Yep, I won’t feel bad about getting the Thai special version of that one.
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Soccer/football thread 2022
- Thread starter Priller
- Start date
Yep, I won’t feel bad about getting the Thai special version of that one.
Priller
Well-known member
No change at the top of the Premier League this weekend, but Chelsea looked awful against Brentford (and Eriksen scored!), ManU had an anemic draw against Leicester, and Tottenham smashed Newcastle. Currently watching Arsenal get outplayed by Palace, who look incredible despite having almost nothing to play for. If this stands, Arsenal will have frittered away their games in hand, leaving Spurs (!) as the form team (!) for the last Champions League spot.
Germany had no surprises except Dortmund doing their usual job of melting down just as there was hope of a possible title fight. Italy had some big games, with Inter stealing points against a deceptively good Juve, and Napoli staying in the fight with a win at Atalanta, which was equally good for Roma. Roma also won to start shaping towards the first sustained period of success this season. May be too late for the CL, though. Milan currently goalless against Bologna, but lots of time left.
Champions League is back tomorrow, and then the big one between Liverpool and City on Sunday. Liverpool's best hope is to stay healthy and come out of the game against Benfica less exhausted than City from the Atleti dirtiness.
Germany had no surprises except Dortmund doing their usual job of melting down just as there was hope of a possible title fight. Italy had some big games, with Inter stealing points against a deceptively good Juve, and Napoli staying in the fight with a win at Atalanta, which was equally good for Roma. Roma also won to start shaping towards the first sustained period of success this season. May be too late for the CL, though. Milan currently goalless against Bologna, but lots of time left.
Champions League is back tomorrow, and then the big one between Liverpool and City on Sunday. Liverpool's best hope is to stay healthy and come out of the game against Benfica less exhausted than City from the Atleti dirtiness.
Priller
Well-known member
4-1 would have been great had Jota finished that last chance, as it really would have put the tie to bed. I could only catch the last 20 minutes, but Twitter was full of nervous Liverpudlians after Benfica seemed to start the second half strong. No real surprises, but I'll take it...
Of bigger concern was that Atleti seemed to go full turtle mode against City, registering zero shots, on or off target. While they apparently kicked Grealish around a lot when he came on, they also didn't make City run very much, which I wanted for the Sunday game. I think Atletico was trying to keep the damage to a minimum and hopes to take advantage of a tired City side next Wednesday.
Tomorrow has Chelsea v Madrid, which could be interesting. In the Premier League, Everton takes on Burnley, which could have huge relegation implications...
If they messed Grealish’s hair up that will be a help for Saturday. It will take him a week to recover.
Priller
Well-known member
I actually watched most of this one over the Champions League games yesterday, and it was fascinating. Neither team was great, but Burnley just went after Everton in a way they rarely do, and it worked. Everton are so fragile defensively, with huge errors and miscommunication happening multiple times a game, and Burnley took advantage.
It'll be interesting to see how Everton respond. On paper, they have by far the best squad among the teams fighting relegation, but they have the worst coach (also by far) and there is some indefinable crapness that has set into this group of players which seems to transcend managers, good and bad. Maybe relegation would be good for them long-term, finally allowing them to clear house and start fresh. The bigger problem for the club is they're already on the edge financially, and losing Premier League revenue could be catastrophic, collapsing the house of cards.
Elsewhere, Madrid took advantage of an uncharacteristically sloppy Chelsea, and I don't see this version of the blues coming back from two down. Maybe one, but this is a team built to play with a lead, and I think they'll struggle to win so decisively away. Including the embarrassment against Brentford on the weekend, maybe all the drama around the Abramovich sanctions and sale of the club are finally affecting the team.
Bayern was legit outplayed by Villarreal, from the bits I watched (started with BUR-EVE, switched to CHE-RMA until halftime, switched back to EVE-BUR until it ended, then watched the last 20-30 mins of VIL-BMU), and while they did have some possession as Villarreal closed up shop to preserve the lead, they never looked particularly dangerous. The only concern for Villarreal is they maybe should have had more than one, and a bit like Salzburg in the last round, will have too much to do against Bayern at home.
Lots going on for a Wednesday. Now I need to hang on until Sunday, which has become a final in its own right. I genuinely have no feel for how it will play out, with both City and Liverpool playing good but not great lately, with energy preservation clearly a priority for both clubs.
Robbo
Well-known member
They deserved it and the crowd was inspiring.
Not enough attacking creativity from my team. So so disappointing. They should change the team name to Maverage United.
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Priller
Well-known member
Good grief.
I actually thought this would be a tougher one for Everton, as ManU actually had (no longer has) something to play for in chasing that Champions League spot. Usually the best teams to face in the late season run-in are the mid-table squads (see Leicester) who aren't fearing relegation or chasing European spots. I also thought some of the ManU players might be trying to impress, with the rumours being that they'd agreed a deal with Ten Haag for next year. The opposite may he true, with some desperately wanting out...
All the ex-ManU chattering heads in the media don't help, with Rio Ferdinand in particular being consistently and relentlessly wrong in just about every 'take' he's had since Fergie left. He, Scholes, and Hargreaves (*spits*) are like a Greek chorus of wrong: DNA! Culture! United way! This is Manchester United we're talking about here! Big club! Passion! You play for the badge!
Everton has to stay up now. Goodison can help, but they need to grab some away points. They won't need many, but Burnley won't go away to easily.
Just watching Bayern take on Augsburg. Davies isn't starting, sadly. Augsburg playing hard, and on the edge of a relegation battle of their own. I suspect Munich will prevail, though...
Both Arsenal and Spurs in action today. Should be a fun battle for that Champions League spot, as well as Tottenham trying to avoid St Totteringham's Day for another year...
Arsenal down 1-0 after 1/2 hour.
Priller
Well-known member
Oh, Arsenal. Switched over to watch MotoGP FP3, came back in time to watch Arsenal drop more points. Look forward to the absolute bananas reaction from the Gunners supporters, the most overreactive in the world. Brighton is a team that I'm very happy is in the Premier League. Fun to watch, even if they struggle to line up their actual G with the xG...
Also, Chelsea hammering a hapless Southampton to take out their frustration at gifting Madrid such a big lead midweek. It was maybe a question whether they'd drop out of 3rd, but it's not going to happen.
How did Davies play? Saw Bayern stole it with a pen...
Also, Chelsea hammering a hapless Southampton to take out their frustration at gifting Madrid such a big lead midweek. It was maybe a question whether they'd drop out of 3rd, but it's not going to happen.
How did Davies play? Saw Bayern stole it with a pen...
From what I saw he didn’t factor much - but I admittedly wasn’t paying 100% attention.
Spurs went up 1-0 after 3 mins
Priller
Well-known member
Uh, not a good start. Liverpool looked like they were happy to ease into things and were caught out by the sudden tempo jump by City.
I'm weirdly chill about this one, as it's all gravy at this point, but it'd be nice to see this one go to the wire...
EDIT: terrible first half for Liverpool, with the usually steady Fabinho looking completely out of sorts. Mane and Salah also struggling with touch. One where halftime was very welcome to find a tactical fix. Lucky to only be one down. Don't see Liverpool winning this, but they might steal a draw if City loses focus like they sometimes do...
I'm weirdly chill about this one, as it's all gravy at this point, but it'd be nice to see this one go to the wire...
EDIT: terrible first half for Liverpool, with the usually steady Fabinho looking completely out of sorts. Mane and Salah also struggling with touch. One where halftime was very welcome to find a tactical fix. Lucky to only be one down. Don't see Liverpool winning this, but they might steal a draw if City loses focus like they sometimes do...
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