San Siro's Siren Call: 2015-16 UEFA Champions League

[Titans Bastard]

The next edition of the Champions League starts in less than a week, as unglamorously as ever with all your favorite Gibraltarian and Sammarinese clubs.
 
This year marks the first time the previous year's Europa League winner qualifies for the Champions League.  Sevilla didn't qualify for the CL via La Liga, so they give Spain a fourth team in the group stage, with a possibility for an unprecedented fifth if Valencia can qualify.
 
The knock-on effects on seeding mean that the 13th ranked country loses direct entry to the group stage (Basel is bumped into qualifying) and a few other clubs have been bumped to an earlier qualifying stage.  The first round has four pairings instead of three:
 
Lincoln Red Imps (GIB) vs. *FC Santa Coloma (AND)
Crusaders (NIR) vs. *Levadia Tallinn (EST)
*Pyunik (ARM) vs. Folgore (SMR)
B36 Tórshavn (FAR) vs. *The New Saints (WAL)
 
*Seeded teams
 
Pyunik won the Armenian title on the back of their American forward Cesar Romero, a Chivas USA castoff who had been out of the game for a year or two.  Romero won the league scoring title, but probably won't play for Pyunik here as he's out of contract and likely to leave.  He's been trialing in the RPL with Amkar Perm and also apparently has interest from Partizan and a couple of Liga MX clubs.
 
-----
 
Coming into the current season, La Liga has a towering lead over the EPL and the Bundesliga in the UEFA coefficients.  At this point, they would have to have multiple disastrous years to surrender their lead atop the rankings.  The battle for #2 in the rankings is on this year.  England staved off a challenge from Germany last season, but the EPL lost more points  when the 10/11 season dropped off and will begin 15/16 with a two point deficit.  That's hardly an insurmountable advantage for Germany, but England will probably be hampered by winning an eighth place in Europe via the Fair Play award.  Because coefficients are simply a calculation of points earned by a country divided by the number of clubs, West Ham United seems unlikely to pull their weight and will probably drag down the EPL's average.
 
There's no real advantage to being #2 rather than #3 other than pride.  The seeding of clubs in any given round's draw is determined via a blend of club and country performance over the past five years, so increasing a country's coefficient does help in that regard, but for countries this high up in the rankings it would have a negligible effect.
 
Serie A lies in wait at #4, ~3 points behind England and ~5 points behind Germany.  If Italy has another monster year in the Europa they could possibly move up in the rankings, but a lot of things will have to break the right way.  While they were the top-ranked league throughout the 1990s, Serie A's ranking has suffered because the top clubs aren't as successful in the Champions League as they once were and the second tier usually phones it in in the Europa League.  We will see if last year was a blip or the new reality for them in the EL.  One "benefit" is that they only have six clubs in Europa, which can sometimes be beneficial for the coefficient; not having to carry the (in theory) weakest 7th club should help the coefficient/average.
 
Portugal, France, and Russia are neck-in-neck for #5-7.
 
2010/11 was a big year for the Eredivisie and a bad year for Belgium.  Now that it has fallen off the rankings, Belgium begins the year with ahead of the Netherlands with a three point lead.  That's a bit weird to see, although Dutch clubs have been kind of pathetic lately.
 
The benefits of certain ranking positions are clearly defined here.

 

[swiftaw]

England are in danger of losing that 3rd spot in the rankings to Italy next year.  England are currently about 3.3 points ahead of Italy, but next year the points for 2011/12 will be removed.  In 2011/12 England had 15.250 points, and Italy had 11.357 points, thus, in order for England to stay ahead of Italy they would need to score at least 0.798 points more than Italy in 2015/16. (As a comparison, in 2014/15 Italy scored 5.429 points more than England, mainly due to Juventus and Hull). 
 
The difference between being the 3rd country in the rankings and being the 4th is huge, since the 4th only gets 3 Champions League spots.  I haven't seen anything in the English media yet, but this is a real possibility if the English teams struggle again and if the Italian teams do well. 
 
In case you were wondering how points are earned:
1. Each team gets two points for a win and one point for a draw (points are halved for matches in the qualifying and play-off rounds). 
2. Clubs that reach the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals or final of the UEFA Champions League, or the quarter-finals, semi-finals or final of the UEFA Europa League, are awarded an extra point for each round. 
3. In addition, four points are awarded for participation in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and four points for qualifying for the round of 16.
4. Points are then averaged by the number of teams a country has in European competition. 
 
So for example. last year Italy had 6 teams in Europe, 3 in the CL (Juventus, Roma, Napoli), and 3 in the Europa (Fiorentina, Inter, Torino).  They accumulated the following points:
 
Juventus: CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 7 wins (14 points) + 3 draws (3 point) + reached CL R16 (4 points) + reached CL final (4 points) = 29 points
Roma: CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 2 wins (4 points) + 4 draws (4 points) = 12 points
Napoli: 1 playoff round draw (0.5 points) + 8 wins (16 points) + 4 draws (4 points) + reached EL semifinal (2 points) = 22.5 points
Fiorentina:  7 wins (14 points) + 4 draws (4 points) + reached EL semifinal (2 points) = 20 points
Inter: 2 playoff round wins (2 points) + 4 wins (8 points) + 4 draws (4 points) = 14 points
Torino: 3 playoff round wins (3 points) + 1 playoff round draw (0.5 points) + 5 wins (10 points) + 3 draws (3 points) = 16.5 points
 
Total Points = 29 + 12 + 22.5 + 20 + 14 + 16.5 = 114
Thus, Italy points for 2014/15 = 114/6 = 19
 
Comparing that to England in 2014/15:
 
Manchester City: CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 2 wins (4 points) + 2 draws (2 points) + reached CL R16 (5 points) = 15 points
Liverpool: CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 2 wins (4 points) + 2 draws (2 points) = 10 points
Chelsea: CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 4 wins (8 points) + 4 draws (4 points)  + reached CL R16 (5 points) = 21 points
Arsenal: 1 playoff round win (1 point) + 1 playoff round draw (0.5 points) + CL Group Stage (4 pts) + 5 wins (10 points) + 1 draw (1 point) + reached CL R16 (5 points) = 21.5 points
Everton: 6 wins (12 points) + 2 draws (2 points) = 14 points
Spurs: 2 playoff round wins (2 points) + 3 wins (6 points) +  3 draws (3 points) = 11 points
Hull City: 2 playoff round wins (2 points) + 1 playoff round draw (0.5 points) = 2.5 points
 
Total Points = 15 + 10 + 21 + 21.5 + 14 + 11 + 2.5 = 95
Thus, England points for 2014/15 = 95/7 = 13.571

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

 
England are in danger of losing that 3rd spot in the rankings to Italy next year.  England are currently about 3.3 points ahead of Italy, but next year the points for 2011/12 will be removed.  In 2011/12 England had 15.250 points, and Italy had 11.357 points, thus, in order for England to stay ahead of Italy they would need to score at least 0.798 points more than Italy in 2015/16. (As a comparison, in 2014/15 Italy scored 5.429 points more than England, mainly due to Juventus and Hull).

 
The calculation is based on the five years previous to the current campaign so 11-12 will still be included in the rankings to determine 3rd place for the purposes of 2016-17 Champions League spots.  Once 2011-12 gets dropped, England will be in a tougher position down about .8 as you note over 2012-15 but there are two years to make up for that deficit.
 
England could drop 3.3 points in the rankings and lose the 4th UCL place next year but it is pretty unlikely, as making up that much ground is highly unusual in general.  Before last year, which was really a perfect storm of suck from English teams and success from Italian clubs, the last time Italy's score was >3.3 points than England's score in a single year was 2002-2003.

 

[swiftaw]

 
The calculation is based on the five years previous to the current campaign so 11-12 will still be included in the rankings to determine 3rd place for the purposes of 2016-17 Champions League spots.  Once 2011-12 gets dropped, England will be in a tougher position down about .8 as you note over 2012-15 but there are two years to make up for that deficit.
 
England could drop 3.3 points in the rankings and lose the 4th UCL place next year but it is pretty unlikely, as making up that much ground is highly unusual in general.  Before last year, which was really a perfect storm of suck from English teams and success from Italian clubs, the last time Italy's score was >3.3 points than England's score in a single year was 2002-2003.

Yeah, I meant the year after, not next year. 

 

[Titans Bastard]

3/4 of the first round first legs were played today.  The only winner was Armenia's Pyunik, who prevailed over Folgore of San Marino by a 2-1 score.  The winner was netted by an American, Cesar Romero, on what I believe was the last day of his contract.
 
College Europa held FC Santa Coloma to a 0-0 draw, which was enough to move Gibraltar ahead of San Marino at the bottom of the UEFA coefficients for now.

 

[JayMags71]

The winner was netted by an American, Cesar Romero, on what I believe was the last day of his contract.

DELICIOUS!

 

[Titans Bastard]

It's a glorious day for Gibraltar and the Lincoln Red Imps, who beat Andorra's FC Santa Coloma on the road to advance to the second qualifying round, where they will be summarily executed by Danish champs FC Midtjylland (who are an interesting story themselves).
 
With Pyunik's win and some good first leg results in the EL, Armenia has already equalled their best campaign in the last 7-8 years.
 
2nd qualifying round
 
Hibernians (MLT) vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR)
APOEL (CYP) vs. Vardar (MKD)
Qarabağ (AZE) vs. Ruder Pljevlja (MNE)
Sarajevo (BIH) vs. Lech Poznań (POL)
Maribor (SLO) vs. Astana (KAZ)
BATE Borisov (BLR) vs. Dundalk (IRL)
Ventspils (LAT) vs. HJK (FIN)
Midtjylland (DEN) vs. Lincoln Red Imps (GIB)
Molde (NOR) vs. Pyunik (ARM)
Malmö (SWE) vs. Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU)
Celtic (SCO) vs. Stjarnan (ISL)
Trenčin (SVK) vs. Steaua București (ROU)
Partizan (SRB) vs. Dila Gori (GEO)
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) vs. Milsami Orhei (MDA)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs. Fola Esch (LUX)
Skënderbeu Korçë (ALB) vs. Crusaders (NIR)
The New Saints (WAL) vs. Videoton (HUN)
 
 
 
Lest this seem totally pointless and obscure, allow me to remind you that five clubs from the "Champions Bracket" of the qualifying draw will make it to the group stage.  Three more clubs (Basel, RB Salzburg, Viktoria Plzeň) will join next round, so a bare minimum of two clubs in this draw will be going up against Barcelona, Bayern, and the like when the fall comes.

 

[DJnVa]

It's a glorious day for Gibraltar and the Lincoln Red Imps, who beat Andorra's FC Santa Coloma on the road to advance to the second qualifying round, where they will be summarily executed by Danish champs FC Midtjylland (who are an interesting story themselves).
 

 
That's a really cool article.
 
 

That’s one of the other mantras at the Danish club: distrust your eyes.
 
In fact, Midtjylland are questioning how valuable it is for their scouts to travel to live matches to evaluate players. 'One game doesn’t tell you anything as a scout. If you base your opinion of a player on a few games you’ve attended, it will blur your vision. It's a small sample. We believe it is more effective to see lots of matches on video.'
 

 
 
 

Last week, Ankersen travelled to Spain to meet with a player who is on a team in the Segunda Division. According to the model, however, the club plays like a mid-table team in the Primera Division; i.e. a lot stronger than its real-world position.
 
'And I’m not going there to watch him play,' Ankersen says – this could only muddle his opinion of the player, who he knows is good. 'It’s to convince him to move to Denmark.'
 

 

[Titans Bastard]

Lots of weird results in the 2nd qualifying round:
 
Hibernians 2-1 Maccabi Tel Aviv
 
That's Hibernians the Maltese club, not Hibernian the Scottish club.
 
Ludogorets Razgrad lost at home to Milsami of Moldova.  APOEL were held at home to Vardar (Macedonia), Malmö were held at home to Žalgiris (Lithuania) and Dinamo Zagreb were held at home by Fola Esch (Luxembourg).
 
Even Midtjylland could only beat Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps 1-0 at home.
 
 
Only five of the 17 ties look like they are even close to over right now.  One of them is Molde (Norway), who shut out Pyunik (Armenia).  20 year old US keeper Ethan Horvath kept the clean sheet in a 5-0 win.  He's been given a real opportunity to step up after the sale of their starter to Ingolstadt.  Getting to the CL won't be easy, particularly because they will almost certainly be in the unseeded pool starting in the next round, but by advancing to the third round they will at least have a path to the Europa League.  It is good experience either way.

 

[Titans Bastard]

More qualifiers today.  The biggest surprise of the round so far has been Milsami Orhei's home and away defeats of Ludogorets Razgrad, who reached the group stage last year.  Since the 3QR draw has already been made, Milsami takes over Ludogorets' role as the "seeded" team and faces Albania's Skënderbeu Korçë.  Although neither are likely to make it to the CL group stage, one of them is guaranteed to make the EL group stage (one will advance to the CL playoff round and probably parachute to the EL GS when they lose).  Neither club has ever reached a group stage before and no club from Albania has ever reached a group stage ever.  On the Moldovan side, Sheriff Tiraspol has reached the EL group stage on several occasions, but Milsami seems to be doing it with more domestic players.  Whereas Sheriff imported South Americans and Eastern Europeans, presumably with Transnistrian organized crime money.
 
APOEL squeaked by Macedonia's Vardar on away goals.  Maccabi Tel Aviv turned around an embarrassing road loss to Hibernians (Malta) with a 5-1 thumping in Israel.  Molde lost to Pyunik 1-0 on the road with American GK Ethan Horvath on the bench since the outcome wasn't in doubt after a 5-0 first leg win.
 
With the elimination of Dila Gori and Lincoln Red Imps, Georgian and Gibraltarian clubs are done for the season.

 

[Titans Bastard]

The second group of 2QR qualifiers were yesterday.
 
Kazakhstan's Astana turned around a first leg deficit to send home Slovenia's Maribor.  They'll face Finland's HJK in a 3QR matchup that should please both teams, similar to the Milsami-Skënderbeu pairing.  Neither country is accustomed to sending clubs to group stages, so a big opportunity for both to make it to at least the Europa League.
 
Steaua did their best to try to blow a hard-won 2-0 road win in the first leg by conceding twice early at home to Trenčin of Slovakia.  The Romanians ultimately lost 3-2 and squeaked through on aggregate.
 
Hungary's Videoton needed extra time to dispatch The New Saints of Wales.  Celtic had an easy time home and away with Stjarnan of Iceland.
 
3rd qualifying round draw
Champions Route
Lech Poznań (POL) vs. Basel (SUI)
Milsami Orhei (MDA) vs. Skënderbeu Korçë (ALB)
HJK (FIN) vs. Astana (KAZ)
Celtic (SCO) vs. Qarabağ (AZE)
Steaua București (ROU) vs. Partizan (SRB)
Midtjylland (DEN) vs. APOEL (CYP)
Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) vs. Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs. Molde (NOR)
Videoton (HUN) vs. BATE Borisov (BLR)
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) vs. Malmö (SWE)
 
League Route
Panathinaikos (GRE) vs. Club Brugge (BEL)
Young Boys (SUI) vs. Monaco (FRA)
CSKA Moscow (RUS) vs. Sparta Prague (CZE)
Rapid Wien (AUT) vs. Ajax (NED)
Fenerbahçe (TUR) vs. Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
 
 
Basel, RB Salzburg, and Viktoria Plzeň enter the "Champions Route", which is down to its final 20 clubs.  Over this round and the next, the field will be whittled to five clubs who advance to the group stage.
 
The "League Route" is tougher going, with the five winners joining Man U, Valencia, Leverkusen, Sporting CP, and Lazio in the final round to play for another five spots.
 
 
Losers in this round parachute to the Europa League Playoff Round.

 

[the1andonly3003]

when does FS1 start broadcasting these early games?

 

[Titans Bastard]

when does FS1 start broadcasting these early games?

 
I have no idea, but I'd speculate that they might pick up a game or two in the final qualifying round.  Probably Manchester United vs. whoever because people generally aren't interested about anything outside of England except El Clasico.
 
---
 
Today's slate is over.  Big away wins for Monaco (3-1 over Young Boys) and for Skënderbeu Korçe (2-0 over Milsami Orhei).  The Albanians are in the brink of getting to a group stage for the first time.  APOEL (2-1 over Midtjylland) and Viktoria Plzeň (2-1 over Maccabi Tel Aviv) also are in the driver's seat after winning on the road.
 
Panathinaikos were actually the only home winner in nine matches today, 2-1 over Club Brugge.
 
Four draws.  Ethan Horvath started in goal for Molde, who held Dinamo Zagreb to a 1-1 draw in Croatia.  Good experience for the kid.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Some wild games today:
 
Molde 3-3 Dinamo Zagreb (4-4 on aggregate)
 
Molde missed a penalty, then Dinamo stormed to a 3-0 lead in the first half.  Molde pulled one back late in the first half and then missed another penalty in stoppage time.  Molde made in 3-2 early in the 2H when they finally converted a PK on their third attempt.  Then their defender got a second yellow for mouthing off to the ref, but they scored a third.  They couldn't get a fourth and went out on away goals.
 
Horvath started at GK and apparently did well despite the three goals.  The missed PKs are a real waste for Molde, as they'll probably have a tough draw in the Europa playoff round.
 
Ajax 2-3 Rapid Wien (4-5 on aggregate)
 
Rapid scored two first half goals that were answered by two second half goals by Ajax (which was exactly the opposite of how the first leg played out).  But Rapid nicked a third in the late stages; Ajax needed two because of away goals and didn't get any.
 
APOEL 0-1 Midtjylland (2-2 on aggregate)
 
Midtjylland scored in the third minute and APOEL went down to 10 within the first half hour.  But Midtjylland couldn't capitalize and the Danes went down on away goals.
 
 
And then Monaco spanked soundly beat Young Boys 4-0 (7-1 on aggregate).  They'll be an unseeded team that no one wants to face in the next round.

 

[Titans Bastard]

More craziness so far today.  Astana and HJK tied 0-0 in the first leg in Finland.  HJK jumped out to a two goal lead in the second leg today, but Astana responded with three goals in the next 15 minutes.  Then Astana's player got a straight red.  HJK tied the game (and took the lead on away goals) with a late PK, but Astana scored off a stoppage time corner kick to win it, 4-3.
 
I have a soft spot for Kazakh clubs from having lived there for a few years, so I'm happy.  Astana will probably lose in the next round, but like Shakhter Karagandy a few years ago, they'll parachute into the Europa League group stage.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Barring late fireworks, the league route playoffs are going to look like this:
 
Seeded: Man United, Valencia, Leverkusen, Shakhtar, Sporting.
Unseeded: Monaco, Lazio, CSKA, Rapid Wien, Club Bruges.
 
Monaco and Lazio will be tough matchups for whoever draws them.

 

[Titans Bastard]

There were a bunch of seeding upsets in the champions route today:
 
1. Partizan beat Steaua 4-2 in Belgrade, advancing 5-3 on aggregate.
 
2. Malmö turned around a 2-0 deficit with a 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg.  Red Bull Salzburg just can't seem to qualify for the Champions League no matter how many chances they get.  They were knocked out by Malmö last year too.
 
3. Maccabi Tel Aviv knocked out Viktoria Plzeň 3-2 on aggregate.
 
 
Steaua, RB Salzburg, and Viktoria were not just seeded in 3QR, but were slated to be seeded in the final playoff round as well.
 
Seeded: Basel, Celtic, APOEL, BATE Borisov, Dinamo Zagreb
Unseeded: Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan, Malmö, Skënderbeu Korçë, Astana

 

[sachmoney]

Malmö pulled the same feat last year. They fell behind 4-2 against Sparta Prague in the first leg but won 2-0 at home. I can't help but root for them.

 

[soxfan121]

More craziness so far today.  Astana and HJK tied 0-0 in the first leg in Finland.  HJK jumped out to a two goal lead in the second leg today, but Astana responded with three goals in the next 15 minutes.  Then Astana's player got a straight red.  HJK tied the game (and took the lead on away goals) with a late PK, but Astana scored off a stoppage time corner kick to win it, 4-3.
 
I have a soft spot for Kazakh clubs from having lived there for a few years, so I'm happy.  Astana will probably lose in the next round, but like Shakhter Karagandy a few years ago, they'll parachute into the Europa League group stage.

 
How much is a victory like this worth to a Kazakh (or any "minnow") club's bottom line?

 

[Titans Bastard]

 
How much is a victory like this worth to a Kazakh (or any "minnow") club's bottom line?

 
Here's what I could dig up.
 
Suppose they lose in the next round:
 
€400k for winning in CL3QR + €3m for losing in the final playoff round + €1.3m for EL group stage participation + €200k per EL GS win + €100k per EL GS draw.
 
That's €4.7m even if they lose their next eight matches.  It would go up a little if they pick up points in the EL.
 
If they had lost to HJK, they'd parachute into the EL playoff round, where they'd be unseeded and have a tough draw.  Losing there would have earned them €150k.  So the victory over HJK is potentially a €4.5m win, although in the event they won in the EL PO round, the EL group stage money would apply and they could recoup some of that difference.
 
 
Of course winning also gives them a (slim) chance of qualifying for the CL.  CL PO winners get €2m instead of €3m, but then they also get €12m for group stage participation and meatier bonus for wins (€1.5) and draws (€500k).  Plus more TV money distributed by market share.  A Kazakh (or Albanian) club wouldn't get much, but it would probably be something.

 

[soxfan121]

Awesome info - thank you very much for explaining it so comprehensively. 

And that is a HUGE result and windfall for any club.

 

[Spacemans Bong]

That lack of windfall for Ajax is why people in the Netherlands are pissed. Calls for Frank de Boer to go, to drop the whole Johan Cruyff youth uber alles project that saw Ajax field a bunch of 22 year olds in a crucial Champions League game, etc.

 

[the1andonly3003]

There were a bunch of seeding upsets in the champions route today:
 
1. Partizan beat Steaua 4-2 in Belgrade, advancing 5-3 on aggregate.
 
2. Malmö turned around a 2-0 deficit with a 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg.  Red Bull Salzburg just can't seem to qualify for the Champions League no matter how many chances they get.  They were knocked out by Malmö last year too.
 
3. Maccabi Tel Aviv knocked out Viktoria Plzeň 3-2 on aggregate.
 
 
Steaua, RB Salzburg, and Viktoria were not just seeded in 3QR, but were slated to be seeded in the final playoff round as well.
 
Seeded: Basel, Celtic, APOEL, BATE Borisov, Dinamo Zagreb
Unseeded: Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan, Malmö, Skënderbeu Korçë, Astana

how are you watching all these games?
 
w/ NBC announcing 2 matches shown at the 10am time slot...I can only dream about how NBC would handle UCL

 

[Titans Bastard]

how are you watching all these games?
 
w/ NBC announcing 2 matches shown at the 10am time slot...I can only dream about how NBC would handle UCL

 
I didn't watch any of them...just followed along on Soccerway & a few other sites with commentary.

 

[Luis Taint]

This draw is really early

 

[Luis Taint]

Celtic vs Malmo will be a good match.

 

[Schnerres]

Valencia vs Monaco is obviously the killer..Lazio vs Leverkusen is also decent on paper, compared to Skenderbeu Korca (never heard that) vs. Dinamo Zagreb or Astana vs. APOEL.

 

[sachmoney]

Celtic vs Malmo will be a good match.

Forza Malmo Ole Ole.

 

[sachmoney]

Today's matches:
FC Astana-APOEL Nicosia
BATE Borisov-Partizan Beograd
Lazio-Bayer Leverkusen
Manchester United-Club Brugge
Sporting CP-CSKA Moscow
 
Tomorrow's matches:
Basel-Macabia Tel Aviv
Celtic FC-Malmo FF
Rapid Vienna-Shakhtar Donetsk
Skenderbeu-Dinamo Zagreb
Valencia-Monaco

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Today's matches:
FC Astana-APOEL Nicosia (Fox Soccer Plus)
BATE Borisov-Partizan Beograd (Watch ESPN)
Lazio-Bayer Leverkusen (FS2 and ESPN Deportes)
Manchester United-Club Brugge (FS1)
Sporting CP-CSKA Moscow (Fox Soccer Plus and Watch ESPN)

 
It looks like only BATE-Partizan are not available on the Fox sports channels, but will be streamed on Watch ESPN.

 

[Luis Taint]

Hahaha own goal Carrick

 

[Luis Taint]

What a set piece by Brugge

 

[thehitcat]

Somebody check on Zomp.  Double deflection Romero had no chance.

 

[Luis Taint]

Memphis with the equalizer. Carrick playing like dogshit.

 

[thehitcat]

Really nice play by Depay.  Juggling it over the defender and then having the patience to take 3 or 4 touches across the inside top of the box before slotting home. 

 

[Luis Taint]

Brugge is playing like they're 2 men down

 

[the1andonly3003]

who is calling the game on Fox? It doesn't seem like we are getting the BT Sports feed with Ian Darke and Michael Owens.

 

[Luis Taint]

Memphis putting on a clinic, 2nd goal.

 

[thehitcat]

Pretty easy for Depay to get to his spot. This shot is even better.  He looks much more under control then he was at the WC.  

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Brugges down to 10 men after one of their guys picks up a stupid second yellow (card was deserved, foul was unnecessary).
 
2-1 is a pretty good result for them if they can hold on.  3-1 is going to be tough to turn around.

 

[thehitcat]

Fellaini who was the passer?  I missed it and my feed dropped right as he scored. 

 

[swiftaw]

Fellaini who was the passer?  I missed it and my feed dropped right as he scored. 

Memphis

 

[thehitcat]

Jeez what a game he had. Not to mention the chance Rooney set up for him with the back heel that he fired over the bar.

 

[Schnerres]

Lazio - Leverkusen (1-0) was a great game to watch.
 
Chances everywhere, Lazio dominated early, but Leverkusen fought back and also had many shots on goal (from freekicks, a just-miss from 60m, etc.) and the second half was even better.
The ref, well...I don´t know what you do with Lazio, if the repeated claims about chants including racist behaviour are true.
There were some tricky situations in the match and some were just wrong judged, IMO. A minute before the break, Leverkusens Wendell had to get his 2nd yellow for a tackle and had to be sent off (1st huge mistake). In the 2nd half, a Lazio defender did some Kung Fu style kick and flew foot-first into Bellarabi´s neck/head and received a yellow instead of a red (2nd huge mistake). What he did very good was the situation where Leverkusen scored and it was ruled offside. There was Kießling who touched the ball with his leg and the ball deflected slightly into the goal (i didn´t see it, this was visible for me only though slowmo), while he (Kießling) was standing behind the keeper and in front of the goal and in front of only one defender. Obviously each ref knows the rule (two players behind), but it was such a bang-bang play and it wasn´t clearly visible that he even touched the ball that this was a very good judgement from the ref.
 
This is a tough result for Leverkusen to overcome. 1-0 and it´s extra time, 2-0, they are through, 2-1 they are out, 3-1 they are through...Their defense is broken (Toprak injured, Jedvaj injured, Spahic/HSV and Wollscheid/England left the club) and they only have Papadopolous(23) and Tah(19) who was fooled/overrun on the goal. But their attack is great and they can score in bunches. This can be problematic and i think there will be more goals than in the 1st match.
Also, Miro Klose probably misses the 2nd leg though a muscle injury.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Tuesday's batch of qualifiers are coming to a close with about 10 mins left.  Dinamo Zagreb has put Skënderbeu Korçë away, but the rest could all swing another direction with one goal.
 
Malmö is up 2-0 on Celtic, but the Scots could advance on away goals if they score a consolation.
 
Maccabi Tel Aviv are tied with Basel 1-1 and 3-3 on aggregate and have the away goals advantage.
 
Shakhtar Donetsk are tied with Rapid Wien 2-2, but Rapid would advance on away goals if they get a third.
 
Monaco leads Valencia 2-1 but need one more to send it to extra time.

 

[PedroSpecialK]

IIRC Celtic would need 2 goals to advance, Malmö scored two away goals at Celtic Park

 

[Titans Bastard]

IIRC Celtic would need 2 goals to advance, Malmö scored two away goals at Celtic Park

 
You're right.

 

[Luis Taint]

Celtic is out, Malmö and Tel Aviv are in.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Yep, no late goals.
 
Valencia's advancement gives Spain an unprecedented five teams in the CL group stage.
 
Maccabi TA qualifies for the CL group stage for the second time ever (04/05).  First Israeli club to make it since 2010/11, and they got revenge for being knocked out of both the CL and EL by Basel in 13/14.
 
Back-to-back qualifications for Malmö.
 
Dinamo Zagreb is on a 15 match winless streak in the group stage.  Another go-round for them.

 

[sachmoney]

Malmo really are the comeback kids. Fell behind in both the 3rd qualifying and playoff and came back to win the tie in the second leg. Did something similar against Sparta Prague last year, I believe. Hard not to root for them.