The Champions League 2014-2015

Following last season's thread, which side is gonna win it this season ?

My bet's on Atletico Madrid.

@elkoldo: why?

real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, bayern Munich, and Chelsea all look stronger

Barca, Chelsea, Bayern all looked stronger last season as well....and if it wasn't for that suspiciously prolonged additional time, Atletico would've beaten Real too, not to mention that they beat Real twice after that game. And c'mon, PSG is a joke !

I see your Point, however Real in particular look even stronger this season they look unbeatable.

@thehig1: Yeah, I took a look at La Liga table the other day and their numbers were astonishing. 55 goals scored, 25 goals from Ronald alone.In contrast, Atletico's entire squad have scored 27 goals so far. Still, Real have barely faced a serious challenge this season so far, I mean, the only serious games they've played, have been 3 clashes against Atletico, and El Classico. They did well in the classico but Atletico smothered them in those 3 games.

The dude in my sig.

I would love to see an English club win but I think that the only possible club that can make it to the final would be Chelsea but I think personally that they will get knocked out in the quarter or semi finals as the foreign clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have become a lot stronger so I put my money on Real to lift the cup.

I think that Bayern will take this one!

Bayern is going to take it

At first I would've said Madrid or Chelsea, but the way the season's coming along, I'm betting Atletico, Barça or Bayern (I'd be so happy for them if atletico won. I'm glad they're getting the attention they deserve)

My bet is on Real Madrid. If Real doesn't won, I'll love to see FC Bayern Munchen with the title...

Real Madrid are taking a turn for the worse. They're overusing the same players too much and Ancelotti insists on using a 4-3-3 whenever all three strikers are available, when throughout the season they've proven to be more effective with a 4-4-2. I don't see them beating a big team, and if they have to face Atlético at some point they'll likely choke.

Small update: Atletico have just beat Real Madrid 4-0. Madrid were missing Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, James and Modric but still... 4-0...

i think it's Bayern or Real's now seeing their latest form.

Atletico still managed to kick the crap out of Real 2-0 in Copa del Ray, with Real pitching all of their superstars, and Atletico sidelining many of their key players.

However, it's a heartbreak how they lost the domestic competitions, hope they win the European cup this time around.

(Oh and, sorry for replying too late! )

Edit: Almost forgot, your beloved Barcelona seem to be facing an uphill mission tonight at Man City !

All so true... I guess it depends on who is in form at what moment in the season. I really hope Barcelona play at the level they've been playing since new year, with Messi inspired. We'll see what happens, can't say I share your sympathy with Atletico over the domestic cup though :P

You sure don't, I didn't expect you to ! :P

Your Barca had a rather easy job last night, despite what I had expected (given their showdown at the weekend against Malaga).

I'll tell you a fact: I once was a Barca fan, but since the departure of Guardoila, I kept losing interest in the team day after day, and with Tito's death, somehow my vague interest died too.

@elkoldo: The decisions leading to and after the departure of Guardiola have been quite a disappointment for me. I can't help but support Barça even if I'm against half the things going on at the club lately... It's like watching a person you love going down the wrong path :(

Good luck then, but note two things:

1. If PSG beat Chelsea, they can beat any team (except, of course, the almighty Atletico :P)
2. Don't be so hopeful about winning the cup with those crippled teams of yours :P , I mean if PSG win, as I said above, one way or another they're gonna get hammered by Atletico...and if Chelsea win, they, too, will eventually get flamed by Atletico....as, I'm sure, you know from last season's experience :P :P :P

I'm going to cry

LOL that was the strangest match ever.

Your lot pulled off one of the greatest performances I've ever seen with 10 men. Meanwhile we stuck to playing negative football with Costa wanting to fight anyone that got near him. Probably the worst I've seen us play since Villas-Boas.

Mourinho's reaction when the referee denied them a penalty was hilarious, both hands and both legs up.......

Man, in all fairness, I'm gonna miss this lunatic in the rest of the tournament.

lol Chelsea. That is all.

I have to ask... why do you Chelsea fans like Mourinho so much? Why did you want him back after those three horrible years at Real Madrid? I mean, he has to be the most inconsistent, weak-minded person I've ever seen in the sport...

Also Atletico have been sucking ever since they beat Madrid 4-0. Leverkusen look like they're gonna knock them out. Right now I'd say it's between Barça and Bayern Munich.

@ianhh6: Yeah they have given up the spirit. I can't remember the last time I saw them win a game. What's wrong with them.

@elkoldo: It's a pity too, because if they could win something again this year, they'd be an attractive team to sign for, but at this rate they'll just lose Koke, Griezmann and more to teams with bigger budgets...

@ianhh6: Yes but that worries me little. They have lost fine players before and each time they came back only stronger. What worries me is their spirit. I believe, they feel satisfied with last season's achievement. That's why they aren't doing enough this season. They need the spirit back.

Damn it's Tuesday already. Atletico probably gonna face their demise tonight :(

Messi on his way to win his fifth Ballon d'Or...

lol at the EPL.

That first half performance. Just... wow. Made the Mancs look like Sunday league amateurs.

Quarter-Finals:

• Barça - PSG
• Juventus - Monaco
• Madrid - Atletico
• Oporto - Bayern

Predictions? My bet is on Barça, Bayern, Juventus and Atletico reaching the semi-finals. Madrid are scared shitless of Atletico right now, and Messi is unstoppable. Bayern and Juventus are pretty self-explanatory...

I would definitely veto the draws, for it puts Bayern under immeasurable pressure for reaching the semi-finals.

WTF kind of drawing is this shit? Why didn't they just hand Bayern and Barca their place in the semi-finals?

I got Barca, Bayern, RM and Juventus. However PSG did look good with 10 players so it will be interesting.

I'll be rooting for Porto, Monaco and Atletico.

Lol geez. Somebody had to draw Porto (and Monaco). Anytime a top tier team draws a team from a second-tier league, somebody complains that the top tier team was handed a spot in the next round. Or would you rather Porto and Monaco face each other and have an undeserving team in the last four?

And I think PSG is good enough to at least keep it interesting against Barca. Juve got the easiest draw imo, but I'm rooting for Monaco, and Porto too.

Yeah but medicore team vs medicore team, topdog team vs topdog team would be fair. It frustrates me to see how Bayern have won an easy place in the last four by first playing Shakhtar then Porto. They have done next to nothing and here they are, semi-finals.

And though PSG were marvelous in Stanford Bridge, I believe Barca have been granted an easy win too. PSG really doesn't have the personality of a topdog team.

But, Atletico, I do hope they keep up their beautiful form against RM. ( Actually I was hopping for Atletico to face RM in the final, to take last year's revenge.)

Bayern, Barca and Juve (after thousands of years) already have their place in the last four. I hope Atleti will, too.

@elkoldo: Mediocre vs mediocre wouldn't be fair. You'd just end up with a top-tier team going against a mediocre team in the last four. And then everyone would complain that "so and so team" got an easy road to the final. Bayern got lucky this year. I don't recall them getting lucky any other year recently. Oh well. I hope Porto sees all the disrespect and plays them well. I agree with you guys that the Madrid derby seems to be the most interesting matchup. Can't wait to see those games.

Arsenal thought they got a weaker team in Monaco and didn't respect them during that first leg and look what happened. Bayern need to be wary about that happening to them because Porto is a pretty damn good team.

Bayern have Pep Guardiola, it's not likely that they'll be underestimating any rival.

I have to say though, if either Barça or PSG reach the final, they can boast having had the more difficult road to it.

@ianhh6: PSG yeah but Barca's road has been no match for that of Atletico's. That is if Atletico make it to the final.

And a small remark on last night's Classico, for your sake, I hope the first leg's 3-1 defeat at Madrid doesn't turn out to be punisher; It's easy to drop 4 points in the remaining games if you have to play Sevilla, Valencia and Atletico!

Jesus I'm so stressed and anxious I think I either won't sleep at all, or I'll get very little sleep tonight (and I got two morning classes tomorrow) :(

Atleti-Real coming up tomorrow - I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this. I think a 1-0 win would be perfect but I'll be totally satisfied with a goalless draw as well, knowing that conceding no goals at home gives you the edge in the away game.

So, about how lucky Bayern got with this draw....

Barcelona won pretty easily though, as expected.

@GamerForca: Bayern WERE lucky with their draw, it's their ineptitude that cost that much. They were a shambles in defense. (What would've happened if they had drawn Real or Barca?) )

But Jesus.....THREE-FUCKING-ONE? Are they ever gonna undo that?

A 2-0 at home isn't at all impossible, especially when considering the errors were individual, not tactical or collective, and they still are lucky with their draw. Even after a 3-1 they have genuine possibilities of going through, which is more than can be said for PSG.

What I hope for for the semifinals: Barça, Atletico, Juve, Oporto.

What I think will actually happen: Barça, Madrid, Juve, Bayern.

For the sake of my anti-madridismo: ATLEEEEEEEEETIIIII

@ianhh6: Yeah a 2-0 is not at all impossible, but I can't shake off the memory of Barca-Inter semi-final in 2010.

Why did you change your opinion on Atleti-Real? Now with a 0-0 at home, Atleti have even better chance to progress: They can win the tie without literally having to win the return leg. Real don't have this chance!

(a common rookie mistake about two-legged knock-out stage is to reckon an away 0-0 is in your favor. I said this last year to @Aljosa23 as well when he thought his beloved Chelsea had won the tie when they left Madrid with a 0-0.)

@elkoldo: The result is technically favorable, but I dunno... Madrid have a track record of grossly coming out on top. Shalke is the closest example, and before that the final last year.

If they didn't have Modric I'd be all "lolreal", but they are just much more solid with him. Thankfully there's still Ancelotti to **** things up with the 4-3-3, in stead of a 4-4-2, so yeah, I guess Atleti do have a chance!

Also don't get me started on that return leg, Toure's arm was stuck to his body before Bojan's goal, Ibra had his shirt ripped in the area from a pull, and Milito's goal in the first game was offside :@

Yeah but they also have a terrible record of scoring/conceding against Atleti.

Finally someones shares my opinion on Carlo!

Plus Dani Alves was fouled in the box in the first leg!

Oh yeah... that too... goddammnit that shoulda been ours! We'd have had three champions leagues in a row!

@ianhh6: But in all fairness, Pique's goal was offside :P

Shit, Bale just strained a muscle. From the look of the things, chances are he'll miss the return leg.