UEFA Champions League 2015 2016

Today in the first leg of Qualifying Round 2, some seeded clubs didn't do as well as I expected and they're denoted with a * below (a ^ means a seeded club that I'm not referring to):

Ventspils (Latvia) 1:3 HJK Helsinki (Finland)^
APOEL Nicosia* (Cyprus) 0:0 Vardar (FYR Macedonia)
Midtjylland (Denmark)* 1:0 Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar)
Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria)* 0:1 Milsami Orhei (Moldova)
Hibernians (Malta) 2:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)*
Molde (Norway)^ 5:0 Pyunik Yerevan (Armenia)
Skenderbeu Korce (Albania)^ 4:1 Crusaders (Northern Ireland)
The New Saints (Wales) 0:1 Videoton (Hungary)^
Maribor (Slovenia)* 1:0 Astana (Kazakhstan)
AS Trencin (Slovakia) 0:2 Steaua Bucuresti (Romania)^
Partizan (Serbia)^ 1:0 Dila Gori (Georgia)
Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) 0:2 Lech Poznan (Poland)^

Dila Gori had the only red card for any of the 24 clubs. It was in the 82nd minute for a second yellow and Partizan scored in the 83rd minute. I was shocked that the Bet365 odds thought AS Trencin (4.250 coefficient) was more likely to win than Steaua Bucuresti (40.259 coefficient which is 9.47 times AS Trencin's coefficient). With that big a gap I expected Steaua Bucuresti to be favored even in their away leg, and they won. There are 5 first legs tomorrow.

 

BATE Borisov and Dinamo Zagreb did worse than I expected. Dinamo Zagreb-Folas Esch was a rematch from two seasons ago when Dinamo Zagreb won the aggregate 6:0. Here are today's final scores with a * denoting the seeded club:

Qarabag (Azerbaijan)* 0:0 Rudar Pljevlja (Montenegro)
Malmo FF (Sweden)* 0:0 Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania)
BATE Borisov (Belarus)* 2:1 Dundalk (Ireland)
Celtic (Scotland)* 2:0 Stjarnan (Iceland)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)* 1:1 CS Fola Esch (Luxembourg)

CS Fola Esch got a straight red card in the 64th minute, but no goals were scored after that. That was the only red card for the ten clubs.

 

Qualifying Round 2 second leg and aggregate results with the club that advanced in bold (I'm not typing the countries or who is seeded again, look above for that):

Dila Gori 0:2 Partizan (0:3 aggregate)
Pyunik Yerevan 1:0 Molde (1:5 aggregate)
Milsami Orhei 2:1 Ludogorets Razgrad (3:1 aggregate)
HJK Helsinki 1:0 Ventspils (4:1 aggregate)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 5:1 Hibernians (6:3 aggregate)
Lincoln Red Imps 0:2 Midtjylland (0:3 aggregate)
Vardar 1:1 APOEL Nicosia (1:1 aggregate, decided by away goals)
Zalgiris Vilnius 0:1 Malmo FF (0:1 aggregate)
Crusaders 3:2 Skenderbeu Korce (4:6 aggregate)

After impressive wins over Ludogorets Razgrad, Milsami Orhei faces Skenderbeu Korce next. The winner of that matchup will reach the Group Stage of the Champions League or the Europa League.

 

Qualifying Round 2 second leg and aggregate results with the club that advanced in bold (I'm not typing the countries or who is seeded again, look above for that):

Astana 3:1 Maribor (3:2 aggregate, Astana got a red card in the 67th minute but Maribor couldn't score again to survive)
CS Fola Esch 0:3 Dinamo Zagreb (1:4 aggregate)
Steaua Bucuresti 2:3 Trencin (4:3 aggregate)
Videoton 1:1 The New Saints (2:1 aggregate, Videoton scored the only goal of extra time and then The New Saints got a red card)
Dundalk 0:0 BATE Borisov
Lech Poznan 1:0 Sarajevo
Rudar Pljevlja 0:1 Qarabag (0:1 aggregate)
Stjarnan 1:4 Celtic (1:6 aggregate)

 

Here are today's Qualifying Round 3 Leg 1 scores with the seeded club denoted by a *

CSKA Moscow (Russia)* 2:2 Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Midtjylland (Denmark) 1:2 APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)*
Milsami Orhei (Moldova)* 0:2 Skenderbeu Korce (Albania)
Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 1:2 Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)*
Fenerbahce (Turkey) 0:0 Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)*
Panathinaikos (Greece) 2:1 Club Brugge (Belgium)*
Young Boys (Switzerland) 1:3 AS Monaco (France)*
Videoton (Hungary) 1:1 BATE Borisov (Belarus)*
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)* 1:1 Molde FK (Norway)

AS Monaco was seeded with a 31.483 coefficient, which is barely better than Young Boys' 31.375 coefficient. Milsami Orhei was seeded because they took the coefficient of Ludogorets Razgrad who they beat in Qualifying Round 2, but Skenderbeu Korce has a higher coefficient than Milsami Orhei. Dinamo Zagreb and Panathinaikos got the only red cards.

 

Here are today's Qualifying Round 3 Leg 1 scores with the seeded club denoted by a *

HJK Helsinki (Finland) 0:0 Astana (Kazahstan)*
Salzburg (Austria)* 2:0 Malmo FF (Sweden)
Steaua Bucuresti (Romania)* 1:1 Partizan (Serbia)
Celtic (Scotland)* 1:0 Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
Lech Poznan (Poland) 1:3 Basel (Switzerland)*
Rapid Vienna (Austria) 2:2 Ajax (Netherlands)*

Astana was seeded because they took the coefficient of NK Maribor of Slovenia, but HJK Helsinki has a higher coefficient than Astana. Lech Poznan, Basel, and Rapid Vienna each got a red card. Rapid Vienna scored an equalizer while down 1 man.

 

Here are today's Qualifying Round 3 Leg 2 scores with the seeded club denoted by a * and the club that advanced in bold:

Molde (Norway) 3:3 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)* (4:4 aggregate, Dinamo Zagreb advanced on away goals 3:1, Dinamo Zagreb scored the first 3 goals and Molde came back to tie but were eliminated, Molde's third goal was when they were down a man, Molde failed on two penalty kicks)

APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)* 0:1 Midtjylland (Denmark) (2:2 aggregate, APOEL Nicosia advanced on away goals 2:1, Midtjylland scored in the third minute but couldn't take advantage of APOEL Nicosia's straight red card in the 30th minute)

Ajax (Netherlands)* 2:3 Rapid Vienna (Austria) (4:5 aggregate)

AS Monaco (France)* 4:0 Young Boys (Switzerland) (7:1 aggregate)

There will be 11 second legs tomorrow.

 

Lazio supporters will be tracking 2 games with a keen eye as I believe they need both CSKA and Shakhtar to be eliminated if Lazio is going to be seeded in the playoff draw.

 

CSKA Moscow and Shakhtar Donetsk both advanced which I like because I don't like Lazio.

Here are today's Qualifying Round 3 Leg 2 scores with the seeded club denoted by a * and the club that advanced in bold:

Astana (Kazakhstan)* 4:3 HJK Helsinki (Finland) (4:3 aggregate)
Qarabag (Azerbaijan) 0:0 Celtic (Scotland)* (0:1 aggregate)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) 2:3 CSKA Moscow (Russia)* (4:5 aggregate)
BATE Borisov (Belarus)* 1:0 Videoton (Hungary) (2:1 aggregate)
Basel (Switzerland)* 1:0 Lech Poznan (Poland) (4:1 aggregate)
Club Brugge (Belgium)* 3:0 Panathinaikos (Greece) (4:2 aggregate)
Malmo FF (Sweden) 3:0 Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)* (3:2 aggregate)
Partizan (Serbia) 4:2 Steaua Bucuresti (Romania)* (5:3 aggregate)
Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)* 0:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) (2:3 aggregate)
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)* 3:0 Fenerbahce (Turkey) (3:0 aggregate)
Skenderbeu Korce (Albania) 2:0 Milsami Orhei (Moldova)* (4:0 aggregate)

Astana was seeded because they took the coefficient of Maribor who Astana beat in Qualifying Round 2. Milsami Orhei was seeded because they took the coefficient Ludogorets Razgrad who Milsami Orhei beat in Qualifying Round 2. Astana scored in the 90+3rd minute while down a man to advance. Sparta Prague, Videoton, Malmo FF, Steaua Bucuresti, Fenerbahce, and Milsami Orhei also got red cards. Both Czech clubs won or drew away and were eliminated with losses at home.

 

Lazio vs Leverkusen looks to be the tie of the round

 

Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo are the three nominees for the 2014/15 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. check out at soccer360

 

Here are the Playoff Round first leg results with the seeded club denoted by a *

Astana (Kazakhstan) 0:1 APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)*
Skenderbeu Korce (Albania) 1:2 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)*
Celtic (Scotland)* 3:2 Malmo FF (Sweden)
Basel (Switzerland)* 2:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
BATE Borisov (Belarus)* 1:0 Partizan (Serbia)
Lazio (Italy) 1:0 Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)*
Manchester United (England)* 3:1 Club Brugge (Belgium)
Sporting CP Lisbon (Portugal)* 2:1 CSKA Moscow (Russia)
Rapid Wien (Austria) 0:1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)*
Valencia (Spain)* 3:1 Monaco (France)

 

2014-15 Champions League win was FC Barcelona's fifth title win in championship and team will be looking forward for the sixth title. On the other hand Real Madrid has won most number of UEFA Champions League titles i.e. 10. Source: Sports Mirchi

 

Here are the Playoff Round second leg results with the seeded club denoted by a * and the club that advanced to the Group Stage in bold:

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)* 4:1 Skenderbeu Korce (Albania) (6:2 aggregate)
Malmo FF (Sweden) 2:0 Celtic (Scotland)* (4:3 aggregate)
Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 1:1 Basel (Switzerland)* (3:3 aggregate, Maccabi Tel Aviv had 2 away goals and Basel had 1 away goal)
Shakhtar Dontesk (Ukraine)* 2:2 Rapid Wien (Austria) (3:2 aggregate)
Monaco (France) 2:1 Valencia (Spain)* (3:4 aggregate)

Spain will be the first country to have five clubs in the Group Stage.

 

Fcuk all your teams, mine is better

 

Here are the Playoff Round second leg results with the seeded club denoted by a * and the club that advanced to the Group Stage in bold:

APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)* 1:1 Astana (Kazakhstan) (1:2 aggregate)
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)* 3:0 Lazio (Italy) (3:1 aggregate)
Club Brugge (Belgium) 0:4 Manchester United (England)* (1:7 aggregate)
CSKA Moscow (Russia) 3:1 Sporting CP Lisbon (Portugal)* (4:3 aggregate)
Partizan (Serbia) 2:1 BATE Borisov (Belarus)* (2:2 aggregate, BATE Borisov had 1 away goal and Partizan had 0 away goals)

Lazio and Sporting Lisbon got red cards.

http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/seedcl2015.html has the pots for tomorrow's Group Stage draw.

Edit: Astana's 3.825 club coefficient is the worst club coefficient by a Champions League Group Stage club since DVSC Debrecen of Hungary had a 1.633 in 2009-2010, which was the first season that the qualifying rounds had two paths.

 

For each club, here is the mean club coefficient of their three Group Stage opponents minus their own club coefficient, with the lowest number meaning the club is the best relative to its competition (I gave each club's group letter):

Barcelona E -109.454
Real Madrid A -105.645
Bayern Munich F -89.164
Chelsea G -77.242
Atletico Madrid C -63.625
Benfica C -59.995
Manchester United B -54.519
Valencia H -41.158
Porto G -36.172
Arsenal F -29.424
Zenit St. Petersburg H -27.958
Juventus D -27.949
Manchester City D -17.250
Paris Saint-Germain A -10.291
Sevilla D -8.478
Bayer Leverkusen E -6.633
Lyon H -5.137
PSV Eindhoven B 5.325
CSKA Moscow B 8.786
Shakhtar Donetsk A 8.976
Dinamo Kiev G 25.485
Galatasaray C 31.013
Olympiacos F 34.174
Wolfsburg B 40.408
AS Roma E 52.409
Borussia Monchengladbach D 53.677
BATE Borisov E 63.678
Gent H 74.254
Dinamo Zagreb F 84.414
Maccabi Tel Aviv G 87.929
Astana C 92.607
Malmo FF A 106.960

 

Seems like Man City always gets a tough draw. Not sure the reason for that.

 

Matchday One (U. S. Easter time, with each clubs' association and coefficient):

9/15/15 2:45 PM

• Paris Saint-Germain *Fra 100.483 -v- Malmo FF *Swe 12.545, grp A @ Parc des Princes, Paris, FRA
• Real Madrid CF *Esp 171.999 -v- FC Shakhtar Donetsk *Ukr 86.033, grp A @ Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, ESP
• VfL Wolfsburg *Deu 31.883 -v- PFC CSKA Moskva *Rus 55.599, grp B @ VfL Wolfsburg Arena, Wolfsburg, DEU
• PSV Eindhoven *Ned 58.195 -v- Manchester United FC *Eng 103.078, grp B @ PSV Stadion, Eindhoven, NED
• Galatasaray AS *Tur 50.020 -v- Club Atletico de Madrid *Esp 120.999, grp C @ Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul, TUR
• SL Benfica *Por 118.276 -v- FC Astana *Kaz 3.825, grp C @ Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon, POR
• Manchester City FC *Eng 87.078 -v- Juventus *Ita 95.102, grp D @ City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, ENG
• Sevilla FC *Esp 80.499 -v- VfL Borussia Monchengladbach *Deu 33.883, grp D @ Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, ESP

9/16/15 2:45 PM

• Bayer 04 Leverkusen *Deu 87.883 -v- FC BATE Borisov *Blr 35.150, grp E @ BayArena, Leverkusen, DEU
• AS Roma *Ita 43.602 -v- FC Barcelona *Esp 164.999, grp E @ Stadio Olimpico, Rome, ITA
• GNK Dinamo Zagreb *Cro 24.700 -v- Arsenal FC *Eng 110.078, grp F @ Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, CRO
• Olympiacos FC *Gre 62.380 -v- FC Bayern Munchen *Deu 154.883, grp F @ Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Piraeus, GRE
• FC Dynamo Kyiv *Ukr 65.033 -v- FC Porto *Por 111.276, grp G @ NSK Olimpiyskyi, Kyiv, UKR
• Chelsea FC *Eng 142.078 -v- Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC *Isr 18.200, grp G @ Stamford Bridge, London, ENG
• Valencia CF *Esp 99.999 -v- FC Zenit *Rus 90.099, grp H @ Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia, ESP
• KAA Gent *Bel 13.440 -v- Olympique Lyonnais *Fra 72.983, grp H @ Arteveldestadion, Ghent, BEL

P.S. Yes, the UEFA schedule page still calls it "City of Manchester Stadium"

 

ran into an interesting stat that i thought could be interesting to look at, looking at the nationality of the managers.

6 Managers has a Portugeese passport, 0(!) has a English passport