Topic: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Season - page 163. (Read 35814 times)

That's a bit of an exaggeration because after all, although I realize that for the last 2 seasons Arsenal have been quite good, but for the Champions League the fact is that they are still far away if they are considered as one of the seeds with the greatest probability especially with the existence of several clubs such as Madrid and Manchester City.

Arsenal are good but we also have to realize that in the end we can see Arsenal's performance is not that good when talking about competition in the Champions League. Not only in the current Arteta Era but indeed from previous eras even during the golden era they were unable to become champions because their best phase in the Champions League was only up to the final and that happened almost 2 decades ago.

Indeed, I know that in the end Arsenal are still very good for a club but in the Chmapions League they have to be better than now if they want to be juxtaposed with some big clubs who are regular champions in the Champions League because for now Arsenal still don't have that kind of capacity.

I don't think the team is capable of causing a surprise in the Champions League, as you know, the Champions League is very competitive and big clubs from various Leagues are there. Girona and Bologna have been surprise package in their respective leagues, but the different atmosphere in the Champions League will mean that these clubs will feel the pressure when facing stronger teams.

I have not fully understood the new format implemented in the Champions League in the 2024/25 season, whether there are still teams going down to the Europa League or not, but based on the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (previously the group phase). They will no longer play three other teams twice (Home and Away), but will face matches against eight different teams and half of the matches will be played at home and the other half will be played away. Based on this format, Girona and Bologna will have a hard time competing with other clubs, especially as they are new teams in the Champions League.

I have included Arsenal in the list of best teams because Arsenal are ahead when compared to other teams. Arsenal competes hard with Manchester City in the Premier League but they have consistently underperformed in the Champions League but we have seen this for a long time. While the big teams plan to win the Champions League, their destination seems to be to win the Premier League. But if they plan the right players for the Champions League with the players they have in the club then they will definitely do well in the Champions League.

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Arsenal didn't have too many injury problems last season which is why they lost the Premier League title with Manchester City on points. First of all, every important player should try to finish the whole season without injury because while other teams have good quality backup players, but Arsenal do not have good quality players as backup, it is definitely a big problem for them.

Honestly, I don't think that teams like Girona and Bologna will do well in the Champions League. I've seen average teams like them qualify for the Champions League once in a while. For example, I remember Leicester City winning the Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League, but they had poor performances. We also witnessed Newcastle's performances last season, which were not impressive.

Given this, I don't expect great performances from Girona and Bologna with their current squads. However, we'll have to wait and see how they perform. The truth is that the Champions League is a tough competition where many great teams from different leagues meet. Based on my observation, they may find it very hard to perform well.

Football is unpredictable, and surprises can happen, but I still don't think Bologna and Girona will go far in the competition because of the type of players they currently have in their squads.

Sparta Prague have the upper hand after beating their opponents 2-0 away from home in the first leg. Shamrock Rovers have no chance of eliminating Prague away from home, so we can say that Sparta will go through.
Ferencvaros, on the other hand, managed to win 5-0 against a weak opponent. They are a team that has the potential to win again, most probably away against a weak opponent. They will have eliminated their opponent in an easy way.

Both Girona and Bologna have qualified for the champions league and if they fail to qualify for the round of 16, they will be eliminated.
Take note that this season no team from the champions league will go to the europa league. There will be a new format for UEFA champions league and europa league.

These clubs that have earned a top spot in the UEFA Champions League next season, I don't think most of them would survive because its definitely going to be a long rough run for them. They've failed completely to survive and winning becomes very volatile for them. This is not one of these random leagues where they keep domination, rather they're facing elite opponents, where they're ought to pave path for their progress.

Girona will absolutely push for the big phases in the UEFA Champions League, they've what it takes to reach the finals, only if they're able to maintain the stellar performance they had previous season. It's definitely complex for them but I know one thing for a fact, Girona will packed huge incredible form.

The result of this match will be clear who will win it and easy steps have been taken by Qarabag since the first leg meeting last week after defeating Lincoln Red in front of their own fans. With an aggregate difference of two goals, Qarabag does not need to work hard in front of their fans in the second leg and only needs to close the victory by adding 1 or 2 more goals. Moreover, if Qarabag does not take a definite victory, Lincoln Red could succeed in equalizing the aggregate and forcing them to continue in a match that drains the stamina of their players.

Well, for Apoel, they must silence Petrocup decisively if they want to secure a step to the next round because this narrow aggregate difference will not make them comfortable and instead they will play totally attacking in order to increase their aggregate difference. On the other hand, Petrocub has a greater chance because they get full support from their fans at home and I think turning the aggregate around is not difficult for them.

But overall, I will still favor Qarabag and Apoel and also include these two matches in the next bet.

For now it is still appropriate to say that, but who knows if they are the ones who can make a big surprise in the Champions League next season even though I myself still doubt that both teams can go further in the Champions League. Because if both teams can fail from the start in the Champions League, at least they can go down to the Europa League to be able to compete with the big teams there even though the level of competition is a little different, but it is still quite interesting to watch.

Karabakh will host their opponent at home on Tuesday. We can say that Karabakh will be the team that makes the round after their 2-0 away win. Lincoln Red don't stand a chance against them.
Apoel, on the other hand, managed to defeat their opponents 1-0 at home in the first meeting. Now they go on the road and a risky and potential match awaits them. We can say that both sides can go through and maybe the match will go to extra time.

Teams like Girona and Bologna are not teams that often play in the Champions League so their level of play will be very different, even though both of them played well in their respective leagues last season. As we know, the Champions League is very competitive and the competition here is quite big so it will be difficult for them to qualify for the next stage. Every season there will definitely be one team that is quite surprising but when entering the next season most of them lose their best form.

Without having experienced players it will be much harder to play in the Champions League and even we see how strong teams that often play in the league also have difficulty facing the tight competition. I don't think both of them will easily get through the group phase because there will be quite tight competition from the opponents they will face.

It is always challenging for underdogs like Girona to maintain success after one surprising successful season and Girona will have to cope with same challenge. They will struggle to maintain their good performances and look at their transfer market activities, some players moved out and some moved in.

Girona's activities on transfer market.

Noticeable, I pay attention on Donny Van de Beek moved in and Aleix Garcia moved out to Barcelona. The sale of Aleix Garcia helped Girona to get good money but it will affect their squad quality. Van de Beek used to be a good midfielder in Ajax Amsterdam but a transfer to Manchester United destroyed his career recently years and it's hard for him to come back with Girona.

They will enjoy scarce chances to play in Champions League and will pay a lot of attention on it. It will cause side effects and they will have high risk to spend less attention on La Liga so I am thinking of worse performances of Girona in La Liga and they likely will finish a next season beyond top four.

Be realistic like if Girona sacrifice Champions League, that they will not do, and only focus on La Liga, they will not easily to end it in top four.

Just like i said before that Girona consistency will be tested next season when they have to divide their focus to playing at several different competitions besides Laliga such as Champion League so we will see whether they still able to performing well just like they showed last season or not but because this is the first time for Girona so i think it's hard for them because Champion League has different atmosphere compared to Laliga

Because next season Champion League will have new format i think to qualified to knockout stages is more difficult for the participant teams including Girona because at league phase they will fight against plenty of strong teams early from different countries so that's why i personally didn't expect more to Girona performance in this competition even most likely Girona will not able to qualified to round of 16

Besides Girona i would like to see the performance of other teams such as Leverkusen, Bilbao and Atalanta because last season their performance is really surprised us especially Leverkusen that they had just make records 51 matches unbeated which i am sure those records cannot be surpassed by other teams in the near future so i am curious want to see Leverkusen journey in this competition and do not forget too about Atalanta i think thy are dark horses team who has the potential to trouble the big teams

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time for Girona to feel the atmosphere in the Champions League. Obviously this is not something easy, because in the Champions League the opponents they will face are also not like the usual teams, there are many big and strong teams that they have to face. In addition, the Champions League also requires a very strong mentality, because it will be very influential when they face heavy pressure. Pressure also does not only come from within the field, but the pressure can also come from outside the field. However, this is a great achievement for them, Girona can prove that they can also be in the Champions League with a struggle that is not easy. I hope they don't miss this opportunity, they must be able to show that they can compete, yes, even though it is something difficult for a team that is not used to it like them.

I don't expect teams like Girona and Bologna to do well in the Champions League next season. However, there is no doubt that both these teams have played brilliantly in the last season. The Girona team competed for the La Liga title. And it was a completely unexpected event. The Girona team has struggled to avoid relegation in the past. But last season this team fought for the title.

However, we have seen erratic performances from Girona's players in the matches at the end of the season. Moreover, if you want to perform consistently well in the Champions League, you need a lot of experience. Girona and Bologna management may be able to build stronger squads if they spend money. But getting the squad players experienced will not be an easy task for Girona and Bologna.

No one underestimates Girona now. I also think the same as you, it is not impossible for Girona to go to the knock-out round. This team has a strong spirit, they are a typical club that want to struggle and do hard work in each match. However, they have a problem with squad quality now because some of the main players leave the club. Eric García, Yan Couto, Pablo Torre, Savinho, Pau Víctor, and Aleix García are no longer staying in Girona squad. I think the departure of these players will bring significant impact to the strength of Girona team. If Girona couldn't find proper players to replace the role of those players, I am not so sure they will go far in UCL this season.

Kindly learn Girona current transfers: https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-girona/transfers/verein/12321

Anyway, UCL will be always difficult for any team. Moreover, for an average team like Girona, they are not a team which often plays in UCL. It is not surprising if they need time to adapt with the atmosphere of UCL. I just hope Girona won't drop their performance very much, so we can see Girona to struggle reaching the knock-out phase.

Several new teams will show their best strength in the Champions League, newcomers such as Girona, Leverkusen and Bologna will certainly be the scapegoat. But they can overcome that if they are able to provide a good run when facing other strong teams. Of course, it is very true that the Champions League is a fairly competitive league because there are many big teams that have stronger strengths, such as Real Madrid and Manchester City. This season, of course, the newcomers will be very stressed if they face a team full of experience in the Champions League like Madrid.
If big changes are made by management in the transfer market, of course there is great confidence that new arrivals can break many existing assumptions. So we'll just have to wait and see how they do in the Champions League this season.

In the old format, if you were from the 3-4 basket, you would end up in a group with, for example, Inter + Bayern, and that would be the end of your performance (you could fight for third place and a ticket to the LE). Now, after each defeat, you will end up on a weak team (mostly, of course, sometimes there will be unpleasant surprises) and you will have a chance to improve the situation. Roughly speaking, earlier, to get to the playoffs, you had to be better than some top clubs, but now you will just have to be better than weak and average clubs. In my opinion, the difference is very big.

Don't forget Atalanta in the last 3 seasons because they also did the same thing where they failed which actually affected their performance in domestic competitions.

It's definitely not easy for Girona because after all, with their current situation with limited players (some core players also left) they have to struggle with a schedule that is busier than before.

Indeed, they will definitely try to do better because this is a rare opportunity that they must use well but they must also remember that their focus must also remain consistent in La Liga so as not to let what happened to Union Berlin last season, they also felt the same thing where because of the increasingly busy schedule it made their performance chaotic in all competitions.
They are currently on a good trend and fan expectations are still quite high and this is the test they must take so that the situation remains an advantage for them in the new season.

Like other breakout teams, Girona might find it very hard to cope with the intensity of the Champions league. It's not the Spanish league where they were familiar with all the teams they went up against. All the elite teams play in the Champions league and Girona will have much more on their plates. It's not just girona, but teams that arw prolific in their domestic league don't usually do well in UCL. See the likes or Salzburg or Newcastle as you have mentioned. I'd like to think that teams like that mainly consider their UCL qualification as an achievement and anything after that — getting past group phase, knockout stages, eyc as a bonus. Not to mentioned thru have sold some of their best players.