2015-16 NIT: the Europa League thread
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
I'll take a 1-0 in Kazan all day. Lovren didn't look shockingly bad. Sakho was immense yet again, and Ibe had his best showing in about a calendar year.
Another win for Molde and Ethan Horvath, who clinched a place in the knockout round with two games to spare after their 2-1 victory over Celtic. They've beaten Celtic home and away, Fenerbahçe away, and drawn with Ajax at home. Not a bad way to get to the knockout rounds for the first time in club history.
Dortmund, Napoli, and Rapid Vienna are also through.
Dortmund, Napoli, and Rapid Vienna are also through.
Bordeaux gave up an equalizer in stoppage time as well, so they are 3 points clear of 3rd with 2 games to play.PedroSpecialK said:
German teams got f***** pretty bad today.
Besides Bayern getting one of the worst possible CL draws, every Europa League team could be kicked out:
Dortmund-Porto
Augsburg-Liverpool
Shaktar-Schalke
Sporting-Leverkusen
With Klopps11 being so up and down, every draw is a toss-up and could go either way, i guess.
Besides Bayern getting one of the worst possible CL draws, every Europa League team could be kicked out:
Dortmund-Porto
Augsburg-Liverpool
Shaktar-Schalke
Sporting-Leverkusen
With Klopps11 being so up and down, every draw is a toss-up and could go either way, i guess.
Round of 32 to played 18 February and 25 February
Home Team in First Leg vs. Away
Valencia vs. Rapid Vienna
Fiorentina vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund vs. Porto
Fenerbahce vs. Lokomotiv Moscow
Anderlecht vs. Olympiakos
FC Midtjylland vs. Manchester United
Augsburg vs. Liverpool
Sparta Prague vs. Krasnodar
Galatasaray vs. Lazio
FC Sion vs. Braga
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Schalke
Marseille vs. Athletic Bilbao
Sevilla vs. Molde
Sporting Lisbon vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Villarreal vs. Napoli
Saint-Etienne vs. Basel
Home Team in First Leg vs. Away
Valencia vs. Rapid Vienna
Fiorentina vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund vs. Porto
Fenerbahce vs. Lokomotiv Moscow
Anderlecht vs. Olympiakos
FC Midtjylland vs. Manchester United
Augsburg vs. Liverpool
Sparta Prague vs. Krasnodar
Galatasaray vs. Lazio
FC Sion vs. Braga
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Schalke
Marseille vs. Athletic Bilbao
Sevilla vs. Molde
Sporting Lisbon vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Villarreal vs. Napoli
Saint-Etienne vs. Basel
Manchester United losing 2-1 to a Midtjylland team that is third in Denmark and haven't played a competitive match since December 10th. How low can LVG bring this club?
Yes, it is. Tonight, however, they just looked like the club that wanted to win more.
Sturridge missed a sitter early in the second half... slightly disappointed with a 0-0, but there were the typical Moreno/Mignolet terror moments, so can't complain too much.
Epic week for La Liga. Five teams, 5 wins, 13-0 in goals across all competitions -- and Barcelona and Atlético didn't even play.
I'd say that "Somewhere in a dark corner, an Arsenal fan shudders", but I think that statement implies Arsenal fans have hope.
Yeah, we're on to Old Trafford. (Already.)
Seriously, I can see Arsenal getting a result of some kind at the Emirates - they have a decent track record against Bayern and Barcelona in recent years of doing just that. But over two legs? I can't see it.
Seriously, I can see Arsenal getting a result of some kind at the Emirates - they have a decent track record against Bayern and Barcelona in recent years of doing just that. But over two legs? I can't see it.
Until I heard him bitching about the Liverpool players in the box before the penalty was taken, I didn't realize it was Lalas.
Should be an awful 90 minutes for our ears.
Should be an awful 90 minutes for our ears.
It's the same commentary team from the Sounders-America CONCACAF Champions League game the other day. It wasn't too fun listening to them then, either.
The one positive thing I will say it's nice not hearing Ray Hudson have an orgasm every time someone touches the ball in the box.
The one positive thing I will say it's nice not hearing Ray Hudson have an orgasm every time someone touches the ball in the box.
Another positive is that there is now no way this game goes to extra time. I really was hoping to avoid that 3 days before a cup final.
Fox coverage of this stuff is why I go with ESPN Deportes.
As a bonus, their streaming also actually works!
As a bonus, their streaming also actually works!
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When I saw 5 minutes go up, I was waiting for the 94th minute nut punch. Happy that it never came.
This is far more commonplace around the world than you might think, by the way - e.g., there are dozens of games each month on UK TV taking place outside of the UK, and apart from games involving UK clubs, nearly all of them are broadcast "off-tube" rather than in person, with only rare exceptions like Real-Barca in La Liga. And speaking as someone who has commentated on games both in person and in a studio, there are actually advantages to being in a studio. The quality of output is down to how you use the resources available to you.
Meanwhile, Gary Neville's rise from the ashes at Valencia continued in Austria, as they defeated Rapid Vienna 10-0 on aggregate over the two legs. I've looked but can't find when any club last won an aggregate tie by 10 goals or more; HJK Helsinki defeated Welsh side Bangor City 10-0 in the second qualifying round for the Champions League in 2011-12, but to win by 10 goals over two legs after the group stage (against a team which did well enough to advance to the knockout stage) is pretty astonishing.
All three BPL teams advancing and 1 out of the 3 Serie A teams advancing is a big deal for keeping the 4th UCL slot, right?
Yes, that put to bed any chance of Serie A surpassing the EPL in the UEFA coefficients, but I've argued that it was never particularly likely to happen. Last season was the best and worst yearly coefficient that Italy and England respectively have had in quite a while. Since just about everyone would agree that top English clubs are generally stronger than top Italian clubs right now, it's no surprise to see a return to the usual.
England has a chance to run up the score now. Roma and Juventus probably won't advance to the CL quarters, leaving only Lazio.
The Round of 16 draw is pretty good:
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Anderlecht
Basel v. Sevilla
Villarreal vs. Leverkusen
Bilbao vs. Valencia
Liverpool vs. Man U
Sparta Prague vs. Lazio
Dortmund vs. Tottenham
Fenerbahçe vs. Braga
Some big ones in there.
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Anderlecht
Basel v. Sevilla
Villarreal vs. Leverkusen
Bilbao vs. Valencia
Liverpool vs. Man U
Sparta Prague vs. Lazio
Dortmund vs. Tottenham
Fenerbahçe vs. Braga
Some big ones in there.
Man U. probably couldn't have asked for anything better. Mediocre competition and they can sleep in their own beds.
Bummed for my Spurs though. Dortmund looks to be quite a handful. Plus the whole Yids in Germany thing.
I really wish they had country protection through at least another round. Especially for a tournament that has no wider significance (we're not trying to crown a champion here, so fairness concerns don't matter as much), really the whole point is seeing fun, unusual matchups with teams from different leagues that don't normally play each other. Is anyone really interested in Bilbao v. Valencia? Man Utd v. Liverpool is an exception because it's a rivalry game, but they already play each other at least twice a year.
Brutal draw for both Spurs and Dortmund; on current form, those are probably the two best remaining teams.
Brutal draw for both Spurs and Dortmund; on current form, those are probably the two best remaining teams.
Unbelievable. Looks like Spurs/Dortmund and Liverpool/United are both on FS2, which Comcast doesn't get.
Fucking Comcast.
Fucking Comcast.
And to make it worse, Spurs/Dortmund is on full ESPN Deportes, so I think I'd need that channel to stream the Spanish broadcast, instead of it being ESPN3 and a free stream like most Europa games are.
I might need to listen to a radio broadcast of this game.
Or work during my workday, heaven forfend.
I might need to listen to a radio broadcast of this game.
Or work during my workday, heaven forfend.