I'd add Asencio and Isco to the list. Asencio in particular is so smooth on the ball and has his head up more consistently than just about any other player I've seen.yeah, Marcelo is easy to like, Modric too, but the favoritism they got today was so bad I couldn't even finish watching. It was enough to make you feel sympathy for Arjen Robben, for crying out loud (who was absolutely busting his ass out there, especially once Lewandowski was subbed out).
Well, you probably missed the first leg, then. That outrageous penalty the ref gifted Bayern could've decided this draw, had Vidal not flubbed it.I would like to see a big match in Europe where Real Madrid or Barcelona gets porked by a ref. It's amazing how consistently bad calls go their way.
Unless there was something wrong with Slimani, not even placing him on the Leicester's bench is baffling to me.
Although I don't think anyone in Italy will have much sympathy for Juventus if they end up on the wrong end of dodgy officiating.Not looking forward to officiating like this at the Camp Nou tomorrow...
Thanks!! The victory over Leicester was not pretty, but I think anyone paying attention to the sport knew that Atletico and Leicester play similar styles and would, therefore, play in a way to be the team not beat by a counter attack.Also, congrats to Bosox who has to be thrilled to be thru to the semis again. Aesthetics aside, I'd much rather have them win UCL than Real.
Like I said.Pulisic and Dembele are both on the bench today. Trying to bring a second half barrage against tired legs, I guess, but I'd be concerned about the leaky BVB defense making it a greater uphill climb before they can even hit the pitch.
They just showed him warming up with Dembele - 20 minutes in. Oops.Serves them right for not putting Pulisic on the field.
I switched over after Falcao's goal, and this sure is spot on.Credit to the ref so far for not falling for any Barca theatrics...and there are a lot of theatrics.
Yeah, the issue isn't necessarily being poor defensively so much as thinking there was hope today in any tactic that didn't involve trying to score score score.No one has really had an answer on defense for Monaco, though I guess BVB is particularly leaky. Gotta say Monaco is sure fun to watch, particularly Mbappe
It´s not as if Dortmund´s chance to advance was good. Maybe ~10%. There´s the away match vs. Bayern in a week in the DFB cup semifinal coming up and they have to overtake Hoffenheim to secure 3rd place. 4th place probably brings CL football, too, but nobody wants to play the qualification matches and start early*.Tuechel's team selection didn't make sense to me, and now it REALLY doesn't work.
No clearer sign of Serie A's decline over the last 10 years than neutrals pulling for Juve!So my order of preference for winner is:
Juve for Gigi
Monaco
Atletti
Real
I know Atleti has a Chinese owner, so I'm not naive to the fact that top-tier clubs tend to rely on foreign capital to spend enough money to compete, but I'm not sure a neutral should root for a team owned by a guy like Dmitry Rybolovlev. He's the guy who bought Trump's mansion in Florida for an insane price that was way over the price Trump paid for it a few years ago.Monaco has to be on top, if you're a neutral.
Yes, when it comes to both of our clubs, we should take a "see no evil, speak no evil" approach to Jorge Mendes and transfers.Football Leaks also showed that he and Mendes, the super agent, were doing sketchy things with transfer fees. Then again, I know a football journalist who argues that many teams, including Atletico and Monaco, are, in a sense, world-class money laundering operations.
If I was in Monaco, going to a game would be right behind hanging out on a yacht with models.On a completely unrelated note, my brother showed me a picture of Monaco's stadium yesterday. Going to a game there immediately went on the bucket list. I mean:
Well, when you put it that way! But I think I could manage to stomach skipping an afternoon of Trumping French women to check out a world-class soccer match in that palace.If I was in Monaco, going to a game would be right behind hanging out on a yacht with models.