Topic: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season - page 434. (Read 141898 times)

Barcelona will act as hosts in the second leg, in this case I think Xavi fleet is lucky and will most likely make it through to the quarter-finals. However, beating Napoli is certainly not as easy as turning the palm of your hand, we know that Osimhen is a player who can make a difference, Xavi must apply a special strategy to reduce his movements.

Basically, the performance of Napoli and Barcelona is very difficult to predict recently, as defending champions in their respective domestic competitions, these two teams have experienced setbacks this season. However, Napoli decline in performance was more significant, so management had to fire Rudia Garcia and Walter Mazzarri, now Francesco Calzona is managing Napoli as the new coach.

As a first match with Napoli, a draw against Barcelona in the first leg may be a big achievement for Calzona, but that will soon end when the second leg rolls around. It is possible that the match will end in a draw in normal time, and it will take extra time to find a winner. On paper, Barcelona deserves to be superior, but Napoli cannot be taken lightly.

The quality and total productivity of almost every human declines with age and not just withe athletes or footballers so it's really something that we shouldn't see like a  thing peculiar to athletes alone both every other person in their various field but they will have the advantage of been much more experienced than the younger ones and they be able to get more hacks to get their jobs done even faster.

With athletes they usually have the advantage of been able to still perform regardless of their age because they actually participate in daily active works that keeps their body always moving and so their productive for a while is still able to be maintained.  Arsenal still got a chance to play and get pass this stage of the champions league and also at the same time they are at the verge of loosing it to the Porto too because if they allow their self not to in the second leg, they may stand the risk of not been able to continue with the champions league again this season and it will be a good achievement for Porto because I'm sure they wouldn't believe they would make it to this point.

Manchester city will definitely go back to back in winning the UEFA Champions league because the biggest challenge I think they will face right now is Real Madrid of which I think even Madrid can not stop them.

How could that be luck? Porto achieved it with great difficulty and even until the last minute they didn't give up. Arsenal really deserved to lose because they couldn't produce results equivalent to what they performed in the English Premier League and once they lost they had to regret it because it was in a bigger competition. I still believe that Porto will do the same thing at home to Arsenal and if Porto succeeds in widening the aggregate then Arsenal will be eliminated in the Champions League.

They prioritize the Champions League but we are certainly aware that there are no guarantees about this.
Round of 16 first leg at this time Barcelona is still not necessarily able to qualify even though their big chance is very much there now especially they can dominate Napoli in the previous away match in the first leg but that is still no guarantee because after all even though Napoli is currently like a club in pain but they also cannot be underestimated considering there are several players in the Napoli squad who are quite dangerous and should be aware of their movements.
At the moment Barcelona's problem remains the same, they may indeed shift their focus in the Champions League because for La Liga this is still a little complicated if forced but they also still have to concentrate on domestic competitions because after all when the Champions League they fail then there is hope in domestic competitions although at the moment they can only expect Madrid to lose their concentration and not play well in the remaining matches played.

Yes, I'm disappointed too, but look at the odds for the return game:

1.24 - 5.39 - 12.25

Even with a -1 handicap, Arsenal's odds of winning are estimated to be 1.76. This means that bookmakers consider the most likely score in the second game to be 2-0 or 3-1 (which would be enough for Arsenal to advance). It’s hard to disagree with them and I must note that the quotes are not as favorable as I expected, because Arsenal can win 1-0, or 2-1 (which is most likely, since I don’t believe that they will score just one goal) and decide everything issues in extra time.

I think that one of the major problems of Pepe will be exacerbated because of his progressing age and that is his brutal tackling. He is known for that and he forever been an extremely unfair player, but now when he is slower than his opponents and he becomes worse at getting the timings right, I think it could be more of a threat for his team to see him receive a red card. Maybe they are still valuing his positioning game and they know that he can make up for a speed deficiency due to that, but at some points there are limits to that. If he is still in a top physical condition, maybe it's the best option they have. But having a defender who is about to turn 41 years old doesn't sound too promising to me.

Did they say whether this is going to be his last season or are there any talks or even negotiations going on about a contract extension for him? I don't really care and it would be pretty crazy to see someone approach his mid 40s and still play in the Champions League I think the only position where this sounds kind of acceptable would be the goalkeeper position and even there 41 is very old.

Everyone also knows that an athlete's performance will decline as they get older, but I think you can rethink your words. Look at the rating on their match yesterday, he played well with Joao Mario, Otavio & Wendell. Usually older players will be played for half game, but not Pepe, he played the full game. Arsenal still have the biggest opportunity to progress to the next round, but that doesn't mean we have to underestimate Porto, we'll see what will happen in the second leg. Honestly, I wouldn't bet on this match because I think it's too risky.

You should make sure you do whatever works for you, and Portuguese side did whatever they could have done to be winners of that first leg.
There'll be so much highlights on the second half at home against Arsenal, the Londoners would have a good chance to win or lose at home.
Gunner's might be doing well in the English Premier League Competition but whenever it comes to the Champions League they ave to double whatever they're going to make sure they go through this round.

I remember the days with Bayern Munich you know, lol, they'd try all they can but Bayern Munich would subdue them.

What you say is true, this season Napoli is not as good as last season and I can say their game has dropped significantly after their coach left last season. Even in this match, they were still very lucky because they didn't lose, because if you look at their game, you can say that they deserved to lose. They only had 1 open opportunity which could immediately become a goal to equalize and make the match end in a draw. I think in the second leg, if their game is still like this, they will lose very easily to Barcelona. They must be able to develop and improve the way they play if they still want to go further in the Champions League.
Likewise with Barcelona, I think they played well because their opponents were much worse, and if they had a better opponent than Napoli I doubt they would be able to win the match. Maybe their real test will come in the quarter-finals, because it is certain that their opponents in that round (if they qualify) will be stronger than the opponents they are currently facing. However, the problem lies in the internal problems they are still facing, whether they like it or not, it has a big influence on their game this season.

Arsenal making it to the UCL Knockout Round after over 7 years of being absent was a very big match to watch out for. This match was one their fans anticipated especially with Porto’s experience many had high expectations on Arsenal. The match happened and yes the surprise too was served by Porto in the last minutes of this match and this was really crazy for the coach, the fans and some punters who had high hopes in Arsenal team. Arsenal are currently a better team than Porto and I understand the frustration the match had. No one thought Arsenal will be able to concede defeat in this match as Arsenal have more better and a younger squad than Porto side. One part of this match that must be commended is the rock soild defense of this Porto side. This defense was able to stand tall all through the time of this match.

They made Arsenal attackers look so useless in front of goal by going home with 0 shot on target and this was a crazy stat that has got the fans so angry. Arteta dishing out his anger on his squad is quite understandable but he must now look for a way to reclaim victory at the Emirate. They still have a big chance to qualify as the difference is just with a goal and Arsenal at the Emirate can hit up over 3-5 goals there. Now they must try to look for the best way to break down this Porto team because I think Porto will still come with the mindset of defending their goal and hoping to go through to the next round with that lone goal and maybe a lucky goal. I still have high hopes on Arsenal going through to the last 8 but they’ll have to work through thick and thin to make this possible. With their young squad they can achieve that and I still want the fans to keep the hope alive.

Porto was just lucky with their win against Arsenal because the gunners dominated the match unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their dominance of the game by being wasteful in front of goal probably due to inexperience of their players, however I don't think Porto can defend their lone goal advantage at the Emirates it's going to be a different ball game because Arsenal would launch massive attack to win the return match knowing that failure to win means they are out of this season UCL, of course Porto would deploy a defensive tactics because of the attacking prowess of the gunners and utilize or adopt a counter attack

Clearly, Napoli does not have a good performance because something broke, while last season Spalletti managed to keep everything united and close, this year after the arrival of the Spanish coach the game broke, and not By giving balls to Victor you dont score goals and you dont win.
Osimen proved to be very strong anyway, all see this

Although in this match or in this first leg Napoli only had 1 shot on target but anyway, the fact is that Napoli managed to score a goal also in this match. That means, Napoli's performance was not bad at all because anyway, if Napoli played badly then with the lack of shots on target then at least Napoli would not be able to score. But anyway, the fact is that Napoli managed to hold Barcelona to a draw and therefore, I cannot judge about a bad performance on Napoli in the first leg. But indeed, with the quality that Napoli and Barcelona have at this moment, of course Barcelona still has a better chance of qualifying than Napoli, and I also believe that Barcelona will succeed in defeating Napoli in the second leg later.

It is still wide open that is currently behind 1-0 on aggregate while in the second leg many of them return to play at their home this could determine the result where they will qualify so this match will be more interesting at the odds offered by the bookie.

Arsenal returning to London can turn things around with Porto because falling behind is not a big thing so Arsenal are still able to return the goal back.
Atletico playing at home, they still have motivation but remember Inter Milan's game is now better and stronger in defense, the host must have a way to win.
Barcelona, still a bit in doubt but they still have a chance.
Bayern Munich, still big to win but if they fail then Tuchel will be under pressure.

I totally agree with you although this situation really displeases me
It`s not nice to see a team from your own country fall so low. However, I am not really sure of the result, Barcelona are also currently having a small crisis with Xavi`s departure, or have they taken this news well? Just for understand

Full defensive is very good tactical for FC Porto on second leg match against Arsenal, get capital winning over one goal and draw result on second leg match more enough for FC Porto qualifying to quarter final although Arsenal's advantage with playing in their home. I think will make frustrated with the opponent team when FC Porto make full defensive strategies on second leg match.
I think FC Porto can take advantage with counter attack with Arsenal will play more offensive make space with their defense position, be careful for Mikel Arteta if Porto will play more defensive and Arsenal payer get frustrated how difficult scoring goals make their defense players will leave their position.

Xavi could pressure his team to play optimally against Napoli in the second leg, as long as they maintain the performance of every player currently available for this match, forget about the Laliga domestic league match because of course Barcelona will also find it difficult to win the Laliga title this season, so They should focus on the second leg match against Napoli, playing at Barcelona's home ground, it should be easy to win and Xavi can prove to all supporters that Barcelona still has a chance to win the UCL title.

I know there are still many difficult matches that Barcelona will face. This is the challenge where Xavi can prove to everyone that Barcelona is not dead and they can rise from adversity to become a great and strong club. I also believe that Barcelona can overcome Napoli in the second leg. Napoli actually didn't play very well against Barcelona, Xavi has to apply the right strategy when facing Napoli later, my prediction is that Barcelona will win narrowly against Napoli in the second leg.

I have a great feeling that Barcelona will win the match, because they are playing at home, and that will be a motivator for them, despite their inconsistency this season. It is sad to see that Barcelona finds it difficult of scoring goals in the first leg, and this is what has put them in a tight corner. Xavi needs to put in his best on making sure that his strikers are on fire so that whatever opportunity that is created will be converted to a goal.

On the other hand, Napoli shouldn't be underestimated because they are also after winning Barcelona so that they can qualify to the next round. So, if Barcelona don't take this match as a do or die affair then they might not be equal to the tack of qualifying to the quarter finals. However, both teams are not in their best form now, and any of them can qualify to the next round, irrespective of where the match would be played.

It was actually incredible and pretty competitive as well. This was of course only the first leg, but I still think that the advantage of one goal is going to be pretty big for them going into the second leg. Believe that the result was very deserved for Inter as well.  They were definitely the better team in this match.

Now it is possible that Atletico Madrid does make a comeback in the second leg, but the job has become harder for them after the loss in the first leg for sure. Atletico Madrid had shown better consistency earlier in this season.  Since the last few weeks, they have lost matches and also dropped points when they really shouldn't have.

You know Atletico Madrid has to think about the Copa Del Rey competition as well.  they are also trailing in that competition and they will be going into the semi-final with a disadvantage of one goal as well if I recall correctly. The good thing is they will play against Almeria before that,  and Almeria is currently at the bottom of the table. So they will have a good chance to show something incredible in the semi-final of Copa del Ray