I know Cavani is probably wildly out of game-shape but if he makes it onto the pitch today I expect nothing less than a brace from him, in observance of the all-powerful ex-PSG player curse

legit forgot about kid. if he stays healthy he should bench one of Maguire and Lindelof pretty quick. he's got all the ability and mentality to be what we need there. he's also fast (unlike maguire) and not a pussy (unlike Lindelof)

him and WB were one of the big reasons Ole's bus parking worked so well today. Well that and Tuchel going with 3 #6s for no discernible reason. And Pogba's entrance clearly shifted the game late in Man U's favor

the second half looked a track meet, and Telles was getting wayyyyyy upfield with 3atb

that little split step up before they dive, EVERY keeper comes off the line.

what is it with Kimpembe giving away soft pens to Man U?

“A, Manolo, shoot that piece of shit( Frank).”

backline is a *mess*

Roberto needs to be replaced by dest at RB. he's a step slow and it was obvious against a hungarian team. Dest made some mistakes (the best opportunity for the fenerv squad was because Dest didn't sink in and see the midfielder to mark, not because of Lenglet), but his speed and confidence is what the team needs.

Pjanic > Busquets for this squad right now. Alena and Riqui aren't going to get chances because Pedri is the f*cking truth at 17 along with Fati too? goddam. I was about to post a "Trincao is Andre Gomes' skinnier younger brother, convince me I'm wrong" right before he started dazzling too. promising player--but he and dembele have the same problem of not seeing the pass yet (Trincao did in POrtugal, so I have hope). the future of the attack is bright, though I saw a lot of time where no one made runs into the box and it stifled the offense--reminiscent of one of the main flaws during Pep era--need some sacrificial runs into the box to create space for others.

If Dembele is cool being a super-sub, his pace coming into the game at 60 minutes or so would be so good. coutinho looks revitalized. Greizzy...i'm finally on the gotta go side. Just not fitting.

but the backline. my god, pique doesn't know how to play the angles for his reduced pace like Puyol did and Lenglet doesn't have the athleticism young Pique had to cover. Neto's not in Ter Stegen (or Valdes') league, so some of it is a keeper who isn't a sweeper and not as vocal, but there will be very few clean sheets even with Ter Stegen back. Man, I miss pre-injury umtiti.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

A lot of people weren't paying attention, but he was saving Barca. A LOT.
I missed the game, so I'm glad to read your commentary on it.
It's going to be a weird year for sure.

down two to shaktar after 35 minutes? mad I didn't tune in earlier!

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

honestly worried for barca this weekend. real is going to be out for blood after getting just WERKED.

And Shaktar has 10 players out with injury or COVID? WTF
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

>honestly worried for barca this weekend. real is going to be
>out for blood after getting just WERKED.

the last couple of years have been sleepytime

Rodrygo- jovic- ascensio
Benzema not starting...

No Ramos...old, and out of his prime, but still keeps the defense in check. They are going to move on from Varane. He has been exposed and doesn’t appear to be Ramos’ future replacement as leader of Madrid.

No hazard....and none of the other players know how to provide service.

Zissou might get sacked after the season, especially if hazard never comes to form. He was the one who really wanted him. Perez wasn’t high on him, and the team is losing their patience with his constant injuries.

Bottom line: Real Madrid is old and stale right now, and the young players might be overrated. They did have defense going for them, but now even that is an issue. So now they are not scoring or defending.


Poch circling in the air over MU, Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Seems like Zissou was able to light a fire under everyone.
He dropped Rodrygo and put Benzema in....and boom.

Was probably trying to really save benzema for rotation purposes ....but since
Rodrygo was shit...had to play him.

>Seems like Zissou

it's Zizou fam

Yes, because he looks like a ball headed Bill Murray ...

I’ve been calling him that for years as a running gag. ...

And considering adidas even made a Steve Zissou sneaker, and zinedine used
to be signed with Adidas, surprised they never did some wacky commercial on the two.

That was a damn penalty.

.wtf. I don’t know about that...

Madrid caught looking towards the Barcelona game...so some players didn’t start.

But this team still needs to be gutted...

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

I’m just upset. He did block the vision of the GK.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

Golazo channel is kinda perfect for group stages when your team isn't playing

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

He’s a wild man.

If you said "a black street vendor running from the police" then there might be a job for you in a Spanish newspaper.

And holy shit at the rest of the rant.

----------------------

Barcelona's Ansu Fati subject to offensive match report: paper apologises

Reuters

Spanish newspaper ABC has issued an apology to Barcelona star Ansu Fati after their match report compared his pace to that of a "black street vendor fleeing the police."

The 17-year-old put in an impressive display in Barcelona's 5-1 victory over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Tuesday night, scoring their second. However, the aftermath of the victory was soured by the paper's description of the Guinea-Bissau-born Spain international.

The paper's match report said: "Ansu in full flight has something of a gazelle about him, of a very young, black street seller that you suddenly see running along Paseo de Gracia when someone shouting 'water, water' (to warn other street sellers) announced that the local police have arrived.

"Now this kind of thing does not happen, because, for Ada Colau (the left-wing mayor of Barcelona), the criminals are the police and not the street sellers, who no longer have to run away. It is also true that without tourists, business is rather weak."

ABC is known in Spain as a newspaper that favours right-wing political parties and is an advocate of their policies.

The author, Salvador Sostres, issued a public apology on the ABC website on Thursday morning. He said: "As I attempted to highlight the beauty of Ansu' movement, and his class as a young player, some expressions were interpreted as racial discrimination.

"That could not be further from my intentions, or opinions, which are very favourable towards the player, as I have always expressed in my match reports since he made his debut.

"I deeply apologise for the misunderstanding and to those who may have been offended."

The report received widespread condemnation on social media, with Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann tweeting: "Ansu is an exceptional boy who deserves respect like any other human being. No to racism and no to bad manners."

Former England and Barca forward Gary Lineker retweeted Griezmann's thoughts and said that the report felt like "stepping back 50 years."

Barcelona mayor Ada Colau also demanded a retraction from the newspaper and tweeted "All my support to Ansu Fati and to all the young, anonymous people who fall under this characterisation or stigma due to the colour of their skin."

The amount of detail in his description of the scenario is true dedication to being a sack of shit.

>Salvador Sostres, issued a public apology on the
>ABC website on Thursday morning. He said: "As I attempted to
>highlight the beauty of Ansu' movement, and his class as a
>young player, some expressions were interpreted as racial
>discrimination.

>"I deeply apologise for the misunderstanding and to those who
>may have been offended."

good showing from Marcus Thuram though, he'd been slow to start this season so this is nice for him

Benz0.

Need this draw badly. Hazard was unlucky on his strike. It should be tied right now.

Hazard should have started...but I understand why he came off the bench in his first game back.

The Attack got better when he come on.

No message

Draw!!!


Hello yeah!!

We are back!!

Especially in early group stage.

GD is only -1,plus the 1 point. Had we lost, We would have been focked

But GOD hazard came on and sparked the attack.

We are about to catch wreck!

Now if only Chelsea can get their shit together..

Motm. Dude. Fock it. Best GK in the world. Yep, I said it!
Nothing but clean sheets! Even when the rest of the team was shit.

For 70 mins we were abysmal. The Odi goal was due to the GK committing a howler.
Again, Frank started different players and a different formation (4-3-3). Odi-Werner-Ziyech didn’t look good, and kai-Jorginho-Kovacic in the middle were even worse. We let the opponent run all over the place, and they should have scored, but Mendy wasn’t having it. Just a bad lineup and formation overall

However, frank made a three way change in the 70th min. Pulisic-Mount- Kante came on for Jorginho- Odi-Kovacic. We immediately dominated the game after that. Pulisic drew a hand ball penalty, which Werner drilled in with precision. After that, pulisic connected with Werner, who slid a nice pass into Ziyech for his first Chelsea goal. Tammy and Emerson came on after that, and Tammy set up Pulisic for a nice goal.

The scoreline is flattering, because for most of the game we were shite. However, we illustrated our great offensive ability once we put better players on the pitch.

Good stuff by Chelsea and Madrid during this week’s CL.

From now on Mendy will be known as “The cleaner”

can't play that way all game against strong sides, but against teams that park the bus and/or a russian team it seems like the way to go moving forward.

we got 10 minutes of what I envision as the strongest attacking starting lineup and it was wonderful.

Timo
CP 10/Ziyech
Mount/Kai
Kante (strictly as DM)

It was very impressive. However, was it due to it being purely a good relationship, or
was it due to the opponent being weak and tired?

We shall see how it translates in the EPL.

Pulisic looks healthy.

he was a hot name amongst the folks that want to replace Ole every time we drop points. Ole stitched him up today.

Upamecano...yikes. BBQ chicken for rashford today

running rings around the opps and the politicians

glad he shook off that restart form

He really took his game to the next level when Ronaldo left.

This is getting brutal.

Atalanta are good too.

Firmino coming off the bench, Origi, Keita. Shits crazy.

I know they are missing Van Drza.....but them killer b's up front....

Other than that, bad defense

Decent game by hazard ...mofos we’re trying to kill him though.

https://old.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/jo1n5c/basaksehir_1_0_manchester_united_demba_ba_13/

what happened to leaving one man at the damn halfway line

https://old.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/jo1n5c/basaksehir_1_0_manchester_united_demba_ba_13/

what happened to leaving one man at the damn halfway line

no words.

balled the fuck out. he and ter stegen both saved at least three good shots a piece.
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

bright spots. Rennes was applying pressure for most of the game, and they were able
to score a goal to equalize the game. However, in the final minutes, Chelsea got the winner.

I have to take this game with a grain of salt because of players just coming back
from international duties. And once Ziyech, Giroud and Kante were subbed on, Chelsea’s attack got better.

definitely would've lost to a slightly better team.

at the same time this was not chelsea's strongest starting lineup. and werner and chilwell had shockers. timo needs a break.

gonna be interesting to see what formation frank goes with and who starts on saturday. i do think tammy or giroud need to play up top though.

hey Ney-Ney, in the name of all that is holy, STOP KILLING THE GAMEFLOW WITH YOUR COTDAMN STANDING AROUND

riqui got minutes (looked rusty but also some beautiful moments. let the kid play!), Alena looked like a legit midfielder, Konrad debut, and griezzy off the schneid with a solid goal.

i only watched the second half, but that looked like some pieces to build with. just...more likely better in a 4-3-3.
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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

this isnt the best example
https://streamable.com/5meex9

i saw one where he bent his run so far laterally that he might've been twice as far away from the ball as the defender and still beat him to it with ease. boy is a monster.

It was Madrid’s first win against Inter in San Siro.

Hazard led the way, and was more direct in this match, scoring on a PK.
Just need this to translate over to La Liga. Benzema still out injured.
RM looked very fluid.

Conte had no answers.

bizarre decision to have left him in there

Someone deserving of a starting spot is gonna miss out. The depth is real.

Ultimately it seems like Tammy is going to be relegated to cup duty. Puli probably misses out on a start this weekend as he works his way back from injury. But moving forward the attack is most likely CP/Werner/Ziyech with Giroud and CHO as primary backups. Tammy's development is going to suffer (which sucks), but the only thing he offers over Giroud at the moment is pressing. Giroud is still an elite striker.

Chelsea look very dangerous overall tho. Defense seems like it's stable as well. Not gonna win the Prem this year but next year? shhhhheeeeeiiiitttt

Chelsea has done a complete 360 defensively with the addition of Mendy and Silva. That was the main issue. Chelsea used to be a defensive shit show. Goals were never an issue.

I think it will come down to Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool.

Giroud is still good, but his movement is not as good as Tammy. Tammy’s movement really sets up Werner and Ziyech. He can’t finish like Giroud, and that is where Giroud is superior. However since we have so many scorers, it’s not a huge issue.

I prefer Giroud off the bench as an energizer, and it’s the reason why he is still playing
at a high level. He isn’t being played as a starter, so he doesn’t get burned out. If he were to play as a starter , his age would show.

i really wish Fred hadn't gotten that red last game but that's on Ole taking too long to sub him out. he should be starting and Pogba shouldnt be in the squad at all today.

Hmmm...Tino and Timo to be explosive in the future? TnT. I like it.

Weak lineup! Players being rested. Table already clinched.

Happy Gilmour in the lineup as well.

Kepa, rudiger, Christensen, Emerson.. lol

There will be no clean sheet!

Probably some 2-2 ,3-2 shit.

meanwhile the PSG game is getting ugly as the Turkish team are saying the 4th ref said "negro" to refer to one of their players. He's arguing that just means black in Romanian but I don't think the teams can resume until he leaves the pitch

this is so embarrassing for UEFA

My point would be why is he bringing up color in the first place? Why couldn’t he just refer to the player’s name or number?

Why is he saying black to begin with?

Glad they walked off.

they're saying the game is due to resume in 10mins, but dunno if Basakshir will be coming out, guess we'll see

2020, jeez

according to a Romanian journalist they had on the 4th ref was trying to get the main ref to send off assistant Pierre Webo by saying "the black over there, it's the black over there, his behavior is not allowable" (and he used the Romanian word for black, which is negru). Then Webo got really heated, and the ref gave him a straight red, while the whole Turkish team started protesting

They've switched out the racist with a VAR ref, but the PSG players are saying they won't come back on until the Basaksehir players say they're OK with resuming play, so I don't think this can lead to a forfeit decision

So he was referring to an assistant coach. Okay, cool. In your first post, it said player.

No worries

Still wrong and racist.

What was Webo doing to get the (racist) 4th officials attention?

jfc

when the coach flipped out at how he was pointed out, the main official gave him a red.

the red came just for the reaction, the main ref seemingly didnt know at the time what caused it

The ref , the assistant official, whoever. I’m like Ba. The word isn’t the problem. Okay, negro means black, but why are you bringing up color in the first place?

Why say this “black” guy?


Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba confronted Coltescu over his comments.

"You never say this white guy... so why when you mention a black guy, you have to say this black guy," Ba could be heard saying.

Ba, who was named on the substitutes bench, then led his team-mates off the pitch.

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1370054/Demba-Ba-PSG-Istanbul-Basaksehir-abandoned-racist-fourth-official-Champions-League/amp

youve never been on a basketball court and heard a white dude pointed out with the words "the white dude"?

i call bs on that lol

Direct action gets the goods.

Got damn!

It should be 3-0.

not an ugly one either

https://streamable.com/dmuit2

Mac doing Mac things!

and was probably the best player on the pitch in his 30 minute cameo today.

i still expect berhalter or whatever his name is to fuck up a good thing and throw out a starting lineup of like 70% MLS mediocrity in a meaningful game.

gimme all the overseas kids competing at top clubs. would rather see a guy like konrad over whatever try hard technically inept MLS guy berhalter probably prefers.

Just has "it". Pulisic just doesn't do it for me ( he's good). But Reyna feels like he'll be transcendent by the time he's 20.

with all the competition and expectations at dortmund he started to make himself undroppable last season at age 17. that says a lot.

Koeman's garbage and messi's definitely leaving.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

wowwwww

That RBL defender still can't believe he didn't score an OG. lol

that happened to me in high school (football) THROUGH the pad (left a dent) and i was fucked up for a few weeks

waist high ice bath, intense painful kneading, stretches that i squeezed out a tear for...the rehab was as painful as the injury

>wowwwww
>
>That RBL defender still can't believe he didn't score an OG.
>lol

At some point we need to be punished for not waking up until we’ve conceded

both teams stopped the game and left the field when the 4th official said something racist to istanbul assistant coach, apparently.

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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

obviously Man U shitting the bed today means the only thing at stake will be 1st place in the group, if PSG wins

but Juventus is fucking with the champs Lyon, up after the first half. The Italian clubs have been developing but have never really threatened anything like this. There's still a second half and second leg for Lyon to show that champion grit, and Juve is def on edge on defense with the fouls and yellows, but it's actually an exciting game.

https://wnited.tv/

dope

yeah, I think it will be at least at this stage. That site is new I never heard of it before, I used to have to find out how any home club was broadcasting when they let teams have the rights to the match and whether I could see it, the ones who used youtube were nice.

I know UEFA intends to use their web player eventually but I can't remember the plan for it anymore, maybe RO8, but that would stay free too unless they know someone has the rights in your country. I think technically whoever has rights to CL here could claim this too, but I know in Canada DAZN has it all but they don't do anything with it until the finals so these things don't get blacked out.

It is a nice pro to following women's soccer if you get sick of dealing with all that men's TV rights network crap!

Group B still completely up in the air, with all teams having between 5-8 points (Mönchengladbach, Shakhtar, Real & Inter)

Atalanta v Ajax to see who finished second in Group D in an early game

Salzburg v Atleti for 2nd place in Group A

By I’m rocking on the pitch in my drop top Benzo!

Los Blancos!

The motherfocking French just know how to get goals..Giroud,Benzema.
as long as they don’t have to face Z Germans.

16 February & 10 March
Leipzig (GER) vs Liverpool (ENG)
Barcelona (ESP) vs Paris (FRA)

17 February & 9 March
Porto (POR) vs Juventus (ITA)
Sevilla (ESP) vs Borussia Dortmund (GER)

23 February & 17 March
Lazio (ITA) vs Bayern (GER)
Atlético (ESP) vs Chelsea (ENG)

24 February & 16 March
Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) vs Manchester City (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) vs Real Madrid (ESP)

atalanta/real might be a lot of fun to watch. leipzig could fuck around and either find out or mess with liverpool.

psg/barca two big names that have underwhelmed this season up against each other.

>16 February & 10 March
>Leipzig (GER) vs Liverpool (ENG)
>Barcelona (ESP) vs Paris (FRA)
>
>17 February & 9 March
>Porto (POR) vs Juventus (ITA)
>Sevilla (ESP) vs Borussia Dortmund (GER)
>
>23 February & 17 March
>Lazio (ITA) vs Bayern (GER)
>Atlético (ESP) vs Chelsea (ENG)
>
>24 February & 16 March
>Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) vs Manchester City (ENG)
>Atalanta (ITA) vs Real Madrid (ESP)


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you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia

as always, one of the most important things is that City doesn't win.