2017/18 UEFA Champions League

ERG89

Berserker wrote:

Well, they can only beat what's in front of them and they've done that in second gear. Porto aren't CL novices either and this isn't a group game. If I was a Liverpool fan, I'd be very happy with this. Only thing I'd be annoyed about is the fact that they don't have another game for a few weeks.

I am delighted but like Benfica in the group stage it's a very weak side going by their history. I don't see a 40 million bid going in for any of their players now even with inflated transfer fees.
Think Liverpool need the rest more than games as there hasn't been much rotation with the front 3 lately & considering the style the side will tire quicker than most.

SEPT 23 1989

The English teams playing the right football steamrolling the continentals see what happens in Sevilla

Harry Palmr

Ref blew 10 seconds early, but we'll take 5-0 rather than 6.

Some people here (and elsewhere) were bigging up Porto as a threat, As mentioned previously I had watched them and knew they were there for the taking assuming Liverpool played to their best.

If Porto were a PL side they'd be above Everton, possibly.

Agent Coulson

Emery to be sacked before the second leg I wonder.

Noel82

English clubs back with a bang so far.. let's see how they fair when they cup against a Barcelona

niallo27

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

The English teams playing the right football steamrolling the continentals see what happens in Sevilla

Let's hope there is one exception to the rule.

SEPT 23 1989

niallo27 wrote: »

Let's hope there is one exception to the rule.

Of course

As I said the teams playing the right football

sligeach

Did Porto "suffer" this evening like Firmino promised?

Mr.Nice Guy

That's an outstanding result for Liverpool. I thought they'd need the Anfield tie to get over the line but sounds like the gulf in class was huge. The added bonus is they can afford to rest players to concentrate on domestic matters.

citytillidie

Results
Juventus (ITA) 2 V 2 Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Basel (SUI) 0 V 4 Manchester City (ENG)
Porto (POR) 0 V 5 Liverpool (ENG)
Real Madrid (ESP) 3 V 1 Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Next up
Tuesday 20th February
Chelsea (ENG) V Barcelona (ESP) - BT Sport 2 / TV 3
Bayern München (GER) V Beşiktaş (TUR) - BT Sport 3 / Showcase / Eir Sport 1

Wednesday 21st February
Sevilla (ESP) V Manchester United (ENG) - BT Sport 2 / RTE 2
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) V Roma (ITA) - BT Sport 3 / Eir Sport 1

Harry Palmr

Spreading this round out over two (three?) weeks is maddening.

citytillidie

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Spreading this round out over two (three?) weeks is maddening.

Why? They are maximising TV time while allowing the Europa League to catch up so only 2 games are on at the same night.

Next season it will be 2 games on the same night but at different times if the TV companies get their way.


Opps my bad the 2 kick off times will be in the group stage.

Other changes to the competition will see 'double-header' nights in the group stage, with matches kicking off at both 18:00 and 20:00 UK time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39177581

Garzorico

Without doubt an EPL team will win this years CL. They appear to be streets ahead tactically. Someone above said the EPL teams are steamrolling the continentals - bang on. Liverpool appear to be unstoppable at the moment - they press teams onto making mistakes and capitalise on the mistakes every time. Mourinho used to do that (the capitalise on mistakes, not the pressing part) very successfully and I think Klopp has taken that on a step. Only thing that will stop them is they come up against a team that will not make mistakes - even city gifted them a few goals at Anfield last time.

Rekop dog

It's way better this way. Get to see more quality games. Enough rubbish week to week in domestic leagues. Knockout stages in champions league is what's it all about.

Garzorico

Rekop dog wrote: »

It's way better this way. Get to see more quality games. Enough rubbish week to week in domestic leagues. Knockout stages in champions league is what's it all about.

Agreed. But the fun and games don’t really begin until the last 8. Only good teams left at that stage.

Rekop dog

Garzorico wrote: »

Agreed. But the fun and games don’t really begin until the last 8. Only good teams left at that stage.

Plenty of fun and games last two nights.

Berserker

Garzorico wrote: »

Without doubt an EPL team will win this years CL. They appear to be streets ahead tactically.

That's a bold statement. They are going very well at the moment but we don't know what they are going to be like in six weeks time. The likes of Real and Barca will peak when it comes to the business end of the CL. I'd love to see Spurs or Man City winning it, Spurs would be my choice because City are going to win the league but I wouldn't rule out the European superpowers.

PhlegmyMoses

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Of course

As I said the teams playing the right football

Only took a billion pounds and hanging off the coat tails of the team going to Sevilla to play the right way. What an achievement.

fullstop

Salty enough

irishman86

How much goals is it Ronaldo has to score again before hes considered good again
Now on 9 in 5 games

SuperTortoise

irishman86 wrote: »

How much goals is it Ronaldo has to score again before hes considered good again
Now on 9 in 5 games

And goals is only one stat, granted an important one that a player can be judged on.

Rekop dog

Bayern weirdly flying under the radar. Serious contenders with Jupp back at the helm.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Garzorico wrote:

Without doubt an EPL team will win this years CL. They appear to be streets ahead tactically.

Big call, Id have Barca, Madrid, Bayern and PSG ahead of all the EPL teams except City at this stage.

TitianGerm

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

Big call, Id have Barca, Madrid, Bayern and PSG ahead of all the EPL teams except City at this stage.

Well PSG or Madrid are out after this round.

Berserker

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

Big call, Id have Barca, Madrid, Bayern and PSG ahead of all the EPL teams except City at this stage.

Bayern are the type of team that'd cause Liverpool problems. They are very disciplined and they'll punish Liverpool if they slip up at the back. Barca and Real/PSG will let Liverpool play football.

Gbear

Berserker wrote: »

Bayern are the type of team that'd cause Liverpool problems. They are very disciplined and they'll punish Liverpool if they slip up at the back. Barca and Real/PSG will let Liverpool play football.

Real and Barca can probably afford to.

If they're on their game they can handle the press to a large extent and they'll have no problem getting at the Liverpool back 4 or passing through midfield.

I'd relish playing either in the next round and I think we're a good shout for any knockout tie.

We could easily get obliterated by a team of that quality as well though, and we'll always be liable to let even a comfortable lead evaporate.

Porto were horrendous tonight. They didn't have the quality to consistently play around us or get at us and they didn't even come close to showing the intensity you need to play at if you don't have that quality.

I think Liverpool will rest 4 or 5 for the return leg and still win by 2 or more goals.

KERSPLAT!

irishman86 wrote: »

How much goals is it Ronaldo has to score again before hes considered good again
Now on 9 in 5 games

Fire up a quote where someone calls him bad.

I already know you can't. He's in decline, whether you choose to accept it or not. Still in the top few players in the world, a fantastic player, but is past his peak, without a doubt.

irishman86

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

Fire up a quote where someone calls him bad.

I already know you can't. He's in decline, whether you choose to accept it or not. Still in the top few players in the world, a fantastic player, but is past his peak, without a doubt.

He was slammed from season start buddy, i find it hilarious how quiet it has become about him now
Exact same thing happened last season, now i perhaps the season before people werent stupid enough to post nonsense regarding him
I agree hes past his peak but Ronaldo on the way down is still miles ahead of Neymar and co

Bret Hart

I'd have too say I think Liverpool have a real good chance at winning the EC. When their front 3 are on form there's not many teams that could handle them.

KERSPLAT!

Ok buddy.

KERSPLAT!

Bret Hart wrote: »

I'd have too say I think Liverpool have a real good at winning the EC. When their front 3 are on form there's not many teams that could handle them.

Attack is rarely an issue for Liverpool, it's the other end of the pitch.

GavRedKing

Noel82 wrote: »

English clubs back with a bang so far.. let's see how they fair when they cup against a Barcelona

You'll see on Tuesday and I expect Barca to beat Chelsea home and away sadly.

We had a fantastic result and performance in Madrid in the group stages and never kicked on, it was probably the highlight of a drab season so far.

inforfun

Well done Spurs

But wouldnt read too much in City beating Basel en Liverpool beating an very much weakened by injuries Porto.

irishguitarlad

As long as Madrid don't win it I'll be happy. The English clubs look good this year. I do expect Barca to beat Chelsea however. United v Sevilla is tricky, with the way Sevilla are playing you'd have to say United but a few of the united players have been looking like they couldnt be arsed the last few weeks. Bayern could be dark horses this year, no one is talking about them, gone completely under the radar.

Rekop dog

People read too much into drubbings as a mark if quality these days.

Like even in England this year Spurs trashed Liverpool 4-1, City trashed Spurs 4-1, Liverpool played City off the park for 85 minutes.

If you were to watch any of those games in isolation you would form a very innacurate picture of the overall level of those sides.

Based on consistency of performance I'd still only give City a realistic chance of lifting this trophy. Others have shown their vulnerabilities too often to have any confidence in them. But saying that unlikely sides have won this before which makes it so riveting

GLaDOS

City beat the worst team left in the Competition
Liverpool beat a poor Porto team (albeit a very impressive win)
Spurs tie is still in the balance

English teams are doing better than in previous years for sure, but it's difficult to read too much into those results.

Barca, Real and Bayern are the teams to beat for me.

Guy:Incognito

Strange that seeing as everyone knows today how bad Porto are there wasn't any predictions of hammerings and not easy money betslips being posted for big Liverpool wins..........

inforfun

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Strange that seeing as everyone knows today how bad Porto are there wasn't any predictions of hammerings and not easy money betslips being posted for big Liverpool wins..........

Because of betting rule nr 1

Dont ****ing bet on Liverpool.
In any way or any form.

Why?

Pool - City 4-3
3 days later Swansea - Pool 1-0

That is why.

j8wk2feszrnpao

inforfun wrote: »

Because of betting rule nr 1

Dont ****ing bet on Liverpool.
In any way or any form.

Why?

Pool - City 4-3
3 days later Swansea - Pool 1-0

That is why.

Play 40 games, lost just 5.
I don't gamble, but apart from Man City, Liverpool are probably as safe a bet as anyone else.

inforfun

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Play 40 games, lost just 5.
I don't gamble, but apart from Man City, Liverpool are probably as safe a bet as anyone else.

No matter how well or bad they perform in a season, they are masters in screwing up bets.
Just ask the football part of the gambling forum.

j8wk2feszrnpao

inforfun wrote: »

No matter how well or bad they perform in a season, they are masters in screwing up bets.
Just ask the football part of the gambling forum.

I'm sure they've burned plenty of people
But with a 57% winning record, they can't be that much worse than anyone else (apart from City).

citytillidie

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I'm sure they've burned plenty of people
But with a 57% winning record, they can't be that much worse than anyone else (apart from City).

Liverpool have lost 3 games, only bettered by Man City who have lost 1 game during this league season

Trigger

citytillidie wrote: »

Liverpool have lost 3 games, only bettered by Man City who have lost 1 game during this league season

Draws ruin bets too though, they have a high amount of draws (9 in the league) most of them coming against poorer opposition so that’s where the bets are ruined

j8wk2feszrnpao

astradave wrote: »

Draws ruin bets too though, they have a high amount of draws (9 in the league) most of them coming against poorer opposition so that’s where the bets are ruined

Yeah, that draw against Utd being one of them :P

League wise they have won 15 games. Same as Spurs. 1 less than Chelsea. 2 less than Utd. They are as about as reliable as the others.

Trigger

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Yeah, that draw against Utd being one of them :P

League wise they have won 15 games. Same as Spurs. 1 less than Chelsea. 2 less than Utd. They are as about as reliable as the others.

I wouldn’t bet on Spurs Chelsea or United either

Anyways, not having a dig at Pool, just pointing out where the poster is coming from and the Losses isn’t the only thing looked at

j8wk2feszrnpao

astradave wrote: »

I wouldn’t bet on Spurs Chelsea or United either

Anyways, not having a dig at Pool, just pointing out where the poster is coming from and the Losses isn’t the only thing looked at

Not taking it as a dig at all, draws def hurt those betting as well.
If you bet on them to win, you're probably in as good a place if you bet on football matches. But I'm sure there's been a few occasions when checking out late would have been beneficial.

Auroras_encore

Astana currently beating sporting Lisbon, so that just shows you the strength of the Portuguese league

ArmaniJeanss

astradave wrote: »

Draws ruin bets too though, they have a high amount of draws (9 in the league) most of them coming against poorer opposition so that’s where the bets are ruined

Draws against Everton, United, Chelsea, Arsenal. Oh, I see what you mean.

KERSPLAT!

Auroras_encore wrote: »

Astana currently beating sporting Lisbon, so that just shows you the strength of the Portuguese league

Two In two minutes puts them ahead

johnpatrick81

Auroras_encore wrote: »

Astana currently beating sporting Lisbon, so that just shows you the strength of the Portuguese league

You probably should have waited til the final whistle, I guess you can always delete another misinformed post:pac: