Liverpool vs Real Madrid - Who do you want to see win?

[Morten]

That too...
Even before, judging by the 'eye' as many here say, you could still say X team got lucky in a game where opponent missed sitters and X scored wordlies.
The advanced stats made it just easier to quantify the quality of an attempt on goal, and easier to debunk takes not taking that into account.

But i don't think Schmeichel read any of xStats to say RM doesn't deserve to be in the final

I don't disregard stats, sometimes it gets the point across, but at the same time, they show wacky stuff such as Barcelona should be winning La Liga this season.

 

[El Gato]

It's not that you are the underdog.
It's rather that more and more people from football nowadays finally 'get it' that you ride on luck rather than quality on the pitch to make CL runs to finals.
It was not so clear for many during the audacious '3peat' (only brave journos like Cox would say it openly), because somehow some still cling to the fucked-up idea that a trophy win is a proof that the best team won it.

Now it's clear as daylight to most in the football world, and that's a big win for the sport itself

Certainly are an underdog
As odds show

We're a worse side if you consider many aspects of football, but a strength of a team isn't determined by cherry picking what you like to consider and stripping out the mental factors that mean a team like RM is able to claw out three comebacks on home soil on the trot. They're clutch players that deserve to be where they are and have beaten better teams to get there fair and square. 5 years ago it was 'without Ronaldo you're nothing'. Well, now he ain't here. Tough titties for everyone moaning. And I include myself in that because team showed it's not a single case of pulling out a 6-1 from 0-4 down like Lucho's Barca did.

Can bang on about how much you dont like it just like everyone else and folks listening will delight in the everpresent anger, just like they have at several other occasions.

 

[Birdy]

Certainly are an underdog
As odds show

We're a worse side if you consider many aspects of football, but a strength of a team isn't determined by cherry picking what you like to consider and stripping out the mental factors that mean a team like RM is able to claw out three comebacks on home soil on the trot. They're clutch players that deserve to be where they are and have beaten better teams to get there fair and square. 5 years ago it was 'without Ronaldo you're nothing'. Well, now he ain't here. Tough titties for everyone moaning. And I include myself in that because team showed it's not a single case of pulling out a 6-1 from 0-4 down like Lucho's Barca did.

Can bang on about how much you dont like it just like everyone else and folks listening will delight in the everpresent anger, just like they have at several other occasions.

Can't remember myself ever saying 'w/o Ronaldo, you are nothing'.

Mentality and mental strength is a psychological factor, but you like overstating that disregarding that it is not the deciding factor you are playing the final tomorrow.
You may like that as much as you wish, and convince yourself that's the reason, but frankly it's not.
Mental strength was Liverpool turning 3-0 of 2019 into 4-0, but that didn't involve any luck in the process. Breakdown all chances and football played on both legs, you say it's close but they were a tad above us in what they deserved as a result.
Mental strength doesn't equate riding on luck at all.

Pulisic puts in a sitter in the 90th+ min at Bernabeu and you are out. That's the sheer reality of things, you being in denial of that, doesn't change it the least.
You just don't like that more and more people from the football world are figuring you out, unlike 5-6 years ago

 

[El Gato]

Can't remember myself ever saying 'w/o Ronaldo, you are nothing'.

Mentality and mental strength is a psychological factor, but you like overstating that disregarding that it is not the deciding factor you are playing the final tomorrow.
You may like that as much as you wish, and convince yourself that's the reason, but frankly it's not.
Mental strength was Liverpool turning 3-0 of 2019 into 4-0, but that didn't involve any luck in the process. Breakdown all chances and football played on both legs, you say it's close but they were a tad above us in what they deserved as a result.
Mental strength doesn't equate riding on luck at all.

Pulisic puts in a sitter in the 90th+ min at Bernabeu and you are out. That's the sheer reality of things, you being in denial of that, doesn't change it the least.
You just don't like that more and more people from the football world are figuring you out, unlike 5-6 years ago

I dont overstate it. I just state it.
Because it is a factor. One you choose to talk about far less as clearly dont rate it and keep getting rolled with your predictions because you have priorities backwards.

Mental strength always is the deciding factor in any knockout format of any top sport where you can't win a title by beating a bunch of nobodies.
Being strong and decisive in doing your job always makes you get further in cup competitions against top sides than trying to make an organised side first that will become robotic league merchants and attempting to carve out resilience in people who keep second guessing themselves. Is one of the main reasons why several Pep teams with mental midgets keep failing when match turns on their head and plan falls apart. Regularity is important in leagues and is a manifestation of a different kind of strength. Not one that counts in CL. Pulisic doesn't miss a sitter for no reason. Mendy doesn't clear ball off the line to save the game on luck alone.
Also never said you'd said something about Ronaldo - was just another example of belittling people used to engage in. First it was luck of the draw (15/16), then it was the refs + Ronaldo, then it was Karius, then it was something else and now it's something else again. But keep trying.

It is fantastic to read how folk like you, Cox and all other geeks try to make a puzzle out of football trying to piece together and realizing some pieces dont fit
Keep it coming. One of the reasons RM are in the final after all. They've even started putting posts on the official LinkedIn account about it, that's how much a meme it's become

 

[Birdy]

I dont overstate it. I just state it.
Because it is a factor. One you choose to talk about far less as clearly dont rate it and keep getting rolled with your predictions because you have priorities backwards.

Mental strength always is the deciding factor in any knockout format of any top sport where you can't win a title by beating a bunch of nobodies.
Being strong and decisive in doing your job always makes you get further in cup competitions against top sides than trying to make an organised side first that will become robotic league merchants and attempting to carve out resilience in people who keep second guessing themselves. Is one of the main reasons why several Pep teams with mental midgets keep failing when match turns on their head and plan falls apart. Regularity is important in leagues and is a manifestation of a different kind of strength. Not one that counts in CL. Pulisic doesn't miss a sitter for no reason. Mendy doesn't clear ball off the line to save the game on luck alone.
Also never said you'd said something about Ronaldo - was just another example of belittling people used to engage in. First it was luck of the draw (15/16), then it was the refs + Ronaldo, then it was Karius, then it was something else and now it's something else again. But keep trying.

It is fantastic to read how folk like you, Cox and all other geeks try to make a puzzle out of football trying to piece together and realizing some pieces dont fit
Keep it coming. One of the reasons RM are in the final after all. They've even started putting posts on the official LinkedIn account about it, that's how much a meme it's become

You still haven't understood that mental strength =/ luck
You wrote an essay on your mental strength w/o realizing that I acknowledged RM has mental strength (but as many other teams as well)
But you don't have JUST mental strength, but a shitload of undeserved luck that comes irrespective (which the other mentally strong teams do not enjoy)
If it were only for mental strength, you would be out before semis

Then,
"robotic league merchants" LOL OK that says it all!
Yes Leagues are far more accurate metric of fair outcome than cups, you won't change it by trying to discredit the fair reflection they give over a period of months.
Leave it to the 'geeks' like Cox to try to seriously analyze the sport, and keep clinging on outdated mottos and self-denial mechanisms now that you don't like people are figuring you out

 

[El Gato]

Nah pretty cool with whatever Cox says as he's often rather rigorous and then is being misrepresented by people who are idiots and like to take data as meaning more than they do.

Lots of undeserved luck out there for you to seethe about indeed.

Mental strength so far decided all three of RM ties with league merchants crumbling and knowing they could do nothing else. Pep even didn't bother trying to pretend otherwise and joked about it the other day because has respect RM have mental strength to do what they did and turn tie in space of 5 mins in a semifinal

Lots of well deserved wins on back of individual efforts

 

[Zidane82]

Wow ... possibly Mane will play his last game for Liverpool tomorrow night

 

[FC B]

Better be a winning one then.