2020/21 UEFA Champions League: The Road to Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

bosox4283

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Benzema has been so good for Real Madrid this year with 27 goals between all competitions.
I just looked: Benzema is going to finish as a top-4 all-time goal scorer at Real Madrid, behind Ronaldo, Raul, and either ahead of DiStefano or just behind him.
 

Kliq

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Chelsea have their away goal and just need to take the sting out of the match. Get to halftime 1-1 and manage it out from there
I don't know, Real has looked really vulnerable with this back three, I would like to go for 3-4 goals if I'm Tuchel.
 

teddykgb

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I don't know, Real has looked really vulnerable with this back three, I would like to go for 3-4 goals if I'm Tuchel.
Yea of course you take it and playing for a second goal makes sense to chase — wouldn’t park a bus but 1-1 or 2-1 are completely fine outcomes now. Chelsea have been sucking the life out of every match lately so they just need to focus on doing what they are doing and avoid a 3-1 or worse at all costs
 

Tuff Ghost

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Pulisic would have like 3 assists if Werner weren't poop.
I like Werner, but this season he really is compiling an amazing assortment of misses.

Coming into today, he had 0 non-penalty goals and 2.0 non-penalty expected goals in Champions League this year (-2.0). (He is 3/3 on penalty kicks.)
He also has 6 non-penalty goals and 10.7 non-penalty expected in the Premier League (-4.7).

Among the Premier League players with at least 5 non-penalty goals, he is near the top of the list of having a negative difference between non-penalty goals and npxG.
40603

He is second on the list for Champions League as well:
40604

(Using fbref data)

View: https://twitter.com/UCLonCBSSports/status/1387123182629388288?s=20
 

Kliq

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Feels like the experience of Madrid's core really got this game under control after a very poor first 30 minutes. Werner's miss is going to loom very large.
 

teddykgb

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I like Werner, but this season he really is compiling an amazing assortment of misses.

Coming into today, he had 0 non-penalty goals and 2.0 non-penalty expected goals in Champions League this year (-2.0). (He is 3/3 on penalty kicks.)
He also has 6 non-penalty goals and 10.7 non-penalty expected in the Premier League (-4.7).

Among the Premier League players with at least 5 non-penalty goals, he is near the top of the list of having a negative difference between non-penalty goals and npxG.
View attachment 40603

He is second on the list for Champions League as well:
View attachment 40604

(Using fbref data)

View: https://twitter.com/UCLonCBSSports/status/1387123182629388288?s=20
I don’t think he did much wrong on the save by Courtois but the stats are fairly damning (and also the type of thing you look up while watching a match this boring)
 

Kliq

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Teddy's crappy strategy for Chelsea really bored me during the second half. Thanks Teddy!
 

cromulence

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Yes, the first 30 minutes were great and nothing has happened since. I suppose the rain doesn't help.
I was going to say, I feel like the game totally changed when it started pouring, and only really stopped for the first part of the second half. Before that, it was such a good watch, but it just got uglier and uglier.
 

Section30

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They sure limited Modric. The last 20 minutes he was leaving the sideline and hanging around the middle looking for touches.

Lots of cynical fouls by both teams. Tired players in wet conditions make managers play conservative.
 

Tuff Ghost

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I found this tidbit in The Athletic about how often Pulisic is getting fouled to be pretty interesting (fouled 11 times against Porto in the second leg and six times against Real Madrid):
In the quarter-final, Pulisic was fouled 11 times in the second leg against Porto — the most suffered by any player in a Champions League fixture since Lionel Messi 10 years ago.

Real Madrid were the ones handing out the rough treatment to Messi that night and they did so again to Pulisic. They brought him down on six occasions, which is the joint-most made on one player during a Champions League semi-final contest over the past decade.

One of the individuals Pulisic shares that dubious honour with? Hazard, who was on the receiving end while playing for Chelsea against Atletico Madrid in 2014.
I think that is another sign of how dangerous a player he can be.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Pep is doing the right thing not starting Sterling given his form. I'm also cautiously optimistic that he will actually be playing his best team doing things they're used to doing at a high level, rather than throwing in some bizarre tactical wrinkle and outthinking himself.

City's strong backline vs Neymar and Mbappe should be a great matchup.

View: https://twitter.com/5livesport/status/1387461384829603841?s=21
 

Kliq

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Seems like every time I watch PSG, Marquinos scores a big goal.
 

bosox4283

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I just tuned in. Is Pochettino parking the bus and playing for a counter, or did I just capture a moment when PSG reverted to a defensive format'?
 

teddykgb

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I just tuned in. Is Pochettino parking the bus and playing for a counter, or did I just capture a moment when PSG reverted to a defensive format'?
Hadn’t parked at all but played a lot on the counter. You just tuned in as City started to get more settled PSG were arguably throttling City early on
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Nice ball from KDB but that was piss poor by Navas. Potentially a huge moment given that its an away goal.

I think City would feel pretty good coming out of this at 1-1 if that is how it ends.

Edit: But 2-1 is probably better.
 

Kliq

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Wow, this is a meltdown from PSG. City have outplayed PSG in this half but they PSG has done them no favors. The distribution coming from PSGs defenders and midfielders has been awful.
 

teddykgb

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Yes City need to press advantage here they will have no better chance

edit: Match had settled into City against a deep block so the loss of a man doesn’t change a ton. Even Mbappe will still be dangerous on break
 

Kliq

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Really embarrassing second half from PSG. It did not have to be that way.
 

teddykgb

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A lot of people hate City so much they can talk themselves into rooting for Neymars antics.

Im now fully prepared for agent Lahoz in Manchester next week.
 

Kliq

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I think I speak for most neutrals here when I say that my rooting interests are solely based around Christian Pulisic.
 

Dummy Hoy

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While their skill levels are through the roof I find them boring to watch. Too much collective, not enough individuality.

Edit: and I don’t hate City (just hard to root for teams owned by petro states - PSG not withstanding)
I think your biases may be showing but to each their own.

That City collective has provided a stage for the individual talents of guys like Aguero and Sterling and Sane and De Bruyne and Silva and Mahrez and (etc.) to shine on.

And I'm far from a supporter of the rich, but they've been very fun to watch the last 1/2 dozen years.
 

coremiller

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I think I speak for most neutrals here when I say that my rooting interests are solely based around Christian Pulisic.
I'm rooting for Pochettino.

I think your biases may be showing but to each their own.

That City collective has provided a stage for the individual talents of guys like Aguero and Sterling and Sane and De Bruyne and Silva and Mahrez and (etc.) to shine on.

And I'm far from a supporter of the rich, but they've been very fun to watch the last 1/2 dozen years.
City have shifted style this year to focus more on defensive possession and less on all-out attack. It's been very effective, but it's less fun to watch.

City-Cheslea has the potential to be dreadfully dull, as anyone who watched their FA Cup semifinal can attest to.
 

teddykgb

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It is not accurate that City have been more defensive. City bought Dias and he is awesome. Otherwise they’ve played Gundogan further forward and gave Rodri more responsibility as a lone holding midfielder while keeping the fullbacks inverted to support. City have been more attacking this season, not defensive.

But that Fa cup match may have been one of the most boring matches ever played so that part is super accurate
 

Kliq

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My biggest problem with Citeh from a watchability standpoint is that they are really cynical when it comes to snuffing out counter attacks, hacking players down and daring the ref to card them. Watching the Tottenham/PSG games back-to-back has really highlighted that wart.
 

Zososoxfan

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Order of preference:

1. PSG-Chelsea --> fuck Madrid
2. PSG-Madrid --> I love watching Mbappe. Will love Poch forever and always. They play an open style. I like them in spite of Ney.
3. City-Madrid --> OK with this from an entertainment standpoint, but I will seethe at the sight of Ramos
...
2463453452. City-Chelsea --> I HATE when the final is a domestic matchup