2019/20 Soccer Thread

I dont think *anyone* would have backed Norwich to beat City today, given their injuries. Good going.

omni wrote:

I dont think *anyone* would have backed Norwich to beat City today, given their injuries. Good going.

What a marvelous match that was for Norwich! I sat down to watch figuring 7-0 Man City. Simply amazing.

Most shocking result of the season so far, or of the season when it ends?

Also a great confidence-restoring win for Tottenham to 4-0 Palace.

Too early to say season, Liverpool could throw a stinker and lose to Aston Villa 2-0 or something, but still a monumental shock. I wouldn't have had City down for anything less than 4 goals.

Champions League is back – but don’t expect a real match until February

In the distance the anthem swells. Inappropriate advertising hoardings are covered up. A continent prepares to give thanks to Gazprom for providing them with football. The Champions League returns on Tuesday, unleashing an excited flurry of anticipatory questions: Can Liverpool defend their crown? Will Pep Guardiola stop overcomplicating things and, after a nine-year break, finally lift his third European title as a manager? Will Juventus’s gamble on Cristiano Ronaldo pay off? Are Barcelona and Real Madrid as shambolic as they appear? Who will Paris Saint‑Germain lose to hilariously this time? But mostly, when does the real stuff start?

Does any other competition that so regularly ends so brilliantly go through such a protracted clearing of the throat? Last season only one side managed to eliminate a club with a higher annual revenue in the group stage. The year before there were four sides eliminated by teams with lower annual revenues and before that just one again. Of the last 48 teams to reach the knockout stages, only six did not follow a remorseless financial logic – and even then it is hard to claim that Ajax or Basel putting out Benfica, or Roma qualifying ahead of Atlético Madrid, really counts as especially noteworthy.

Look at the bookmakers’ odds. Groups A, B, D and E are regarded as foregone conclusions, with even the second favourites to qualify 9-2 on or shorter. Only Group F appears as a genuine four-way battle, with Zenit, seeded in the highest pot by dint of winning the Russian championship, fourth favourites to go through at 6-4. That in effect means that in the other seven groups, there will be 84 matches to decide whether Atalanta’s high press can oust a Shakhtar in transition after the departure of Paulo Fonseca, whether Antonio Conte can bring enough focus to Internazionale to challenge Borussia Dortmund and whether Valencia can overcome the chaos prompted by the dismissal of their manager, Marcelino, this past week to edge out Ajax.

Or to put that another way, in six of the eight groups one side is rated 50-1 or longer to come top. The Czech champions, Slavia Prague – drawn with Barcelona, Dortmund and Inter – are 100-1, which is to say the same starting price as Foinavon, the most outlandish Grand National winner in history.

This is the curse of the competition: it is not just that there is a small cabal of super-clubs far stronger than the rest; it is that there is also a small group of outsiders whose only chance is whatever the football equivalent of a pile-up at the 23rd fence would be. Dinamo Zagreb, for instance, have won the Croatian league in 13 of the last 14 seasons; in that time they have totalled four points in Champions League group games. Lose the game, take the money, go home, win the league, repeat, trapped on a mezzanine of futility.

Arsenal did an Arsenal vs Norwich.

I wait that was City! Couldn't tell their back lines apart.

I think the bigger problem than dropping 1 game away is that without Laporte they looked comical at the back. How many more points will drop as it's a Feburary injury.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Most shocking result of the season so far, or of the season when it ends?

City had a few similar games last season where they clearly went into a game fully expecting a walkover and got something completely different. They look like a side that are occasionally prone to complacency and hubris. Of course they usually shake that off by the end of the season. I do wonder if Pep’s been told ‘win the champions league now’ though.

It’s a nice result for Liverpool (obviously!) but I wouldn’t be panicking if I were a city fan. Liverpool have about 3 months now where they are playing 2 games a week. That’s a lot of games.

Edit: I’m watching Match of the Day. Gary Lineker has just introduced the Liverpool v Newcastle game as ‘the Michael Owen derby’ with Alan Shearer sat next to him. Went down surprisingly well all things considered!

From the BBC website match feed:

Emery has attempted to fix an error-prone back line by adding more error-prone players to the mix. Bit like giving a child with toothache more sweets to distract him from the pain.

Elton, London.

Also, that Ansu Fati kid at Barcelona. Way too early to be seriously saying "Next Big Thing," but......

Well done, Watford!

Table looking fairly "normal" this week. Goal differential is in line for 1-13.

for posterity since it's unlikely to stay:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/XKQ1Q7T.png)

Maybe even extra surprising since I don't have Mane so I missed out on his brace.

Hard to take you seriously with this.

Prederick wrote:

Champions League is back – but don’t expect a real match until February

In the distance the anthem swells. Inappropriate advertising hoardings are covered up. A continent prepares to give thanks to Gazprom for providing them with football. The Champions League returns on Tuesday, unleashing an excited flurry of anticipatory questions: Can Liverpool defend their crown? Will Pep Guardiola stop overcomplicating things and, after a nine-year break, finally lift his third European title as a manager? Will Juventus’s gamble on Cristiano Ronaldo pay off? Are Barcelona and Real Madrid as shambolic as they appear? Who will Paris Saint‑Germain lose to hilariously this time? But mostly, when does the real stuff start?

Does any other competition that so regularly ends so brilliantly go through such a protracted clearing of the throat? Last season only one side managed to eliminate a club with a higher annual revenue in the group stage. The year before there were four sides eliminated by teams with lower annual revenues and before that just one again. Of the last 48 teams to reach the knockout stages, only six did not follow a remorseless financial logic – and even then it is hard to claim that Ajax or Basel putting out Benfica, or Roma qualifying ahead of Atlético Madrid, really counts as especially noteworthy.

Look at the bookmakers’ odds. Groups A, B, D and E are regarded as foregone conclusions, with even the second favourites to qualify 9-2 on or shorter. Only Group F appears as a genuine four-way battle, with Zenit, seeded in the highest pot by dint of winning the Russian championship, fourth favourites to go through at 6-4. That in effect means that in the other seven groups, there will be 84 matches to decide whether Atalanta’s high press can oust a Shakhtar in transition after the departure of Paulo Fonseca, whether Antonio Conte can bring enough focus to Internazionale to challenge Borussia Dortmund and whether Valencia can overcome the chaos prompted by the dismissal of their manager, Marcelino, this past week to edge out Ajax.

Or to put that another way, in six of the eight groups one side is rated 50-1 or longer to come top. The Czech champions, Slavia Prague – drawn with Barcelona, Dortmund and Inter – are 100-1, which is to say the same starting price as Foinavon, the most outlandish Grand National winner in history.

This is the curse of the competition: it is not just that there is a small cabal of super-clubs far stronger than the rest; it is that there is also a small group of outsiders whose only chance is whatever the football equivalent of a pile-up at the 23rd fence would be. Dinamo Zagreb, for instance, have won the Croatian league in 13 of the last 14 seasons; in that time they have totalled four points in Champions League group games. Lose the game, take the money, go home, win the league, repeat, trapped on a mezzanine of futility.

I mean... Some time ago, the group stage was where all the excitement happened because in the next rounds the teams were too scared to suffer goals, now it's the opposite?
Aren't all the mid-table teams around the world leagues in a "a mezzanine of futility" too?
Of course, we all expect the same teams to go through, but when a surprise happens it wouldn't be a surprise if it happened all the time.
All I can say is that the non-English football fans are anxiously waiting for tomorrow.

That Watford goal was glorious, thanks for sharing it!

Fedaykin98 wrote:

That Watford goal was glorious, thanks for sharing it!

Was actually illegal. He was in the box when it was played.

Arsenal are comical at the back still. They probably should of lost on the balance of play and errors.

Both Arsenal goals were actually amazing team play.

jowner wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

That Watford goal was glorious, thanks for sharing it!

Was actually illegal. He was in the box when it was played.

When the keeper kicks it to his defender the Watford player is standing on the line. It looks legal to me. Is there something I'm missing?

slazev wrote:

I mean... Some time ago, the group stage was where all the excitement happened because in the next rounds the teams were too scared to suffer goals, now it's the opposite?
Aren't all the mid-table teams around the world leagues in a "a mezzanine of futility" too?
Of course, we all expect the same teams to go through, but when a surprise happens it wouldn't be a surprise if it happened all the time.
All I can say is that the non-English football fans are anxiously waiting for tomorrow.

And to be fair, both of last year's CL finalists barely scraped out of their groups.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
jowner wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

That Watford goal was glorious, thanks for sharing it!

Was actually illegal. He was in the box when it was played.

When the keeper kicks it to his defender the Watford player is standing on the line. It looks legal to me. Is there something I'm missing?

They had a zoomed in replay where it was questionable if the player was already in the box.

Regardless Arsenal would of conceded in another comical way.

Meanwhile, Fulham are 3-2-2, but are two points off the playoffs and five points off promotion. Given what we know about the Championship, as long as they're within touching distance by Christmas, I won't draw any serious conclusions yet, although our defense is still a bit ropey.

EDIT: Also remembered today that GREECE somehow won Euro 2004, despite playing god-awful anti-football. Go figure.

jowner wrote:
Godzilla Blitz wrote:
jowner wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

That Watford goal was glorious, thanks for sharing it!

Was actually illegal. He was in the box when it was played.

When the keeper kicks it to his defender the Watford player is standing on the line. It looks legal to me. Is there something I'm missing?

They had a zoomed in replay where it was questionable if the player was already in the box.

Regardless Arsenal would of conceded in another comical way.

Goddamn it, this is pissing me off and English isn't even my native language!
IT'S HAVE! IT'S WOULD HAVE! WOULD'VE!

Prederick wrote:

Meanwhile, Fulham are 3-2-2, but are two points off the playoffs and five points off promotion. Given what we know about the Championship, as long as they're within touching distance by Christmas, I won't draw any serious conclusions yet, although our defense is still a bit ropey.

EDIT: Also remembered today that GREECE somehow won Euro 2004, despite playing god-awful anti-football. Go figure.

As a Portuguese, this is very difficult to say, but they actually played great defensively in that tournament. If you feel that's anti-football, I won't say otherwise, since that's subjective. The same was said for a long time about the Italian teams.

Grammar pffft.

Here it comes!

Man, all the interesting group stage UCL matches today are in the later time slot - including Barca - Dortmund, one of the most interesting ties offered by this stage. Sadly, I'll be protesting my property taxes right as that starts.

Cagliari will not be punished for the racist chants against Lukaku, because (and I quote the Italian soccer federation) "the size and perception were not discriminatory".

They were fined €5000 for throwing plastic bottles on the field though.

So what do you guys think of size and perception? Judge for yourself!

Napoli 2-0ed Liverpool?!?!?! I have to give my soccer talk buddy at work a wide berth...

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Napoli 2-0ed Liverpool?!?!?! I have to give my soccer talk buddy at work a wide berth...

Yeah Liverpool should have put the game to bed in the second half but some uncharacteristic sloppiness in front of goal, a penalty that probably wasn't and an error from well know gaff merchant Virgil Van Dijk, and Napoli come away with the spoils. To be fair they were the better team in the first half, but Liverpool were dominant for most of the second. They just didn't score.

It won't matter so long as they beat Chelsea though. I think most Liverpool fans would happily sacrifice everything else this season to win the EPL.

Sorbicol wrote:

I think most Liverpool fans would happily sacrifice everything else this season to win the EPL.

I'm not thrilled they lost, but also...losing away at Napoli worked out pretty ok last year?

Didn't Liverpool lose all away games in the group stage last year? It's all good... for now.

Apparently, this is a recurring thing.
The visiting team' supporters throw the soft toys to kids from a local children's hospital.

If Manchester City could do that to Shakhtar, imagine what Norwich could do?

Realol. Jump to May 2020. Real is the champion. Wait, what?!