2017 Champions League Knockout stage

SocrManiac

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I never, ever expected that the Madrids would be allowed to draw each other.

There's no easy draw here, but I'll be shocked if Monaco can beat Juventus. It doesn't matter how explosive they are offensively against Juve's organization and they're suspect defensively. I think Juventus go through.

Let the Madrids beat each other up- I really don't care.
 

Titans Bastard

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Arrest made in the BVB bus bombing case. It looks like the guy was trying to short stock. Bizarre.

The German-Russian suspect was arrested by a German federal anti-terrorist unit in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg on Friday morning and has been charged with attempted murder, causing a bomb explosion and aggravated battery, an official press release said.

The Federal Prosecutor's office in Germany says the man is suspected of having acted for financial reasons and had speculated on Dortmund's share value dropping after the attack.
http://www.espnfc.com/borussia-dortmund/story/3108585/suspect-arrested-over-bomb-attack-on-borussia-dortmund-team-bus
 

bosox4283

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Hey guys, this year is the year, right? I mean, this year is the year Atletico finally beats Real Madrid in the Champions League, yes? Atletico can't lose to Real Madrid in the Champions League four years in a row?
 

Zososoxfan

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Hey guys, this year is the year, right? I mean, this year is the year Atletico finally beats Real Madrid in the Champions League, yes? Atletico can't lose to Real Madrid in the Champions League four years in a row?
Certainly pulling for you, but I've been really impressed by this Madrid team. Modric, Kroos, Asensio, and Isco has to be the deepest MF of any squad ever. James is an afterthought, think about that! Atleti are well equipped to defend Real though, and that's what makes this real interesting IMO. Felipe and Juanfran are top notch defensive FBs and Godin is a general back there, so Real's effective crossing game should be neutralized a bit. Gabi, Koke, Saul, and the CBs will have their hands full defending in the middle (Benz will have a lot of opportunities), but Simeone will obviously have them ready. Atleti should certainly try to get under Casemiro's skin and get him at least a yellow - I know he had one against Bayern, so that would mean he's suspended for the 2nd leg, correct? Without Casemiro, Real can become unbalanced, with either Kroos dropping in or Danilo I guess, either of which would be a huge downgrade. Felipe Luis should have a few opportunities to get behind Carvajal, but Dani is more of the stay at home FB while Marcelo gets forward. The Griezmann will get knocked around by Ramos, but should be OK. The key will be the performance of the forward MF-striker, whether it's Gameiro (is he fit?), Carrasco, Torres, or the combo of all 3. The space Madrid leaves is in behind Marcelo, but Ramos is excellent at covering this quickly. Nevertheless, that has to be a big part of Atleti's strategy on offense.

Monaco-Juve should be a very fun matchup, with Monaco's high pace attack going against an incredibly stout Juve defense. I really think the world of Juve though, and think they can keep it fairly clean at the back and break against a leaky Monaco team. Cuadrado, Dybala, Pjanic, and Mandzukic are just lethal on the break and despite Higuain's best efforts, can usually score.
 
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bosox4283

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Does anyone have any info on buying tickets to the second leg of Atleti/Real Madrid? I'm sure Atleti gives almost all tickets to season ticket holders, but can individuals try to buy tickets? I'm seriously trying to go.
 

bosox4283

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Certainly pulling for you, but I've been really impressed by this Madrid team. Modric, Kroos, Asensio, and Isco has to be the deepest MF of any squad ever. James is an afterthought, think about that! Atleti are well equipped to defend Real though, and that's what makes this real interesting IMO. Felipe and Juanfran are top notch defensive FBs and Godin is a general back there, so Real's effective crossing game should be neutralized a bit. Gabi, Koke, Saul, and the CBs will have their hands full defending in the middle (Benz will have a lot of opportunities), but Simeone will obviously have them ready. Atleti should certainly try to get under Casemiro's skin and get him at least a yellow - I know he had one against Bayern, so that would mean he's suspended for the 2nd leg, correct? Without Casemiro, Real can become unbalanced, with either Kroos dropping in or Danilo I guess, either of which would be a huge downgrade. Felipe Luis should have a few opportunities to get behind Carvajal, but Dani is more of the stay at home FB while Marcelo gets forward. The Griezmann will get knocked around by Ramos, but should be OK. The key will be the performance of the forward MF-striker, whether it's Gameiro (is he fit?), Carrasco, Torres, or the combo of all 3. The space Madrid leaves is in behind Marcelo, but Ramos is excellent at covering this quickly. Nevertheless, that has to be a big part of Atleti's strategy on offense.
Atleti has a bit of a problem at RB: Juanfran is likely out for three weeks, so the best case scenario is that he makes it for the second leg. Sime Vrsaljko, the 25-year-old right back who actually won the starting position over Juanfran about half-way through the year, is still recovering from a ligament injury suffered about a month ago. He could be back for the first leg.

Gameiro hasn't played in a while, but Atletico has three matches between now and the first leg for Gameiro to get back into match-day rhythm. Gameiro, if he can get back on track, is better than Torres.
 

bosox4283

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Simeone will basically end up with the decision to strengthen the middle or go more offensive:

Defensive: It would be Tiago or Augusto instead of Gimenez, but Tiago is just back after a four-month injury and Augusto is still out.
Koke-Gabi-Gimenez-Saul
Griezmann-Carrasco

or

Offensive
Koke-Gabi-Saul
Carrasco-Gameiro-Griezmann
 

bosox4283

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Does Griezmann play on the wing normally?
Griezmann tends to play a free position on the pitch and is used as the game dictates. I think the statistic is that he's third in the Champions League in terms of number of kilometers run, which indicates he plays just about everywhere.
 

67YAZ

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Wow, so far Real look like the best team in the world - breaking through the Atletico press easily, winning one-on-ones all over the field, dominating all areas of the pitch. Only Oblak has kept this thing from being 3-0 already.
 
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Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Atleti are lucky to go into the break only 1-0 down but its still all to play for. Atleti need to pick up their intensity and they need to grab an away goal, even if they concede again. Carvajal went down at the end of the half for Real and that may cause them some problems.
 

67YAZ

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Atletico dropped the high press and started looking a bit better. Real was just too sharp in their passing to be pressed early on. But Simeone has to find some solutions at half time to create better counter opportunities.
 
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Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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2-0 Ronaldo. Atleti need to just go for it at this point. Pull back a goal and they're still in business. Go back to the Calderon at 0-2 and they're screwed. They're not winning 3-0 there.
 

Zososoxfan

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Real defend viciously and very well. Their passing in MF is sublime. CRon finishing his chances doesn't hurt either. Not sure how Atleti gets one, Griezmann and set pieces the only threats. This Real team is insanely good and deep.
 

bosox4283

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Real defend viciously and very well. Their passing in MF is sublime. CRon finishing his chances doesn't hurt either. Not sure how Atleti gets one, Griezmann and set pieces the only threats. This Real team is insanely good and deep.
For all the firepower Real Madrid has, their defense doesn't get much attention: it's fantastic. Atletico doesn't have the players or the plan to breakthrough a team that sits back--the matches against Leicester highlight this--but Atletico looked completely stuck for about an hour in the match with the credit really due to Real's stellar defense.
 

bosox4283

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Que decepcion! It's somewhat simple: Real Madrid played an outstanding match while Atletico barely showed up. Atletico looked uncharacteristically nervous and out of sorts, and never found a rhythm. The analysis is simple and straightforward, but here's a few notes, mostly so I can make some sense of what happened:

1. That Atletico had to go to its fourth RB option hurt the team. Real Madrid looked to take advantage of Lucas at RB by repeatedly attacking down his flank. Plus, Atletico really relies on its wings to attack, which allowed Real Madrid to focus all its defensive attention on Filipe Luis.

2. Koke, Saul, and Gabi completely lost the midfield battle. Koke missed many passes, Gabi wasn't the on-field general he was in last year's Champions League final, and Saul lacked that spark that he can show. Statistics back this up: way too many lost balls and poor passing percentages.

3. Isco was brilliant. I wish Bale had been healthy.

4. I think Simeone has not rested Filipe Luis enough this year, and Luis didn't look at sharp or as fast as normal.

5. Zidane deserves enormous credit for getting the most out of Casemiro (who is so important to the team's structure), Isco (who has played sparingly this year), Lucas Vazquez (I thought he was younger than 25, but he's been fantastic), and Asensio (really talented 21-year-old winger).

6. It is nice to be RM: Danilo - $31M, Kovacic - $29M, Coentrao - $30M all were after-thoughts for the match. Keep in mind that Bale - $100M was injured and James - $75M didn't even play. That's $260M in transfer fees not on the pitch.

6. Gameiro and Gaitain, Atletico's two big signings, have not met expectations this year. Gameiro has had moments when he's shown what he can do (he has 16 goals) but he was largely MIA against Real Madrid. Gaitain, likewise, has been a complete disappointment and offered just about nothing in this match.

7. Carrasco is a fascinating player: so much talented by often a half-assed effort. He seemed to sulk for a lot of the match and did not show much effort on defense. He and Simeone had a bit of a row this year over Carrasco's position: Simeone wanted him to play on the right, Carrasco wanted the left. They made peace, but I still don't think Carrasco likes playing in Simeone's system. It's somewhat akin to Arda Turan who just got sick of having to play so intensely on both sides of the ball and sacrifice his offensive prowess to play so hard defensively.

Anyways, Carrasco was bad like the whole team was bad, but in this particular instance, we needed the best version of Carrasco given his immense talent and didn't get it.
 

Zososoxfan

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This Juve-Monaco matchup is on fire so far. Awesome contrasting styles. Mbappe is the MF truth. Monaco with the 2 best chances so far. Juve's MF with silky passing though.
 

bosox4283

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I had a dream last night that Atletico won 9-0. I'm a little concerned I'm going crazy.

The statistic that is making the rounds is that Real Madrid has scored in 60 straight matches. If Atletico has any chance of winning and advancing, they cannot let Real Madrid score, which would make a victory even more improbable and even more heroic. I'm a Red Sox fan, so eternal hope is part of my DNA.
 

SocrManiac

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I don't see any realistic way back for either side.

Even if Monaco pull two back (a nontrivial task in Turin), are they really going to keep a clean sheet?

Same with Atletico. They aren't going to keep Real Madrid from scoring and don't even have an away goal. Can they hang 4+ up? Doesn't seem feasible.
 

bosox4283

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I don't see any realistic way back for either side.

Same with Atletico. They aren't going to keep Real Madrid from scoring and don't even have an away goal. Can they hang 4+ up? Doesn't seem feasible.
Atletico hasn't allowed a goal at home in the Champions League in many matches (maybe 11), so we have an interesting contrast of a rock-solid defense at home vs. a prolific offense.

Atleti needs an early goal. I know that's stating the obvious, but there is a slight chance that a quick goal unsettles Real and ignites what promises to be an electric crowd. The first goal will be tough, but I'd say the second goal will be enough more difficult: Real has an amazing defense, and will look to play for the counter.

I'm honestly hoping for penalties since there is a real small chance Atletico can win 4-0 without being overly exposed on defense.
 

Vinho Tinto

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I just don't see Atletico holding a clean sheet. One goal allowed means needing 5 to turn the tie. They'll be walking a high wire act.
 

67YAZ

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Monaco is pushing for it early here. We'll see how long they can keep up this pressure and/or how long it takes for Juve to hit on the counter.

Khedira off before 10 minutes with an injury, Marchisio on.

Edit: Juve seem perfectly content to Mendy have the ball. Dani Alves is playing narrow and breaking forward every chance possible. Not a bad strategy so far. Aside from one wicked cross cleared by Chiellini, Mendy has been particularly wasteful.
 
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SocrManiac

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Khedira was suspended for the first leg and Marchisio isn't exactly a chump, but I would have liked to have seen the original plan last a little longer.
 

67YAZ

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There it is. Not seeing how Monaco claw back in. Juve has been up to defensive task and is slicing open the Monaco backline at will.
 

SocrManiac

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Started by Buffon, because of course. Monaco have to push forward and invite the counters and Juventus will have no issue crushing them.
 

67YAZ

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Dani Alves on the full volley off a Subasic punch! Fantastic stuff.
 

67YAZ

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Will be interesting to see what Monaco do (or rather, what happens to the squad) this summer. I've seen rumors about Bayoko, Silva, Mbappe, Jardim, and even Mendy (which I'm not at all seeing today). Keep this squad together with some reinforcements at CB and overall depth, and they'd really be something impressive. We'll see how long they can hold out as the offers start rolling in...
 

SocrManiac

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It's going to be an insane ride, one way or another.

I'd love to see Buffon essentially complete his trophy cabinet.
 

InstaFace

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It's going to be an insane ride, one way or another.

I'd love to see Buffon essentially complete his trophy cabinet.
I'd certainly take that over the alternative.

Plus Dybala, Higuain, Cuadrado and Dani Alves are fun as shit to watch and root for. It's nice not to feel compelled to root against them for once.
 

wonderland

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I can remember Alves whining and complaining at Barca non-stop. I'll take a pass on rooting for him.