UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[odunybiz]

Snip.

I don't think Pep need to do much in the second leg because he'll always get same result because the club has lost that dominance on every game they play so is best for them to just turn their attention to something they can get like some of the English competition but if is this champions league title is already gone before they even face Madrid. Not saying nothing productive can't happen for City, meaning that even if they manage to eliminate Madrid, the next club will knock them out but for now they can't be the City that pushed Madrid some seasons ago.

Real Madrid managed to beat Man City without several key players such as Mbappe, Bellingham and Rodrygo. After this defeat, Man City chances of qualifying for the next round are very slim, Real Madrid will not let their lead be overtaken by City when they play at the Etihad Stadium. The second leg was like a formality for Man City, they couldn't stop Madrid progress with this kind of performance. It's clear that City level is still below Madrid. Focusing on other competitions would be better for Man City, they have already reached the Final in the EFL and are still competing with Arsenal in the EPL title race.

This is why Arsenal needs to be more focus and play more with passion. If Man city is later played out by Madrid in the second leg, then, they will surely focus more on EPL so as not to lose out in all competitions. Moreover this season is a big chance for Arsenal to win EPL if they really know what they are doing.

Like many others, I was stunned by Manchester City's defeat yesterday. But another match yesterday amazed me just as much — PSG vs Chelsea. To be honest, PSG haven't looked like their old selves from last year lately. They had an unconvincing run in the Champions League, and in Ligue 1, they are only one point ahead of second-placed Lens. Because of that, I could totally see Chelsea beating PSG. However, what the French side pulled off simply blew me away; PSG certainly got their revenge on the Blues for that frustrating loss in the Club World Cup final. The second leg will be in England, but if PSG play like that again, they will easily cruise into the next round of the Champions League.

Yea, it was payback time for what Chelsea did to them in the Club World Cup. The fact is that, you were not having the confidence in PSG winning the game is because Chelsea won them hands down in CWC finals and not because they're one point behind Lens on the table. I don't think that Chelsea can survive the second leg because PSG has taken the competition very seriously.

For a team to win today doesn't mean they will keep winning. Afterall, best team this season may be among the worse in years after. I could remember days when Ajax played to champions final but this same team now struggle in their local league. Moreover, Chelsea isn't in their very good form and their H2H doesn't show Chelsea winning most time. So, we shouldn't have concluded in Chelsea winning PSG at home. The second leg should go in favour of Chelsea but I don't see them qualifying as the 3 goals difference is much.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

PSG came in very serious, looking for revenge after the Club World Cup. However, there were several individual mistakes from Chelsea, and without those errors the result could have gone either way. Chelsea didn't take their chances, while PSG did. Now we just have to look forward to the second leg. But after seeing how serious PSG in today's game, I don't have much confidence in this Chelsea side.

Luis Enrique learned from his previous defeat against Chelsea, so in this match, PSG played very well and didn't make any mistakes that could have cost them victory. Chelsea's players made many errors in that match, so they couldn't match PSG's game. The second leg won't be difficult for PSG, as their big home win gives them a good chance of winning at Chelsea. I think PSG are in a slightly safer position to advance, as Chelsea need to level the aggregate score, making it difficult to stage a comeback in the second leg.

[SmartCharpa]

It's shameful to see the English teams that dominated the Champions League during the group stage couldn't win their match in the first leg of the round of 16.  Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Liverpool have a chance to make it to the next stage of the Champions League, but since Chelsea, Manchester City, and  Tottenham Hotspur lost by three goals difference they will be officially knockout from the Champions League in the second leg of the round of 16. It will be difficult for some Premier League teams to wake-up because the damage on them is too much.

I believe the result from the first leg of the round of 16 matches, indicates that the Premier League isn’t competitive than the other leagues. The first team to lose was Liverpool against Galatasaray, but I thought it was due to their lack of consistency this season, the second team was Newcastle United who bottled the three points in the last minute of the game, they caused a penalty and Barcelona got the equalizer from the penalty, otherwise, they would have won the game.

However, I’m still yet to understand how Arsenal was unable to beat Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg, they cannot compared Leverkusen to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, yet Arsenal struggled in this match. The king of set piece conceded a goal from corner kick. Newcastle cannot win against Barcelona away from home, Barca will everything within their power to win.

[9ja Amaka]

My thoughts exactly, Chelsea really did their best but it wasn't enough, psg on the other hand are in a more better form than them that was why the game was kind of easy for them to win. It is obvious that Chelsea can't survive the second leg just as you said and the main problem with that is their current form.

I already knew that Chelsea was no match for PSG, despite the fact that they won PSG at the club world cup, which I see as a pre season tournament. I was expecting PSG to win the match, but I was not expecting them to score that much. I think Chelsea started the game well and I must confess that up to the 70th minute they were still in the game, but I was surprised how PSG scored 3 goals and Chelsea could not do anything.  I think the champions league journey is over for Chelsea,  because I don't see them coming back from this defeat at the Stamford bridge.

[sokani]

If you lost some money betting on Man City to win yesterday, say cheese ..

I believe most people weren’t expecting Real Madrid to win that easily yesterday. Even if you were expecting them to win, it was not by that margin and as well coming from a single person in the first half of the game. It was absolutely incredible to see Valverde put that up.

I didn't give City a win, I played the game over 2.5 goals. But I'll admit that I didn't expect Real Madrid could thrash City in such a manner. The injury crisis made me think that Real Madrid wouldn't stand a chance against City, but the Los Blancos rose up to the occasion and silenced everyone.

I think we can all agree on Real Madrid locking up their defense in the second leg.. All they will need is a counter-attack since Mbappe will be present as well.

Yeah, but they're not going to park the bus as Mourinho would. It's going to be more of massive attack and massive defending.

[Jegileman]

This is why Arsenal needs to be more focus and play more with passion. If Man city is later played out by Madrid in the second leg, then, they will surely focus more on EPL so as not to lose out in all competitions. Moreover this season is a big chance for Arsenal to win EPL if they really know what they are doing.

I think this is what will most likely be the case at the end of the day. Manchester City may not be able to outplay Real Madrid in the second leg of the champions league competition after conceding this many goals, their focus will definitely change to the premier league which will be the major trophy they’d be fighting for after losing out from the champions league. It becomes more tensed for Arsenal if that happens as Manchester City will be more serious and focused than ever before in the premier league. Arsenal at that point just need to make sure their consistency is on the top notch and that is the only thing that will give them the better chance for the trophy.

[changaa]

Tottenham lost by a big margin, Atletico Madrid was quite strong in this game. Later, if Atletico Madrid keeps up their game in the second round, Tottenham will not get a chance to score, because Tottenham will not be able to perform magically. Because at the beginning of the game, Atletico Madrid created so much pressure that they were able to score four goals in a moment, but Tottenham players could not withstand the pressure for a short moment, as a result, Tottenham lost this match by a margin of 5-2.

I never expected such humiliation from Atletico Madrid, Tottenham were not able to manage the situation, that really seems like a punishment, Atletico Madrid performed very well and i must say that i liked them in the attacking phase, usually i never like them but this time they did well.

[Velvet78]

Man, one thing is still unbelievable to me... This is the first time ever for Bodø/Glimt to reach the group/league stage in the Champions League in history. And now they have cracked the door open for the quarter finals!

I was disappointed with Manchester City though. I even expected a win by them but they played horrible. If they get a big defeat against a Real Madrid with many missing players then I don't think they can make a comeback from here either.

[banana33]

I just watched a glimpse of the match, it seems that Barcelona is not as expected, it seems like they are less active in this match, is their mentality disturbed because they are playing away, Barca still has a chance and I am very sure that Barca will play aggressively at home

yes, i also think that the return leg will be very difficult for them, Barcelona at home won't even give them a minute's respite, and in the end they will prevail, i can feel it, they are really very strong at home and driven by the crowd who will be very numerous they will manage to win, it is certain they must at least get to the next round.

[SmartCharpa]

Tottenham lost by a big margin, Atletico Madrid was quite strong in this game. Later, if Atletico Madrid keeps up their game in the second round, Tottenham will not get a chance to score, because Tottenham will not be able to perform magically. Because at the beginning of the game, Atletico Madrid created so much pressure that they were able to score four goals in a moment, but Tottenham players could not withstand the pressure for a short moment, as a result, Tottenham lost this match by a margin of 5-2.

Tottenham was unable to withstand the pressure from Atletico Madrid due to their bad performances, Tottenham have not won a single game the beginning of this year, they only won the Champions League games and failed to win a single league game. I wasn’t surprised when they conceded four goals in less than 30 minutes into the game, there is nothing like comeback in the second leg at home, this is the end of the Champions League for them this season.

It was one of the worst results I’ve seen in the Champions League this season, they have a lot of injured players, in my opinion, it cannot prevent them from playing a better game. I pity the new manager, Igor Tudor who has lost his first four matches as a Tottenham manager, their next league game is Arsenal and they want to avoid the relegation zone.

[savetheFORUM]

Liverpool lost
Chelsea lost
Manchester City lost
Newcastle draw
Arsenal draw

Where is the strength of the Premier League teams in the Champions League?
Real Madrid took the game personal today.

This is always a big trauma for English clubs they perform exceptionally well in the group stage but always have terrible performances in knockout rounds. After watching the first leg games, now I am sure a few clubs are going to face sure exit, like Tottenham, Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Manchester City.

While Liverpool is now having a home game where things could be challenging for them, Arsenal is also having a home game where they can fight back against Germans. This could be an easy game for them, as Arsenal is having an impressive performance and squad for going into the next round. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were at the top of their game, while PSG's performance was also impressive in this game.

[Danica22]

For a team to win today doesn't mean they will keep winning. Afterall, best team this season may be among the worse in years after. I could remember days when Ajax played to champions final but this same team now struggle in their local league. Moreover, Chelsea isn't in their very good form and their H2H doesn't show Chelsea winning most time. So, we shouldn't have concluded in Chelsea winning PSG at home. The second leg should go in favour of Chelsea but I don't see them qualifying as the 3 goals difference is much.

Chelsea were  predicted to lose. We know Chelsea are not in good form. But did anyone think chelsea would lose 5-2 ? The first half was quite competitive. Both teams were able to perform well. Chelsea even tied the match 2 -2 at the beginning of the second half. But then the scenario started to change quickly after Kvaratskhelia came on the field. Vitinha scored a goal in the 74th minute from kvaratskhelia's assist. Kvaratskhelia's goals in the 86th and 90+ 4 minutes of the  match ensured the 5-2 lead for PSG. If chelsea had kept their defense strong in the last 10 minutes, the match would have ended 3-1 .

[dezoel]

You are wrong by what you are saying here, because PSG only won Chelsea yesterday night due to some costly individual errors, not that they were  way better than Chelsea. In the club world cup that Chelsea won, it was a different game altogether because it was played in a neutral venue. You are speaking of fatigue as if Chelsea where resting all season before they went to that club world cup tournament, and with the performance of Chelsea that day, they were a lot better than PSG, so talking about fatigue is not an excuse because Chelsea just like PSG after finishing the league went to the club world cup tournament together, so using fatigue as an excuse is actually pathetic.

These individual errors are going to be the end of their journey into this season here in the Champions league. While any big club is playing at this level, they need to have some good depth, which keeps them on a good level, but conceding 5 goals while scoring only 2 goals means now it's all ended.

I was not expecting a humiliating defeat like this because their recent performance was not bad. PSG was also struggling badly, but last night they were at the top with things also all set for them to have a big win and go through for their spot in the quarterfinals. Luis Enrique is one of the best in this job he well aware of things that always keep teams on a good level and give their best. Mostly English clubs were outclassed by their opponents.

[Chilwell]

PSG came in very serious, looking for revenge after the Club World Cup. However, there were several individual mistakes from Chelsea, and without those errors the result could have gone either way. Chelsea didn't take their chances, while PSG did. Now we just have to look forward to the second leg. But after seeing how serious PSG in today's game, I don't have much confidence in this Chelsea side.

Luis Enrique learned from his previous defeat against Chelsea, so in this match, PSG played very well and didn't make any mistakes that could have cost them victory. Chelsea's players made many errors in that match, so they couldn't match PSG's game. The second leg won't be difficult for PSG, as their big home win gives them a good chance of winning at Chelsea. I think PSG are in a slightly safer position to advance, as Chelsea need to level the aggregate score, making it difficult to stage a comeback in the second leg.

Honestly chelsea surprises everyone in that particular final because almost 80% did not believe that Chelsea will be capable of destroying PSG, i did not concentrate in that match but immediately I realized that but teams have scored two goals each, i started to give up for PSG but at the end they approve me wrong, which I was so happy for them on how the game ended.

England teams disappointed me yesterday or let me just say this week in Champions League, is only Newcastle United and Arsenal that did very well to end the match in draw, why I'm so worried for them was because they did not even conceded one goal, it is only Liverpool that did that the rest conceded as many goals, those team that conceded many goals will find it difficult to come back in the second leg.

[AakZaki]

I didn't give City a win, I played the game over 2.5 goals. But I'll admit that I didn't expect Real Madrid could thrash City in such a manner. The injury crisis made me think that Real Madrid wouldn't stand a chance against City, but the Los Blancos rose up to the occasion and silenced everyone.

I think some people forget that Real Madrid are the kings of Europe, their mentality is much stronger than any team in the Champions League. Even Real Madrid didn't play with my full core squad yesterday still confident, that they will beat Manchester City.

Yesterday a lot of people doubted Real Madrid would lose to City, but I said that was too pessimistic. I know many Real Madrid players are injured like Mbappe, Bellingham and others. but I remain optimistic that Real Madrid is a strong team in Europe.

[bastisisca]

In their recent match in champions league, Real Madrid surprised everybody by beating very strong team of Manchester City by score of 3-0. Star was Federico Valverde who scored record breaking three goals and planned defensive way used by manager Alvaro Arbeloa made sure that Manchester City failed to score any goals. Their control and skill in playing led to Real Madrid having huge three goal lead to next match. It is strong fame of Manchester City to play well at home but it will be extremely tough job to get past this 3-0 lead against such strong defense. When Real Madrid keeps playing with such focus then they are clear choice to move on to quarter finals.

Honestly, i didn't expect it, just like no one else did. Not even the bookmakers expected such a result.
Let's say i was very disappointed by Manchester City, how can they lose like this against a team as bad as Real Madrid. Honestly, i don't know if it's Real Madrid's merit or Manchester City's fault.

[Gost ms]

In their recent match in champions league, Real Madrid surprised everybody by beating very strong team of Manchester City by score of 3-0. Star was Federico Valverde who scored record breaking three goals and planned defensive way used by manager Alvaro Arbeloa made sure that Manchester City failed to score any goals. Their control and skill in playing led to Real Madrid having huge three goal lead to next match. It is strong fame of Manchester City to play well at home but it will be extremely tough job to get past this 3-0 lead against such strong defense. When Real Madrid keeps playing with such focus then they are clear choice to move on to quarter finals.

Honestly, i didn't expect it, just like no one else did. Not even the bookmakers expected such a result.
Let's say i was very disappointed by Manchester City, how can they lose like this against a team as bad as Real Madrid. Honestly, i don't know if it's Real Madrid's merit or Manchester City's fault.

Real Madrid is not a bad team at all. At the moment, Real Madrid's position is a little bad but despite that, they are performing very well. This match was at Real Madrid's home ground, the result of this match will be like this, it seems to us. Manchester City and Real Madrid's performance is almost the same ULC. Real Madrid should never be underestimated, they are a very good team and they are one of the biggest teams in La Liga. Although Real Madrid's big stars were not in this match, if they were on the field, then maybe the result of this match would have been much more terrible.

[Shadiq]

Honestly, i didn't expect it, just like no one else did. Not even the bookmakers expected such a result.
Let's say i was very disappointed by Manchester City, how can they lose like this against a team as bad as Real Madrid. Honestly, i don't know if it's Real Madrid's merit or Manchester City's fault.

Manchester City lost to a team with a lot of key players out of the team. I never expected Manchester City to lose so badly against a team that was plagued by injuries. Real Madrid had a attacking line to show, there was no sharpness in that attacking line, but Valverde surprised Pep Guardiola by coming out of the syllabus. I don't know if it was Arbeloa's plan or an unexpected turn of events. Yesterday, a goal was scored by someone who we see more in terms of preventing goals than scoring them. The second leg is going to be very difficult for City. But they still have a chance to win.

[Zlantann]

I think some people forget that Real Madrid are the kings of Europe, their mentality is much stronger than any team in the Champions League. Even Real Madrid didn't play with my full core squad yesterday still confident, that they will beat Manchester City.

Yesterday a lot of people doubted Real Madrid would lose to City, but I said that was too pessimistic. I know many Real Madrid players are injured like Mbappe, Bellingham and others. but I remain optimistic that Real Madrid is a strong team in Europe.

The Real Madrid team will saw yeaterday was extraordinary. Many people doubted their capacity to win because of their performance against Benfica. Álvaro Arbeloa's side struggles to defeat Benfica and it was strange for a club with some of the best players in the world. They also recently lost to Getafe in the Spanish League.

I wouldn't blame any fan who doubted that they would beat a formidable side like Manchester City.

It was a bad first leg for all English Premier League sides, as none of them won their matches.

[babo]

Honestly, i didn't expect it, just like no one else did. Not even the bookmakers expected such a result.
Let's say i was very disappointed by Manchester City, how can they lose like this against a team as bad as Real Madrid. Honestly, i don't know if it's Real Madrid's merit or Manchester City's fault.

Manchester City lost to a team with a lot of key players out of the team. I never expected Manchester City to lose so badly against a team that was plagued by injuries. Real Madrid had a attacking line to show, there was no sharpness in that attacking line, but Valverde surprised Pep Guardiola by coming out of the syllabus. I don't know if it was Arbeloa's plan or an unexpected turn of events. Yesterday, a goal was scored by someone who we see more in terms of preventing goals than scoring them. The second leg is going to be very difficult for City. But they still have a chance to win.

I bet on them to win, that is, on Manchester City. I thought that with so many first-team players injured, Real Madrid wouldn't be able to play as well as they always have.
Surprisingly, however, the bench players played better than the first team players.
As a coach, I would ask myself some questions and also give myself some answers.