UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[AirtelBuzz]

I completely agree with your comment. If a big team like Barcelona makes an excuse like injury, then it should never be accepted. Because such a big team should always have many players in the backup. Because one player can get injured, so if that injury affects the whole team, then it will never be a good day for Barcelona. Barcelona is going through a very bad time at the moment. As we expected, nothing is happening with Barcelona at the moment.

It seems reasonable that if a mighty team like Barcelona makes excuses like injuries, it is unacceptable because this team is already the best and should have many players in their backup. If you observe their management, you might be even more surprised because they don't spend a lot of money there, as a result they do not have very smart substitute players.
Barcelona currently has two players out due to injury, but the entire Barcelona Football Club is affected by them.

If a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid takes place in such a situation, then maybe Barcelona can lose very badly to Real Madrid. Currently, Barcelona should maybe bring a new player into their team, maybe they should take their team forward in the right way. If they sit with the excuse of injury, they will never be able to play well.

This will be Barcelona's weakness in the new season, actually in this situation in Barcelona, weaker teams may give them a tough time, so if they participate in a match against Real Madrid there, they will be unable to mount a resistance there. Barcelona should probably have an agile player in their team right now but their management needs to make timely decisions. Then maybe they will be able to add more strong substitute players in this new season because even without other key members of the team, including Lamine Yamal and Rafinha, this team will have the ability to move forward on its own.

[Anayochukwu]

It's obvious now that injuries has been the excuse of any team that is not doing well in their leagues, which is not supposed to be so. Though sometimes when I see people complaining about what injuries did to them I always laughed at them because this is something that normally happens all the time, they are not suppose to be told before they would no that they need more capable players that would cover their injuries.

Injuries is something by now they supposed to have gotten used to and prepare for it and not allow it be a reason the team suffers because actually it has been one of the things that should be factored into the period of the transfer windows and that is why they are allowed variety of players but some teams may not utilise this opportunity to its best only to later want to blame on injuries ad a reason they did not perform well enough meanwhile it was supposed to be factored into the period of player purchase.

It's really unfortunate that this mistake is still repeating itself all season, while they were giving enough time to select multiple players of their choice. Though injury is a normal thing that often happens when you don't expect so it should be fully taking care of to enable the team move forward because lack of players can actually make a team that was supposed to be a champion in that particular season not to achieve what they were meant to achieved. This is something that the management need to put in consideration during transfer windows.

[Princess Leah]

Injuries is something by now they supposed to have gotten used to and prepare for it and not allow it be a reason the team suffers because actually it has been one of the things that should be factored into the period of the transfer windows and that is why they are allowed variety of players but some teams may not utilise this opportunity to its best only to later want to blame on injuries ad a reason they did not perform well enough meanwhile it was supposed to be factored into the period of player purchase.

It's really unfortunate that this mistake is still repeating itself all season, while they were giving enough time to select multiple players of their choice. Though injury is a normal thing that often happens when you don't expect so it should be fully taking care of to enable the team move forward because lack of players can actually make a team that was supposed to be a champion in that particular season not to achieve what they were meant to achieved. This is something that the management need to put in consideration during transfer windows.

Most clubs actually do prepare for injury crisis by expanding their depth but then what do you expect them to do when the substitute players that are supposed to perfectly replace the injured players fail to perform well? Those are what you guys should consider, how about clubs that got hit with lots of injury crisis, Chelsea for instance.

 Chelsea have about eight senior team players currently injured including some key players like Cole Palmer, Reece James, Liam Delap, Colwill, Wesley Fofana. And they have many important matches after the international break, so you don't expect that their fans shouldn't complain about the injury crisis or use it as an excuse during banters against rival fans.

[Iranus]

Chelsea have about eight senior team players currently injured including some key players like Cole Palmer, Reece James, Liam Delap, Colwill, Wesley Fofana. And they have many important matches after the international break, so you don't expect that their fans shouldn't complain about the injury crisis or use it as an excuse during banters against rival fans.

Now most of the renowned teams are suffering from injury problems. The most important players of PSG squad are Dembele and Doue. Barcelona squad has Gavi, Yamal, Raphinha and Garcia. Apart from this, several players of Liverpool squad are also out of the squad due to injuries. So if Chelsea cannot play well due to injuries of their players, it is definitely their failure. If you want to do well in the Champions League, you must be ready for all situations. Otherwise, it is not possible to do well in the Champions League.

[BitTraderCute]

~

I believe Liverpool problem or predicament now is Coach and it is not that the coach they have now is a bad coach but the problem is that I think he has not really understand the players that well. Klopp build Liverpool to a very good extent that it is always hard or difficult to win Liverpool but immediately he left the foundation he lay began to shake and I have come to discover that it is always difficult most times to start managing a club that another person has built well because mentality and pattern differs with persons.

I have to ask, if Arne Slot doesn't truly understand his players is it possible for Liverpool to win the Premier League title last season and still have decent start to the season? It normal for team to underperform in the UCL, and it far cry from their domestic form, after all there are still plenty of games ahead for Liverpool to secure their position.

[Danica22]

I have to ask, if Arne Slot doesn't truly understand his players is it possible for Liverpool to win the Premier League title last season and still have decent start to the season? It normal for team to underperform in the UCL, and it far cry from their domestic form, after all there are still plenty of games ahead for Liverpool to secure their position.

Liverpool have lost 3 matches in a row. But I don't want to blame Arne Slot. Arne Slot has proven his ability in the last season. The team won the Premier League title. But unexpectedly they lost to PSG in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Liverpool lost to Galatasaray in the second match of the Champions League this season. Liverpool must have faced some problem that we are not aware of. That is why Liverpool lost all three matches. I hope Arne Slot will be able to fix the weaknesses of his squad after the international break.

[Juse14]

Chelsea have about eight senior team players currently injured including some key players like Cole Palmer, Reece James, Liam Delap, Colwill, Wesley Fofana. And they have many important matches after the international break, so you don't expect that their fans shouldn't complain about the injury crisis or use it as an excuse during banters against rival fans.

Now most of the renowned teams are suffering from injury problems. The most important players of PSG squad are Dembele and Doue. Barcelona squad has Gavi, Yamal, Raphinha and Garcia. Apart from this, several players of Liverpool squad are also out of the squad due to injuries. So if Chelsea cannot play well due to injuries of their players, it is definitely their failure. If you want to do well in the Champions League, you must be ready for all situations. Otherwise, it is not possible to do well in the Champions League.

Last season, Manchester City and Real Madrid faced similar problems, with many of their key players suffering injuries, which caused their performance to decline and prevented them from advancing far in the Champions League that season. The busy match schedule was one of the reasons why so many players suffered injuries.

It is undeniable that in the previous season, both Barcelona and PSG had extraordinary squads, and both teams believed that with the strength they brought from the previous season, they could achieve the same results this season. However, after a storm of injuries came, it raised a big question: would they be able to regain their dominance in the Champions League this season?

As for Chelsea, this season marks their return to the Champions League, but unfortunately, they come into it without sufficient preparation. Although they did manage to silence PSG's dominance last season, this season truly presents a real challenge for Chelsea.

[Volgastallion]

I only hope to see all great teams in the playoff phase, because i remember last year some pairing were not great at all, so please we need to avoid low tier teams reaching the play off, plus we need the luck to have a very good draw after this first stage is complete.

But well we are still far away from there.

[slapper]

Football fans wanted PSG and Barcelona to play in the last year's Champions League final, so I agree with you that Barcelona and PSG meeting in the Champions League has been long awaited by the football fans. I could still remember some people were saying that if PSG had played against Barcelona in the last year's Champions League final, Barcelona could have defeated PSG, but after PSG came from behind to defeat Barcelona, I believe they proved those people wrong.

Yes, it was a long-awaited thing that fans began to feel that the first round match between Barcelona and the French club in the new season's Champions League would feel like a final match. However don't forget that there is another match waiting between these two teams, perhaps in that match Barcelona will learn to take revenge. You were right about those who had very high expectations that if Barcelona and PSG had reached the Champions League final last year, the final result of that match might not have gone in Luis Enrique's favor, their skyrocketing misconceptions have already stopped because PSG was the completely dominant team against Barca.
Besides it seems that the Catalans are worthy of both titles, so their resistance ability is not intact, it may be baseless, because the time has come for their progress to improve, actually they are in full training to participate in their third match of the new season's Champions League against a team from Greece, this match might give them a desired result.

Barca is not able to revenge without first acknowledging the reasons behind their defeat. Everybody continues to refer to it as domination. PSG had 7 shots on target, Barca had 3 and Chevalier did not even save. A lesson in game management. In 2017, I was in the stands when PSG melted down. This time, roles reversed. It was Barca who was naive, who pressed too high, and forgot that they are not playing Cadiz but Hakimi and Mendes. And what's funny? PSG lacked even Dembele, Kvaratskhelia, or Marquinhos. They did this on teenagers and they were able to make Yamal disappear after 30 minutes

You can refer to it as revenge incoming, but Flick is still in preseason mode psychologically. Their intention may be demonstrated in that Olympiacos game (low block opponent, good to restore confidence) but structurally? Same flaws waiting to be punished again if they are not learning in Paris

[Dzwaafu11]

I believe Liverpool problem or predicament now is Coach and it is not that the coach they have now is a bad coach but the problem is that I think he has not really understand the players that well. Klopp build Liverpool to a very good extent that it is always hard or difficult to win Liverpool but immediately he left the foundation he lay began to shake and I have come to discover that it is always difficult most times to start managing a club that another person has built well because mentality and pattern differs with persons.

You are right. Because with the way these things are going, I discover that the problem is from the coach. Because I feel like the players' mentality is very nice with the former coach who built it. I think they need a coach that can manage them the same way they were built.

That is the only way Liverpool will give us what we want because, as for the current manager, what you said is right: he may face difficulty managing the squad that has been built by another manager; he may not want to use the same pattern the other coach used, and the players are already getting used to the other strategy, so definitely things like this will happen. The season is still going; some clubs may still decline in performance, and some already did, not only Liverpool.

Bayern Munich is currently in a very good form in the Champions League, and Liverpool suffered an unexpected early defeat. Galatasaray's defeat has shaken Liverpool's position in the Champions League. Liverpool is no longer considered invincible. This makes the Champions League even more exciting. Watching Liverpool play will now become even more entertaining.

The Champions League is really becoming more interesting because who expected Galatasaray to defeat Liverpool in that match? Nobody, I think, is so serious, not even the clubs we expected a very good and successful performance from are declining in the early stage of the season, and that makes the league more exciting, although it’s still early, so we shouldn’t judge from this defeat. Let’s see what they will do in the coming match; they still have matches to play.

[puloweh555]

Chelsea have about eight senior team players currently injured including some key players like Cole Palmer, Reece James, Liam Delap, Colwill, Wesley Fofana. And they have many important matches after the international break, so you don't expect that their fans shouldn't complain about the injury crisis or use it as an excuse during banters against rival fans.

Now most of the renowned teams are suffering from injury problems. The most important players of PSG squad are Dembele and Doue. Barcelona squad has Gavi, Yamal, Raphinha and Garcia. Apart from this, several players of Liverpool squad are also out of the squad due to injuries. So if Chelsea cannot play well due to injuries of their players, it is definitely their failure. If you want to do well in the Champions League, you must be ready for all situations. Otherwise, it is not possible to do well in the Champions League.

Sometimes I get a little annoyed with coaches who complain about injured players, but that's the coach's real job. They must be able to utilize every player they have to stay competitive in any competition. While losing key players can certainly make it difficult for a team to win, a truly brilliant coach can capitalize on every player's talent.

I'm reminded of Ancelotti, who faced challenges with injuries to many key players when he was still coaching Real Madrid. But he didn't complain he utilized the available players. When a defender was injured, he utilized the talents of players like Cama, who played at wing back and sometimes Fede Valverde. I mean, Ancelotti managed to win UCL trophy with an imperfect squad.

[verdinio]

Real Madrid's performance this season can be said to be quite good under Xabi Alanso; at least, Real Madrid now has a system. The mistakes made against Atletico Madrid will certainly be continuously evaluated by Xabi for the next match. In my opinion, Real Madrid's current weakness isn't the front line or midfield, but rather the back line, as there are many injuries.

They could definitely do better, given how good they are, without a doubt, is in their way of playing. They're currently first, so I want say anything better would be a dream. Meanwhile, as usual, Real Madrid and Barcelona are separating themselves from the rest of the group.

That's right. Real Madrid's performance is improving, especially as they play collectively and have a system in place. However Real Madrid hasn't been fully tested against big or strong teams. This was evident in Xabi's crushing defeat against Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Xabi Alanso has many things to improve on within the team especially finding a strong lineup to face strong teams especially tough opponents in UCL.

Xabi's strategy will be tested against Juventus and Liverpool in the next UCL matches. We must assess Real Madrid's performance in these two matches. If Real Madrid can get through these matches with positive results, I predict Real Madrid's progress this season will go even further, even reaching the final. However if they lose these two matches, it means Xabi's strategy this season hasn't been optimal. His strategy only works against weaker teams, but he loses against stronger teams. I'm also curious about Real Madrid's journey in the UCL this season.

I see Real Madrid's performances in the Champions League very well, I don't know why but what they're doing is an excellent path and they have all the potential to have a great season, Xabi is certainly preparing the team with different tactics to see which is the best

[Dunamisx]

It's really unfortunate that this mistake is still repeating itself all season, while they were giving enough time to select multiple players of their choice. Though injury is a normal thing that often happens when you don't expect so it should be fully taking care of to enable the team move forward because lack of players can actually make a team that was supposed to be a champion in that particular season not to achieve what they were meant to achieved. This is something that the management need to put in consideration during transfer windows.

It all depends on the players and this is also where professionalism comes in, some players can easily go on injury, while some may hardly go on injury, because they know how they managed themselves when playing, we have the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, who made records for life in the history of football and part of why these were possible was because they don't get injury like that the way others could have gone for break after sustaining injury, which I know this may actually affect the team they are playing for.

[Furious 7]

It is undeniable that in the previous season, both Barcelona and PSG had extraordinary squads, and both teams believed that with the strength they brought from the previous season, they could achieve the same results this season. However, after a storm of injuries came, it raised a big question: would they be able to regain their dominance in the Champions League this season?

As for Chelsea, this season marks their return to the Champions League, but unfortunately, they come into it without sufficient preparation. Although they did manage to silence PSG's dominance last season, this season truly presents a real challenge for Chelsea.

There are always high expectations for big clubs, but ultimately it is their performance on the field that counts, regardless of whether they have internal problems such as player injuries. Big clubs should know what they are doing because this is the worst-case scenario and it is clearly not the first time they have experienced this. The league phase and the knockout phase can sometimes be vastly different and are difficult to predict. For example, last season saw some clubs that were successful early on, like Liverpool, Barcelona, and Arsenal—who only suffered one defeat in the league phase—crumble in the knockout phase. Meanwhile, PSG, who had a rough league phase with three defeats, surprised everyone by winning with what could be considered one of the largest margins in Champions League final history.

This season could also follow a similar pattern, where top clubs face challenges in the league phase, but the situation could change in the knockout phase, and such opportunities still exist and could materialize.

[Marvelockg]

Bayern Munich is currently in a very good form in the Champions League, and Liverpool suffered an unexpected early defeat. Galatasaray's defeat has shaken Liverpool's position in the Champions League. Liverpool is no longer considered invincible. This makes the Champions League even more exciting. Watching Liverpool play will now become even more entertaining.

I never expected that they could have a rough play for a start in this manner, but i know Liverpool wasn't the only in the league to suffer the same humiliation, maybe we could see them perform more better if its never too late coming matches ahead of them, but for now, we cant be confident in them, though the beginning does not justify the end, things could change, but i only hope it shouldn't have been too late before then.

I believe Liverpool problem or predicament now is Coach and it is not that the coach they have now is a bad coach but the problem is that I think he has not really understand the players that well. Klopp build Liverpool to a very good extent that it is always hard or difficult to win Liverpool but immediately he left the foundation he lay began to shake and I have come to discover that it is always difficult most times to start managing a club that another person has built well because mentality and pattern differs with persons.

And yet Arn slot managed to win the premier League last season? What do you then call that? Liverpool doesn't have a single problem of you ask me, they might not have gotten that needed spark that projects that normal Liverpool that always wins game but it's just for a moment and believe it that they will find there way out of this mess.

Muhammed Salah and Alexander isak are yet to get that good blend though they've equally been trying Thier best but it won't be long that everything will start to work really well for them. When you have a team that's as matured as Liverpool, setback for them is just a temporary thing that with time, they will find a way around it.

[hyudien]

Who do we blame for Real Madrid continued defensive injuries?
The manager?
The fitness coach?
The players?
The medical department?
I mean, Arnold went there to help but now has joined the injury bandwagon. That's a sad one for Real Madrid. No one wins a league with inconsistent defense line. Something has to be done.

There are many factors why we constantly see player injuries, so we can't pinpoint the exact cause and blame one party, but what I'm paying attention to is the match schedule. We know that the current UCL format is different from before, with UEFA adding several places. Therefore, there will be a lot of matches to play, so players won't have enough rest time. Furthermore they are currently facing World Cup qualifying matches.

[Abu-Naim]

Who do we blame for Real Madrid continued defensive injuries?
The manager?
The fitness coach?
The players?
The medical department?
I mean, Arnold went there to help but now has joined the injury bandwagon. That's a sad one for Real Madrid. No one wins a league with inconsistent defense line. Something has to be done.

With this injury list, Real Madrid’s chance of winning any title has dropped because you can’t win any title without defense, and this defensive problem has been a problem for Real Madrid for long, and I don’t know why the management was overlooking the problem and relying on old defenders that can’t stand out among their fellow defenders based on performance, they are only being hyped by Madrid fans, and now that they are all out, they are blaming the management for not having defensive depth.

The management should take the first blame even though they tried their best to bring Trent for free and Hujisen; but I expected them to have stop relying on Rudigar and Cavajal for long because they are not good enough for a bigger team like Madrid.

The coach should take any blame because he joined the team this season, he needs to make adjustment after observing the players which I think by January they should sign defenders.
The medical team actually needs to do more work to keep these players feet because I don’t see any tight competition in Laliga that will lead to such massive injury.

[Alex077]

Last season, Manchester City and Real Madrid faced similar problems, with many of their key players suffering injuries, which caused their performance to decline and prevented them from advancing far in the Champions League that season. The busy match schedule was one of the reasons why so many players suffered injuries.
It is undeniable that in the previous season, both Barcelona and PSG had extraordinary squads, and both teams believed that with the strength they brought from the previous season, they could achieve the same results this season. However, after a storm of injuries came, it raised a big question: would they be able to regain their dominance in the Champions League this season?...

injuries & a tight schedule compound the problems of big clubs. you could say PSG have Dembélé & Doué injured but that doesnt explain everything. Barcelona are in big trouble right now because of their tactical overreach, i.e. playing high lines that leave space in the defence, criticism that they have a suicidal defence. PSG, too, have weakened their backbone with key defenders like Marquinhos out injured.

Chelsea's problems may run deeper, not just a lack of preparation, but squad depth, consistency & mentality are all big issues. The style of play in the UCL is different & any weaknesses in the structure in big matches cannot last long. So yeah injury storms are terrible but it is how the best clubs change in that moment that separates the winners.

[Agbe]

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I didn't expect that madrid will still be faced with a defensive challenge this time of the season.because this was thesame problem that madrid faced last season so I expected that madrid would have brought in good defenders which would have been a backup plan to the already existing once in case of injuries like this. Alonso has to come up with a plan to make good use of the players at his disposal until the January windows open.

[Odohu]

I didn't expect that madrid will still be faced with a defensive challenge this time of the season.because this was thesame problem that madrid faced last season so I expected that madrid would have brought in good defenders which would have been a backup plan to the already existing once in case of injuries like this. Alonso has to come up with a plan to make good use of the players at his disposal until the January windows open.

There is no team that have everything perfectly balanced, there will always be some weak points in the team and as for Real Madrid, it is their defense. They spent so much money assembling good attackers which is why you see their attack better than their defense. But players like Alaba are not that bad but there is still some loopholes anyways. The defense problem can be solved by bring few strong defenders like Gabriel of Arsenal, this is what I expect Xabi Alonso to do to be able to fortify them team.