Knocking out a German team is very helpful for getting a 5th CL place for PL teams, So on this rarest of rare occasions, well done!
One obvious question nobody seems to have asked: how did the Spammers get drawn against a team they played in the group phase in the Ro16? Seems a bit odd, doesn't it?
I know his football can be dire and he's too one-dimensional at times, but Moyes has done a very good job at West Ham overall. When he first arrived at the club, he had to rescue them from relegation. Then came back when Pellegrini put them in deep trouble and rescued them again. Got them their highest ever Premier League league finishes for 22 years (6th and 7th consecutively), won them their first trophy in 43 years and has now reached three consecutive European quarter-finals for the first time in their history. He's not my cup of tea because I feel like he's too 'old school' in his tactical approach. And even though they've recruited well for the last few years, particularly in attacking areas, his style hasn't evolved enough considering the talent at their disposal. However, he surely has to go down as one of their best ever managers. You can whinge about the aesthetics of his teams, but you can't whinge much with his outcomes overall. West Ham have historically never really been consistent European contenders - which they are now under him.
He's done a very good job, but their style of play is often bloody awful to watch. A lot of their fanbase lost patience with him earlier in the season, but he's turned it round recently. Could be a big game on the weekend between them and Villa. Claret & Blue Twat Derby. Interesting to see Emery's team mirror our result on Sunday. 4-0 win with an opposition player sent off at 2-0. Ajax's abysmal season continues. They already mathematically can't win the league.
The Spanners have their small club 'if you tie a slice of buttered bread to the back of a cat and drop both ...' moment for the season. Lose, and their path to UEFA land next season is probably gone (I doubt anyone will be beating the Poool in the EL) . Win, and they are helping Spurs finishing 4th come May.
Is there a Munich record for most goals scored by one player over a two leg UEFA KO tie ?? < asking for a friend ... >
Moyes is like a lesser version of Jose and Conte. If the team wins then fans will put up with it. But you’ve seen them turn on him very quickly once results go wrong. Ultimately though football is a results business and that’s why he’s been their best manager in a long time.
Agree with this. I don't quite think it'll be a double hammering of 5-1's like the last time we faced them, but it'll certainly be no stroll in the park. I expect it'll be two competitive games. And Bayern, for all their troubles, still have a lot of quality in that squad. Additionally, this is their last realistic chance of silverware, due to being 10 points behind an outstanding Leverkusen and an early DfB Pokal exit. So they'll put their all into this competition and look to put right their difficulties this season. Muller, Kane, Musiala, Sane, Gnabry, Tel, Kimmich, Kim Min-Jae, Davies...this is still an extremely talented group. Tuchel also has quite an impressive record in Europe across his time at Chelsea, PSG and Dortmund. Arteta still has it all to prove at the elite level. For me, this will be a good test to see how far we've come (and how far we have to go).
They’re so far off what they used to be. The fact they’re not even going to win their domestic league shows how poor they are. I’d say 60/40 Arsenal despite the experience Bayern have.
All I'll say is don't use league form to determine cup competition outcomes. By that same token, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid should have been a mismatch on paper - as Inter are cruising to a league title, whereas Atletico Madrid are in a top-4 battle (and were coming off a 2-0 loss to Cadiz - who hadn't won a game in 3 months). Yet it was a struggling Atletico Madrid who ended up getting past the Italian champions elect to reach the quarter-finals. In cup football, league form seldom matters. Anything goes. All it takes is one bad moment or one lapse in concentration and the momentum can totally swing. I'm under no illusion that, whilst they are evidently not the Bayern team of a decade ago, they will still be very difficult opponents.
They’ve got a far better defence at the moment, especially when on current form Dier has been performing better than De Ligt, Kim and Upamecano, however Bayern definitely have the better attack, Kane alone is better than 95% of front threes in Europe. Midfield is a tougher call, quality is quite similar I think but Arsenal edge it on form. So overall I’d agree that I think Arsenal right now would be favourites to win over two legs. Need to hope Harry treats it like a NLD though that's for sure.
