Football: Return of the CR7

[Raja]

5 hours ago, Raja said:

I wanna say Bayern are gonna spank Barcelona

I should have stuck to my original thought.

[ljkeane]

So Lukaku's going to be really good for Chelsea isn't he? That's annoying.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Frankly, it would not surprise me at all to see either Dinamo Kiev or Benfica getting that 2nd spot. They have tradition, less chaos off the pitch (though Benfica only slightly less so), better managers and decent and experienced squads,.

[Iskaral Pust]

On Monday evening I finally got to watch Leeds vs. Liverpool after the Peacock streaming delay.  I already knew the scoreline and Elliott’s injury, which changes the viewing experience.  There’s no tension but I think I absorb more with a dispassionate eye.

Fabinho and Thiago together won that game.  They bossed the whole game from MF.  Elliott was tidy on the ball, but the other two ran the game and made Leeds look MIA in the first half, and forced them to add another bruiser in MF at half time at the expense of an attacker (Roberts for Rodrigo) just to avoid being over-run.

90% of Mane’s game was really good and much improved; all but the shooting.  Having him swap back and forth with Jota brought him into the game more and allowed him a lot more opportunities — that was a good change by Klopp.  He had a lot of shots blocked because he often made bad touches or bad decisions just before shooting, but his movement and energy allowed him to be a constant threat. Jota had some moments of quality on the ball but he just gets involved less, which is harmful in the central role.  Salah has much more consistent quality than Mane, but his positional discipline — while good for always offering an out ball, pinning back both the LB and the LCB, and acting as the point of our main attacking triangle — boxes him in for stretches of the game.

Ox really struggled as a sub.  He needs some game time against easier opposition in order to build some match sharpness.

It’s a cruel blow for Elliott to get a serious injury like that just as he was playing so well and carving himself a role in the team.  Not unlike Gomez getting his leg broken by Burnley or Origi getting his ankle broken by Everton (or VVD or Thiago getting assaulted by Everton) — but hopefully Elliott comes back better than Gomez or Origi did.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, ljkeane said:

So Lukaku's going to be really good for Chelsea isn't he? That's annoying.

He's going to have a big year. This team seems like it's a lot better than last year's squad. 

[Mark Antony]

14 hours ago, ljkeane said:

So Lukaku's going to be really good for Chelsea isn't he? That's annoying.

Was never a doubt really after seeing his stint at inter. Top 5 striker in the world and is gonna win Chelsea a lot of points they would have dropped last season 

[The Sunland Lord]

Lukaku is great and I am fond of him. But anyways Chelsea turned it completely around when Tuchel arrived. From 9th to 4th place in the league and won Champions League. Lukaku just makes them a lot stronger.

Some of our ingrate fans criticized him for scoring only against small sides (this wasn't entirely true anyway). This is harsh, cause good players motivate themselves to do well against all teams equally and respect the opponent. 

Plus, I think he improved his fitness with Pintus and Conte and he learned to use the strong sides of his game better.

Not a flashy player, mind, but so damn useful for the team.

[Corvinus85]

Even Marcos Alonso is a revived player thanks to Tuchel. 

[Consigliere]

Lukaku was always a good goal poacher but was erratic when it came to playing with his back to goal and linking up play. That side of his game improved significantly in the two years under Conte. So it's no surprise that he's performing well for Chelsea now - he's a better and more complete player now thanks to Conte's coaching. 

[The Sunland Lord]

Bellingham is having a good game in Istanbul.

[Iskaral Pust]

Origi named as a starter against Milan.  That’s a strange call.  I guess it’s good that we’re rotating and resting, but this Milan team won’t be like a typical pot 4 opponent, unfortunately. Minamino was injured playing for Japan, so I assume that’s why he wasn’t ahead of Origi.

Gomez is starting at CB to rest VVD.  It’s a bit strange that Matip is playing on short rest considering his history, but hopefully Joe can get back to match sharpness.

[Raja]

Lmao how is origi still at liverpool

[Soylent Brown]

Absolutely awful penalty from Salah, and on top of that we’ve been incredibly wasteful yet again. If we keep needing 20 chances to score 1 goal, we’re not going to have a good year. 
 

Salah really needs to stop closing his eyes and hitting it down the middle when taking penalties. He does it way too often and it’s only sheer luck that so many of them go in. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

So Liverpool boss the first half. Squander chances left and right, including a penalty (that's so very English of them). Then Milan catches them napping at the end of the first half and score two goals. Who needs Zlatan, when you have Rebic?

Certainly makes this group a whole lot more interesting.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Meanwhile the Qatar Globetrotters are struggling against Brugge. They are somewhat fortunate to have Navas and thus are not trailing at HT.

[polishgenius]

This evening is mad.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

You mean the goal bonanza in Manchester?

[mormont]

Let's sum up:

- PSG being held by Bruges.

- Haller scores four in a match for Ajax away at Sporting.

- Sheriff Tiraspol become the first Moldovan team to take points in a CL group match, beating Shaktar Donetsk.

- Eight goals in Manchester so far. ETA - nine.

- Liverpool go 1-0 up, 2-1 down and now 3-2 up against Milan.

That's a pretty good evening's entertainment.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 minute ago, mormont said:

- Nine goals in Manchester so far.

*Fixed

[Winterfell is Burning]

I am unable to watch the games today, but that's a great result for Ajax and a hilarious one for PSG.