UEFA Champions League (Part 2)

[mattyhurst]

Maybe he sees more potential in Rio.

[Bekloppt]

Maybe he just sees Rio as more of a natural sub for Gakpo.

[Flobs]

What’s the problem?

[Quicksand]

I feel for Chiesa.
Hopefully Arne had a word, told him the rationale and Chiesa understands.

[aussielad]

@sandsoftime

Makes me wonder if we are seeing a side of AS, that if true, is not very palatable… Again, it might just be me and the suspicious mind I have… but is this a tactic that AS uses when he wants a player to leave the club, without getting his hands too dirty.

That may be a possibility, or it might also be a tactical choice to use the main attacking options in Champions League with Fede able to be used i the Premier League to rest whovere needs the break. By not having Fede available for Europe could mean he has potenially up to 9 games in the league that Fede can be brought in as rotation without dropping the quality too much but allows us to keep the attacking options fresh.

Or it could be a case of me talking out of my arse and I have absolutely no clue what I am talking about!

[mattyhurst]

We left remember.

[Quicksand]

Yes you did.
Which is why I said UK teams could follow suit.

[mattyhurst]

It’s to try and encourage homegrown talent and I’m not sure the case would particularly work as it is the employers decision and rules set by a competition.

If they weren’t allowing any international players in it then it’s probably a restriction of employment. I think the silliness that it is restricted on home FAs. You don’t have a passport with England/Scotland/Wales or Northern Ireland on it (well you do have the last but you know what I mean).

[GermanRed]

So we’re not winning it

[aussielad]

I’d be skeptical of some of those odds.

PSG are reigning champions and beat both us and Arsenal on their way to winning it, yet are rated well below both of us - that doesn’t make any sense.

City ranked above Inter, Barca and Real is very dubious as well

[Zoran]

Favourites’ list for the best cup competition between sides from different leagues…

Never made any sense to try and predict or pay any attention to that.

[redfanman]

@aussielad

PSG are reigning champions and beat both us and Arsenal on their way to winning it, yet are rated well below both of us - that doesn’t make any sense.

How often do teams win back to back trophies, and did PSG strengthen their side this summer?

Both of those factors may affect PSG’s odds of winning it again this year.

[LFCSandgrounder]

PSG did just lose Doue and Dembele to injuries during the international break so maybe that’s a factor

[aussielad]

They didn’t strengthen in the summer, but were miles ahead of every other team they faced in the KO stages - no one got even close to them. Yes, Arsenal have strengthened, but I don’t think they have strengthened that much to topple PSG over a 2 leg KO tie. City haven’t strengthened that much either.

@LFCSandgrounder might have a fair point about losing Dembele and Doue to injury could be a part

[RedOverTheWater]

The odds will all move after a game or two has been played. Arsenal have a good chance, but no pedigree works against them. Real Madrid are some way off their best, but they always/mostly seem to do well in the CL. Barcelona have a very exciting side. PSG bossed it last season. At the moment I’d say the top 4-5 favorites are much closer than those odds.

On a related note, could the PSG injuries be linked to too much football? They won the CL then went to the Trump Invitational Cup, and they peaked in the semi final before looking lackluster against Chelsea in the final.

I don’t see any concerted effort to reduce the amount of games the players play. Throwing 100M+ at the teams to play in the club World Cup ensures the owners insist, but something is broken with all the competing factions in the game wanting more and more.

[Quicksand]

@aussielad

They didn’t strengthen in the summer, but were miles ahead of every other team they faced in the KO stages - no one got even close to them.

Liverpool lost to them on penalties, with some of our nailed on takers off the pitch at full time.
So, we got close to them.

[Rooster]

That’s a bit of bad luck for PSG having 2 big injuries during a soft International set of matches.

But as they proved last year, they will cruise the League anyway so they can afford it more than most teams. And as we found out, finishing high up on the CL table didn’t really matter that much. So they can “cruise” the CL to a degree as well until the business end.

They ramped it up when it mattered in the new year. We had the luck leg 1 and they got it leg 2 and once they jagged us, they hit a level that was unbelievable. Deserved win.

Anyway what I am trying to say is I hope Arsenal don’t win it…..

[GermanRed]

Rüdiger out for around 10 weeks which means Real will be without him at Anfield.

[GermanRed]

UEFA PL when it comes to helping Arsenal with the fixtures list.

Early kick off on a Tuesday could make a difference when they play Man City on Sunday. City play Napoli on Thursday night.

[FGred]

And they sold Donnaruma who helped them in great part to win the CL.