Yeah, the game resulted in a draw, but seriously Valencia should have won that game. They were the better team and missed two clear tap ins. It was crazy and also missed a penalty as well. Literally should've been 5-2 Valencia. Ugh, but yeah Chelsea should advance now because I don't see Lille taking points off them in Stamford Bridge.
As expected, Inter vs Dortmund comes down to the wire in 2 weeks. Barcelona are already group winners. Probably will field a second team and it is in Italy. Inter have a great chance to win the game, or at least draw that game. Slavia Prague is eliminated but they are new in the UCL and might want to try and get a few more points. Also they have taken points from both Inter and Barcelona, so if they can do that, then I don't see why they can't against Dortmund. Dortmund needs to better Inter's result if they want to progress. Inter has the head to head so if both teams to the same, Inter will progress. As for Group E, I am pretty confident that Liverpool and Napoli will advance, but Salzburg is still in this. Napoli should be able to beat Genk at home, but Napoli does have a reputation of dropping points against teams they are supposed to be beating easily. Salzburg is not a team to be underestimated, especially at home. Group C, with Donetsk, Atalanta, and Dinamo Zagreb is also a very tough battle. I think Shakhtar Donetsk will take second spot, but it is very close.
I think you guys will put it off, you have a strong squad and a strong coach. I'm not sure how badly you guys are willing to let go of the Champions League for a Premier League though ...
8 days after playing Inter, Barcelona hosts El Clasico on Wednesday 18 December. In between, they go to sixth place Real Sociedad. Does anyone know if a CL group has ever had a three-way tie for first? Since Salzburg lost 4-3 at Liverpool, Salzburg wins the head-to-head goal differential tiebreaker with a win by at least 2; head-to-head away goals with a 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 win; and overall goal differential with a 4-3 win. If Salzburg wins and Napoli wins hosting Genk, Napoli will be first and Salzburg will be second. If Salzburg wins and Napoli draws, there will be a three-way tie with 10 points. Napoli will be first with 8 three-way head-to-head points. Salzburg and Liverpool will have 4 three-way head-to-head points, and Salzburg will have the better three-way head-to-head goal differential. In the unlikely event that Salzburg wins by 1 with a score of 5-4 or higher, the tiebreakers make the unusual situation of Liverpool advancing if Napoli wins but not if Napoli draws. Of the clubs who end on 10 December, 10 may or may not advance. Of the clubs who end on 11 December, 5 may or may not advance.
Why? You have Joe Gomez. You already have an out and out defender in vvd. Gomez is your ball playing defender
As always Inter bottles it. Hopefully Atalanta can do it tonight. I don't know, Shakhtar Donetsk can be a really strong team at home, but hopefully Atalanta plays the game of their lives. We should also hope Man City wins as well.
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 Atalanta (Shakhtar got a straight red when it was 0-1) Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 Man City (Dinamo Zagreb scored first)
England, Spain, Italy and Germany all smiling. Representing 14 of the 16 teams in the knockout rounds.
https://www.fifa.com/news/the-week-in-numbers-x4960 says: "5 nations – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – is all that will be represented in the Champions League’s Round of 16 for the first time. Atalanta became the second side to lose their opening three group matches (they scored two and conceded 11 in those) and reach the knockout phase, following in the footsteps of an Alan Shearer-spearheaded Newcastle United in 2002." Those five countries had 19 clubs. The 3 eliminated clubs were Bayer Leverkusen third with 6 points (behind Juventus' 16 and Atletico Madrid's 10), Inter Milan third with 7 (behind Barcelona's 14 and Borussia Dortmund's 10), and Lille fourth with 1 (behind Valencia's 11, Chelsea's 11, and Ajax's 10). Lille was the only one of the 19 clubs to finish behind one of the other 13 clubs.
OK so the draw is out: Italy: Juventus should make it through comfortably. I am afraid it is over for Napoli. Barcelona are a top team, and while I hope to be wrong, I don't think Napoli has much of a chance. Hopefully Napoli will fight hard though and if they go out as expected, it will be after a huge fight. Atalanta, OMG. They got the best draw possible to be honest. Valencia or RB Leipzig was their best chance and they got Valencia. Valencia is still a strong team, but so is Atalanta at this rate, and this could go either way. I think Atalanta can do it if they fight really hard which they are masters at. England: Tottenham Hotspur should make it through without any problems. It will be a tough fight, but I expect to see them through in the end. I am going to make a bold prediction and say that Manchester City is going out. Real Madrid under Zidane are very strong, and as always Pep will fail against a big team. I don't remember the last time that Pep Guardiola won a UCL game that he was not strong favorites against. Chelsea is likely going out as well. Liverpool is 50-50. Honestly Atletico might have been the worst draw they could get mainly due to the way Atletico Madrid play. Seriously it is going to take something very special for Liverpool to break down Simeone defense. OMG, I cannot wait for this match, it is going to be so fun to watch. Germany: Dortmund is going out. Bayern Munich should advance. RB Leipzig is likely going out but they have a slight chance.
RB Leipzig leads the Bundesliga. Tottenham is fifth in the Premier League, and their points per game and goal differential per game are worse than usual for a fifth place club. Atletico continues to play good defense, but they have scored only 18 goals in 17 La Liga games. Against a club as good as Liverpool, Atletico could defend well and lose 1-0 or 2-1. I agree that Atalanta got an easy draw. If I had to pick the pairing most likely to have the winner get blown out in the Quarterfinals, it would be Valencia (eighth in La Liga) vs. Atalanta (sixth in Serie A). Lazio is third in Serie A, but went out of the EL with only 6 points. That's better than they usually do in Serie A and worse than they usually do in the EL. Did they prioritize Serie A over the EL? Before the draw, ESPNFC had hosts who said Liverpool should be favored because they are the defending champion and way ahead of Man City in the Premier League, but Man City are the favorite in betting odds. A poll of fans at https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-ch...real-madrid-vs-man-city-atletico-vs-liverpool says: Liverpool: 29% Barcelona: 20% Man City: 14% Juventus: 12% Real Madrid: 5% Bayern Munich: 4% Tottenham: 4% PSG: 3% Atletico: 3% Other (which includes seven clubs): 6%
we are also forgetting these games are not played for 8 -10 weeks, team form and injurys could play apart
Can you trust Lazio? If you can, you have a lot to learn. Lazio cannot be trusted in any European tournament. They are honestly a joke of a team in my opinion. They always find ways to lose even if they are strong favorites. In Serie A, the reason why Lazio is 3rd is because they are just a team with consistency but not that great. Many other teams below them are much better at their best but struggle to find consistency in the league throughout the season. No doubt that Lazio did not take the Europa League too seriously, but still, this is one example out of every year we see them. Never Ever trust Lazio in a European Tournament.