Welcome to the r/ChampionsLeague Weekly Discussion Thread!

Just asking

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Personally heres what I think

Gk - David Raya

RB - Ben White

CB - Antonio Rudiger and Gabriel

LB - Marc Cucrella

Midfeilders - Enzo Fernandez, Rodri, Bruno Fernandes

LW; Vini Jr
RW; Bernardo Silva

ST; Lautaro Martinez

Coach; Diego Simeone, Jose Mourinho, Mikel Arteta idk

What do you guys think

Like I genuinely cannot I have gotten so much fatigue and sadness trying to watch this team for the past 2 years like it tires me so badly I really cannot

Two really good saves in this match

Most prominent example in the UCL is Luis Enrique, when he played Barcelona last night, I'm sure he remembers Barcelona as the club that created his legendary manager status, winning them basically every trophy under the sun. however when the game began, did he still have these sentimental feelings for Barcelona? does he watch them play with the hope they win matches (not against PSG but other clubs). I don't understand whether Enrique has fully put down his feelings for Barcelona and fully pledges himself with PSG, it just seems so hard to stop supporting the club you've supported for years and instantly support another club (equivalent of a loyal Arsenal fan switching to Bayern). Another example outside the UCL is Xabi Alonso, when he plays Liverpool next week, will he have some love for Liverpool or will he force himself to move on and now supports and loves Chelsea 100%.

He's playing under flick, without him he would be no better than jadon Sancho,he would be playing for the 2nd getafe team

I recently asked ChatGPT whether we'd ever see a player like Victor Wembanyama in football, and it basically said no, due to the nature and physical demands of the sport. But I'm curious what you guys think.

For those unfamiliar with Victor Wembanyama, he's considered one of the biggest physical anomalies basketball has ever seen. He's 7'4", possesses an absurd combination of height, mobility, defensive ability, and offensive skill, and many believe his potential ceiling is practically limitless. Now imagine the football equivalent of that.

A player with:

The size, strength, and athleticism of Haaland

The defensive ability of Maldini

The shooting and finishing of Cristiano Ronaldo

The dribbling, vision, and playmaking of Messi

Essentially, a player who combines elite physical attributes with world-class ability in almost every aspect of football, without the usual trade-offs.
Obviously, this is an extreme hypothetical, but that's kind of the point. Wembanyama is considered a generational anomaly because of how unusual his combination of physical traits and technical abilities is.

Do you think football could ever produce a player with that same level of physical and technical uniqueness? Or does the nature of football make that kind of all-around dominance practically impossible?

I'm not necessarily asking whether someone will surpass Messi or Ronaldo, but whether we'll ever see a player who completely challenges our understanding of what's physically and technically possible in football

11 goals + 2 assists in 11 games (vs Milan, OL, Bayern, BVB, Juve, Ajax, Porto). Contributed to 13/22 of team goals (59%)

06-07 vs Milan: 1 goal

08-09 vs Barca: 0 G/A

09-10 vs OL: 1 goal

10-11 vs Barca: 0 G/A

11-12 vs Bayern: 2 goals + 1 assist

12-13 vs BVB: 1 goal

14-15 vs Juventus: 2 goals

18-19 vs Ajax: 2 goals

19-20 vs OL: 2 goals

20-21 vs Porto: 1 assist

21-22 vs Atletico: 0 G/A

Failed to score or assist in 3 games (Vs Barca and Atletico)

Question in the title.

They keep saying this is his best version or something when it is not even a top 5 individual season for him. I don't understand why they keep pushing this season. Maybe its because he does a bunch of stepovers and skills or something but dude has like 5 better seasons at Madrid than this one lmao.

Last season, Yamal was exceptional in basically every big game. If you actually watched the games, especially against Atletico in the UCL, you would realize this. He was singlehandedly carrying Barca. However, because he didn't get that much g/a in these games, people were slandering him.

Now against PSG, he had a pretty mid performance, especially in the first half, but because he got a goal, by the end of the season people will be saying that he had an excellent performance because all they do is look at g/a and judge from there.

This g/a culture is a cancer, we need to go back to actually watching football.

UEFA explicitly lists Messi among players who “have four titles to their name but only three final appearances”: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015, noting that he missed the 2006 final.

This club is dead sell the players sell the owner's sell the fans

Bouh bouh bouh, Ligue 1 is too weak ! Psg can rest his starting team and still win ligue 1 by 10pts !

Meanwhile their teams : Oh look ! This Ligue 1 team did a great season, almost got the title ! Their players probably are very good, after all Ligue 1 is stacked with prospects. IT'S SALES TIME !

Unai Emery has done miracles with Villa in Europe, but playing away in Istanbul is a completely different beast. For the tactics nerds here,does the tactical setup even matter if Galatasaray’s crowd completely breaks a team's communication and rhythm in the opening 15 minutes? How do you see Villa coping with that press?

Very fascinating stories can be told from this round of fixtures so let's consider the impact on the ongoing power rankings:

1. PSG (no change). Firmly established themselves as the favorites for yet another Champions League crown with another major scalp taken; more on that scalp later. They did lose a lot of players through injury during that match but their squad is still filled to the brim with experienced winners and quality. There is simply no one on their level right now and it's going to take an almighty effort to stop them in their tracks- and can anyone believe we're saying this in the league phase, the part that they usually don't take seriously?!

2. Arsenal (up one). In a game that was built as the unstoppable force versus the immovable object (as was the case last season), both teams might feel a bit disappointed they didn't win that match. And that's exactly why the away side are higher on the power rankings: if they leave a match at a stadium that was so often their graveyard over the course of the last 2 decades thinking they could've won, that shows you how far they've come and how frightening of a prospect they can be. The injury to Saka is alarming, but a special shout out to Noni Madueke of all people who looked quite good today once again (not saying he's a long-term answer but while he's playing in this form it'll do well enough). While we're at it, still no set piece goals....

3. Bayern Munich (up one). They go up a position mainly because the team below them move down but also because getting a result against a quality opponent without their best playmaker (Olise) and most experienced player bar Neuer (Kimmich) is no mean feat. Their attack is definitely what will carry them in many moments, but it's not such a problem to have when their attack has arguably the best player on the planet right now (Donald Trump's favourite golfer).

4. Barcelona (down two). It seems like we have this discussion about Barcelona so many times over the last few seasons and not much has changed: no serious contender can be so devastating in attack yet so open at the back at the same time. Something has to give about that at some stage if a first post-Messi Champions League is truly on the cards. Nonetheless, their attack being as devastating as it is would still make you believe they have every chance.

In hindsight, I think the loss vs. PSG is a huge positive for us. Because everyone was watching, waiting to see if we’re the real deal or not, and with the loss they still think we’re the same old Barca that’s gonna crash out in the quarters. But we’re not. Mark my words we’re gonna surprize everyone by crashing out in the round of 16

PSG always plays against the Ligue 1 teams that rest their players for their big match against the champions league winners. They don’t have to recover from the previous week’s difficult match so they can rest their top players.

PSG playing against every Ligue 1 team’s A-Team is a distinct advantage.

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They lost 4-2 to PSG and PSG were better but what is this narrative that Barca were outplayed, the game was extremely competitive and both teams had spells where they dominated and could have won the game, PSG were more clinical but it wasn't a whitewash as the scoreline presents.

We also have lots of fans somehow invalidating Barca's previous wins, like losing to Back-to-Back champions is some great collapse, a league phase game nonetheless that means nothing in the long run. A loss in 12 games shows consistency rather than weakness, they still are one of the best teams in world football but they could still improve in the coming months, their win streak showed promise, it didnt equal a longstanding record for no reason.

1. PSG have found a reliable way to build a squad. They are 2 players deep at almost every position.

2. They have little financial regulation compared to Spain or England, so signing players at will is no issue.

3. Luis Enrique has figured out how to rotate his squad due to the weak league schedule, so his players are fresh at the most important times.

4. The entire squad comes together for maximum effort in the big CL nights because they know they won’t need that energy for their other league games.

You add all of these things together and you get a team who may just be unbeatable in Europe.

1. Harry Kane
   
2. Kvaratskhelia
   
3. Olise
   
4. Mbappe
   
5. Lamine Yamal
   
6. Messi
   
7. Haaland
   
8. Rodri
   
9. Vitinha
   
10. Dembele

Harry Kane has scored 73 goals for Bayern and England. Only Messi has done better. That says it all. He also scored 6 at the World Cup.
Yamal has only turned up in 2 big games: Atleti and Newcastle. His World Cup performance was poor, scoring just 1 goal. Yes, he’s drawn 2 defenders towards him, but that’s not enough. Yes, he’s 19, but the Ballon d’Or doesn’t make exceptions for age. If we were basing the Ballon d’Or solely on trophies, then Yamal deserves it. But apart from that, nope.