Champions League 24/25, Knockout phase play-offs

[Bulgarian]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

[amenina]

[anty1975]

Man City looks a shadow of their former selves, so soft. And I think Guardiola's subs only made the team weaker, while Stones played in midfield they were more balanced and at least applied some pressure. Also I was surprised by Dortmund's result, didn't expect them to win so easily

[Oldelpaso]

This is City's level at the moment - capable of matching a top team for long periods of a game, but not a full 90 minutes. The substitutions did weaken the team, though for the most part they weren't by choice. Its the consequence of players being rushed back again before they're properly ready. Two injuries by half time. The Akanji one was a blow, he's far better defensively than Lewis. That Ake was playing at all was a surprise, Monday was his first training session after being out a month, so he was never going to last 90. Once he went off and Stones moved back there was a gaping hole. Suddenly Bellingham went from anonymous to influential, taking advantage of the gaps. Stones has only completed 90 minutes three times since October, so by the end he was running through treacle. Kovacic likes to make runs through the middle while in possession, but he gives it away so much. It is astonishing that such a limited player possesses four champions league medals. De Bruyne needed to come off, he was done, but for all that Gundogan has achieved, his legs can no longer keep him in the game even when fresh.

And yet, for all that litany of problems, overall it was the best City have played against a strong opponent in months. The collapse was half expected, but at least unlike against Arsenal they weren't completely overrun. The daft part is they weathered far more sustained attacks earlier in the game. After conceding the penalty, knowing they had the home leg, Real Madrid weren't especially pushing to win. They just gratefully took advantage of opportunities that were laid in front of them.

[Dragonite]

Kovacic likes to make runs through the middle while in possession, but he gives it away so much. It is astonishing that such a limited player possesses four champions league medals.

In 2015/2016 he was Real Madrid's 16th player and didn't play the final (actually he only played 2' from the quarterfinals onwards)
In 2016/2017 he was Real Madrid's 18th player and didn't play the final (actually he only played 7' in the KO stages)
In 2017/2018 he was Real Madrid's 16th player and didn't play the final
In 2020/2021 he was Chelsea's 10th player and played 10' in the final

The way I see it, he has 1 Champions League (as a used sub)... still impressive, most players never win anything, but not as impressive as let's say Casemiro.

[HugoBenfica12]

well i guess sporting says bye bye to champions league

[Lyonnais]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

[Oldelpaso]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

Real Madrid cancelled their whole entourage going to the Ballon D'Or ceremony on the day, after it leaked that Vinicius hadn’t won. A graceless tantrum that reeked of being sore losers. The banner was a reference to that, with an Oasis lyric giving it a Mancunian angle.

[Lorric]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

I don't know what it was referring to, but if it was the Ballon dor situation, and I'm predicting it was since it was City's man who won, I'm okay with it, that was so pathetic what Real did snubbing it.

[mspm89]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

I don't know what it was referring to, but if it was the Ballon dor situation, and I'm predicting it was since it was City's man who won, I'm okay with it, that was so pathetic what Real did snubbing it.

Both fandoms are within their banter rights: City fans were justified in mocking him because of the whole BdO fiasco, and Madrid fans are right in mocking the banner after beating them on their ground fair and square.

That should be it, but since we live in the oversensitive generation, someone's going to keep harping on about it to their convenience.

[Oldelpaso]

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

I don't know what it was referring to, but if it was the Ballon dor situation, and I'm predicting it was since it was City's man who won, I'm okay with it, that was so pathetic what Real did snubbing it.

Both fandoms are within their banter rights: City fans were justified in mocking him because of the whole BdO fiasco, and Madrid fans are right in mocking the banner after beating them on their ground fair and square.

That should be it, but since we live in the oversensitive generation, someone's going to keep harping on about it to their convenience.

I'd ascribe this more to simple financial motivation than oversensitivities. Manufactured controversy means clicks, and clicks mean money.

[fabiomh]

Brugge leading vs Atalanta 1-0

[Greyn]

Brugge leading vs Atalanta 1-0

Atalanta look more like a Belgian middle table team after first 30 minutes of play vs Club Brugge rather than arguably 2nd or 3rd best Italian team.

[Greyn]

Pasalić scored and it's 1-1. Nice efficiency by Atalanta. No need to score more goals in this match since my prediction is 1-1.

[Bulgarian]

Nice banner there by City fans telling Vinicius to not cry before the game. I hope they listened to their advice after it lol

I’m not a big fan of Vinícius as a character but Vinícius as a player certainly didn’t deserve such a banner. I would have loved him to score in this game. This was really not necessary.

I do agree Vini is not the most loved player on the field by a mile. I also agree that the player himself did not deserve a banner and i am not going to oppose if someone tells me the club itself should have gotten the banner instead. The main thing is city fans got what they deserved lol theres still 90 mins to go though.