals ahead in the first half. Even though I am not betting on this match but it is possible that Dinamo Zagreb can score again in the second half.

But in fact Dinamo Zagreb was unable to score again and it was Athens who caught up with the two goals and in fact all of their goals were scored in the very long injury time minutes. I think we should still appreciate Dinamo Zagreb because however they managed to put pressure on the hosts in this match and they did their best in qualifying.

[swogerino]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.We are used to see them almost every year in the group stages and I think that because of that the result of yesterday game was a surprise.Congrats to AEK though.

Football is a sport that has many surprises and there are even lots of unexpected things to happen where the final result may not match expectations, especially since this is the Champions League, which is the target or desire for all clubs to have a title here.
If you think about it and look at the qualifying matches that have been carried out, Dinamo Zagreb looks strong enough to be able to qualify for the Champions League, but in reality they have to lose their place just because they were defeated by AEK on aggregate from both Legs 3 - 4.
Now AEK has a slightly safer place in the Champions League and for the next play-off match they will meet Antwerp and this will be a slightly difficult match for AEK.

I think Antwerp lacks the experience compared to AEK and deep down I think Dinamo Zagreb is a much stronger team when we compare the two teams together so in this regard AEK is very lucky to have an encounter with a team from the Belgian league that lacks the experience in such a high performing competition.I personally think will bet on AEK to qualify as no matter what happens in the first game in Belgium I know the fans of AEK are on fire when they are playing at home so most likely they will qualify to the group stages.

[X-ray]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.We are used to see them almost every year in the group stages and I think that because of that the result of yesterday game was a surprise.Congrats to AEK though.

Zagreb deserves it. The club played so badly against athens but the worst thing if zagreb's fans gonna be banned by UEFA for playing away. It's caused by this.

Dinamo Zagreb fans will not be allowed to attend the club's European away games this season after a Greek national was killed in clashes with AEK Athens supporters earlier this month, governing body UEFA said on Sunday.

More than 100 people, most of them Croatian citizens, have been charged over the clashes that led to 29-year-old AEK fan Michalis Katsouris being stabbed to death in Athens on Aug. 8.

The incidents occurred before a Champions League qualifier between the sides.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/dinamo-fans-banned-european-away-games-3711361
It's very sad to see that incident was happening to the athen's fan. Dinamo zagreb fans shall be banned not only for this season but it must be banned for the upcoming season too. Congratulation for athens. Zagreb and its fans deserved loss and banned.

[Gencecikmen]

Football is a sport with many surprises, I guess that's why we are passionate about football. Last night, football had a surprise again. I did not expect to be eliminated Dinamo Zagreb by AEK. Congrats to AEK. AEK will face Royal Antwerp play-off round. I think both teams have equal chances.

Looking at the playoff round, the toughest draws are Rangers-PSV and Braga-Panathinaikos.

[rahmad2nd]

-snip-

~~

Gundogan has moved to Barcelona, ​​while Bernardo and De Bruyne have been injured. Manchester City's performance hasn't changed much without these three, but naturally it has an impact on the quality of their game. Manchester City is still a team capable of dominating their opponents in a match, so it's not a big case that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Did you watch the Manchester City vs Newcastle match just now? If so, you know if they have lost their best form or if they played badly without Silva, Gundogan and De Bruyne. I don't see anything negative, that's because the substitute also had a good performance in that game.

Right, I agree with what you said. in fact, City always displays quite an interesting game. although in several matches, some of City's core players were not played due to several factors. De Bruyne is injured, Bernardo Silva is reportedly sick, Stones has muscle problems. which in the end, these three players were not played in the match against Sevilla and the match against Newcastle. but still, City always dominated the game. in fact both Sevilla and Newcastle are more likely to play defensively. and these two teams, experienced pressure during the match against Manchester City.

When De Bruyne was injured, it didn't prevent City from advancing to win his match. there is still Alvarez, Phil Folden, and one more of their young players Cole Palmer. even though they didn't show their best game like City played Silva and De Bruyne, it was an advantage for these players to prove their skills. and yes, they were able to perform well even though they still needed more minutes of playing time.

[Jody.Drummer]

Criticism, praise is a very common thing in football, all players must have felt it whether it comes from management, supporters or from other parties.
Decreasing and increasing the performance of a player is also a very natural thing, we don't always see the best game from players in every match, not just Haaland.
The role of the striker in my opinion has been misunderstood over the years, yes many people think the striker must always score goals. In fact, there are other roles that must be played, for example opening up space for teammates or other things. It doesn't have to be scoring goals, the role of helping colleagues to score goals is also a role that a striker must play.

Referring to what you said, regarding other duties as a striker, I will direct it to one of the strikers that Arsenal have. Gabriel Jesus is one of the strikers that Arsenal have, but he is not as sharp as other strikers, for example like Haaland which we are discussing. G.Jesus, is one of the important players for Arteta's squad even though he doesn't always score goals in every game. but in fact, Arteta has always played him as a main starter. because, G.Jesus has other advantages, he is able to play adaptively, find gaps in empty space, make quick transitions, and he always rotates with his teammates. not infrequently, G.Jesus opens up space for his teammates to create opportunities. that is why, Arteta has more trust and always makes him a major player.

That's what I mean, I wouldn't rule out a striker who can score goals and that's very good indeed. You make a good point about Jesus, yes we know that he is one of the players who contributes a lot to Arsenal, although as you say he doesn't always score goals like Haaland for example. But his role in the front line is very important, to help the attacking process so that it ends in a goal. Last season alone when he was unavailable due to injury, we saw the difference between having Jesus and not having Jesus in Arsenal's game.

`

I see many people who say Erling Haaland disappear in the field like you say, because they think Haaland is not suitable for the games against stronger teams and that's why people think Haaland is just a player who can have good performances against the teams with a weak defending system, while he is not because other teams usually focus on Haaland to make this player stop.  

I honestly dont grasp the criticism around Haaland. He's consistently proven himself in major competitions, especially the UCL. I recall the previous season where he notched up goals against top-tier teams. Are we neglecting those? The issue, in my viewpoint, isnt with Haaland. Its more about the supply chain. How can he convert if he's not getting the right balls and passes? I noticed a similar pattern in the match against Newcastle. The guy needs proper ball supply to work his magic. We're merely into the early phases of the English Premier League, and Im quite confident Haaland will showcase his talent soon enough. Let's not dismiss him quickly based on a few isolated performances.

Whoever the player is, if they encounter a strong defense then they will struggle, not just Haaland. Looking at last season, when the club faced Mamchester City, their defense received special instructions to guard Haaland, and it worked a lot. But Guardiola's clever use of other players to be the second target after Haaland and proven when he struggles to find space because of tight guarding other players who create goals. Now here we can see good teamwork.

[snipie]

Football is a sport with many surprises, I guess that's why we are passionate about football. Last night, football had a surprise again. I did not expect to be eliminated Dinamo Zagreb by AEK. Congrats to AEK. AEK will face Royal Antwerp play-off round. I think both teams have equal chances.

Looking at the playoff round, the toughest draws are Rangers-PSV and Braga-Panathinaikos.

Neither me expected to see a team like Dinamo Zagreb which used to play in advanced stages being eliminated in the third qualifying round by AEK Athens!
Zagreb tried their best to get the draw in the second leg and lead in aggregate but extra time wasn't in their side at all since they received 2 goals on it..
6 teams will pass play-offs stage by the end of the month and it is already hard to pick a choice here.

[Rikafip]

For me we had a surprise yesterday as Dinamo Zagreb is out of the group stages of the Champions League,they were eliminated by AEK Athens while they were leading comfortaby 0-2 most of the game and they lost it all in the last 10 minutes which by the way were additional added time so they got punished in the last minutes of the game,something very uncommon for a team of the level of Dinamo Zagreb.

Dinamo getting kicked out by AEK wasn't really a surprise as those two teams are pretty much equal on the paper and Dinamo had a bad luck having to play against them so early.

Regarding the game last night, AEK was overall a better team and only because of Livakovic Dinamo entered extra time leading 2:0, which then didn't manage to keep due sheer stupidity by our coach Biscan. I mean, you have 2-0 at 90th minute, AEK is going all in and instead of wasting time by getting few more substitues in, he did nothing (only 1 substiture used vs Almeyda using 5) just stood there watching Dinamo team falling apart. I didn't like him as a player, and I like him even less as a coach so I hope he gets sacked soon, most likely after Sparta Prague kicks us out of Europe League qualifications.

[Altryist]

Whoever the player is, if they encounter a strong defense then they will struggle, not just Haaland. Looking at last season, when the club faced Mamchester City, their defense received special instructions to guard Haaland, and it worked a lot. But Guardiola's clever use of other players to be the second target after Haaland and proven when he struggles to find space because of tight guarding other players who create goals. Now here we can see good teamwork.

Guardiola has a lot of attacking players in the team and many of them have leadership qualities that allow them to take responsibility and therefore it is not so easy to restrain each of these players. Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan (no longer in the team) could create the chance themselves and score a goal, the value of such players is very high and this allows City to have an advantage. Haaland is a very talented striker, Guardiola could see that in him.

[marcous]

Right, I agree with what you said. in fact, City always displays quite an interesting game. although in several matches, some of City's core players were not played due to several factors. De Bruyne is injured, Bernardo Silva is reportedly sick, Stones has muscle problems. which in the end, these three players were not played in the match against Sevilla and the match against Newcastle. but still, City always dominated the game. in fact both Sevilla and Newcastle are more likely to play defensively. and these two teams, experienced pressure during the match against Manchester City.

When De Bruyne was injured, it didn't prevent City from advancing to win his match. there is still Alvarez, Phil Folden, and one more of their young players Cole Palmer. even though they didn't show their best game like City played Silva and De Bruyne, it was an advantage for these players to prove their skills. and yes, they were able to perform well even though they still needed more minutes of playing time.

Overall the Man City squad has an even squad depth, and Pep Guardiola is a coach who is very able to give roles to his players according to the opponents they face. Of course, these advantages can make Pep have many choices in rotating players, and his genius approach to players to bring out all the potential they have is a very brilliant move.

True, without the presence of core players, it will give playing minutes for the reserves to show their abilities. I think both in EPL and UCL they are still above the other clubs at the moment.