UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Season

[dezoel]

Sometimes we bash a good team for failing to win, but this time it was different, I think we should praise Atalanta more than we bash Arsenal. Arsenal didn't play that badly, I think Atalanta played great and that's why they got point, and that feels like a good thing for Atalanta and not a bad thing for Arsenal.

Sure, everyone expected them to win and it would have been great for them if they got a win, nobody says Arsenal should be happy, but sometimes teams you play against have a great game and you just have to accept it.

Plus there are seven more games to play and I think Arsenal could win most of them, if not all, and that means they are going to end with some good points, the estimates is that any team who reaches near 20 points would be automatically going up, so they still have that chance, even six wins and a tie would be good enough probably, and they have what it takes to do that.

So I believe that neither Barcelona nor Arsenal, both of which had "disappointing" results should be sad with what they have right now, I think they are doing fine and they shouldn't really be worried about what they have. They can totally consider this as one bad mistake and could fix it later on.

[rahmad2nd]

~~

I also think that it would be difficult for Arsenal to excel in the champions league this season because at the champions league level, Arsenal still have some boxes to tick and one of those boxes includes getting a proper number 9 in the team. As for Atalanta, I don’t expect them to pass the knockout stages. I expect to see the usual suspects in the final stages of the season.

So far, Arsenal's obstacle is a pure striker who can be relied on by the team, unfortunately Arteta has not brought him even though he is actually their need. Talking about Arsenal in the Champions League, I don't have much hope. However, if Arsenal's players recover from their injuries as a whole. I am quite sure that every team that meets Arsenal will have a hard time facing their resistance. Although, they do not have a very qualified number 9 player. Uniquely, Arsenal is that every player is allowed to take the opportunity if they have the opportunity to score a goal. Like in Arsenal's front line, their three front strikers always rotate, open up space for their teammates, then try to penetrate the opponent's defense and create opportunities. As for Atalanta, several teams that are their opponents in the group stage are tough opponents. There is Stuttgart which I think is equal, Real Madrid and Barcelona. We all know, it is not easy for Atalanta to win the match.

[hyudien]

There is no Champions League during the upcoming week. The same for the Conference League too. There is only the Europa League fixtures.

I'm going to miss the Champions League meanwhile certainly. Because the first week was really lovely with so many goals. There must be only a couple of ones without a goal. Bayern Munich started incredible. They lead the standings by far. Celtic and Leverkusen follow right after. Seeing Celtic there feels interesting.    But we are at the very beginning of this stage. They played one of their easiest fixtures early.

Top contenders didn't start very strong generally but I think they will make up for that. It is going to be hell of a busy schedule on the other hand... 

Therefore I wouldn't be too quick to consider the team currently leading the last 8 as strong candidates because as we can see, it's still early and anything can still happen. It's not easy to go on an 8 game winning streak, even Bayern Munich would find it very difficult, but if they manage to go 8 games in total without a loss, then they are the candidates with a better chance of winning the trophy. The Champions League season will be even more difficult when players are busy with domestic league matches and international breaks that will always have an impact on injuries. In October every player needs to take good care of their health, especially those called up to their respective national teams.

[Leviathan.007]

We have to accept the fact that Barcelona did not perform well in the first match of the Champions League and that is why they lost. If Barcelona could have played their normal game in this match, they would not have been defeated in this match. Barcelona may have forgotten the last time they did well in the Champions League. Other teams try to do well in the Champions League or Europa League tournaments but we haven't seen anything like that in Barcelona for a few seasons. I understand that they have financial problems, but it cannot be said that they do not have good quality players in their club. With the players that are there if this player can be planned properly then I think good things can be done with this team.

It was a different kind of brilliance below the regular since this season that was exhibited by Barcelona in the champions League and that wasn't enough to give them a decent start, anyways they could get better after it was kickoff so many games are still ahead with which they can make up for the first time mess. The issue of quality players isn't something I think is of a top credence in Barcelona now as they have good players who in their domestic league is giving excellent results and need only some extra efforts to do better in the champions League.

Every team in the Champions League has just started their journey, so every team still has many opportunities, but Barcelona should not be compared with other teams. Barcelona should have won against the team they lost against. Maybe I will skip the discussion about the match that has gone but there is no guarantee that Barcelona will not repeat this performance in their future matches. Barcelona will have to change tactics. La Liga and Champions League tournaments are not the same, the opponents here are different strengths, so Barcelona has to play with different strategies for different tournaments. If Barcelona can plan and play according to the plan before each match, they can do well.

Personally, I don't expect to see a good performance from Barcelona in the Champions League because Barcelona recently had many financial issues and they couldn't have a strong team while the results they get are mostly because of their coach and because of using younger talents while Barcelona can never race with this young player in the tournaments like the Champions League because they don't have the enough experience for it as they have in the other teams like Manchester City.

[Leviathan.007]

Leverkusen have had a decent season, both in the domestic league and their first match in the Champions League. The confidence levels are increasing for them and getting used to this elite competition, even though they have recently made a comeback to the Champions League. The next game against AC Milan will certainly pass as interesting. Anyhow, Milan are one of the big teams in Europe.

Still, Milan itself is having an up and down season in the domestic league. They are placed 7th presently, having recorded two wins, two draws, and one loss. Maybe this situation could offer Leverkusen a perfect time to peak and maybe spring a surprise. But in the Champions League, but then again anything can happen; Milan is still an opponent to be wary of.

Bayer can take advantage of the fact that Milan has not yet found its game, I think that Alonso will want to use the same tactics that Liverpool used, but I don’t know if they have enough strength for such pressure and Bayer’s defense is not as reliable as Liverpool’s, so it may not work. And Milan can gain confidence from yesterday’s victory over Inter, but I’m not rushing to such conclusions yet, Milan is weaker than I expected.

It might be a problem for Leverkusen to win Milan because Italian teams are used to playing defensive games since that is their game pattern. Imagine Atalanta was able to win Leverkusen very easy and that might be the game plan in which Milan might want to use in order foe them to defeat Leverkusen.

Leverkusen does not have a good defense which will be an advantage for Milan but Leverkusen might still be able to win Milan if their game strategy outsmarts that of Milan.

Leverkusen had a good team in the last season and they got good results but still they are not complete yet. In the Champions League, they should play against many stronger teams with stronger forwards which can cause problems for Leverkusen but they are not ready for it because Leverkusen doesn't have good defensive power as you said.
They are famous for doing comebacks but this is not going to be enough and I think Xabi Alonso needs to start working there to get the team improved for this tournament.

[Jaycoinz]

We have to accept the fact that Barcelona did not perform well in the first match of the Champions League and that is why they lost. If Barcelona could have played their normal game in this match, they would not have been defeated in this match. Barcelona may have forgotten the last time they did well in the Champions League. Other teams try to do well in the Champions League or Europa League tournaments but we haven't seen anything like that in Barcelona for a few seasons. I understand that they have financial problems, but it cannot be said that they do not have good quality players in their club. With the players that are there if this player can be planned properly then I think good things can be done with this team.

It was a different kind of brilliance below the regular since this season that was exhibited by Barcelona in the champions League and that wasn't enough to give them a decent start, anyways they could get better after it was kickoff so many games are still ahead with which they can make up for the first time mess. The issue of quality players isn't something I think is of a top credence in Barcelona now as they have good players who in their domestic league is giving excellent results and need only some extra efforts to do better in the champions League.

Every team in the Champions League has just started their journey, so every team still has many opportunities, but Barcelona should not be compared with other teams. Barcelona should have won against the team they lost against. Maybe I will skip the discussion about the match that has gone but there is no guarantee that Barcelona will not repeat this performance in their future matches. Barcelona will have to change tactics. La Liga and Champions League tournaments are not the same, the opponents here are different strengths, so Barcelona has to play with different strategies for different tournaments. If Barcelona can plan and play according to the plan before each match, they can do well.

Personally, I don't expect to see a good performance from Barcelona in the Champions League because Barcelona recently had many financial issues and they couldn't have a strong team while the results they get are mostly because of their coach and because of using younger talents while Barcelona can never race with this young player in the tournaments like the Champions League because they don't have the enough experience for it as they have in the other teams like Manchester City.

Well I actually think the opposite of what you are trying to say because I mean haven't you seen Barcelona play of recent, I mean they have improved their gameplay alot and for now the goals are actually coming in and that's the good part although they lost to Monaco which was a surprise to me which I know the red card also had some impact to it.

[KTChampions]

Last year Dortmund (who finished 5th in the Bundesliga lol) reached the Champions League final and they had a few good chances to open the scoring before Real coocked them.
It's not every year that we see a clear underdog in the final, but it does happen sometimes and sooner or later someone will repeat Porto's feat (by the way, there were two underdogs in the final then, haha).
And by the way, it seems to me that Atalanta in the playoff format is not that much weaker than other contenders.

If there is a year we will see an underdog in the Champions League, I think this year will be one. As it stands mow, it is not yet clear who will be reaching the semi finals. Barcelona is at the verge of being eliminated by Monaco and if this happens,  then Manaco will be a team to watch. Their style of play is great and with what they played Barcelona,  they can challenge any team including Manchester City and the dreaded Real Madrid. Although we will be talking about Champions league experience when we get to that stage.

  I don't understand what you're writing about, friend. It's only the beginning of the group stage and no result is dangerous for any club as there are still 7 games to go. Also, maybe I'll surprise you but Barcelona won't play Monaco in the group stage anymore, in the new format these are one-off games and not "home - away". The quarterfinals are still so far away that there is no point in discussing them. I am sure that there will be interesting pairings in the 1/8 and in the intermediate playoffs.

[Uruhara]

Sometimes we bash a good team for failing to win, but this time it was different, I think we should praise Atalanta more than we bash Arsenal. Arsenal didn't play that badly, I think Atalanta played great and that's why they got point, and that feels like a good thing for Atalanta and not a bad thing for Arsenal.

Sure, everyone expected them to win and it would have been great for them if they got a win, nobody says Arsenal should be happy, but sometimes teams you play against have a great game and you just have to accept it.

Plus there are seven more games to play and I think Arsenal could win most of them, if not all, and that means they are going to end with some good points, the estimates is that any team who reaches near 20 points would be automatically going up, so they still have that chance, even six wins and a tie would be good enough probably, and they have what it takes to do that.

So I believe that neither Barcelona nor Arsenal, both of which had "disappointing" results should be sad with what they have right now, I think they are doing fine and they shouldn't really be worried about what they have. They can totally consider this as one bad mistake and could fix it later on.

The draw that Arsenal got in their first UCL match was actually not that disappointing. Because we are all used to seeing the surprises that Italian teams always present. Likewise, Barcelona's defeat by Monaco was not that surprising. Because this defeat can be said to be quite natural. because Barcelona played with only 10 players for almost the entire match from the start of the first half. Because in normal time Barcelona only plays with 11 players for 10 minutes. And the rest they played with 10 players until the match was over. In fact, I want to give appreciation to Barcelona because they didn't concede many goals when they were in a difficult position. because a lack of players on the field is usually a big problem for other teams. I think Arsenal and Barcelona will both win in the next match. But Arsenal was a little unlucky because in the next match a very strong enemy awaited them, namely PSG.

[AYOBA]

Leverkusen had a good team in the last season and they got good results but still they are not complete yet. In the Champions League, they should play against many stronger teams with stronger forwards which can cause problems for Leverkusen but they are not ready for it because Leverkusen doesn't have good defensive power as you said.
They are famous for doing comebacks but this is not going to be enough and I think Xabi Alonso needs to start working there to get the team improved for this tournament.

Honestly Leverkusen performance is little down compared to how they make a good performances last season that they where able to remain uneaten in Bundesliga league; they performed very admirably in that season, but this they’ve never show up any better performances in both Champions and the Bundesliga: It will good if their coach Xabi Alonso will do something that will make the team improve much so that they get back to their Normal performed.

Although that their lack of defense, but is not only the defense is there main problem the entire team have issues they don’t want to keep their consistent life before that is why performance has come with some changes; some people are stated that, because they been playing with big teams all this while let see how their next match will goes on.

[hahay]

Leverkusen had a good team in the last season and they got good results but still they are not complete yet. In the Champions League, they should play against many stronger teams with stronger forwards which can cause problems for Leverkusen but they are not ready for it because Leverkusen doesn't have good defensive power as you said.
They are famous for doing comebacks but this is not going to be enough and I think Xabi Alonso needs to start working there to get the team improved for this tournament.

Honestly Leverkusen performance is little down compared to how they make a good performances last season that they where able to remain uneaten in Bundesliga league; they performed very admirably in that season, but this they’ve never show up any better performances in both Champions and the Bundesliga: It will good if their coach Xabi Alonso will do something that will make the team improve much so that they get back to their Normal performed.

Although that their lack of defense, but is not only the defense is there main problem the entire team have issues they don’t want to keep their consistent life before that is why performance has come with some changes; some people are stated that, because they been playing with big teams all this while let see how their next match will goes on.

Although Bayer Leverkusen has experienced a decline in performance this season but still, the fact that Bayer Leverkusen still has good results and it is not bad at all and Bayer Leverkusen does not have big problems that affect their performance. After all, Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga standings are actually still in second place and just below Bayern Munich and also, in their first match in the Champion League also the fact that Bayer Leverkusen despite playing away but managed to win with a score of 0-4.

What is also impressive is that Bayer Leverkusen managed to make four goals in the first half, and in the second half Feyenoord was unable to score even though Feyenoord continued to attack. Thus,  in my judgment Bayer Leverkusen is still fine and not too bad regarding the decline in performance, because Bayer Leverkusen is still strong and can be consistent with good match results so far.

[Pokapoka124]

Leverkusen had a good team in the last season and they got good results but still they are not complete yet. In the Champions League, they should play against many stronger teams with stronger forwards which can cause problems for Leverkusen but they are not ready for it because Leverkusen doesn't have good defensive power as you said.
They are famous for doing comebacks but this is not going to be enough and I think Xabi Alonso needs to start working there to get the team improved for this tournament.

I would be lying if I said I was expecting similar results and records from Bayern Leverkusen as they did last season in the Bundesliga but they are still a good side and still have very good players enough to come close or maintain top three finish this new season. Leverkusen will face very difficult competition against Bayern Munich for the league title this season.

[$weetne$$]

So far, Arsenal's obstacle is a pure striker who can be relied on by the team, unfortunately Arteta has not brought him even though he is actually their need. Talking about Arsenal in the Champions League, I don't have much hope. However, if Arsenal's players recover from their injuries as a whole. I am quite sure that every team that meets Arsenal will have a hard time facing their resistance. Although, they do not have a very qualified number 9 player.

Not every team needs a number 9 to be winning their games. Arsenal last season played very well without any number 9 in the team. Arteta knows how to play without a pure 9. Havertz can play as a top striker when Arteta wants to use a front man and Gabriel Jesus is used as a forward when he's fit. Arsenal has a strong team but it is injured that is making them to be weak. Arsenal do not have a strong force in the champions league, it is only the premier league that they are very strong and can be capable of challenging Manchester city until the final day of the league. The last game Arsenal had in the premier league against Manchester city, it ended 2-2 and Arsenal had only 10 players on the pitch by the end of the match. This is to show how strong the Arsenal team are when it involves the league title.

[iamsange]

Well I actually think the opposite of what you are trying to say because I mean haven't you seen Barcelona play of recent, I mean they have improved their gameplay alot and for now the goals are actually coming in and that's the good part although they lost to Monaco which was a surprise to me which I know the red card also had some impact to it.

That's true because I also think that a red card for one player early in the game could very well affect the mentality of the other players and also the way the Barcelona squad played against Monaco. Also what Barcelona have shown at the start of this season in the domestic league is also extraordinary and that can be considered an improvement in the team itself if we compare it to last season when Xavi was still the coach. So for this season overall for the Barcelona team, there has been a lot of change in the way they play in every competition.

[SatoPrincess]

So far, Arsenal's obstacle is a pure striker who can be relied on by the team, unfortunately Arteta has not brought him even though he is actually their need. Talking about Arsenal in the Champions League, I don't have much hope. However, if Arsenal's players recover from their injuries as a whole. I am quite sure that every team that meets Arsenal will have a hard time facing their resistance. Although, they do not have a very qualified number 9 player. Uniquely, Arsenal is that every player is allowed to take the opportunity if they have the opportunity to score a goal. Like in Arsenal's front line, their three front strikers always rotate, open up space for their teammates, then try to penetrate the opponent's defense and create opportunities. As for Atalanta, several teams that are their opponents in the group stage are tough opponents. There is Stuttgart which I think is equal, Real Madrid and Barcelona. We all know, it is not easy for Atalanta to win the match.

I still have not heard the reason why Arsenal refused to get a good striker in the transfer window, after losing Eddie Nketiah in the summer and knowing what is at stake this season. It is about that time Arsenal bring in a prolific striker to the squad because they are lacking a very good finisher to lead their attacking play and guarantee at least 20 goals per season for the club.

[promise444c5]

Well I actually think the opposite of what you are trying to say because I mean haven't you seen Barcelona play of recent, I mean they have improved their gameplay alot and for now the goals are actually coming in and that's the good part although they lost to Monaco which was a surprise to me which I know the red card also had some impact to it.

That's true because I also think that a red card for one player early in the game could very well affect the mentality of the other players and also the way the Barcelona squad played against Monaco. Also what Barcelona have shown at the start of this season in the domestic league is also extraordinary and that can be considered an improvement in the team itself if we compare it to last season when Xavi was still the coach. So for this season overall for the Barcelona team, there has been a lot of change in the way they play in every competition.

Well the thing is, Barcelona back is not strong enough... it's  strong actually but not strong enough to cope with  one man down, at the same time this prevented them from playing more of attacks in their game, instead they played more of defensive game like I said in one of my comment here. The game could have ended with  more goals and maybe Barca winning (but that's a slim chance though) if Barca attacked but they gave Monaco most of the chance to do the attack while they continue defending and at the same time, when a man is down in a team and there's no way to replace him at the moment the panic of creating a loop hole and at the same time winning... affects  the gameplay of such team, I think that might be the same case of Barcelona.
Nevertheless, there're still more game to play and they can still correct those mistakes if they don't give room for any future mistakes.

[RaltcoinsB]

We have to accept the fact that Barcelona did not perform well in the first match of the Champions League and that is why they lost. If Barcelona could have played their normal game in this match, they would not have been defeated in this match. Barcelona may have forgotten the last time they did well in the Champions League. Other teams try to do well in the Champions League or Europa League tournaments but we haven't seen anything like that in Barcelona for a few seasons. I understand that they have financial problems, but it cannot be said that they do not have good quality players in their club. With the players that are there if this player can be planned properly then I think good things can be done with this team.

It was a different kind of brilliance below the regular since this season that was exhibited by Barcelona in the champions League and that wasn't enough to give them a decent start, anyways they could get better after it was kickoff so many games are still ahead with which they can make up for the first time mess. The issue of quality players isn't something I think is of a top credence in Barcelona now as they have good players who in their domestic league is giving excellent results and need only some extra efforts to do better in the champions League.

Every team in the Champions League has just started their journey, so every team still has many opportunities, but Barcelona should not be compared with other teams. Barcelona should have won against the team they lost against. Maybe I will skip the discussion about the match that has gone but there is no guarantee that Barcelona will not repeat this performance in their future matches. Barcelona will have to change tactics. La Liga and Champions League tournaments are not the same, the opponents here are different strengths, so Barcelona has to play with different strategies for different tournaments. If Barcelona can plan and play according to the plan before each match, they can do well.

Personally, I don't expect to see a good performance from Barcelona in the Champions League because Barcelona recently had many financial issues and they couldn't have a strong team while the results they get are mostly because of their coach and because of using younger talents while Barcelona can never race with this young player in the tournaments like the Champions League because they don't have the enough experience for it as they have in the other teams like Manchester City.

We say this, but Spain won the last European championship and this happened with their young squad. Barcelona can also achieve success, but the big problem for them will be Ter Stegen's absence. Although it is difficult, I think we should remember Real Madrid, who lost their goalkeeper last year and became champions. There is nothing impossible for Barcelona. They lost the first match, but they can play better in the rest.

[Farma]

We say this, but Spain won the last European championship and this happened with their young squad. Barcelona can also achieve success, but the big problem for them will be Ter Stegen's absence. Although it is difficult, I think we should remember Real Madrid, who lost their goalkeeper last year and became champions. There is nothing impossible for Barcelona. They lost the first match, but they can play better in the rest.

Indeed, in the Barcelona meeting that lost to their opponent Monaco, it was a trigger for Stegen's less than optimal performance, in several other matches Stegen was also seen to be less than optimal in several meetings but you are very sure that with his presence Barcelona will become Champions, actually that could happen because this is football, but if we look back Barcelona is indeed not good enough to compete with big teams today, indeed Flick's presence has restored their confidence a little but we have to be realistic seeing Man City Madrid Munich PSG and other teams have played optimally.
not to underestimate Barcelona but to become Champions they need a high level of self-confidence their first failure showed how their mentality is very below average and they have to be able to play optimally if they want to compete.

[joniboini]

not to underestimate Barcelona but to become Champions they need a high level of self-confidence their first failure showed how their mentality is very below average and they have to be able to play optimally if they want to compete.

I think that's a bit too harsh. Their result other than their loss in the UCL is quite good. They score more than 3 goals on average in their last 5 matches or so iirc. Not to mention there was a red card on that match. Worst case scenario they fail to find a good keeper, but they can still score lots of goals to win matches.

By the way, I don't understand how we can judge the "mentality" of a football team in good form as below average. Maybe we can say something like that if there is a pattern where a team fails to overcome early goal difference or always loses the game on injury time etc. An exception to the form is an anomaly, in my opinion, and it is not a good point to focus on when judging the overall team's status.

That being said, UCL matches by nature are different from league competition, so who knows whether their form can translate to another competition or not.

[asriloni]

So far, Arsenal's obstacle is a pure striker who can be relied on by the team, unfortunately Arteta has not brought him even though he is actually their need. Talking about Arsenal in the Champions League, I don't have much hope. However, if Arsenal's players recover from their injuries as a whole. I am quite sure that every team that meets Arsenal will have a hard time facing their resistance. Although, they do not have a very qualified number 9 player. Uniquely, Arsenal is that every player is allowed to take the opportunity if they have the opportunity to score a goal. Like in Arsenal's front line, their three front strikers always rotate, open up space for their teammates, then try to penetrate the opponent's defense and create opportunities. As for Atalanta, several teams that are their opponents in the group stage are tough opponents. There is Stuttgart which I think is equal, Real Madrid and Barcelona. We all know, it is not easy for Atalanta to win the match.

I still have not heard the reason why Arsenal refused to get a good striker in the transfer window, after losing Eddie Nketiah in the summer and knowing what is at stake this season. It is about that time Arsenal bring in a prolific striker to the squad because they are lacking a very good finisher to lead their attacking play and guarantee at least 20 goals per season for the club.

Arsenal has two strikers available, Havertz and Gabriel. They don't mind adding a new striker. They think those two names are enough to help them this season. They are focusing on other positions, not the striker position. They scored a lot last season. It's probably their reason to feel confident enough with their available strikers. And they decided not to sign a new striker.

[Hvdv]

So far, Arsenal's obstacle is a pure striker who can be relied on by the team, unfortunately Arteta has not brought him even though he is actually their need. Talking about Arsenal in the Champions League, I don't have much hope. However, if Arsenal's players recover from their injuries as a whole. I am quite sure that every team that meets Arsenal will have a hard time facing their resistance. Although, they do not have a very qualified number 9 player. Uniquely, Arsenal is that every player is allowed to take the opportunity if they have the opportunity to score a goal. Like in Arsenal's front line, their three front strikers always rotate, open up space for their teammates, then try to penetrate the opponent's defense and create opportunities. As for Atalanta, several teams that are their opponents in the group stage are tough opponents. There is Stuttgart which I think is equal, Real Madrid and Barcelona. We all know, it is not easy for Atalanta to win the match.

I still have not heard the reason why Arsenal refused to get a good striker in the transfer window, after losing Eddie Nketiah in the summer and knowing what is at stake this season. It is about that time Arsenal bring in a prolific striker to the squad because they are lacking a very good finisher to lead their attacking play and guarantee at least 20 goals per season for the club.

Nketiah scored 5 goals in 27 games last year. He wasn't a very productive forward. Crystal didn't start the league very well this year either. Arsenal actually lacks a forward like Haaland. The last time they didn't have a forward was probably during the Thierry Henry era. They must be an unlucky team because they've been feeling this lack for a long time. I think they need a forward like Haaland. Haaland scored 100 goals in 105 games for City. A statistic that could make them champions on its own.