UEFA Champions League 2014-15

[instinct]

If we have to face Bayern, it'll be better to draw them in the semi-finals because we'd have a higher chance to beat them over 2 legs IMO.

PSG is a decent draw because we avoided Bayern and Real. Their most important player that is Verratti (correct me if I'm wrong Bertus and Juvens) in the 1st leg at home which is a huge advantage for us. Furthermore, some key players for them already have one yellow and could easily miss the 2nd leg at the Camp Nou.
That said, this is not an easy draw at all but with the right attitude and concentration we should go through although they might surprise us, who knows.

I love the RM - Atletico draw. Would've been better, if Atleti had had the first leg at the Bernabeu but whatever. It's great because two direct rivals for La Liga (I still consider Atletico as a direct comptetitor) fight each other in the CL which is great for us. I expect a hard-fought tie but I can't see Atleti getting through at the moment but 3 weeks are a lot in football and Simeone is world-class. Let's see.

Our league schedule combined with 2 very difficult matches against PSG is beyond tough but Lucho didn't rotate the whole squad (bar Messi) for nothing. April will show if his rotation policy was useful. I bloody hope so.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Well, cruising in Buli and the CL will have one slight downside for Bayern though: Neuer and their defense will be relatively untested, especially Neuer, who spends almost 95% of his time doing nothing. Hope he gets a bit rusty.

 

[Luftstalag14]

So no Alves in the 1st leg against PSG? Adriano will be our RB?

 

[instinct]

So no Alves in the 1st leg against PSG? Adriano will be our RB?

Bartra was phenomenal in our match against them, maybe Lucho will count on him again.

 

[Vlom]

I was hoping we would draw them this round over PSG. And yeah if we make it past PSG, I really want us the draw Bayern in the semis.

They've been so exposed through effective counter attacking football over the past year. I have no doubt that if we play the same style we did against Atletico or City that we would be able to take them down.

I would love to see it.

You mate have not checked the calendar... if we draw Bayern or Madrid in the 1/4.. we would have risked losing BOTH the CL and La Liga in 2 weeks time..

 

[Batman]

So no Alves in the 1st leg against PSG? Adriano will be our RB?

its written in the stars to emerge in this game

 

[serghei]

What i wrote is also correct.

Also, nobody claims Bayern to be invincible.

And another thing that is correct is that Bayern wasn't even the best team in Germany before the 2012-13 season. Bayern losing two titles in a row against Dortmund in 2011 and 2012 is not the sign of a dominating team in Europe at that time. Not to mention losing to the same poor Inter that Schalke swept the floor with less a month later. So, outside of 2013, not to much to fear about. Neither was last year, losing at home to Dortmund and Real, 0-3 and 0-4. One of the best teams in Europe, sure, but nothing to be afraid about.

 

[likeafire]

Hmmm not a bad draw, couldve been worse. I think ibra is out of both legs as he got straight red card and thats a 2 game ban i think. They beat us without ibra in the group stage at home but we are a different team now.

Oh and no verratti too. We got this.

I see semi final as Bayern - Barca - Real - Juventus.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

And another thing that is correct is that Bayern wasn't even the best team in Germany before the 2012-13 season. Bayern losing two titles in a row against Dortmund in 2011 and 2012 is not the sign of a dominating team in Europe at that time. Not to mention losing to the same poor Inter that Schalke swept the floor with less a month later. So, outside of 2013, not to much to fear about. Neither was last year, losing at home to Dortmund and Real, 0-3 and 0-4. One of the best teams in Europe, sure, but nothing to be afraid about.

That is not correct. BVB to Bayern were like ATM are to Real are atm. It took years for Bayern to overcome that kryptonite kind of counter-pressing, route one counter style Klopp had developed. It simply was a mismatch in terms of styles.
It came as no surprise that Heynckes used a very similar approach to beat Barca 7-0 over two legs.

 

[Yannik]

And another thing that is correct is that Bayern wasn't even the best team in Germany before the 2012-13 season. Bayern losing two titles in a row against Dortmund in 2011 and 2012 is not the sign of a dominating team in Europe at that time. Not to mention losing to the same poor Inter that Schalke swept the floor with less a month later. So, outside of 2013, not to much to fear about. Neither was last year, losing at home to Dortmund and Real, 0-3 and 0-4. One of the best teams in Europe, sure, but nothing to be afraid about.

are we playing this game, in which we judge teams on wether they have lost several games in the past 10 years, which we then specifically point out?

 

[instinct]

Great arguments, serghei.

Guess, Bayern has nothing to fear when they face us either. No relevant titles since 2013, knocked out in the quarter finals in the CL last year, lost the La Liga final at the Camp Nou, lost the CdR, got a humiliating trashing vs Bayern in 2013, were knocked out by Chelsea in 2012 and so on.

Using the Dortmund game as an example is odd. Bayern didn't even participated in this match because the league was already won but whatever. The matches vs Real are pretty much the only matches in the past few years where Bayern got humiliated. They lost the CL in 2012 after a penalty shoot-out and went on to win the treble in a beyond convincing manner. Sealed the league title and the cup last year but got knocked out by Real Madrid in the semi-finals whereas we didn't even made it through the quarters plus no sane person thinks that Pep will made the same mistakes again.

Bayern is underrated here, very underrated. Nobody says that we can't beat them but to say that we'll smash them or that we have nothing to fear about is stupid, especially when you try to base your arguments on the titles and games they have lost in 4 years even though our list of lost games and finals is probably even longer.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Good post.



Personally, I see both teams at the same level atm, 50-50.

 

[serghei]

That is not correct. BVB to Bayern were like ATM are to Real are atm. It took years for Bayern to overcome that kryptonite kind of counter-pressing, route one counter style Klopp had developed. It simply was a mismatch in terms of styles.
It came as no surprise that Heynckes used a very similar approach to beat Barca 7-0 over two legs.

The domestic league shows the sign of strenght of a team in most cases. If in the CL final from 2013, Dante gets a direct red for a K1 kick on Reus, Bayern is out of the game most likely. Cl depends a lot on luck, favourable draws, refereeing decisions and a lot of other factors that are out of your control. The league less so. Dormund won the league back to back in 2011 and 2012 and with big margins (7-8 points each time) and that pretty much shows they were a better team than Bayern in that time frame.

 

[likeafire]

Fact is bayern can now rest all their players as theyve won their league. So there players will be fresher than ours. They have an advantage. And they got an easy draw again. Bayern are the most dangerous team in the competition.

 

[serghei]

That is not correct. BVB to Bayern were like ATM are to Real are atm. It took years for Bayern to overcome that kryptonite kind of counter-pressing, route one counter style Klopp had developed. It simply was a mismatch in terms of styles.
It came as no surprise that Heynckes used a very similar approach to beat Barca 7-0 over two legs.

No. Because Real is in front of Atletico at the moment in the league. Last year Atletico was better than Madrid, as shown by the title they have won after 36 games. A corner in injury time does not change that.