UEFA Champions League/Europa League thread

"I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in charge of such an important match, and a referee who made an important mistake against Barcelona in a previous match. Today he arranged it."

So, racist and accusing the referee of cheating. Charming. Funny how he forgets the 'offside' goal.

 

Dynamo Kyiv v Valencia is..... still on?


never mind it's been moved to Cyprus. which seems like a good deal.

 

Wish Eriksen had said that. lol

 

Given that a pre-Mata Man U beat them 4-2 and 0-5 (in Germany, without Van Persie) in the group stages, I think you can guess...

 

That did happen after the sending off (and likely wouldn't have had Demichelis still been on the pitch). Though what a wonderful disguised pass it was from Xavi. Still got it.

 

I'm at home today, happily testing old hi-fi equipment stuffed in the cupboard [they're all still working so far]. Just flicking through the AM section of a Sansui tuner and up popped someone on talkSport commenting on boring Barcelona. The gist of what he said was, yeah, tika-taka is very impressive, but 90 minutes of endless passing is boring. I'd rather watch Stoke v Man City.

And he's got a point. There's no doubt tika-taka is impressive for the purist [and I consider myself one at heart], but if Barcelona decide to keep the ball, there's often barely a reason to stay awake after 20 minutes. I'm not sure about the Stoke City reference though.

 

I'd rather watch Barca play possession stuff than BFS teams lumping it thanks. Every day of the week.

 

No team more closely resembles Barca in that than we do, though. Lots and lots of passing, but I believe that our games feature the fewest shots by both teams of any in the Prem.

 

Yes, I do see the similarities. However, Saints don't spend ages in midfield spurning opportunities to attack, preferring to retain possession. The style does mean that there is more possession and less outright chances, but we don't pass it around like we're at an exhibition.

 

I've said it for years. its boring when they get to the by line and turn around and pass it back. The rare instances when they decide to attack are class yes and the goals are great goals but the other 85 minutes of the game are a yawn fest.

My 8 year old said last night (actual words)

'Daddy, why don't they ever shoot'

 

Yaya Sanogo starts for Arsenal.

Arsenal XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Ozil, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanogo

 

Watching Barcelona is only boring because the teams they play against park the bus.

 

Err.. no.

 

Agreed, a combination of the negative approach of most other teams (rightly so) and Barca's refusal to budge from their philosophy (rightly so) is what makes their games boring, rather than just Barca's style.

 

Bayern Munich: Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Dante, Alaba, Thiago, Javi Martinez, Robben, Kroos, Gotze, Mandzukic

 

Arsenal did a pre-match thingy!

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Sanogo denied by a great save from Neuer!

 

Penalty to Arsenal.

 

Penalty to Arsenal!

Ozil played that fantastically.

 

Saved.