This week's MD3 of UCL had 71 goals in 18 games (I heard) which is basically 4 goals/game. That's pretty astounding. I also heard that's the highest in 25 years. Random variance or part of a trend or something special about this week's fixtures? IDK
There are two extra games per matchday compared to the group stage format, and the new format incentivizes big margins of victory. Last season’s Champions League averaged 3.27 goals per game, which was the highest that stat had been since 1976, when the tournament was a straight knockout and had matches like Bayern v the champions of Luxembourg.
The metric is goals per game so the extra games are factored out. Why do you think the new league format incentivizes large GD more than the old groups format did?
You need a leg up in tiebreakers which are way more likely to happen in this format, and the first tiebreaker in the group stage was head-to-head so goal difference wasn’t as important. The last time a team advanced to the CL knockouts on overall group GD was us in 2016, so it was a pretty rare usage.
I thought the final against Inter was going to be extremely tough because of the experience and veteran savvy of Inter. Then PSG proceeded to rip them apart. I can see that happening against Bayern.
"Go Ahead Eagles" sounds like a team name that a preschooler would pick, but AVFC just lost to them in Europa 2-1. And Dyche gets a decent 2-0 win in his NFFC debut against Porto in Europa as well.
Interesting. Very interesting. (and didn't know they were playing today, which in itself is a good thing for them not necessarily being 100% in 2 days)
Expanding the number of teams in the competition means there are more teams from smaller leagues running up against teams from the big 5 leagues.
True. But this week teams that were on the wrong ends of sizable drubbings included: Atleti, Napoli, Leverkusen, Frankfurt & Ajax. Apparently they’re not so good ATM but not exactly minnows. This week was a little weird.
I have also seen suggestions that there are teams in the competition who, when facing better opposition, go hell for leather rather then trying to play to protect GD like teams would in the old group stage format. They go into a game likely to lose, so why not have a crack. Better to lose 5-2 or 6-3 and score some goals then to lose 3-0 and do nothing. Especially considering the gap in quality between the top teams in the UCL and the bottom teams in the UCL. Some fun results being thrown up in the EL and Conference this morning. Palace lose at home, Villa lose away, Roma lose at home, Rangers smashed, RB Salzberg lose. PAOK took a 0-3 lead over Lille, who got it back to 2-3 before they gave away a penalty that was saved, then conceded a 4th, Lille score to make it 3-4 before scoring in the 7th minute of stoppage time off a Giroud assist before its chalked off due to his teammate being offside when he tapped it in to make it 4-4. Lille lose 3-4. And Forest shook off the 39 days of m8 ball to return to winning ways. Not as many blowouts as there were in the UCL though, couple of 3-0 wins in the EL and Conf but only the 6-0 win for AEK Athens over Aberdeen was a bad match.
Ajax are not in a top 5 league. Historically they have been good to very good, but teams in the top 5 league tend to take their best players. For example. If they had been able to keep Timber and Hato, they probably don’t get blown out by Chelsea, but they can’t compete economically with teams in the Premier League.
Sure Ajax aren’t what they used be, even if their business model hasn’t changed too much. But you’re glossing over the other 80% of the examples I cited which were from your top 5 leagues. I’ll await your explanations for those… presumably you’ll go micro not macro?
Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord had their last glory days, for the most part, in the 90s. After the 90s, they were mainly prominent in the Europa Leauge/UEFA cup. Ajax, like Bayern Munich, tend to get the best talent in Holland and eventually if they become top class, everyone else gets them. The problem with expanding to smaller clubs are the ones in eastern Europe. Winter arrives there much earlier generally speaking. A November game in Lisbon and a November game in Ukraine, Poland or Russia is a completely different thing weather wise. I actually have a love and respect for the old European Cup format. Prior season league winners, that's it. 2 leg knock out. And it was a bunch of sides from all over. Very small countries and often a lot of upsets.
you don’t know your history my man at all. Ajax feyenoord and psv won 7 European cups in 70s. Ajax run in early 70s was their golden era. Psv had a nice run in the late 70s. feynoord also won a European cup in mid 70s.
Ajax 94-95 would like a word. IMO one of the best squads ever assembled. Bosman ruling in '95 wrecked the Eredivisie ever since.
lol. great team but 90s were not glory days of Ajax or psv or feyenood heard of chaps named Joan cryuff, neeskens, or Ruud Krol?
Heard this recently. I kept asking my friend 'Have you seen my keys' and he kept repeating 'Arsenal.....Arsenal' every time I ask him. He said why do you keep saying 'Arsenal'? Because your keys are on top of the table.
The statement you mocked said the "last glory days" in Dutch club football were in the 90's. That's not an incorrect statement if you define "glory days" as most people do by having the best teams and players of their era competing for Dutch clubs, which I demonstrated. Here are some of the other Dutch greats from the 90s: Bergkamp, Overmars, Van Der Sar, Kluivert, and Seedorf are all players who hit their peaks starting in the 90s that are objectively better than Neeskens. Cruyf is a worldie, no doubt, easily better than any other Dutch player. Each player I mentioned above substantially better than your second-best example. And you reduced your baseless argument further by citing Gullit, who became prominent in the 80s, not the 70s. And as previously stated, Bosman transfers starting in the mid 90s wrecked the ability for strong Dutch sides to keep their talent primarily in the country.
Someone is being a bit pedantic and assuming a lot. Huge fan of the history of the cups, etc. actually. The right honourable gentleman may recall only league champions were going to the competition prior to 1998 I believe (someone look that up for me, too lazy to do it myself) 1998 Feyenoord were in it, but were in group stage with Man Utd and Juve, so weren't getting out of there. 1997 Ajax made it to the semis. 1996 Ajax were in the finals 1995 Ajax won it. 1994 Feyenoord lost a knock out to eventual semi finalists Porto 1993 PSV got through two knock outs to the 2 groups and got last 1992 PSV out first round 1991 Ajax banned for fan behavior 1990 PSV quarter final lost to Bayern Munich 1989 PSV lost quarter final to Real Madrid 1988 PSV beat Real Madrid on their way to winning it in 1988 Early 00s a quarter final here or there and a semi I think by Dutch teams, I recall Feyenoord winning a Europa cup early 00s I think recently not much.