Champions League Thread

[cosmicway 1,333]

13 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

19 minutes ago, cosmicway said:

Against Villareal yesterday they won 2-0 but Villareal was down to 10 men.
The opening goal at around the 60th minute.
I actually think they are the best team so far in this year's champions league, together with PSG and City also.
Bayern is not impressing me at all and RM as we know had a very bad start of the season if nothing else..

They haven't been great IMO. Didn't offer much away to Juve, drew at home to Celta & away to Olympiakos. They aren't as open or expansive as years gone by and are certainly beatable. I personally think this draw was the best to extent, as we aren't favourites, which is normally when we perform best.

Ernesto Valverde is a popular figure in Piraeus. He could n't really hurt Olympiakos (3-1 was the aggregate score between them).
Fact is that the strong teams of the primera always resist them, better than European opposition do.

[Milan 17,997]

Looking forward to it. Pretty sure Barcelona is extremely frustrated they are playing us. We have been one of the few European teams that leave them frustrated in the competition. Big night at the Bridge coming.

[DDA 10,205]

Just woke up to see the news on Sky Sports. My natural reaction was to jump for joy. It's not going to be easy but Barca just makes it feel like a special night of football.

[Jase 43,479]

Getting a tie against Barcelona is always tough regardless of the situation but there's no need to feel all doom and gloom here just because we lost to West Ham at the weekend. Yes, our squad has its flaws but when we're on it, we can do damage. In some ways, this tie is a free hit for us. Many are expecting Barcelona to go through and we tend to be at our best when we are the underdogs. And let's see what happens come February. Plenty can happen between now and then.

[The Chels 2,502]

2 hours ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

I just noticed this but isn't it strange how after virtually all our CL fixtures we get another title contender immediately after? 

Qarabag - Arsenal

Atletico Madrid - Man City

Roma - Chelsea

Qarabag - Liverpool

Now Barcelona - Man United and Man City

This is an incredible "coincidence" and obviously a big disadvantage. They seriously wanted to give us as little a chance as possible of retaining that title. 2 in 3 years is enough.

2 in 3, or alternatively 2 in 8 

[Special Juan 28,730]

Real v PSG

[It's too big 625]

Gotta love a cheeky tie with Barca

[It's too big 625]

2 hours ago, BlueLion. said:

RIP Barcelona

That's the spirit mate

[It's too big 625]

1 hour ago, Johnnyeye said:

Good game in perspective, we all wanted Besiktas ( mind you they are a very good side ) but it's not meant to be, to be fair i rather we face Barca than PSG. For some reason this has Messi finally scoring against us written all over it  , lets pray not and even if he does, lets hope it doesnt make a difference in the end, anything can happen when the ball is at his feet, still remember that pass for Iniesta to score at the Bridge, damn it Essien, if only you had cleared that... We can give it a good go for old times sake, our clashes vs Barcelona down the years have been classics no doubt, and they will be looking for revenge for 2012. Altough they are not the same team from back then, they have a lot of quality players now, specially the little argentine magician, and you know anything can happen. We are kidding ourselves if we think this Barca side is weaker than in previous years, far from that, if we manage to beat this lot we can beat anyone, no excuses. Lets see how we cope come February, i for one cant wait for this game, it has been long overdue us facing Barca again, i say bring it on and PSG can fuck off for all i care. Cheers and KTBFFH

Problem with drawing Besiktas is there's a chance the lads take it too easy, and against  a team like that you can get beat. It's why Barca are my preferred choice because I believe the lads will show up against a big club like that, and Conte will have them up for it. We have, for the most part, always shown up in these big CL games. They haven't always gone our way, but we've always shown that fighting spirit to win. 

[cosmicway 1,333]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Getting a tie against Barcelona is always tough regardless of the situation but there's no need to feel all doom and gloom here just because we lost to West Ham at the weekend. Yes, our squad has its flaws but when we're on it, we can do damage. In some ways, this tie is a free hit for us. Many are expecting Barcelona to go through and we tend to be at our best when we are the underdogs. And let's see what happens come February. Plenty can happen between now and then.

Besiktas seem to be a lot better than Galata we faced three years ago.
I don't fancy them against Bayern though.

[cfcs most wanted 657]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/11166659/antonio-conte-puts-top-four-first-for-chelsea-after-barcelona-draw

Don't know if he actually means it or just wants the team to concentrate on the next game. But if he does mean it, it's a poor show of mentality

[cfcs most wanted 657]

4 minutes ago, cfcs most wanted said:

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/11166659/antonio-conte-puts-top-four-first-for-chelsea-after-barcelona-draw

Don't know if he actually means it or just wants the team to concentrate on the next game. But if he does mean it, it's a poor show of mentality

Okay so he just meant that they would focus on the match against Barca when the time comes, and not as of now. Media and it's manipulations 

[cosmicway 1,333]

6 minutes ago, cfcs most wanted said:

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/11166659/antonio-conte-puts-top-four-first-for-chelsea-after-barcelona-draw

Don't know if he actually means it or just wants the team to concentrate on the next game. But if he does mean it, it's a poor show of mentality

Well if we played Besiktas now then Barca was on the road ahead.
Does n't make sense to grumble really.
Top 4 is a must of course, while to win the CL we have 3 or 4 more giants as probable opponents (as well as Roma again maybe !).

[11Drogba 2,000]

We are the underdogs again with an Italian manager and Spanish striker. They should worry not us.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

22 minutes ago, 11Drogba said:

We are the underdogs again with an Italian manager and Spanish striker. They should worry not us.

Rdm is swiss but other than that yeah i am pretty sure they will feel pretty damn uneasy about that draw.

 

Edit: looked it up and he can much more pass as italian.

[11Drogba 2,000]

4 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

Rdm is swiss

 

[It's too big 625]

2 hours ago, Mana said:

Really? That v. PSG tie we had in 2015 still burns...

Mourinho went into those games way too conservative. If I remember rightly, we sat back too much and invited the pressure. That is what I hate about that style of play, you have nothing on the offense. I hope Conte goes into the next round with a more offensive strategy. I believe Conte has that in him more than Jose does. 

[different level 1,056]

Not afraid of these cunts one bit! Can't wait! 

[Jase 43,479]

Can someone please tell me how are Juventus considered a good draw for Spurs? Have read some analysis across various sites and somehow, Juventus, who have won 6 straight Serie A titles and reached 2 Champions League finals in last 3 years, have been dismissed like they're Newcastle! One journalist even deemed them sitting 3rd in the table as unthinkable, despite being just 2 points off the top! Why are people even reading so much into Spurs' wins over Real and Dortmund, who have been nothing short of disaster this season?

Also unsurprisingly, many seem to have written us off against Barcelona. They are, rightly, the favorites but if Conte is looking at how to get the players pumped up for the tie, he could do no worse than stick up the predictions from the journalists/pundits in the dressing room.

[LAM09 7,085]

Can someone please tell me how are Juventus considered a good draw for Spurs? Have read some analysis across various sites and somehow, Juventus, who have won 6 straight Serie A titles and reached 2 Champions League finals in last 3 years, have been dismissed like they're Newcastle! One journalist even deemed them sitting 3rd in the table as unthinkable, despite being just 2 points off the top! Why are people even reading so much into Spurs' wins over Real and Dortmund, who have been nothing short of disaster this season?
Also unsurprisingly, many seem to have written us off against Barcelona. They are, rightly, the favorites but if Conte is looking at how to get the players pumped up for the tie, he could do no worse than stick up the predictions from the journalists/pundits in the dressing room.

They beat RM, so they're now unstoppable.