UEFA Champions League 2014-15

[KingMessi]

Thats true. Its hard to raise your game when youve been playing in your comfort zone all season.

I still hope we get monaco in the semis though.

I'd rather not face Bayern in a one off final though. Beating them over two legs is easier comparatively.

 

[StarLord]

Look how well that turned out for Bayern last season.

Bayern were outsmarted and outplayed last year by Real Madrid. Their defeat had nothing to do with fatigue, and my point is that it could have been even worse if they had to exert themselves domestically as well.

In other words, just because you may very well lose while being properly rested, it doesn't follow that being properly rested is a bad thing.

 

[likeafire]

It would shake CL's credibility if Monaco gets in the last 4.

Stranger things have happened. Dont mind getting juventus either though.

 

[likeafire]

I'd rather not face Bayern in a one off final though. Beating them over two legs is easier comparatively.

Id rather face them in one match. Get it over with, beat them and be done with it without giving them a chance of coming back at us in a second leg.

 

[StarLord]

I'd rather not face Bayern in a one off final though. Beating them over two legs is easier comparatively.

I think it's a bit better for us to face Bayern in the final. No away goals BS, a straight shoot-out that will give us the chance to pull off what Real Madrid did to them last year.

Thats true. Its hard to raise your game when youve been playing in your comfort zone all season.

I still hope we get monaco in the semis though.

There will be no Monaco in the semis. Unless Juventus completely and utterly self-destruct.

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

Dont want to play PSG again. I would have rather had an easier opponent or Juve because we did not see that match-up for more than a decade.
The Madrid derby is the only 50/50 tie to me. Of course I hope that Atletico manages to win the tie.
Bayern are lucky this year but they had a very though route to the finals two years ago when they won it all. Maybe history repeats itself and an Algerian destroys Munich's dreams.
Juve - Monaco is the best possible match-up for Turin. I expect them to win quite comfortably.

My picks for the semis are Barca, Bayern and Juve. Atletico - Real is unpredictable.

 

[skn02]

Okay, but they also won the CL twice in the past 14 seasons.
And how often did FC Barcelona manage to get to the CL final three times within just 4 years? Exactly.
See, I can interpret facts to my own liking as well.

Barca or teams who beat barca went on to win CL for 8 times in a row which ended last year which Atletico were 1 min from winnning it as well. To win CL, you pretty much have to beat Barcelona in recent years, thats the sign of CL domination, not featuring in Finals 3 outta 4 times when they could have easiest route to the final and what not. Now, im not saying Bayern were a fluke because they were/are indeed one of the best teams for the past few years, it's just that people hype them as if they are unbeatable. I would fancy our chances if we face them and not piss my pants like many of you would. And it's much better in a 2 legs tie than a grand final where it favors Bayern in berlin.

 

[skn02]

While it wasnt a good to draw PSG again due to a high possibility of them tiring us out with tough league schedules between....However, It's a condolences that Real Madrid got Atletico which will most definitely burn out their squad out too, so it's not a big deal as I'm highly confident that Barca will be able to beat PSG again and advance.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Bayern is not unbeatable, no team is unbeatable. But Bayern is still the best team overall. They are more balanced (with 4 players scoring 10 goals or more), they don't have the glaring midfield problem we do, and their depth is just unmatched by anybody right now. Lahm is already back, Thiago and Javi Martinez will be back soon, right in time for the CL quarters.

But they are beatable, certainly by us.

 

[PhilS]

Bayern have an infinitely better overall squad.

Well, I think if you offered Pep, right now, your choice of M, S, or N for your choice of any of his forwards, Pep would take the deal without even thinking about it. I would say. at least for right now, Pique is the best defensive player in the world (OK, maybe Hart). Yes, I would take Pique over either Luis or Silva.

Sure, there is real class on the RM roster, both in the first 11 and plenty of depth, the only league they would not win would be La Liga (probably come in 3rd). But no sane person would put their group "infinitely better" than Barca. I would not say BM has a better squad than Barca. Just to start with, no combination of any number of BM players is as valuable as Messi. There is such a tendency on this forum to undervalue Barca players, it seems like almost a requirement for being able to post here. "Must be willing to say terrible, untrue things about at least some Barca players." I count 18 truly world-class players on the current Barca roster. You don't even want more than that on your team, there is not enough playing time. Maybe a couple of those 18 you would not want to have to play major minutes, but on this squad they don't have to.

 

[te amo barca]

Well, I think if you offered Pep, right now, your choice of M, S, or N for your choice of any of his forwards, Pep would take the deal without even thinking about it. I would say. at least for right now, Pique is the best defensive player in the world (OK, maybe Hart). Yes, I would take Pique over either Luis or Silva.

Sure, there is real class on the RM roster, both in the first 11 and plenty of depth, the only league they would not win would be La Liga (probably come in 3rd). But no sane person would put their group "infinitely better" than Barca. I would not say BM has a better squad than Barca. Just to start with, no combination of any number of BM players is as valuable as Messi. There is such a tendency on this forum to undervalue Barca players, it seems like almost a requirement for being able to post here. "Must be willing to say terrible, untrue things about at least some Barca players." I count 18 truly world-class players on the current Barca roster. You don't even want more than that on your team, there is not enough playing time. Maybe a couple of those 18 you would not want to have to play major minutes, but on this squad they don't have to.

I meant that they have 3 great players on each position, whereas we, mostly, just one.

 

[Icarium]

Bayern will suffocate the midfield leaving us no space to create enough chances. Their transition play is also great, they might be the only team who might be able to stop messi. But pep need to stop playing high defense line and learn from his mistakes. Bayern can also be lethargic at times unlike the current barca who are playing with right mix of possession and direct football (we are almost there). So in the end the tie is unpredictable, but to think we would defeat bayern easily is a mistake and same goes for saying we can't defeat bayern. We are capable of defeating them, maybe if messi performs at his best we will have the edge.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Well, I think if you offered Pep, right now, your choice of M, S, or N for your choice of any of his forwards, Pep would take the deal without even thinking about it. I would say. at least for right now, Pique is the best defensive player in the world (OK, maybe Hart). Yes, I would take Pique over either Luis or Silva.

Sure, there is real class on the RM roster, both in the first 11 and plenty of depth, the only league they would not win would be La Liga (probably come in 3rd). But no sane person would put their group "infinitely better" than Barca. I would not say BM has a better squad than Barca. Just to start with, no combination of any number of BM players is as valuable as Messi. There is such a tendency on this forum to undervalue Barca players, it seems like almost a requirement for being able to post here. "Must be willing to say terrible, untrue things about at least some Barca players." I count 18 truly world-class players on the current Barca roster. You don't even want more than that on your team, there is not enough playing time. Maybe a couple of those 18 you would not want to have to play major minutes, but on this squad they don't have to.

Well, the thing is, even though Suarez and Neymar have stepped up, Messi is the one who truly makes the difference. Barca without Messi is instantly a different team since Messi not only scores the goals for us, more than ever he is the creator, the initiator of our attack from the midfield, something that used to come from our midfield. You take Messi away from us, we are 2 notches down.

Whereas in Bayern's case, they are much more balanced and they have better options instead of relying on just one player (such as Robben). I definitely say Bayern overall has a better squad than us. That said, this is not armchair football and games are not won on paper, so we can still beat them.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Bayern were outsmarted and outplayed last year by Real Madrid. Their defeat had nothing to do with fatigue, and my point is that it could have been even worse if they had to exert themselves domestically as well.

In other words, just because you may very well lose while being properly rested, it doesn't follow that being properly rested is a bad thing.

That is not true. They were clearly not in top-form anymore after Pep literally declared the Bundesliga to be won. Before that, they were a juggernaut in Bundesliga as well as CL similar to that last Heynckes season. After Pep said they would now focus on the CL, they never looked the same anymore.
Of course Pep got outsmarted by Ancelotti too to some degree at least, I will be the last to dispute that claim.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Bayern will suffocate the midfield leaving us no space to create enough chances. Their transition play is also great, they might be the only team who might be able to stop messi. But pep need to stop playing high defense line and learn from his mistakes. Bayern can also be lethargic at times unlike the current barca who are playing with right mix of possession and direct football (we are almost there). So in the end the tie is unpredictable, but to think we would defeat bayern easily is a mistake and same goes for saying we can't defeat bayern. We are capable of defeating them, maybe if messi performs at his best we will have the edge.

Yes, and I felt these days their ball possession and pressing are better than ours. However though, they could still let us have more possession and try to hit us on counters.