UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Lida93]

I quite agree with you, Kylian Mbappe is an incredible player with great potentials and numerous abilities, he knows how to use the ball very well and he is also good with both foot. Mbappe can also play on either the left or the right wing of the pitch, above all, he could be used as a striker upfront which makes him versatile and unique. I believe the future of the French man is very bright and he is at the right club where his chances of achieving great things are certain.

Kylian Mbappe is incredible, no one like him at his age is currently doing what he does, so if Real Madrid recovers we could finally say that Mbappe wins the Ballon d'Or for the first time, but if he didn't win it when he won the World Cup i don't think he can lift it again but hope dies last

When Kylian Mbappe won the World Cup he wasn't the best at that time, there were many wonderful players at that point though, he had some unusual potentials that made him stood out amongst those great players of that era. Am still of the opinion that Mbappe still has what it takes to win the Balon D'or but he has to remain consistent and avoid injuries.

[DanWalker]

Anyway, this season, Madrid will probably not change the manager. So arbeloa will have to continue to try to keep madrid's performance  stable. Arbeloa  should focus only on la liga. If Madrid is going to fight for both the champions league and la liga titles, they will not be able to win either.

I agree with you. And I think Arbeloa is probably doing just that. Because we don't see a decline in Madrid's performance in la liga. They continued their winning streak in la liga. Despite a poor performance in the match against Vallecano, they managed to secure the win. Also in the last  match, Madrid secured a fantastic  4-1 win against real sociedad. Arbeloa is giving his full effort in la liga matches. Madrid are no longer considered f avorites for the champions league title. I would not  be at all surprised if Madrid were knocked out of the champions league after losing against benfica

[FanEagle]

If Xabi stayed, then I would say there was a chance that Real Madrid may not win, but now that he is gone, I say there is a small chance, they are still not my favourites, but there is a small chance of them winning, and that small chance is all they need. I do not think Xabi is a bad manager, in fact I think he is one of the best we have in the world actively doing his job, but at the same time I think he was a terrible fit for Real Madrid and that is why it failed so bad.

Liverpool is not doing that great, and if they finish badly like it looks now, then they may fire Arne Slot. I think Xabi Alonso could be a great fit for them, specially considering Liverpool will probably lose at UCL terribly and go back home.

[$weetne$$]

Real Madrid's squad is strong but the road to the Round of 16 is tough for them. If Mourinho was not the manager of benfica, I wouldn't be saying this. Mourinho is experienced, and he knows Madrid's weaknesses very well. And that's why Madrid couldn't win against benfica in the first round. The same thing will happen again if arbeloa's match strategy is not good. Arbeloa needs to score well, identify the weaknesses of Benfica's defense. And adapt his match  strategy accordingly. If arbeloa fails to develop a smart  match strategy, madrid's roa d to the round of 16  will become even tougher.

The road to the roundabout of 16 has not be an easy  one for anybteam, even when it may feel smooth, it still does not mean it was easy, the phase Madrid is going through in the champions league is one which I believe if the exceed they will be able  to do far more even better than we can expect of them. Now I believe Madrid understands better having taken note of their own weaknesses so it is very possible they will scale through this.

[hyudien]

Ok guys let's try to focus on the first 4 matches, I want to see your ideas.



It's clear from the picture that for the moment the easiest to guess is the PSG match, but is that really the case? I feel PSG has serious problems, they have lost their dominance in Ligue 1 after losing to Rennes, which I didn't expect at all, so I'm a bit doubtful about their performance against Monaco. And the other 3 matches are more difficult for me personally, have you considered betting options? please share your analysis, because it happens to be still 3 days.

[dezoel]

Kylian Mbappe is incredible, no one like him at his age is currently doing what he does, so if Real Madrid recovers we could finally say that Mbappe wins the Ballon d'Or for the first time, but if he didn't win it when he won the World Cup i don't think he can lift it again but hope dies last

I would say "no one" part is a bit too much. While Mbappe is doing great, we have seen plenty of players who were at least as great, so it is not like Mbappe is unique in that kind of sense.

But at the same time, we are going to deal with something that will take a while and I do not think that we are going to see this be a lot different, it is not going to be that easy for Real Madrid to fall from here, now that they are doing fine at La Liga, I think it will show up in UCL and could be better.

[shinratensei_]

If Xabi stayed, then I would say there was a chance that Real Madrid may not win, but now that he is gone, I say there is a small chance, they are still not my favourites, but there is a small chance of them winning, and that small chance is all they need. I do not think Xabi is a bad manager, in fact I think he is one of the best we have in the world actively doing his job, but at the same time I think he was a terrible fit for Real Madrid and that is why it failed so bad.

Whether it's Xabi or Arbeloa. Madrid still stand chance to lose in the upcoming game against Benfica. in fact, Xabi recorded better PPM than Arbeloa at Madrid with tougher opponent. So calling Xabi is even worsen than Arbeloa is totally wrong.
Mine has opposite opinion if it was Xabi who still managed them, they might be securing the top 8. So they could be qualified directly to the round of 16.

Madrid basically a team that often relied upon individual brilliance. They don't need a system or tactical gameplay to handle them. This is the reason why Xabi was not suit them well.
So they pivoting to the Arbeloa who is having paradigm that liked by their players.

However, it makes no sense when you called Arbeloa better when he's still managing less matches compared to Xabi.

[Distraction]

Ok guys let's try to focus on the first 4 matches, I want to see your ideas.



It's clear from the picture that for the moment the easiest to guess is the PSG match, but is that really the case? I feel PSG has serious problems, they have lost their dominance in Ligue 1 after losing to Rennes, which I didn't expect at all, so I'm a bit doubtful about their performance against Monaco. And the other 3 matches are more difficult for me personally, have you considered betting options? please share your analysis, because it happens to be still 3 days.

My thoughts on all of these matches:

• Galatasaray have a difficult job to do. But the thing is that Juventus just got beaten by Inter away. Now they are coming to Istanbul for this match. It's on Galatasaray's hands to use it for their advantage. 
• I think Dortmund will beat Atalanta home in this leg. I know Atalanta are better in the CL than the Serie A. But I still don't trust them as much as Dortmund...
• This is the 2nd face-to-face for Benfica and Real Madrid. I just believe it's payback time. Real Madrid shouldn't lose.
• Lastly PSG are hard to predict. But even in this condition they should be able to beat this Monaco. 

[LUCKMCFLY]

The game determines a lot for Real Madrid, they can't afford to lose against Benfica, there is less worry about the match. What will be the round of 16 without Real Madrid among those who made it there? Real Madrid are going to play in any of the finals, either ending their way at the quarter or semi final, i don't think they are capable of winning the Champions League, not with this performance.

We all hope that Real Madrid will finally take the lead they should have always had The way they played against Benfica , the last time was a total disaster everyone played badly except for three Players the rest, in my opinion, were tired and didn't want to play a disaster This time, Real Madrid must show their mettle they can't fall behind, it would be a total Disappointment.

[moneystery]

...
Arbeloa is giving his full effort in la liga matches. Madrid are no longer considered f avorites for the champions league title. I would not  be at all surprised if Madrid were knocked out of the champions league after losing against benfica

Real Madrid's inconsistent performance in the Champions League makes it unrealistic for them to chase the Champions League title now, as it's already more difficult, and they might sacrifice their performance in La Liga to pursue it.
So, for now, they should focus more on maintaining consistency in La Liga, as the points gap with Barcelona is very small, and they still have a chance to win the La Liga title if they can continue to get 3 points in the upcoming matches.

[Creeper0]

The game determines a lot for Real Madrid, they can't afford to lose against Benfica, there is less worry about the match. What will be the round of 16 without Real Madrid among those who made it there? Real Madrid are going to play in any of the finals, either ending their way at the quarter or semi final, i don't think they are capable of winning the Champions League, not with this performance.

We all hope that Real Madrid will finally take the lead they should have always had The way they played against Benfica , the last time was a total disaster everyone played badly except for three Players the rest, in my opinion, were tired and didn't want to play a disaster This time, Real Madrid must show their mettle they can't fall behind, it would be a total Disappointment.

Maybe Real Madrid will not disappoint this time. I was surprised by the result of the last match and every goal scored by Benfica was spectacular. I did not notice Real Madrid's fatigue there, but rather their lack of strategy and planning. Maybe Arbeloa will make up for that deficiency in the upcoming match and come out with a great plan. Arbeloa's main goal should be to win the match at any interval or draw or lose with a short interval.

[Taricoins]

...
Arbeloa is giving his full effort in la liga matches. Madrid are no longer considered f avorites for the champions league title. I would not  be at all surprised if Madrid were knocked out of the champions league after losing against benfica

Real Madrid's inconsistent performance in the Champions League makes it unrealistic for them to chase the Champions League title now, as it's already more difficult, and they might sacrifice their performance in La Liga to pursue it.
So, for now, they should focus more on maintaining consistency in La Liga, as the points gap with Barcelona is very small, and they still have a chance to win the La Liga title if they can continue to get 3 points in the upcoming matches.

This is soo true, paraventure they make it through this knockout stage, then unto the next, what are there chances of actually making it to any significant stage especially with Arbeloa as there coach, they did a very risky thing if not starting Mbappe because of the CL in detriment to the Laliga and I feel like you said, they should just focus on the Laliga.

[mvdheuvel1983]

Real Madrid's inconsistent performance in the Champions League makes it unrealistic for them to chase the Champions League title now, as it's already more difficult, and they might sacrifice their performance in La Liga to pursue it.
So, for now, they should focus more on maintaining consistency in La Liga, as the points gap with Barcelona is very small, and they still have a chance to win the La Liga title if they can continue to get 3 points in the upcoming matches.

Real Madrid is not in their performance like before but no one should write them off when it comes to the champions League competition because they can still win the competition even with their inconsistent performance. They will face Benfica in the play off and they are looking like they will not qualify because of their performance but it they manage to for out of the play off then you should expect them to do better in their next performance. They are almost in the same point with Barcelona in the league they understand the importance of the champions League so I think they will pursue both competitions to see if they can be favored by any one since they still have good chances.

[Derekfunds]

Ok guys let's try to focus on the first 4 matches, I want to see your ideas.



It's clear from the picture that for the moment the easiest to guess is the PSG match, but is that really the case? I feel PSG has serious problems, they have lost their dominance in Ligue 1 after losing to Rennes, which I didn't expect at all, so I'm a bit doubtful about their performance against Monaco. And the other 3 matches are more difficult for me personally, have you considered betting options? please share your analysis, because it happens to be still 3 days.

Perhaps the reason Paris Saint Germain lost against Rennes was because of this champions league and if that is the case I hope it is worth it for them because it will be a sad thing to lose in their league because of champions league and later lose again in that champions league but their opponent in this game is not really a big deal or threat to Paris Saint Germain but anything is possible but as a defending champions they ought to qualify in this stage and the toughest game here is Benfica Real Madrid.

[Phoenix Anka]

I quite agree with you, Kylian Mbappe is an incredible player with great potentials and numerous abilities, he knows how to use the ball very well and he is also good with both foot. Mbappe can also play on either the left or the right wing of the pitch, above all, he could be used as a striker upfront which makes him versatile and unique. I believe the future of the French man is very bright and he is at the right club where his chances of achieving great things are certain.

Kylian Mbappe is incredible, no one like him at his age is currently doing what he does, so if Real Madrid recovers we could finally say that Mbappe wins the Ballon d'Or for the first time, but if he didn't win it when he won the World Cup i don't think he can lift it again but hope dies last

When Kylian Mbappe won the World Cup he wasn't the best at that time, there were many wonderful players at that point though, he had some unusual potentials that made him stood out amongst those great players of that era. Am still of the opinion that Mbappe still has what it takes to win the Balon D'or but he has to remain consistent and avoid injuries.

Injuries can end any player's career. This could be the case for Mbappe, which is why he needs to stay injury-free. Mbappe is playing exceptionally well at Real Madrid, and in today's football, he's one of the first names that comes to mind. I hope Mbappe's excellent form continues because watching him is a great pleasure for me. Real Madrid winning the championship this year might even depend on him staying in this form.

[Minor Miner]

Maybe Real Madrid will not disappoint this time. I was surprised by the result of the last match and every goal scored by Benfica was spectacular. I did not notice Real Madrid's fatigue there, but rather their lack of strategy and planning. Maybe Arbeloa will make up for that deficiency in the upcoming match and come out with a great plan. Arbeloa's main goal should be to win the match at any interval or draw or lose with a short interval.

You are right. The main reason why madrid lost against benfica was bad match strategy. Benfica manager Mourinho is clever. If they want to win against him, Arbeloa must  create a good strategy. They have to find out the weaknesses of benfica players. If Arbeloa can not  do that, Real madrid won't be able to win the playoffs.

Madrid is very strong. They were able to beat real sociedad by a big margin in the  last match too. But they have to be very careful against mourinho. If they make any mistake, they will lose  points in the match.

[paco92x]

These week Champion League finally is back, there are some quite good games on our hand and some that I think will be pretty straightforward. Do you have a team that you think that can shock and pass the play-offs my money is maybe on Club Brugge they can currently shock Atlético who has theirs ups and downs and Brugge can surely exploit that.

[puloweh555]

Anyway, this season, Madrid will probably not change the manager. So arbeloa will have to continue to try to keep madrid's performance  stable. Arbeloa  should focus only on la liga. If Madrid is going to fight for both the champions league and la liga titles, they will not be able to win either.

I agree with you. And I think Arbeloa is probably doing just that. Because we don't see a decline in Madrid's performance in la liga. They continued their winning streak in la liga. Despite a poor performance in the match against Vallecano, they managed to secure the win. Also in the last  match, Madrid secured a fantastic  4-1 win against real sociedad. Arbeloa is giving his full effort in la liga matches. Madrid are no longer considered f avorites for the champions league title. I would not  be at all surprised if Madrid were knocked out of the champions league after losing against benfica

Real Madrid convincing victory over Real Sociedad will certainly boost their confidence ahead of their match against Benfica. Albeloa seems to have found the right strategy to face Benfica. Furthermore, as Real Madrid coach it's imperative to qualify for the round of 16. If they fail, I don't know if Albeloa will still be at Real Madrid.

Real Madrid may not be the favorites this season in the Champions League, but failing to qualify for the round of 16 is a major blow for Real Madrid a top team with 15 Champions League titles. So, the match against Benfica is a major challenge for Albeloa. I think a team as big as Real Madrid has significant demands they can't focus on one competition the coach must give their best in both La Liga and the Champions League. Given Real Madrid's impressive performance against Real Sociedad, I'm confident they can beat Benfica in the first leg.

[Mayor of ogba]

Benfica is a strong team, and under the guidance of a highly experienced coach like Mourinho, it will be a challenge and hard work for Arbeloa to beat Benfica, who have a deadly counterattack. We'll see how it turns out, because I think Real Madrid will suffer another defeat, perhaps by a narrow score, or a draw is also possible.

Real Madrid are clearly always the favorites, against any team, but after their recent performances i don't think they are still the favorites against everyone, but let's say they can still surprise us negatively, i bet on them because i don't believe in miracles, but nothing is ever certain in football and that's why its beautiful

In the days of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, Real Madrid were the favorite against any team in the Champions League, and even though Real Madrid aren't the favorite against any team in the Champions League right now, I think Real Madrid has a chance to qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League through the playoffs, because football is unpredictable and anything is possible in football.

[Furious 7]

These week Champion League finally is back, there are some quite good games on our hand and some that I think will be pretty straightforward. Do you have a team that you think that can shock and pass the play-offs my money is maybe on Club Brugge they can currently shock Atlético who has theirs ups and downs and Brugge can surely exploit that.

Club Brugge's performance in the last 2 Champions League matches is improving but Atletico is not an easy club for now although they are a little out of control because they can lose or even win with a fairly surprising score.

At the moment Atletico's chances are still quite large especially when they add Lookman as a goal machine at the moment but I think Club Brugge can show that even though the strength of their players is below Atletico but I am quite sure they are quite capable of making a breakthrough especially the first leg will be home for them.

There are some interesting matches for the play offs this time such as PSG who will face their league club Monaco, Juventus against Galatasaray, Atalanta who still have performance problems against Dortmund and of course Benfica who will return against Madrid are quite a treat at the moment and to be honest even though some big clubs like PSG or Madrid are favorites but there is still no certainty even though their chances are currently greater.