Champions League Thread

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

12 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

It was Lille tho.

lol your right. mixed them up bc of the mendy maignan conundrum i guess. but if i am not mistaken they are on a roughly similar level^^

[Jase 43,479]

Our Champions League Group Stage fixtures confirmed (plus with Premier League fixtures below):

Oct 17 - Southampton (H)
Oct 20 - Sevilla (H)
Oct 24 - Man United (A)
Oct 28 - Krasnodar (A)
Oct 31 - Burnley (A)
Nov 4 - Rennes (H)
Nov 7 - Sheffield United (H)
Nov 21 - Newcastle (A)
Nov 24 - Rennes (A)
Nov 28 - Spurs (H)
Dec 2 - Sevilla (A)
Dec 5 - Leeds (H)
Dec 8 - Krasnodar (H)
Dec 12 - Everton (A)

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Milan 17,997]

Bloody Atletico... the only team we did not really want to draw...

[Blues Forever 1,232]

Man we are very unlucky drawing Atletico.

[Superblue 6,372]

Worst draw possible I think, although perhaps Real Madrid burst their bubble a little at the weekend.

At least we've shown this season that we can play a game of attrition and nullify top counter attacking teams.

It'll be hard work, but its by no means mission impossible.

[Hutcho 8,443]

Well then. Big challenge. Let's get it

[Hutcho 8,443]

Least it's not bayern

[Pizy 19,250]

Win our group comfortably only to draw the toughest possible opponent. Cheers, lads. 

Honestly, it's all going to depend on how fit we are when this comes around. Atleti aren't an attacking juggernaut like Bayern who will batter you with beautiful football. This isn't an impossible matchup at all.

[Tomo 21,751]

2 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Worst draw possible I think, although perhaps Real Madrid burst their bubble a little at the weekend.

At least we've shown this season that we can play a game of attrition and nullify top counter attacking teams.

It'll be hard work, but its by no means mission impossible.

If Ziyech and Pulisic are fit for this (big if I know) I think we'll beat them pretty comfortably. Despite the fact they're top of La Liga they aren't as tough to play in big games as they use to be, people will point to them getting past Liverpool last year but that second leg was blind luck not a defensive masterclass.

[killer1257 3,282]

Atletico did only concede 4 goals this season. Gimenez is injured right now.

With guys like Werner, Tammy and Giroud, who need 100 chances to score a goal, we do not have a chance. Also, Atletico only needs one chance. That is all they need

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[The Skipper 20,609]

25 minutes ago, Tomo said:

If Ziyech and Pulisic are fit for this (big if I know) I think we'll beat them pretty comfortably, despite the fact they're top of La Liga they aren't as tough to play in big games as they use to be, people will point to them getting past Liverpool last year but that second leg was blind luck not a defensive masterclass.

Agreed. They really aren't that good. Only Felix I'm worried about as he has the talent to do something out of nothing. 

We play a clean game with no mistakes and a fit squad, and we win this. 

[The Skipper 20,609]

8 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

Atletico did only concede 4 goals this season. Gimenez is injured right now.

With guys like Werner, Tammy and Giroud, who need 100 chances to score a goal, we do not have a chance. Also, Atletico only needs one chance. That is all they need

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They aren't that good. Watch the Madrid derby from this weekend. 

[Jase 43,479]

Maybe things will change in February but I'd fancy our chances against Atletico, especially with the first leg being in Madrid. 

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, The Skipper said:

They aren't that good. Watch the Madrid derby from this weekend. 

Atletico are a bit of a peculiar bunch. We know they can be good but they also can be underwhelming. They failed to beat to Lokomotiv Moscow over the 2 games and somehow couldn't beat a Bayern B side in the group stage. And then there was the Champions League last season, where they were so flat against Leipzig. 

[killer1257 3,282]

Currently, Simeone is trying something new. He changed his classic 4-4-2 into a 3-5-2 or sometimes 3-4-1-2.

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[Jase 43,479]

Looking from a pessimistic POV, it'd be less of an embarrassment if we lose to Atletico than say Porto, Gladbach or Atalanta. 

But either way, the tie will be good learning curve for this team and their development. If we can get past Atletico, it'd give the players confidence for the quarter finals etc.

[The Skipper 20,609]

3 minutes ago, Jason said:

Atletico are a bit of a peculiar bunch. We know they can be good but they also can be underwhelming. They failed to beat to Lokomotiv Moscow over the 2 games and somehow couldn't beat a Bayern B side in the group stage. And then there was the Champions League last season, where they were so flat against Leipzig. 

Honestly they are so uninspired in big games recently. We won't even have to overcommit to beat them I don't think. Safe possession game with some quality chances created in the final third should do it. 

[killer1257 3,282]

Honestly they are so uninspired in big games recently. We won't even have to overcommit to beat them I don't think. Safe possession game with some quality chances created in the final third should do it. 

And who scores those goals? Zouma? He is probably our only reliable scorer right now. Every other of our strikers needs too many chances.

 

 

 

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[The Skipper 20,609]

25 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

And who scores those goals? Zouma? Some is probably our only reliable scorer right now. Every other of our strikers needs too many chances.



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On the flip side, by February who knows maybe guys like Werner, Pulisic, Havertz find their shooting boots? Guys like Mount, CHO, Abraham will chip in as well. Both of our fullbacks have shown they aren't adverse to goals and Zouma is a huge set piece threat. There's goals in this team. We're literally one of the highest scoring sides in Europe this season. 

This is a great game for the squad because winning this would give them a huge boost of confidence in big games in the future.