Magic Lamps

I like the ambition too. willingness to take risks, to buck the trend of top South American talent going to real and Barca only. Brazilian football has adapted to how the game has changed. Brazil has always produced great attacking talent but when you look at the quality of goalkeepers and defenders they have produced over the last 10 years they clearly have learned you can’t win a World Cup only with world class attackers anymore . Right now I think France and England have the highest density of emerging talent in world football but they also command inflated premiums as soon as they a few games in a European league under their belt. A good scout may find an equally talented player in SA for a discount. No clue if these guys mentioned here are indeed the real deal but it is hardly more speculative than splashing out 80m+ on unproven or injury prone European players like mudryk and fofana already in their early 20s.

Great to have him back. Really did no expect him to make an impact this season anymore. Admittedly, Gusto has been excellent in his own way. We are lucky to have two young RBs of this quality. But RJ is just supreme. The way he moves, the swagger, the physicality, the composure - it is one of a kind, apart form his sister lol. Granted, all this is worth zilch if he gets injured straight away again. I don't think his career can sustain another majore injury within the next few years. Physically he looks like has not lost any size but everybody could see how he was not properly conditioned for years still just looking at his terrible mobility. While we have no clue if any of this has improved or if the Foo Fighters physio thinks the surgery should have fixed it all, we can only hope that there has been work done on his overall resilience.

Thank you. No one is denying that an in-form Lukaku is somewhat useful nor that this team could need an experienced CF who can lift some of the burden. The problem is not his ability (even though 100m should get you a far better striker obv) but his personality. If he were able to play the big brother role and be an experienced back up who comes in when stakes are high, for the kind of match that outright suits him like Giroud was (sold him 2 years too early -.-). The problem is that Lukaku is not able to play this role. He is just as immature as Jackson, threw his toys out at the first opportunity, has damaged his reputation with the public, the fans and the dressing room as well as being the opposite of a role model in terms of workrate, attitude and professionalism. He has not grown up one bit in the meantime as his transfer saga last summer and his petulant behaviour at Roma repeatedly shows. If he were the same limited but useful player he is while being a regular professional, I would be happy to have him and not even be salty about the 100m we overpaid. But he is a little kid who thinks he is a superstar and should be treated as such by everyone. Not just for us Chelsea fans but for the sake of European football I hope he just fks of to Saudi asap bc he stands for exactly what is wrong with football in the first place.

That's harsh on Tuchel. He is by no means perfect but he did not do an awful lot wrong here or at Bayern apart from his style of football which might not be everyone's cup of tea. Both Bayern and our team have been dysfunctional units for the past 2 years with a lot of disarray in the club hierachies as well. He showed character steadying the ship during the war turmoil in 2022 here as well as at Bayern when they switched the entire C-level and even after they harshly terminated him. While Boehly was stupid to fire him prematurely which cost us last season, TT is probably not the right coach for us at the moment. This immature team needs to grow. I can not see them learning to express themselves on the pitch and build leadership structures under a control freak like him. Just as I can not see us winning anything signficant under Poch but you can not deny most players have progressed. In 2 or 3 years when most of them will hit their prime years we need a proven winner as coach to get the maximum out of the squad. If TT is still going strong by then, he should be considered. Many fans still adore him, and TT still speaks highly about our club and the appreciation he recieved in England. Back then it was a good fit bc he represented a lot of he club's core values. He will be back coaching in the PL very soon and will be an absolute pain for us if he indeed takes the ManUre job.

Knowing what you usually get for giving brighton money, they will probably play the b-team, get spanked 5-0, then quote Todd another 100m for Evan Ferguson's wrecked ankle joint.

There is a decent chance they will be safe already before kick off. In this case I expect them to roll over as soon as we get the first goal and us winning at least 2-0. If we concede first it will probably be an eyesore affair cos then we have all the pressure and they none.

I remember. He would fit us like a glove. Has Conor’s workrate but a bit more skill. stanisic admitted in the interview he was subbed on as extra man for the central defence but bc so many of the attackers were on their last leg he joined the counter attack after coordinating with them. Shows how good the coaching is that players are free and competent enough to device their own tactical moves at such a pivotal moment .

Koopmeiners had another excellent performance for Atalanta btw. Expect him to be on everyone’s radar this summer

I have not found a global statistic for this. But in Germany the previous record was 7 goals in ET lol. 17 has to be a European record for certain

Stadium Dj is playing Bella ciao. No love lost between these two clubs

The number of late goals for them this season exceeds what I have ever seen before. Not even real, Bayern or manure have ever scored this many late goals in a season

Stanisic keeps the streak alive

Smalling. Mancini. Lukaku. Abraham. Azmoun. As Ron really have assembled the ultimate donkey team btw wirtz leg looks shot

Svila is actually having a good game. Not sure if his fault that smalling the donkey knocked him out

Mancini with another own goal in a pivotal moment… almost Steven gerrard 2.0

Lukaku shied away from the pen paredes scores

They are a wasteful side most times but no one noticed bc they still score at least 2 most games pen for Roma

LOL Lukaku is like 50cm from the ball for like a minute on the edge of the Leverkusen box and refuses to press so classic.

Are villa suddenly so shit or is Olympiakos so good? Have to say this ties results have surprised me most this round

Indeed. It is rare for a man to change his ways and career trajectory at that age. I was disappointed when Roman sacked him. Thought we did ok in 2010/11 given the terrible injury crisis. After Everton & Napoli I really thought it was over for him at the top level. I am not sure he could have turned it around at any club other than Madrid tho.

Sane, musiala and Kane were all due to injuries/cramps apparently. TTs hands were kinda forced even though he probably still went all defense too early

The lines showed that Rüdigers toe was playing all of them onside. It was a legitimate goal but even if Bayern make it to extra time, real wins it there. They were all over them and Bayern had made the weirdest subs ever to weaken themselves further. That’s the shit abt these calls. Everyone talks about them instead of te game itself

If the whistle does not go the only one who could have prevented the goal is eder who only half heartedly tried to block. Possibly he would have closed down MDL more quickly. Still terrible double call from the linesman and the ref. The lines are in and neither player is offside for Bayern

I detest Bayern and they deservedly crash out but the injustice there with the premature offside call. The rule has been around for years now and still refs make these schoolboy errors it’s ridiculous

Deserved. That 2nd button, tie and shirt collar are eye cancer tho.