UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Season

[Adbitco]

As the old format changed and we got a new one, I'm still to get accustom myself to this new format. I saw the draws for the play offs few minutes ago and I don't understand how come Beest and PSG were paired together. Brest and PSG are from the same league and this isn't yet the Quarter finals of the Champions League, my question is, why were they paired together knowing fully well that they are from the same league or the format changed, a new rule was applied? I'm ignorant here, can anyone help me to understand why we will be watching Brest Vs PSG?

That's why it is the new format, where football is supposed to be played by football teams irrespective of their countries... Lol. Maybe the old rule has been abolished. Maybe the new rules say that if you finished at a particular position in the champions League table, you will automatically face the next opponent who finished at another number. I don't know if you are getting my point. Let's say in the new format, if team A finishes at 13 in the table, he will face team B that finishes at 23. So it doesn't matter which country those two teams are coming from. I think that's what happened, that made PSG meeting breast.

Or who knows PSG might want to suck some more breasts.... 😂😂😂😂 The ones they sucked at Ligue 1 ain't enough. Lol. That's why they are meeting breast in the champions League.

Thanks man, your explanation really made a lot of sense to me at least this has calmed my curiosity of wanting to know why two teams from same league would be meeting at this stage of the Champions League. Lol, PSG Vs Brest, of cause they will continue sucking it from where they stopped in their league. It's an easy win for PSG more like a piece of cake, Brest definitely has no chance Vs PSG, they will be eaten both home and away.

[Antotena]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

I don't know how credible this mixing of games are but somehow my mind is telling me that Manchester City and Real Madrid selection is mostly done on purpose because tell me, is there a season Real Madrid and Manchester City don't join each other, most often they play and meet before the quarter final. It's mostly when they meet in knockout stage, probably to quickly eliminate hard guys or they don't want to combine hard teams and soft ones.

I still believe Manchester City wouldn't be able to beat Real Madrid, they are struggling in their domestic league and again, they are doing and here as well even the top teams in the Premier League are doubt better than them, Real Madrid going to play off was as a result of some bad errors that happened to them but they have since improved for now, if they can continue like this, trust me they will do better in the Champions League but I can't guarantee the trophy because of there defense strength.

[ajanwalker]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

Real Madrid seems one step ahead, but City is not an empty team either.
If City corrects its defensive weaknesses, it may have a chance to qualify.
Real Madrid is a team that stands out with individual performances rather than team play. Real have not been a good team and anything can happen this tour. There will definitely be matches with goals, but it is not possible to predict which team will advance.

[ZAINmalik75]

SNIP

Both teams started the season not well enough with some of their players injured. Especially Man City who looked difficult in the Champions League, after struggling to get through the Playoff, they faced a tough team like Madrid. How could the two big teams meet so early and have to see one of them not qualify. Even after one of them qualified, they still faced another strong team in the round of 16, what a tough situation.
Both Madrid and Man City have a good champion mentality. The match will be difficult to predict but I hope Pep will make a strategy that makes Ancelotti feel enough tension on the sidelines.

Well real madrid are in good shape they will have to win. Beyond any doubt they will win rest of thier matches now I believe on them, while on the other side Manchester city are not looking good. They are still struggling with injuries thier key players are still missing and the team sheet also feels like a lack of defense due to Rodri absence. It is true Pep made some new changes to filled the team gap but I don't think so that they will easily get through or not. It is a bit skeptical.
While compared to them Angelotti team were looking in good rythm and doing quite good. More ever they are holding top position in league competition, although they were performing quite badly from the beginning of the season. But now they looking stable and reliable. Anyway Manchester City have had a tough time with the absence of their key players. But it is difficult that they will be able to defeat real madrid in coming matches, because real madrid plays with a lot of passion in UCL and this passion is the reason for victory.

[slapper]

unexpeted game for Mancehster City vs Real Madrid.

I thought we would see both Manchester City and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. But now that is no longer the case. Two of the best teams in the Champions League are going to face each other in the play-offs. And one of them will be eliminated. And this will be the most competitive and exciting match of this round. Because both teams were considered one of the favorites for the Champions League title.

I will put Real Madrid ahead in this match. Real Madrid is a much stronger and more organized team than Manchester City. We have not seen much better performance from Manchester City on the Champions League platform. So I don't think City can win against a strong team like Madrid.

In the Champions League, Real Madrid is a sure thing. They have a strong urge to kill... It's a whole new level. They were hit by City once, but "lightning doesn't strike the same spot" all the time. With fifteen Champions League wins, how can you even come close? When you play Madrid, they will find a weakness in your defense and beat you, no matter how fancy Guardiola's strategies are. Vinícius Jr. running down the side, Bellingham in the middle of the field, they can't be stopped

And the talk about how deep City's team is is true, but Madrid loves high-stakes games. They'll hold on tight, take the hit, and then strike again when it really hurts. It's not pretty, and it's not always right, but football is all about success. City might win a crown if this were a beauty show. But it's a cold, cruel knockout finish, and the white shirts deserve that stage

[promise444c5]

Mancity could have just let go off the race to the title against Club Brugge, now here they are, stucked with the defending champion Realmadrid, this is going to be hard especially in their current state..
They still have some unsettled business regarding their last game now with their current form I don't think k there's hope for revenge , they can only win the game only by luck unless they improve before 11/02.. at least it's going to be a good Val present  for  the win side  .
Everyone got a nice opponent except Mancity 

[Furious 7]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

True, it's too early for such a big match because it's even like an ideal final at the moment but Manchester City and Madrid still don't seem to have a good situation where they are playing a Champions League match in a final because they sometimes always meet in quarter finals or semi finals which is always a difficult situation and now they are in the play offs which is also a situation that must be a little difficult to guess.

But with this I again believe in accordance with what happened in the past when Madrid and Mancehster City met whoever won then they most likely could reach the final and even win even though this is just a speculation but by looking at their history in terms of taking the trophy in the last few seasons it has always been like that.

On the other hand, it will also be an interesting match for Haaland and Mbappe to meet at two supposedly big clubs

[Egii Nna]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

Real Madrid seems one step ahead, but City is not an empty team either.
If City corrects its defensive weaknesses, it may have a chance to qualify.
Real Madrid is a team that stands out with individual performances rather than team play. Real have not been a good team and anything can happen this tour. There will definitely be matches with goals, but it is not possible to predict which team will advance.

We all know that it's a goal for Real Madrid, even though I know Manchester City will try to put more effort in, but it has been identified that their defense is very weak, which will be a nice hope for Real Madrid to win the game, even though we know it's a home and away game, so it will not be a big challenge for Ancelotti.

Moreover, this February will be so hot for Manchester City because in both the Champions League and Premier League, they will be playing with teams like Arsenal in the Premier League, Real Madrid in both the home and away games in the Champions League, and then Liverpool again in the Premier League. I don’t think they will be able to even do anything tangible this coming month, because all the opponent teams are in their best performance unlike Manchester City.

[BITCOIN4X]

Mancity could have just let go off the race to the title against Club Brugge, now here they are, stucked with the defending champion Realmadrid, this is going to be hard especially in their current state..

I think both teams, Manchester City and Real Madrid, are in the same difficult position.
One of them will win the match and qualify for the round of 16, but at this time we cannot say for sure who will advance to the next round. Manchester City and Real Madrid have each other's strengths and weaknesses and I hope this will be a match that offers the best drama in the playoffs compared to the others.

They still have some unsettled business regarding their last game now with their current form I don't think k there's hope for revenge , they can only win the game only by luck unless they improve before 11/02.. at least it's going to be a good Val present  for  the win side  .
Everyone got a nice opponent except Mancity 

I know a lot of people don't like Manchester City because they are Real Madrid fans, but this is definitely not a joke. This match will produce one winner regardless of who they are, but both teams have the same chance of winning the match. If there are those who favor Real Madrid in that match, then I'm sure there are also those who hope Manchester City wins it.

[ShowOff]

..............................

If not Real Madrid then Bayern Munich will be Manchester City next opponent in the play off round, it is clearly a very difficult opponent to handle. With inconsistent performance, Pep Guardiola clear to worry about their fate in reaching the round of 16. In my opinion, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich are also worried if they clash with Manchester City, because the match will clearly be troublesome. Regardless of all that, Pep Guardiola deserves to be grateful because he managed to lead his team to the play off round by beating Club Brugge in the last match.

Manchester City have just completed a tough test to qualify for the play-offs, and now they face another tough opponent. Real Madrid will be their opponent in the play-offs.

In the home and away matches, both teams will compete for tickets to get a position in the last 16, and for the first match, Manchester City will appear as the host. Appearing as the host, Manchester City should be able to use this momentum to be able to take an early lead over Real Madrid, before they will later travel to the Santiago Bernabeu, again facing Real Madrid in front of thousands of Los Blancos supporters.

This will be quite an interesting match to watch, even though this is not the final match.

The match between Manchester City vs Real Madrid is like a premature final, and one of them will be eliminated too early. Of course it is difficult to predict who will make it to the last 16, but I think based on consistency, Real Madrid has a slightly higher chance than Manchester City. In terms of squad depth, everyone knows that Real Madrid has a better line-up, so it is natural that they are more favored.

The play-off round will take place in mid-February, a number of matches in their next domestic competitions can certainly be used as a reference to assess their actual performance. Manchester City has a slight advantage because they will act as hosts first, but I don't think it will matter much because the team they are facing is Real Madrid. Of course the match is worth waiting for, because the atmosphere will look like a final.

[Franctoshi]

unexpeted game for Mancehster City vs Real Madrid.

I thought we would see both Manchester City and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. But now that is no longer the case. Two of the best teams in the Champions League are going to face each other in the play-offs. And one of them will be eliminated. And this will be the most competitive and exciting match of this round. Because both teams were considered one of the favorites for the Champions League title.

I will put Real Madrid ahead in this match. Real Madrid is a much stronger and more organized team than Manchester City. We have not seen much better performance from Manchester City on the Champions League platform. So I don't think City can win against a strong team like Madrid.

In the Champions League, Real Madrid is a sure thing. They have a strong urge to kill... It's a whole new level. They were hit by City once, but "lightning doesn't strike the same spot" all the time. With fifteen Champions League wins, how can you even come close? When you play Madrid, they will find a weakness in your defense and beat you, no matter how fancy Guardiola's strategies are. Vinícius Jr. running down the side, Bellingham in the middle of the field, they can't be stopped

And the talk about how deep City's team is is true, but Madrid loves high-stakes games. They'll hold on tight, take the hit, and then strike again when it really hurts. It's not pretty, and it's not always right, but football is all about success. City might win a crown if this were a beauty show. But it's a cold, cruel knockout finish, and the white shirts deserve that stage

Real Madrid dominance in the Champions league is because of their experience in handling high stakes-games like this and thus makes Real Madrid a formidable opponent team and challenge for other clubs to face in the competition, and Manchester City game isn't gonna be different, especially now that City is obviously bleeding, Vinicius Jr, Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe will never allow City to take a breath and will definitely bring them to bow,  when it comes Champions League, Madrid are well known for their good.

[yudi09]

Mancity could have just let go off the race to the title against Club Brugge, now here they are, stucked with the defending champion Realmadrid, this is going to be hard especially in their current state..
They still have some unsettled business regarding their last game now with their current form I don't think k there's hope for revenge , they can only win the game only by luck unless they improve before 11/02.. at least it's going to be a good Val present  for  the win side  .
Everyone got a nice opponent except Mancity 

I don't think Manchester City will give up because their opponent is Real Madrid in the last 16 play-offs. It's about the game and there is also luck in it.
If that's the case, I think it's too early to judge something. Real Madrid can also be the opposite of Manchester City in the sense that a surprise could happen (Real Madrid fail).

Sometimes by facing Real Madrid, Manchester City's enthusiasm to be able to qualify for the play-offs is greater which makes them play not as many people think. There could be a possibility, right?

[Agbamoni]

As the old format changed and we got a new one, I'm still to get accustom myself to this new format. I saw the draws for the play offs few minutes ago and I don't understand how come Beest and PSG were paired together. Brest and PSG are from the same league and this isn't yet the Quarter finals of the Champions League, my question is, why were they paired together knowing fully well that they are from the same league or the format changed, a new rule was applied? I'm ignorant here, can anyone help me to understand why we will be watching Brest Vs PSG?

That's why it is the new format, where football is supposed to be played by football teams irrespective of their countries... Lol. Maybe the old rule has been abolished. Maybe the new rules say that if you finished at a particular position in the champions League table, you will automatically face the next opponent who finished at another number. I don't know if you are getting my point. Let's say in the new format, if team A finishes at 13 in the table, he will face team B that finishes at 23. So it doesn't matter which country those two teams are coming from. I think that's what happened, that made PSG meeting breast.

Or who knows PSG might want to suck some more breasts.... 😂😂😂😂 The ones they sucked at Ligue 1 ain't enough. Lol. That's why they are meeting breast in the champions League.

Naughty guy. Well, your right all along. There have been major changes in the UCL and that is awesome. I like the new pattern, competing in the UCL is not an easy thing. Any club that needs to face the other club in that match should be fixed, nothing like the same club stuff. Anyway, PSG vs Brest will be an easy one for PSG. I know it's not going to be very simple for PSG to win Brest.

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

The battle between these two never seems to end. What a coincidence in the knockout stage draws result. TBH, i am sure Real Madrid will win the game but Manchester City will give them the toughest game ever in the league.

Also, I cant wait to watch the game because i have always wanted to watch Kylian Mbape against Erling Haaland. I remember when Haaland called Mbape an ape, this will be a revenge match and now is the time for Mbape to show Haaland that he is just a boy in the game.

[Asiska02]

Mancity could have just let go off the race to the title against Club Brugge, now here they are, stucked with the defending champion Realmadrid, this is going to be hard especially in their current state..
They still have some unsettled business regarding their last game now with their current form I don't think k there's hope for revenge , they can only win the game only by luck unless they improve before 11/02.. at least it's going to be a good Val present  for  the win side  .
Everyone got a nice opponent except Mancity 

Manchester City is not a bad team, they are just facing some struggles and challenges due to injury to one of their best man who is the heart of their midfield, and now that they have signed more players in this transfer window, I think they have been doing well recently and will be a different team entirely against Real Madrid because Pep Guardiola will not want to just get eliminated early in the Champions League same as Ancellot because his job at Real Madrid is under pressure and if the team get eliminated early in the Champions League, the Madrid management might sack him at the end of this season.

This playoff game coming up between Real Madrid and Manchester City is a match we were expecting to have in the Semifinals or the finals of the Champions League, but due to the performances both of the teams encounter in the beginning of the Champions league group stage campaign make them to be in this position at this moment.
However, this is an opportunity to other teams to grab the Champions League this season.

[KTChampions]

Unexpectedly, top pairs before the 1/8 finals. If the pairs were not determined by the teams' positions in the tournament table, I would think that City once again somehow influenced the draw - they always get the easiest opponents from season to season (as long as it is possible).
I don't even know what to think about the Real - Bayern pair, both teams are far from optimal form, so any little thing can affect the final result. Real will be a slight favorite, but I'm not at all sure of their victory.

I am not sure if you got this wrong, but Manchester City will guaranteed play against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. How is that evoking the feeling that Manchester City would manipulate anything? If that was the case, I doubt they would have chosen these two teams to be their opponents...

It is rather that either Bayern or Real Madrid will get away with a black eye if they play against Celtic. Manchester City is screwed no matter what during the playoffs. It means one top team will be out when the playoffs are over. For City this is the hardest possible draw out of all the playoff teams there are. There is no harder draw than this. Doesn't seem like manipulation to me even if they were able to.

That's right, I got the picture wrong. And I had every reason to do so: the expression A or B versus C or D is very likely that the winner of the pair AB gets the winner of the pair CD.
Well, the actual order of the games doesn't change much, the fact that out of the three main favourites (Liverpool fans can certainly argue here) there will be only one left after the 1/8.

[baeva]

Oh boy! An early matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City? I'm in for that.    It feels like Manchester City will get what they deserve this time. I expect Ancelotti to beat Guardiola once again.

You have all noticed Manchester City's weaknesses in the CL until now. They have really struggled against top clubs. Even against Club Brugge they didn't seem credible at all. We might not have seen them in playoffs now.

Real Madrid also started badly but made progress later on. I see them one step ahead with their recent effort. I think they will show Manchester City how it's done. 

I don't know how credible this mixing of games are but somehow my mind is telling me that Manchester City and Real Madrid selection is mostly done on purpose because tell me, is there a season Real Madrid and Manchester City don't join each other, most often they play and meet before the quarter final. It's mostly when they meet in knockout stage, probably to quickly eliminate hard guys or they don't want to combine hard teams and soft ones.

I still believe Manchester City wouldn't be able to beat Real Madrid, they are struggling in their domestic league and again, they are doing and here as well even the top teams in the Premier League are doubt better than them, Real Madrid going to play off was as a result of some bad errors that happened to them but they have since improved for now, if they can continue like this, trust me they will do better in the Champions League but I can't guarantee the trophy because of there defense strength.

They have met 4 times in the last few years, so far the score is tied 2-2 on wins for them, but the fact that they will now meet in 1/16 is terrifying, because at such an early stage you don't want to lose either team I think. Given that one of these teams will be relegated at such an early stage I think that either Liverpool or one of the teams in the match in question will win the Champions League....

[promise444c5]

I think both teams, Manchester City and Real Madrid, are in the same difficult position.
One of them will win the match and qualify for the round of 16, but at this time we cannot say for sure who will advance to the next round. Manchester City and Real Madrid have each other's strengths and weaknesses and I hope this will be a match that offers the best drama in the playoffs compared to the others.

Sure one of them will be a winner to qualify for the next round but fr fr trust me Realmadrid  has improved more than mancity in just a short period of time, not saying they are somehow better but putting them on scale then Realmadrid is likely to come out as winner  but it's all game anyways we can see the opposite... besides, it's Mancity and I know they are capable  as well , still looking forward to seing this particular game .

I know a lot of people don't like Manchester City because they are Real Madrid fans, but this is definitely not a joke.

Not a Madrid  fan either  

[Lillominato89]

bad match yesterday for Milan, they took to the field convinced of an easy win since Dynamo Zagreb was almost eliminated and had little hope of being able to access the top 24 positions, but Milan had to do better, they absolutely had to win. now the road is complicated because they will have 2 matches against one between Juventus and Feyenoord. certainly not two comfortable teams

A bad game yes, i don't know if it was thanks to the Dynamo Zagreb or Milan demerit.
I certainly know that my Milanese friends have been made fun of wildly and i laughed a lot about this.
So even if Milan lost for me it was fun.
Among other things, if i am not mistaken, Dynamo Zagreb has not passed.

you're not the only one who mocked the poor Milan fans hahaha, teasing is normal in these cases. anyway no, Dinamo Zagreb still failed to qualify for the play offs. now Milan will have to meet and beat Feyenoord, a tough opponent and if they get through to the round of 16 there's the possibility of a Milan derby against Inter, draw permitting

[mv1986]

~

I am not sure if you got this wrong, but Manchester City will guaranteed play against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. How is that evoking the feeling that Manchester City would manipulate anything? If that was the case, I doubt they would have chosen these two teams to be their opponents...

It is rather that either Bayern or Real Madrid will get away with a black eye if they play against Celtic. Manchester City is screwed no matter what during the playoffs. It means one top team will be out when the playoffs are over. For City this is the hardest possible draw out of all the playoff teams there are. There is no harder draw than this. Doesn't seem like manipulation to me even if they were able to.

That's right, I got the picture wrong. And I had every reason to do so: the expression A or B versus C or D is very likely that the winner of the pair AB gets the winner of the pair CD.
Well, the actual order of the games doesn't change much, the fact that out of the three main favourites (Liverpool fans can certainly argue here) there will be only one left after the 1/8.

Whether you had "every reason to do so" is up to you, no idea whether you had. But I took a minute to read the rules on the UEFA website and found that it works the way I described.

Thinking about your statement here, it makes zero sense by the way. How would it make sense that teams that finish 11th and 12th should play against each other to find out who plays against 23rd and 24th? Where is the benefit finishing 11th if that makes me play against the 12th? You know, I think you had no reason to do so to be honest!

They included this little rule to build pairs to have a least amount of variance and an additional drawing as these drawings bring them money through advertising. They could have fixed it beforehand, but they also wanted to avoid strategic behavior on the last match day. Bayern got lucky, Real Madrid didn't. But I still think Real Madrid is the favorite against Manchester City.

[Adams0001]

Mancity could have just let go off the race to the title against Club Brugge, now here they are, stucked with the defending champion Realmadrid, this is going to be hard especially in their current state..
They still have some unsettled business regarding their last game now with their current form I don't think k there's hope for revenge , they can only win the game only by luck unless they improve before 11/02.. at least it's going to be a good Val present  for  the win side  .
Everyone got a nice opponent except Mancity 

This will be a very tough game for Manchester city because Real Madrid are not a small club and currently Manchester City are not really in a good shap this season, and real madrid have started doing good in all competitions, Guadiola will be out of the ucl in the playoff because after Manchester city play against Real Madrid in the Etihad the second leg will be in madrid home that will make it difficult for Manchester city to succeed in the playoff and knockout madrid in the Champions league. I didn't wish Madrid to play against Manchester City this time but the draws as make the final decision and making Manchester city face real madrid in the the playoffs.  Let see how the the competition will be and see who will probably succeed to another stages and am sure most people will be thinking that Manchester City can be probably withdraw in the league competition. But anything can happens but in my on opinion real madrid will be the favorite of qualifying to the next round.