UCL/Europa/UCL Game Thread 3/7 - 3/9
- Thread starter Kliq
- Start date
What a game. Union Berlin deserved better, but coming back 3x to even the score feels pretty damn good. I like their chances next week.
Too lazy to start a new thread, so bumping this for UEL games today. Roma currently down 1-0 to Feyenoord. 3 matches coming up at 3pm:
Leverkusen-St. Galloise (!)
Juve-Sporting (great matchup)
United-Sevilla (UEL CLASICO!)
Leverkusen-St. Galloise (!)
Juve-Sporting (great matchup)
United-Sevilla (UEL CLASICO!)
Seville were dog shit. One of the biggest smash and grabs ever. Well that and Leicester getting £80 million for Harry Maguire.
We just saw on the ticker that Man U gave up 2 own goals and my 10 year old goes..."I bet you Harry Maguire got both" I guess he was wrong but he was pumped when he saw he had one of them.
this might be it for both Man Utd and West Ham
Sevilla up 4-2 agg, West Ham is still level with Gent
Sevilla up 4-2 agg, West Ham is still level with Gent
I had a strange experience watching the Roma game. I knew the score and decided to watch the replay. At about the 80-minute mark, I started wondering if I had hallucinated earlier in the day when I saw the result.
I mean, a lot of their first choice players are dinged up or returning from long term injury
I'd be interested to know what @rguilmar thinks about Sevilla's Mendilibar. I can't pretend to have heard of him before a month ago. But on the surface it seems like a great story potentially being written right now. A complete journeyman manager who bounced around mid-to-lower table La Liga and Segunda clubs for 20 years then takes over a relegation threatened Sevilla out of which two much more heralded managers (Lopetegui and Sampaoli) had failed to get a tune. Since then he has gone 5-1-1 in the league, humiliated Manchester United, and now leading a European semi final against Juventus.
You have a bunch of it right. I would say that storyline is a little unfair to Lope. Sevilla came into the season with a holdover weakness (no true goal scorer) and a new problem of having sold their La Liga best CB pairing (Diego Carlos and Kounde) and replacing them with an injured and super young CB. In January they were finally able to address CB which had helped, as did bringing back Ocampos who flopped at Ajax but is again a difference maker in Spain.
Sampaoli was a disaster though. The team had talent but just looked lost. It was borderline comically illustrated when he was literally reviewing tactics on a piece of paper with his players during the game. Twice. The system was just too complicated and the team failed to grasp it, and simple mistakes led to the CBs being exposed too often.
Enter Mendilibar. It’s probably unfair to say that he just simplified things, but that is also a good summary. He’s even said so himself multiple times. The team plays much more direct. Mendilibar is Basque and brings that more direct style with him. No more 65% possession and very few chances created. Guys like Ocampos, Suso, and the strikers really seem to be benefiting, and the defense is less exposed and more solid. I would say that the improvement comes from Mendilibar having a more complete roster than Lope and better tactics for the current team than Sampaoli. He is also part of a trend in coaching where managers are not joysticking the game as much and letting the players play, and it seems to be working here. I do think that Sevilla play with confidence in the Europa League because of their successes in the tournament, which can only help.
AZ Alkmaar looked very good for 65min against West Ham and then ran utterly out of gas. Second leg should be interesting.
Sevilla-Juve has been a great watch. A 0-0 that could easily be 3-3, at some point midway through the first half it just descended into frantic end-to-end football and its been that way since.
Mourinho on the verge of Mourinhoing Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen. 0-0 (Roma 1-0 on aggregate) despite Leverkusen with a 20-1 shot advantage.
If West Ham make it to the finals and wins, they'll need better depth for UEL. Bet Moyes would want the likes of Che Adams, JWP, Stuart Armstrong as depth next season....
Maybe 2 of those 20 shots had a chance. It was quite a match. Alonso looks like he could still get out there and play.
I'd be cool with managers being eligible to play as long as they wore a full kit on the sidelines. Miss the days of MLB managers like Lasorda bursting out of their game day uniforms.
why does everyone hate West Ham? View: https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1666486361740697604?s=20
Is this the power of Ted Lasso?
Is this the power of Ted Lasso?
Nah, Fiorentina Ultras would attack Ted Lasso if they were playing Richmond. Italian soccer culture is rotten to the core in a way that England stomped out decades ago now.
