Topic: UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread - page 223. (Read 129819 times)

That is more than correct.

Who would have though that Benfica will score 3 goals on Anfield ? Most likely almost no one but let's not forget also they had 2 goals invalid for off-side so Benfica was a well deserved team to be this far into UCL.

The most epic UCL season can end up with a final between City- Arsenal for all or nothing.

Benfica fought until the last minute and this deserves appreciation in this regard.
They know their chances are slim, they also know Liverpool's players are much better in terms of Individuals but they don't give up on things like this. The match was quite exciting, the 6-goal drama was proof that this was not an easy match for Liverpool.
Good enough for benfica and Congratulations To Liverpool, now they have to prepare for other competitions like FA Cup and EPL title race. on the other hand for the Champions League they will also face another dark horse team

Liverpool is very much dependent on Mo Salah more this season, that's the reason they fell off the top of the log at the time Salah was absent because of Egypt participation in the AFCON. They were struggling in the league for quite some time. Although they now have exciting players who can turn games to their favor if Salah or Mane are not performing but to compete in a marathon competition every team need at least two consistent players to rely on.

From the start of the match, Atletico Madrid was seen playing a tight guard and they did not hesitate to play rough. Even before the game was about to end, where Atletico Madrid couldn't score yet, the situation is getting worse because they look very frustrated and they play rough games more and more. If Atletico Madrid chooses to play aggressively, they should be aware of the consequences, where there is the potential for them to receive yellow/red cards and of course, it was also an opportunity for the Manchester City players to buy time.

The Liverpool vs Benfica game was a cracker, six exciting goals from the game. After Liverpool went 3-1 up in the game, everyone thought that is it! Like Liverpool was riding to victory but Benfica thought otherwise. They fought back and score two more goal to draw the game. Congratulations to Liverpool for qualifying but big kudos to Benfica for their mentality in the game.

I applaud the enthusiasm shown by Benfica last night, despite being behind, but in the end Nunes and his friends managed to equalize to 3-3, and aggregate to 6-4, but I think last night Jorgen Klopp did not field their main players , because Jorgen Klopp made the decision not to play Vandjik, Robertson and Arnold, to maintain their fitness, if jorgen fielded them from the start of the game the result would be different, I'm sure jorgen klop's decision not to field 3 of his mainstay defenders because jorgen klop has a mission to beat Manchester city ​​in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on the 16th.

Liverpool has the right to go to the semifinals because of a good performance in the first leg, the result in the first leg gave Liverpool an advantage. Benfica tried to turn things around in the second leg, but Liverpool were too tough to beat. Benfica's struggle in the second leg was very surprising, they managed to score three goals against Liverpool. Despite failing to advance to the semifinals, Benfica was eliminated with an honor.

A lot of people think that Liverpool are poor at home in the knockout stages this year, thinking that Sevilla will defeat Liverpool, yesterday game alone had 7 changes in the starting line up, three of the starting defence didn't start, the midfield had no fabinho and thiago came in the second half, even that attack too was rotated, of course no game is a guarantee, the team you are bringing up against Liverpool in the semi is currently placed 7th in la Liga, lost both home and away against man utd but look how well they have improved , nothing is given until the match day guys

Since Salah and Mane are the most important players in Liverpool. So our expectations from them are always higher. But these two players did not play well in yesterday's match. However, Firmino and Jota have filled their gaps very well. They have managed to score three goals. And for this reason, Liverpool is a stable team. They are not entirely dependent on any particular player. The team has lots of talented players.

You mean City would have a chance to win by 3 - 0 last night?
I did not see the match since Liverpool had their own match. But good to see City qualified and I would hope a City vs Liverpool final. Amazingly City never own CL yet and hopefully they do not make it this year too 🤣

I always wonder what happen to Liverpool's strategy when they play against City. They rarely go to attack until they concede a goal. It's like all are defending. It was too disappointing to watch the last City vs Liverpool match. We are fortunate that we did not lose three points.

There is some justice in your words. At one time, Atletico discovered this style - tenacious, viscous, anti-attacking football and many teams could not adapt to this style when ATM discovered it.
Now everyone has learned how they play and yesterday Manchester City beat Atletico in class with the help of his own weapons - delaying time, simulations, rolling the ball, a parked bus.

In the game between ATM and Manchester City looks balanced with the result 0 - 0 and brought Manchester City through because the aggregate became 0 - 1, so there is nothing wrong with the strategy in my opinion.
Likewise with Liverpool vs Benfica which played in a draw, only the aggregate number is superior to Liverpool with a total of 6 - 4 so Liverpool managed to qualify again and will meet Villarreal later

At the beginning of the match last night, Benfica and Liverpool attracted the attention of football lovers because both teams played quite well with an attacking strategy so that 6 goals were born in that match, Benfica was able to make the entire contents of the Anfield stadium able to equalize in the last minute of the match.
I saw Mane and Salah performance last night was very disappointing because usually these two players are always able to score goals.

I think they had a plan to avoid any goal in the first leg. They went to the Etihad and set up to line up behind the ball for most of the game. While Manchester City craved possession and made attempts to score, Atletico Madrid only sat back, frustrating the hosts and ballooning the ball at every chance. But the tactics backfired. You cannot keep this Manchester city team out for 90mins in Etihad. The resolve of Simeone’s side was finally broken in the 70th minute. For Atletico Madrid, though the game plan was simply to defend, and once they conceded, they didn’t have the temperament to open up and play.

The first leg I think it's quite feasible for Athletico to try to park the bus at Manchester City cage because the Etihad Stadium is very difficult to beat and lucky enough the 0-1 margin occurred at the Etihad Stadium at that time, but I don't understand is why when the second leg again was Atletico as well playing defensively even though they are playing at home, even though I thought maybe they would chase the aggregate goals in front of their own supporters, but it turned out that the second leg of Atletico were still trying to play defensively and obviously it was very profitable for a city that already had 1 goal capital, even though was a parking buses aren't banned but obviously the strategy is pretty boring to look at.

I am very glad that Athletico lost in their way. Faith and time-wasting.
interestingly, they have been very aggressive and without an understanding of the style of play, they have maintained for many years. if it was 3-0 for Manchester City it wouldn’t be as far as what we saw last night.

yes. The FA Cup is only one trophy that Chelsea will focus on. Real Madrid qualify can't be called lucky because they really play with good vision, even though against Chelsea in the second leg it was considered slow to find the rhythm of the game and for me Madrid deserved to qualify.
The strange thing in the Champions League 2nd leg is Real Madrid's neighbors. deserve not to pass.

Although Liverpool did not play all of their main players in the second leg match, the quality of the players Liverpool still quite good. So the fighting
spirit of the Benfica players was extraordinary in the second leg match, they can score 3 goals against Liverpool which is a good achievement.
Because not many teams can score many goals against Liverpool, because Liverpool are famous for their solid defense. Benfica's appearance was
very different when they played in the first leg, this second leg's appearance was Benfica's attack was much more effective. Even though Benfica
only had 33% possession of the ball and took only 6 shots, but they were able to score 3 goals which was extraordinary. Therefore, Benfica's exit
from the Champions League was quite honorable, because they were able to put up a fight even though they lost in quality to Liverpool.

Regarding Villarreal who will be Liverpool's next opponent, as you said, Liverpool have to be careful. Because Villarreal was able to get rid of
Juventus and Bayern, it was an admirable achievement, Liverpool could not underestimate Villarreal. Although Villarreal's performance was not
so good in La Liga, but Villarreal's appearance in the Champions League was very different, they turned into a strong team. Liverpool must find
a way to break through Villarreal's solid defense, but with the quality of the forwards that Liverpool have, and also with Klopp's well-known
strategy, Liverpool should be able to penetrate the Villarreal defense and be able to beat Villarreal.

Benfica's performance fascinated me. They played great. Benfica will score 3 goals in Anfield, it was completely unexpected. Benfica's players have pointed out Liverpool's defense problems.
And so if they want to play well against Villarreal in the next match, Liverpool must solve these problems. Villarreal will play defensive tactics. So it will be difficult to score against them. At the same time, Liverpool will not be able to win against Villarreal if their defense is not strong.

I was surprise with Benfica can scoring 3 goal on Anfield Stadium and they have more motivation although have loss first 3-1 before make draw become 3-3, maybe if have draw or loss under 1 goal on first leg will make between Liverpool vs Benfica most interested like Real Madrid vs Chelsea match. I think can't make easy predicting on semifinal between Liverpool vs Villareal because Bayern Munich and Juventus as top team eliminating by Villareal and looks careful for Liverpool.