UCL Draw Thread

[kellzfresh 7,229]

If only Matic was available for these 2 matches....it would have made a massive difference to our midfield.

Exactly, we'll have had control in midfield.

This game both of us will be pressing each other non-stop, matic would have been a huge boost. I hope we put a top performance bcos they are better than us at our own pressing game unfortunately.

But if we take a score draw to the bridge, we'll go to the finals

[nofacej 132]

All this talk of ethics is tiring.

1. Activate Costa's release clause a couple of days before the first leg if they won't honour the contract they signed with us

2. Sue them for the 8 million they should have paid us after the tie is over, and use it towards paying Costa's fee; a court of law shouldn't care about UEFA's regulations in a contract dispute

3. At the end of the season recall Courtois

That's if we want to be jerks about the whole thing.

[remains of the day 564]

It’s not just their work rate and physicality, it’s also the fact that out of all the teams left they’re the one settled side. That in itself should not be taken lightly. Us, Bayern and Real Madrid all have new managers who have only been working with their respective teams for less than a year, which might explain why a very good side like Bayern have some vulnerabilities. Simeone on the other hand has been molding his team for a few seasons now so while they might not have the best individual talent, they’re very much a “well oiled” side. Most of the players are fully adapted to Simeone’s system, all the parts are ticking and any obvious weakness has been ironed out. I think that's what makes them more dangerous than the other remaining sides (especially when you also factor in their athleticism and fighting spirit).

And they're also very much a cup team as well. They might not have experience competing in the semis of the CL but they tend to do well in cup competitions.

Having said that though, we sure as hell won't roll over for them and I think we'll make it difficult for them. Should be a cracking match. So stoked for this!

[Strike 7,474]

I'm confused.

There's no Atletico fans invading the forum? Is this normal? What is this civilized aftermath?

there was this one dutch atletico fan last time and he was all nice and polite etc

[Joker10 946]

I don't see how Atletico is a easier mashup then Real. Football is not played on paper and it is not always about individual talents. If you look at Real on paper they should be on top of La liga first of all, but they come nowhere near close to Atletico in terms of mentality, Alti is a strong side mentally who will play hard and give it all obviously they get that from their manager who i rate so highly. Also Real are great bunch of individual talent but they also don't come close to Alti in terms of unity and cohesive as a team. Real loss at home against Barca perfectly displays why they will not win the league or the CL, they were obviously the better side against Barca but they bottled it with poor individual mistakes. That kinda mentality will not win you the CL with that kinda lack of composure

I am pretty certain that the CL winner will come out of this fixture.

[AswinR 96]

is it only me whoes positive of the draw?!! ... i think this was the best of the 3... whateve RM and Bayern weakness are they have a very positive advantages in attack....

watch the match against milan and AM ... we have a pretty good chance....

they do good pressing i agree.... but we havent seen them play against teams like bayern and chelsea or mancity....

players like oscar and hazard and willian do pretty good in beating markers.....that means they will have double overlapping style marking....then midfield gets thrown open...

remember our pressing against liverpool at home... they are more used to physically pressing players from spanish league!!

we are used to physical pressing!! not that we have come on top everytime but we are used to it!

ppl talk AM is our nemises in tactics.... i think its the other way .... diego simeone has over the years created a team based on his philosphy of strong pressing and yes we got owned at supercup but the team then was a few days old!! hazard had just come in so had oscar.....no drogs no terry...luiz was in defence

AND now we have mourinho.....hiw many times have you seen him get outplayed in tactics?!!.....

real madrid are an out and out attacking team ....lot of you saying we will have lots of pockets to attack but have you seen their attack!!!

bayern not that attacking and vulnerable at the back but again really good players with good momentum....

these are the kind of teams you should meet only once and with an effective gameplan overcamed.... never give them to analize and come back at us... perfect for finals

atletico are the best option.....we can really do this...just worried about luiz and willian yellow cards

and just read above AM are cup team..... what the hell are we?!! we are the best cup team in europe!!

this is our speciality...some play tika taka...some score for fun...some walk together...some keep passing the ball infront of goal....we...we win trophies

[iseah100 5,612]

All this talk of ethics is tiring.

1. Activate Costa's release clause a couple of days before the first leg if they won't honour the contract they signed with us

2. Sue them for the 8 million they should have paid us after the tie is over, and use it towards paying Costa's fee; a court of law shouldn't care about UEFA's regulations in a contract dispute

3. At the end of the season recall Courtois

That's if we want to be jerks about the whole thing.

You people are dicks.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

The scary thing is our yellow card situation, this is gonna be our toughest test of the season with a weak squad hope we pass it.

[iceman 329]

actually, it's our second serious contender in this season. a little nervous about it

[lionsden 4,689]

People are fixated and obsessed with the wrong issue. I'm more worried about the headache AM high intensity and relentless pressing will cause rather than Courtois involvement. We have shown time and again the inability to cope with teams that press us high up the pitch as most of our players lack the technical ability and intelligence to maneuver their way out of such situations. even Barca couldn't handle it. Courtois is the absolute least of my worries.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

I have been doing some scouting, so far I have noticed they press high up the pitch and there weak spot is the right back so hopefully Hazard is fit to exploit that space, ramires shld not play as he wastes position, would play mikel as he does well keepin the ball

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

Atletico's defenders look like they will give us chances, we just have to be clinical with our chances, their mid is crazy thts were we might win or lose the game

[Pacquiao 1,834]

People are fixated and obsessed with the wrong issue. I'm more worried about the headache AM high intensity and relentless pressing will cause rather than Courtois involvement. We have shown time and again the inability to cope with teams that press us high up the pitch as most of our players lack the technical ability and intelligence to maneuver their way out of such situations. even Barca couldn't handle it. Courtois is the absolute least of my worries.

Which is why I can see Demba starting against them, as the easiest way to avoid their pressing game is to go route 1 up to demba and have Schurrle/Oscar, Willian, Hazard running onto the knockdowns.

[lionsden 4,689]

Which is why I can see Demba starting against them, as the easiest way to avoid their pressing game is to go route 1 up to demba and have Schurrle/Oscar, Willian, Hazard running onto the knockdowns.

Prime Drogba was tailor made for this game.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Atletico Madrid (like us) are very good at pressing the opposition's attacking players high up the pitch. I imagine that we will play a 4-2-3-1 with Schurrle, Oscar or Willian behind the striker. (Assuming Hazard is injured) None of those guys are very comfortable when they are pressed. Like someone said, we might need to start Demba and go direct in order to by-pass their pressing, but that's Jose's job and Mourinho has already dismissed this way of thinking as "reactive" not "proactive".

Safe to say, Matic is a HUGE miss in this game because of his ability to play sharp, accurate vertical passes and to play-make from deep. If we aren't going route one, and we start Eto'o/Torres, then Oscar needs to drop deep and try to dictate tempo. He won't get a lot of joy higher up the pitch. I also have a hard time also seeing where a goal will come from for us in the away tie. Without Matic and Salah, we aren't playing to our full potential, but still we persevere.

The fact that the second leg is at the Bridge is a good advantage for us. Eden will be 100% back as well and Eto will be fully match fit. If we come through unfazed (not another stupid 3-1) then we will finish the job at home.