Official Champions League 21/22 Thread

[Hank Scorpio]

Meanwhile in Munich, Barca are going out. They've been pretty poor. Even though Bayern haven't been at their best, they've been comfortably the better team.
Getting a grim reminder of what it's like without fans at the game. Although at least they haven't superimposed crowd noise.

Benfica winning too.

Yeah Barca are dogshit.

Benfica will be a handy draw for someone.

 

[Handy Run]

Delighted for Uefalona.

 

[J.R.R. hartley]

And that's that. Into the Europa league they go.
They're a poor team. Kinda sad to see how far they've fallen.

And in many other ways, quite funny

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Draw at 11.

 

[Philby]

Cheers. It'll take a while before we stop instinctively assuming that these draw take place on Fridays.

 

[Philby]

This year it generally pays to finish top. Chelsea with the highest likelihood of a tough draw.

City with the easiest spread of potential opponents, as a reward for topping a group with PSG in it.

Man Utd have both Atletico Madrid & PSG as potential opponents.

Liverpool
Potential opponents: PSG, Sporting Lisbon, Inter Milan, Benfica, Villarreal, RB Salzburg

Manchester City
Potential opponents: Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Inter Milan, Benfica, Villarreal, RB Salzburg

Chelsea
Potential opponents: Ajax, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Lille

Manchester United
Potential opponents: Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, PSG, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, RB Salzburg

 

[Philby]

Who is this Tesco Value Claudio Ranieri cnut!?

 

[Philby]

@DanielHarris

Tell you what, the removal of the away goals rule is an absolute boon. I admit I’m scarred from watching my own team concede early in home ties, and perhaps that colours my judgment. But morally, it contradicted an essential truism of football – that one goal = one goal. But I also think it was born out of a need that no longer exists. Back in the day, teams would play for 0-0 away from home, hoping to win at their own ground, and that is no longer the case.

In practice, it means that winning the group is now more of an advantage. Previously, it gave the side away second the opportunity to score an away goal that couldn’t be equalised, and the potential for an extra half-hour to get one, should the tie go to extra time. That’s now gone, though I remain unsold on the idea that home second is necessarily better – home first, and you might kill the tie in the first leg, just as away first gives your opponents the chance to play themselves into the tie. To my mind, the issue is not clear-cut.

 

[Philby]

Real Madrid v Benfica
That's one soft opponent option gone.

 

[Philby]

Man City v Villareal