The European Competitions Thread

[Leif 6,006]

He didn't play today, but the scoreline caught my attention and got me thinking: Neymar, having played with Brazil, having played with Messi and Barcelona, isn't near as impressive in Ligue 1 surrounded by the best players in the league compared to what we saw from Hazard before he joined. Perspective. Has Neymar been a stat bloater?

PSG's bench is surprisingly weak this season too. I'd no idea so many no-names played for them still. 

[El P. 1,354]

20 hours ago, Leif said:

He didn't play today, but the scoreline caught my attention and got me thinking: Neymar, having played with Brazil, having played with Messi and Barcelona, isn't near as impressive in Ligue 1 surrounded by the best players in the league compared to what we saw from Hazard before he joined. Perspective. Has Neymar been a stat bloater?

PSG's bench is surprisingly weak this season too. I'd no idea so many no-names played for them still. 

People are wrong to already put Neymar in top 3 players. Most of people thinks: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Neymar

I think Neymar has to prove himself a lot, he is no finished product nor good enough to be considered 3rd player of the world permanently.

Also, CR will fall out of top 3 after this season, most likely.

[Leif 6,006]

15 minutes ago, El P. said:

People are wrong to already put Neymar in top 3 players. Most of people thinks: 1. Messi, 2. Ronaldo, 3. Neymar

I think Neymar has to prove himself a lot, he is no finished product nor good enough to be considered 3rd player of the world permanently.

Also, CR will fall out of top 3 after this season, most likely.

Agreed, all of that. 

Who will the top 3 players/forwards be next? I wouldn't know where to start.

[Leif 6,006]

Napoli are really struggling vs. little Chievo. 

We're not even in December yet, but Mertens has probably played just about every minute of every game for them. That alone is enough to say they don't have a top manager. The XI may play pretty football, but that is no measure of squad management.

[Leif 6,006]

Napoli being investigated for some reason relating to Mafia involvement. Something like giving a faction hoards of tickets for them to go and sell for themselves.

I have to say, the American mob many decades ago, despite being motivated by selfish reasons + killing people, outside of that, they had class.

But the factions in Sicily & South Italy? They're disgusting. They set cats on fire and release them into the woods, burning both the cats and trees to death, since it creates opportunity for mafia-owned companies to swoop in for a massive pay-day for clearing everything up.

I really can't stand animal abuse, and if i knew specific Ndrangheta members by name who personally condone such, i'd have to pay some people to go on holiday and remove them for sport. You can kill as many people as you want, but killing cats crosses the line.

 

In case such comment backfires somehow some day, let me say this is entirely fictional & i'm practicing for a novel

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[Leif 6,006]

In around 2 weeks should be the biggest Roma / Lazio game in over a decade.

[Beigl 1,387]

In around 2 weeks should be the biggest Roma / Lazio game in over a decade.

I hope Napoli win the league, Juventus have won it too often now in the last few years.

[LAM09 7,051]

27 minutes ago, Beigl said:

53 minutes ago, Leif said:

In around 2 weeks should be the biggest Roma / Lazio game in over a decade.

I hope Napoli win the league, Juventus have won it too often now in the last few years.

Their squad is too lightweight to survive injuries. Only see Inter going the long haul with Juve

[Leif 6,006]

You know if we go by trophies, Toni Kroos is literally the most successful player of all time? (I think..)
No hyperbole.

11 years, 22 trophies. Played in 4 of the last 6 Champions League finals, winning the competition 3 out of those 4 times. His only CL loss due to us

[Leif 6,006]

I don't like calling the Premier League the best league, since we have such a lack of tactical nuance & technique here, but we have to call it that, because it's simply the 'biggest' league and in a way, the most entertaining from an adrenaline POV.

So with that said, and the PL being #1 due to some technicalities, surely now, Serie A is back to being number 2? 

Atletico are nothing this season. Real Madrid are nothing this season. They're both useless in the Champions League this season. Barcelona aren't great this season, yet are trotting to the title nicely. Sevilla have fallen. And that's pretty much La Liga.

Serie A? People all over the world now are excited to see who will win this season - thinking it could literally be any of Juventus, Roma, Napoli, Inter, Lazio (though Lazio/Napoli don't rotate, so will burn out. Roma on the other hand keep getting results, with different players on the pitch.) 
Nevermind the fact that Napoli, from Serie A, play the best football in the Champions League this season - and Roma, from Serie A, spanked the English champions.

Ligue 1 isn't watched by many outside France; people just check the scores to see how the PSG/Monaco players are doing. It's a slugger of a league.

Bundesliga is the Bundesliga - everything in place to be great, but so, so far from it. It's a yo-yo league with teams finishing 4th one season, 15th the next season.

If we judge purely on a football level, nothing to do with media/'shock' results/'history', Serie A is top dog.

And that's with a fraction of the funds the Premier League clubs get thrown at them by sponsors etc. Maybe it's because of that.

[Leif 6,006]

Roma derby today, featuring dejected players following Italy's situation. I think Roma's Italians will be more rocked by it, but Immobile may have come crashing back to reality after being pathetic for Italy. That said, I believe today will be the day that casual viewers who take Roma's 'success' at face value learn that their midfield is inferior to their neighbours. Inzaghi's turning out to be a special manager for Lazio too (remembering this isn't Pippo, but his younger brother who played the bulk of his career with Lazio. That just adds to the stars aligning in their favour.)
Stat-wise, Lazio are more clinical this season with less shots per game than Roma, so you can theoretically dominate them all game yet still lose.
Then count the fact that they're having players explode with confidence (Luis Alberto, Savic, Leiva, Bastos) in a world where Roma's newest additions (Under, Schick, Defrel) are useless; add on top, this is Nainggolan's first average season, Strootman's now just trying to hold his value before being sold, and Roma's best player is a 32 year old full-back. Roma should be counting on Florenzi. It's his chance to become the new face of Rome.

If Roma win, it'll be big. If Lazio win, it'll be big, but nobody cares about Lazio, so not as big 

Cost £65 to attend this game, in some of the best seats. Wish I could've gone.

https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/lazio-v-roma-the-changing-face-of-the-derby-della-capitale

[Milan 17,956]

Mike Dean still one of the worst refs, Spurs players still soft and nice divers. Nothing changed.

Ah wrong thread.

[Leif 6,006]

Jordan Lukaku is so threatening.

[Leif 6,006]

Atletico might be among the most boring teams on the planet. Simeone's not that great.

[Leif 6,006]

Roma whooped Lazio. 2-1, but should've been 2-0, as Manolas/Alisson both suffered a brain fart leading to a silly penalty. For Roma, otherwise keeping goals out vs. the joint-most potent attack in the league, is huge for them. They've not been known for their ability to defend at all well since the days of Aldair.

Perotti managed to prove once again to be one of the most underrated wingers of the past decade. I don't think anybody dribbles like him bar Hazard.

Jordan Lukaku, on Lazio's side, was Lazio's biggest threat. Incredible power, obviously his genetics, and him being a wing back essentially, creates a situation for the other team which they aren't used to. He was really, really impressive. Not an upgrade over Alonso, for he isn't the best at defending, but beating his man, brilliant. He dribbles & controls the ball like a forward. Genuinely more talented than Romelu.

De Rossi ran the most on the pitch. It shows how much these derbies still mean to him. Despite his age, most Roma fans believe he should be a regular starter for another 2 seasons presuming his fitness holds up. Strootman has become far too slow after a very bad injury, and they'd still like to get rid of him or at least phase him out onto the bench, but this game he was better than Ninja despite N's goal.

Dzeko was running around like a 20 year old. 

Really loving this revival. It's all down to the coach knowing just when and who to rotate. As people are realising now, this will be Napoli's downfall - 1 injury in Ghoulam was enough, but any other players losing their legs and they're finished.

So it's between Inter, Juventus, and Roma. 

I think Juventus will win the title, because of experience doing-so & their immense squad depth. Inter grind out their results, and there is a lack of quality despite being unbeaten. Roma just don't have the firepower up front to blow away the other big teams: can't expect them to beat Juventus, Inter or Napoli consistently yet. Such a shame they spunked 60m on Schick & Defrel - neither of whom play. After this great season, they could've attracted a very, very talented player next season for that sort of money. With the probable sale of Manolas, they could throw 90m at Suarez (a long shot, but there'd be a chance) or whoever. That blunder is shared between the manager & board, not Monchi. They wanted Schick before Monchi arrived, and Defrel worked with the coach before he was at Roma, and was specifically requested. This 1 big blunder of theirs I feel will set them back in the upcoming transfer windows, and I believe it'll be pivotal in them not winning the league any time soon - which they really could have aimed for with just slightly more ballsy recruitment. (All that said, in Serie A, every single season it seems, the team with the best defensive record wins. Roma have that claim - though it's slightly overblown, considering Napoli have only conceded 1 more goal than they have, while scoring almost double.)

Serie A, Serie A, Serie A. Making me fall in love with football all over again

[Leif 6,006]

AC Milan have the most entertaining forum this season. Meltdown after meltdown, abuse from members to eachother all round. Highly recommend taking a peek. 

'Well next season we'll likely have Conte.' (Majority of forum agrees, without a hint of irony.)

[Leif 6,006]

Sampdoria.

Beating Juventus 3-0, just minutes to go. (Buffon isn't playing, randomly rested, and all goals were saveable it looks like.)

Incredible team. Incredible young players every season. Can't believe i chose to pass on this game, thinking it'd be at least a draw.

The city of Genoa & the surrounding towns can finally feel proud of their football contribution.

[Leif 6,006]

6 minutes ago, Leif said:

Sampdoria.

Beating Juventus 3-0, just minutes to go. (Buffon isn't playing, randomly rested, and all goals were saveable it looks like.)

Incredible team. Incredible young players every season. Can't believe i chose to pass on this game, thinking it'd be at least a draw.

The city of Genoa & the surrounding towns can finally feel proud of their football contribution.

2 goals for Juventus in about 2 minutes in the last stages of the game. Makes half my post sound stupid.

[Leif 6,006]

Hardly anything more disgusting than seeing Liverpool do well against decent opponents. 

Seeing Arsenal do well isn't so bad - it's like after being their rival for so long, we've learned they actually have a severe mental disability, and so we humour their small wins with a smile. 

Seeing Liverpool conquer teams is like a guy at school who bragged for 3 years about having loads of money, despite being broke with nits in his hair, then seeing that snakey liar win the lottery.

[Leif 6,006]

Anyone know how well Tielemans is playing this season? He's a very hyped player, and I thought we could use him a few years ago in a sort of Xabi Alonso role.

Checking WhoScored, Monaco are 3-0 down, every other player with a rating hovering around 5.5, and yet Tiele is up at 6.4-or-so. I know it's just WhoScored, but I've never seen 1 player with a rating like that when the rest of the team is bombing.