Topic: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season - page 187. (Read 141878 times)

At this point, I will say Real Madrid are going to get this title. Although I know that in this stage of competition, no opponent can be underestimated, with the kind of performance Real Madrid get now and the kind of performance they showed in their previous match again, Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich will no longer be a very big challenge for Real Madrid, so we will say they won’t get the title. It's not that I’m underestimating Bayern's performance, but Real Madrid are stronger than them currently.

Even if Bayern Munich dominates the Champions League every season, I can say that this season I see something different because there are some signs of weakness in them, and this will give Real Madrid a higher chance of winning the Champions League this season.

Qualifying for the in the Semi finals alone is enough reason for any team in the UCL to not underestimate their opponent. That was the mistake Arsenal did, after scoring 2 goals in the first leg against Bayern they dashed to goals to Bayern back with a silly mistake. Real Madrid need to be careful here. Harry kane and his squad are very tricky, i still cam remember that goal they scored against Arsenal in the second leg. The header was fast and the goal came from no where straight inside the goal post.

On the other hand, Bayern is the club here with the lesser chances of wining against Real Madrid, playing defensively should be putting more into concentration. This is because Madrid has good and dangerous striker. They are the beast when it comes to UCL competitions.

Well for every reason possible the odds are against Bayern and the other remaining teams because of the strength and might of Real Madrid but I would have cancelled this if it was a few seasons back when Bayern were also at their prime. The thing about Bayern Munich now is that they have the players but it's the system of play that's currently not working out because they seem to lack preciseness when it comes to winning games and this is an area where Real Madrid are actually specialist.

Real Madrid were able to go past City at the Etihad on penalties after a thrilling draw that ended the game after 120 minutes. This match was one exciting one and one we looked up to especially after the draw at the Bernabeu, you would expect Man City to deal with Real Madrid at the Etihad.
 
 Well Real Madrid showed resilience and a very strong winning mentality and that was essential for them to be able to overcome this Man City side as it helped them hold this Man City side all through 120’’ and them go ahead to defeat them on penalty shootouts. The way Real Madrid handled the game is the kind of mentality that’s needed in top matches as it helps a team come out victorious and with this kind of mentality you can start seeing Madrid as the next European Champions.

 ⁠A semi final has been set between Real Madrid and Bayern and that match is somewhat similar to that of Man City, just that Bayern at the moment aren’t in best of form but based on past experiences, you can believe they’ll be a match to Real Madrid. I don’t think it will end in a penalty shootout though because Madrid seems more fierce and would be able to get the win with enough goals at the Bernabeu and could probably get a draw at Germany.

 ⁠A final with Psg is actually a dream one as we will all want to see how Mbappe will be able to play against his soon to be club and if he will be able to help Psg with their first Ucl trophy. Well that’s just fantasy because we know Real Madrid will sure be getting their 15th UCL trophy this season especially after the way they were resilient against Man City.

They did it the same as last season's UCL, making the impossible possible, unfortunately during the second leg I wasn't so sure about Real Madrid, even though if I took +0.5 in handicap betting I would have gotten of more than @2 odds. Next is Bayern Munich, they are not very good in their domestic league, and the league title has also been taken by Leverkusen, this makes Bayern Munich only have 1 priority now.

There's a record of Carlo Ancellotti not losing a single game to Bayern Munich as a coach for Real Madrid. He has six win against Bayern Munich and also double draws against them. Though, it would be unwise to underestimate such a side, they're also big sides in the Champions League Competition. Same way they didn't do to Manchester City, they won't be doing with Bayern Munich even if they're having such a poor season.

I also did blast his over defending pattern this season but I have forgotten that defending is also part of the game same way it is with attacking.
He planned the game all to the end and they won with the shoot out. At the end of the day, he did all he could to win the game for Real Madrid and the fans are hell excited.

Bayern Munich just unlucky their performance in domestic league but in champion league had perform well until success managing to semifinal round for facing Real Madrid, I don't think bad perform in domestic league will make Bayern Munich easily loss in champion league because since phase group until quarter final just getting one loss against Lazio on the first leg match of 16 round.
Real Madrid is favorable teams after eliminating Manchester City in quarter final round, had solid defensive on last winning against Man City and how perform well although get huge pressure I think its special mentality perform from Madrid for semifinal match against Bayern Munich.
I think Madrid has winning chance around 70% for getting the final ticket in champion league and potential for winning their 15 UCL trophies to make most successful teams in champion league participants.

Bayern Munich performed well in the UCL because it no longer had a chance to overtake Bayer Leverkusen in its own league and now Bayern Munich will try hard to get the UCL title. At least Bayern Munich can get one of the titles this season, therefore Bayern Munich is able to beat Arsenal in the category a strong club in the EPL at the moment but there is no guarantee that Arsenal will be able to beat Munich, which has appeared in the UCL for many years, while Arsenal has been absent from the UCL for 6 years, so it has to adapt again to face clubs that have performed well in the UCL for many years.

Bayern Munich will not easily get through this semi-final because their opponent is quite tough to beat and has won the most UCL titles and Bayern Munich is not really the favorite to get the UCL title because Real Madrid has a bigger chance of getting it so I also agree with you about the possibility of Bayern will lose to Madrid.

Ancelotti was smart in implementing strategy, even though they lost the game because of Manchester City's dominance throughout the match, they were able to reduce every attack made by Manchester City. This is not easy when they are required to win but the opponent has to control the ball for almost the entire match.

I highlight Rodrygo's influence every time Real Madrid meets Manchester City. It seems like Rodrygo is lucky for Real Madrid, and I saw Pep Guardiola's frustration when he saw Rodrygo, he is the player who broke Manchester City's journey this season. If we remember the previous 2 seasons when Real Madrid beat Manchester City with an extraordinary comeback, and in that match Rodrygo was also the key to Real Madrid's victory and if I'm not mistaken at that time Rodrygo also came from the bench but he managed to make Manchester City swallowed the bitter pill from the goal he managed to score.

I think, when Madrid get a draw at the Bernabeu, of course the second leg will be very difficult for Madrid when they have to play at the Etihad Stadium, but indeed what I expected was true because Manchester City was able to bring the game to penalties kick, but indeed the winning mentality possessed by Madrid in the Champions League certainly makes them able to overcome every pressure that exists,  In addition, I think, the grudge after last season was destroyed by Manchester City certainly makes them motivated to eliminate Manchester City this seasons, Madrid's chances of being able to win their 15th UCL trophy are of course wide open but still it will be difficult in my opinion.

Bayern Munich vs Madrid will be a match that deserves to be called the final of this season, although indeed Bayern Munich is down in the Bundesliga but we cannot underestimate them in the Champions League after successfully eliminating Arsenal, I think Madrid will find it difficult to beat Bayern in the semi-finals later and maybe the winner of the game will also be decided by penalty kicks, but I personally hope Madrid can reach the final with PSG,  And want to see the dilemma felt by Madrid fans when Mbappe can later score against Madrid and make PSG champions after he was rumored to join Madrid next season.

An experienced coach cannot win the Champions League if it is not supported by the impressive play of his players. Last season Ancelotti failed to bring Real Madrid to the Champions League title after being knocked out by Manchester City in the semifinals. Ancelotti has learned from last season's failure, he succeeded in making Real Madrid players appear consistent with the tactics used in the game. The four teams that are still in the semifinals will try to win the UCL title this season, but only Real Madrid has the most potential to win this prestigious trophy based on its very consistent performance.

Now Manchester City is no longer there because they lost at home on penalties to Real Madrid and anyone will accept that Real Madrid can win again this season. Because this cannot be separated from their own coach who is quite experienced in managing each of his players when playing in important matches such as in the Champions League. Even though Real Madrid does not have a mainstay striker, they can still rely on other players to attack and score goals in every match.

Real Madrid’s dominance in the UEFA Champions League is amazing, the main reason for the dominance is because of their standard of players and the players mentality based on the record and history the club has made in the Champions League in the past, the new players will not want to let the team that is why they always try to maintain their standards. And other teams are also seeing Madrid as a big team that is always difficult to defeat especially in the Champions League that is why they always have their hype and they always use any chance well to make sure their win their matches.

Well, nothing is impossible in football, we can have new champions because just as Madrid eliminated Manchester City, Bayern can also eliminate them because the performance Bayern showed is very massive and they look very serious and reliable in the Champions league this season. Likewise, Dortmund or PSG can also surprise us by winning the Champions League because PSG is also a favorite team and they have Mbappe that can help them.

I am definitely sure that a lot of people did not expect this result after watching the first 90 minutes. I will say that Manchester City missed a lot of chances. Actually, Kevin Debruyne missed an easier chance than the one he actually scored. If they were able to make those, they would have been able to win. But in the end, it had to be decided with a penalty shootout. And a lot of people might think that Real Madrid did not deserve to win this match. people also think that Real Madrid did not play well. But they have to realize that the plan was exactly this from Real Madrid. They wanted to defend. And the plan worked. And I also have to say Real Madrid was actually lucky to see the plan work in favor of them. As I said the match could have easily gone the other way if Manchester City was able to make one of the many chances that they got, count.

I hate the fact that Real MAdrid dominance is super big, but also i love their spirit and how they play in this tournament. In no other tournament or league we see this thing, because is not only the dominance is also how is the dominance and is always like a magic thing, how they do that.

But i want to see another champion this year not the same as always, sadly in this season the two main contenders were the same as the year before, Real Madrid and City.

I will answer the two points in your comment:

Regarding Luck, I agree with you that it “could” play a role in determining the course of the match, even though football is not a game based primarily on luck. I mention the example of the last Asian Cup final between Jordan and Qatar (the host country). Although the Jordanian team was more deserving of victory, considering its efficiency as an ancient team with a rich history compared to the Qatari team, which is considered inexperienced in comparison, Qatar was able to win by three goals. They were all scored with penalty kicks by the same player, Akram Afif. Certainly, Luck was Qatar’s servant in that match, to the point that some doubted that Qatar had bought the victory in advance by paying the Jordanian team or the arbitration team (possible hypotheses, but no facts confirm).

As for the point of efficiency, I do not see at all that PSG deserved to win over Barcelona if it were not for the luck factor that enabled it to have numerical superiority. No one doubts that Barcelona is more efficient than its French competitor, without detracting from the efficiency of PSG. Barcelona's chances of winning would not have been diminished by the exclusion of Araujo, regardless of his position or performance, if the opposing team had not been PSG.

Some people want Munich to win because the final match between Munich and PSG/Dortmund will be fairer because the strengths of the two teams are not much different. But that might be a hope that won't come true. Based on statistics from the last few matches I think Real Madrid will beat Munich and get their 15th UCL title. Madrid's performance is really very solid. I often say that Real Madrid will be able to win the match even if it is 1-0 or through a penalty shootout. We can see in their match against Leipzig. Real Madrid progressed to the next round with a score of 2-1. Against City they qualified for the semifinals via a penalty shootout. I think this is unique to Real Madrid. And this happens because they can play very solidly in every match.

Bayern Munich aren't having one of their best seasons as I said before. However this doesn't mean that Real Madrid would be too comfortable to beat them. There is nothing guaranteed in football especially if you underestimate your opponent. I don't expect Ancelotti to do such thing though. He is a very smart manager which can be understood from the way he played against Manchester City. 

It was the only way to eliminate Manchester City and he preferred that by closing his ears to people who were criticizing him like he was a coward. Now I haven't any doubt that Ancelotti will choose the right way to play against Bayern Munich as well. I believe in Real Madrid to win the matchup. 

There's no reason for Madrid to underestimate Bayern
They have always been one of the most dominant team in the UCL in recent years so caution would be employed while playing them no matter their form.
Madrid can be considered a favored child in UCL
No matter their form
They always are the likeliest to win the trophy and who ever manages to win them has already won the UCL. [/quote]
Underestimating Bayern Munich is a big mistake, of course. Bayern Munich has a squad that is capable of destroying Real Madrid's defense, and Real Madrid could even lose badly from the first leg if Ancelotti underestimated them. But what is certain is that Ancelotti will not do that and as a form of his seriousness in winning the title, Ancelotti will use every best player to win the match.

Harry Kane is the best center forward so far that Bayern Munich has. He is a reliable player who can find the back of the net for Real Madrid when he has the chance, so if Real Madrid don't defend as well as they did when they held Manchester City to a draw, then I think Real Madrid will lose.

The moment when Madrid vs City entered into the penalty phase got me thrilled since that was the last moment to determine which club between real madrid and city that would qualify for the next season. When Bernardo failed to score because Lunin successfully blocked his shot and it was an amazing momentt, the stadium became extremely crowded with Real Madrid fans. Bernardo silave was feeling so unhappy with the result. It's also making all of the Madrid players very happy with the result.

Bookies have been changing its perspective by putting realmadrd being favored by the bookmakers to win the competition since its odds were also changing quite a lot after that game against manchester city. The next game is against Bayern Munich, the biggest team in the Bundesliga. it's amazing we have another big matches to come soon. It's very interesting for me to see how Real Madrid was always facing the big clubs.