2022-23 UEFA Champions League

A real underdog story.

Pep will of course be lauded as the greatest miracle worker in the history of football when he wins this treble. Dragging several clubs up through the lower leagues to the ultimate glory of top level success, never having a pot to p1ss in or a window to throw it out of anywhere he's managed. What a hero.

Just like the last final in Istanbul 😁

What a hiding. Real didn't turn up at all.

Sums it all up, when the world cup winner that you can use as a bench warmer comes on to knock in a 4th.

Bernardo Silva on the final: "It's going to be tough but we're gonna try it."

Plz STFU 😒

Can only hope Inter have top 4 in the bag fairly soon so they can do a bit of rotating and at least put out a fresh injury-free team in the final.

Ide love to see Inter really really shthouse their way to a win. Won't happen but it would be a good laugh watching Pep crack up.

A fitting opponent for City really as the win makes Manchester only the second city to have 2 European cup winning teams.

BT just gave a ton of credit to City for 'seeing something in Grealish'.

He cost £100m, lads.

Now that was a lesson.

Grealish is the weakest link.

Inter will not lie down.

They just have so so many options. If De Bruyne is off it, Bernaldo Silva steps up. If Haaland's not breaking through, Alvarez brings another approach. Then all the guile and unpredictability of Graelish, Mahrez, and Fodan etc - it's frightening.

I'll put money on City to win the final to take the sting put if they do it, but it would be hilarious if Inter win.

I really hate the cheating they're doing though. I'd say most non-city fans will never recognize them as anything but a money project which means they'll never be held in the same regard as the great teams of Arsenal, United, Barca, Real, Bayern, Milan etc.

But the players will have medals and be minted, so I doubt they'll give a sh*t.

Going unbeaten in the league is an incredible achievement for a non-cheating team

At some point in this conversation, can we spare a thought for relegated Southampton, even if not for their then manager, Nathan Jones?

They, and only they, are the reason we are not looking at the potential "history making quadruple"!

I kinda found Ancelloti's tactics last night very strange.

Now who am I to question the great man, but I think from the 1st leg it was obvious that City really going to dominate possession again. And it was patently clear after 10min that madrid were being outclassed and that Modric and Kroos needed to be taken off, they were simply too old and slow to keep up with the pace of the game. Now I know it would have been a major embarrassment for both players to get the hook so early, but Carlo played in such a way it was only a matter of time until they conceded. Camavinga in the 1st leg changed the 2nd half when he was moved into his preferred midfield position. I would have started the game with him in there, along with Tchauomeni, and Rudiger at the back, basically what they tried in the 2nd half.

It was a game for young legs and young lungs, and Kroos and especially Modric were found out badly. A guy like Bellingham is badly needed in there. Him, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchauomeni will be a formidable midfield. I don't see any future in playing the old guys next season.

On the game, the key to the win was Kyle Walker.

I'm not sure any other defender in world football can take on the best attackers in the world one-on-one. He took Vinicius' soul. Then, with Benzema not being last season's Benzema, in reality, that was the tie. Everything Real actually had that could hurt City once they could hold the ball long enough was gone.

the thing about Pep is that I don't subscribe to the idea he's in any way a fraud. he's obviously a genius.

what people don't get is that when you have a league full of teams, where there are a few managers who are brilliant, and there is one of those brilliant managers whose club financially cheat, then obviously that person's team is going to win more often than not. It's not rocket science. And it leaves it to other teams to figure out ways to get ahead. It's exhausting.

State funded clubs who hire brilliant managers have an obvious, massive advantage over brilliant managers whose clubs are run even with a modicum of sense and best practice.

Pep isn't the reason for success. Money isn't the sole reason either. It's the two of them together that make City what it is.

There is a similar argument in Formula 1 - was Hamilton winning all his titles because he is the best driver, or because he had the best car? The reality is it's both. It's chicken and egg, he only drives the best car because he is the best driver and he is only the best driver because he drives the best car. Same with Pep. He manages the best teams because he is (one of) the best. It's a cycle.

A few years ago, there was some sort of Formula 1 type racing competition where every single car was the same. Same chassis, same engine, same tyres etc. The same mechanics in all cars. The skill came down to the individual drivers to see who was actually the best, it didn't come down to who could afford the best engineers or who could get the best sponsor to pay for a new carbon fibre body kit to make the car faster. The real skill was in the drivers seat.

It will never happen, or could happen, but something like that in football would really clear up some arguments! Give Pep a random 16 players and will he coach them to be better and play good attractive, football? Absolutely, I have no doubt in my mind. He is a brilliant coach. Will he win major trophies with them? That remains to be seen. Not wanting to pick players but could he turn a Aaron Wan Bissaka into a hybrid full back, comfortable on the ball midfielder and dictating play like he has done with Stones and Lahm? Or could he turn a Emile Smith Rowe into those hybrid wingers/centre midfielder/false 9 type players like he has had great success with in David Silva, Bernado Silva & KDB? Will he win with those decent players? Not players who are cherry picked from around the world, at any cost, to perfectly suit his way of playing.

That's where the question remains and the closest we have to the answer here is the 16/17 season where he was playing Otamendi, Kolarov, Sagna, Navas, Yaya Toure (all decent players on their day) etc while still having KDB, Silva, Aguero, Kompany, Fernandinho, Sane, Gundogan & Sterling available to him. He didn't have it all his own way. He finished 4th. His worst ever league season.

I see the powerful Madrid press have turned on some players after last night's game, forgetting all the great things they did for them over the years.

Understandably, Modric and Kroos took a lashing. They were poor and look past their sell by dates at this stage. A season too far for them?

Same perhaps for Benzema? He has been carrying injuries for a lot of the season, and he was very isolated last night. He's been an amazing servant for so many years, one of Madrids all time great forwards.

And rather strangely, camavinga has also been picked out for criticism. I wouldn't be pissing this guy off, he is a genuine star of the future. He did get a bit of a runaround at LB, but he's not a LB. In both legs when he was moved into his usual position, madrid got more control. I hope the press don't try to unsettle him there.

also, when you're trying to get off your doping charges, partially because you claim one of those judging you is an Arsenal fan, you're really trying to take the mick.

innocent until proven guilty though, obviously.