So far only 2 second leg R16 matches are worth watching. Not sure that number will increase after tonight. Man City already 1-nil up against 'gladbach.
Another masterclass from Zidane in CL. Anyway, not all is lost. LPB will probably be healthier overall in three weeks, but Casemiro is out and Ramos will only just have returned if at all. So they'll be a soft defensively up the middle and a couple of away goals is very possible if Atalanta can keep 11 men on the field for more than 18 minutes.
Is that your way of saying that Atalanta will do an Ajax? I mean, I hope so, but Ajax outplayed Madrid in the first leg despite losing 1-0. Atalanta not so much.
Sure. I think it just comes down to you having faith in Atalanta and I having much less of that. I’ll settle for a miracle though.
If Ilicic plays to his best, then Real could have a night to forget. No exaggeration, but if Atalanta still had Ilicic for the return leg against PSG last season in Lisbon, Atalanta would have made the final of the UCL for sure. It's a shame the pandemic made him fear the worst. https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2021/02/24/60363556268e3e4c218b4570.html
RIP to Allison's dad, 57 is way too young, now confirmed dead after swimming disappearance: Brief Translation of the news reporting his disappearance about an hour ago: Father of goalkeepers Alisson and Muriel disappears after diving in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazilian Southern State) José Agostinho Becker, 57, was diving on a family property in the municipality of Lavras do Sul. The father of goalkeepers Alisson, of Liverpool, and Muriel, of Fluminense, disappeared after diving into a dam in the municipality of Lavras do Sul, in the region of Campanha Rio Grande do Sul, 320 km from Porto Alegre (State Capital). The information was confirmed by the Fire Department of Caçapava do Sul, which attends the occurrence. In contact with the report of Globo, the advisory of the goalkeeper also confirmed the fact and said that the family asks for privacy in this difficult moment.*
FWIW, Atalanta are +280 to win the second leg in the 90 minutes (bwin.com). By comparison, Atletico & Sevilla are both +250 (of course in Sevilla's case a win is not necessarily good enough). Porto is +600.
Since the UK has one of the highest covid cases in Europe, the governments of Germany (Borussia Mönchengladbach, RB Leipzig), Spain (Atlético Madrid, RealSociedad) and Austria (Wolfsberg) currently ban UK visitors to enter their countries. The ban includes workers and athletes. This explains why those clubs could not host English teams within their country. Slavia Prague was able to host Leicester City since the Czech Republic has to travel ban from the UK. Since the UK does not have a similar ban from those two countries they are able to host the second legs in their stadiums. The UK does have a travel ban in place to/from Poirtugal which they deem a high risk covid nation. This meant both legs of Benfica v Arsenal had to be played at neutral venues. Since the away goals rule is still in effect, I feel it would have made better sense to have played the tie as a one-off at a neutral venue. So you see, it's all easy to explain away. Oh, by the way... https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/england-very-likely-to-be-sole-host-of-euro-2020-this-summer
It will be funny if Germany beats England again during the Euros. Nevertheless, I do think England have a very talented squad managed by an idiot.
It sucks. I was looking forward to my first trip to Denmark but it kind of makes sense NOT to have the first pan-European Euros at the same time the continent is being ravaged by a pandemic. And if its going to be hosted by one country, then makes sense that its the country that currently has six times more people vaccinated than the EU average. That said, any article that quotes a tweet that begins with the word "BOOM!" cannot be taken too seriously. So, I'm not cancelling my hotel reservation in Copenhagen just yet.
Huge away goal for Granada in Naples, after they had falling behind early. 1-1 on the night, but 3-1 Granada on aggregate.
Big night in the Brazilian Serie A. Title race coming down to the final day. Flamengo have things in their hands but their last match is a tricky one - v Sao Paulo who need at least a draw to secure a Copa Libertadores spot (I think). If Flamengo drops points it will leave the door open to Inter who play Corinthians.
I know that but they should change the away goal for these kind of matches. EPL teams still play in their homeground while other teams must play somewhere else.
Interesting draw for the Europa League. We needed it too as most of CL round of 16 ties are done and dusted. Ajax (NED) vs Young Boys (SUI) Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) vs Villarreal (ESP) Roma (ITA) vs Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Olympiacos (GRE) vs Arsenal (ENG) Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs Tottenham (ENG) Manchester United (ENG) vs AC Milan (ITA) Slavia Praha (CZE) vs Rangers (SCO) Granada (ESP) vs Molde (NOR) Great draw for Granada. Battle of the Cinderella stories. Man Utd and Milan brings memories of CL matches in the 2000s Olypiacos will be seeking revenge against Arsenal after their encounters in the 2015-16 CL (Arsenal had to win by two goals in Athens and they won 0-3)