UEFA Champions League And Europa League thread

[andrea]

HAZARD CABRON

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Deserved for Chelsea as they were the best team by far in that tie, Real looked very ordinary tonight.

Tuchel becomes the first manager in Champions League history to make it two finals in consecutive years with two different teams.

 

[andrea]

 

[MUSC4EVER]

So there is some doubt about the venue for the final, Turkey is currently under lockdown which could be extended, 4,000 tickets have been made available for both City and Chelsea and given the current circumstances there having 8,000 fans descend on Istanbul (could be even more!) is far from ideal.

So what about a venue change? Well UEFA say that they will stick with Istanbul for now but will keep an eye on the situation, one option is that there is talk of maybe moving the final to somewhere in England so the fans won't have to travel far, Wembley isn't an option as they have the Football League play-offs on the same weekend, Aston Villa have come forward today and offered Villa Park to host the final but that ground hasn't been a UEFA venue for some time as Villa simply haven't qualified to play in their competitions.

Something to keep an eye on.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Getting two teams from the same country to cross the continent to visit another country that the fans of the teams can't visit seems truly ridiculous. Yes, the stadium in Istanbul will have to miss another CL final it won the rights to, but when the two finalists are in the most vaccinated country (bar Israel) in the jurisdiction of the organisers and are starting to bring their fans back, just move it to somewhere in England. The government here is starting to slowly open up stadiums. Obviously the Europa League final now is between an English and Spanish side, so a neutral venue seems fine, but the opportunity for more spectators without them having to quarantine in a hotel for 2 weeks before and after the match seems like a no-brainer. Be sensible here UEFA for once.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

A change of venue this late is a something of a logistical nightmare though, not just finding a suitable venue.

I think that's why UEFA may be holding fire for now.

 

[redhed17]

The longer they wait for the inevitable decision, the better for everyone imho.

Spurs ground is suitably large and impressive, and they won't be needing it. That is London though, so the normal Villa Park choice for neutrality in the middlish of the country.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Turkey is on on the UK Government red-list, more implications for the venue.

UEFA are considering options.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Turkey is on on the UK Government red-list, more implications for the venue.

UEFA are considering options.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Looks like the final will be held in Porto, England have pushed hard for Wembley to host the game but can't guarantee that the 200 sponsor reps and dignitaries won't have to quarantine when leaving the country.

Decision is expected to be announced in the next day or two.

 

[Touring Mars]

Looks like the final will be held in Porto, England have pushed hard for Wembley to host the game but can't guarantee that the 200 sponsor reps and dignitaries won't have to quarantine when leaving the country. Decision is expected to be announced in the next day or two.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

One good thing to potentially come out of Porto hosting the final is that it might be allowed to have 20,000 fans there and not the 8,000 it would be if it was in Istanbul, making it 6,000 extra fans from each side.

Also I got the figure wrong from earlier, its 2,000 not 200!

 

[MUSC4EVER]

So it was confirmed earlier today.

This years Champions League final will now take place at the Estadio De Dragao in Porto Portugal and not Istanbul...or Wembley. 6,000 fans from each team will be in attendance and I heard it will be a very sterile environment, the fans will be flown in, bused to the stadium, get to their allotted seat which won't be next any other fans to watch the game and then bused back to the airport and flown straight home after, they will have very little contact with anyone in Portugal. Doesn't sound very fun!

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Champions League final between Man City and Chelsea is on Saturday night.

 

[girabyt3]

Pep must be pulling his last hairs out

 

[andrea]

Well done Chelski.

 

[redhed17]

Well done Chelski.

Totally agree, best team won.

Cit€h just didn't turn up. If Werner had had his shooting boots on, it could have been 3 or 4.

I sometimes think, every so often, Guardiola tries to be a bit too clever and changes too much, and sets his team out so differently that they slip up. It has happened in previous years in the odd game, but particularly in some previous Champions League Semi Finals. With getting to the final, I thought they had got over that mental hurdle and learnt from previous mistakes, seems not.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Well done to Chelsea, well deserved and what a job Tuchel has done in a short space of time.

Seemed like City didn't really turn up.

Kante won MOTM and he also won it in both legs of the semi finals, he was playing in the French third division in 2012, and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was unemployed in 2015, remarkable story.

 

[andrea]

Werner now has more CL’s than OG Ronaldo.

 

[Jezza819]

Well done Chelsea. Glad they denied City a Champion's League trophy.

 

[andrea]

 

[MUSC4EVER]

The group stage for the 2021/22 competition is tomorrow. Here are the pots.

Pot 1.
Chelsea, Man City, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Villareal, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Lille.

Pot 2.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Man United, PSG, Liverpool, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund.

Pot 3.
Porto, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg, Benfica, Atalanta, Zenit St Petersburg.

Pot 4.
Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev, Club Brugge, Young Boys, AC Milan, Malmo, Wolfsburg, Sheriff Tiraspol.

The draw is 4.30pm GMT. There will also be awards given out for the best players and coaches in the men's and women's competition for last season.

EDIT, the draw is actually today, like right now!!

 

[Touring Mars]

And here's the draw:


Group A: Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Bruges

Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan

Group C: Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas

Group D: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol

Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv

Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys

Group G: Lille, Sevilla, FC Salzburg, Wolfsburg

Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Malmo


Group B is crazy, Liverpool might be lucky to get out this time!!

 

[MUSC4EVER]

I think united have got a good group but I don't really think its easy, just because we have avoided the bigger teams doesn't make it easy.

Group B definitely group of death.

 

[redhed17]

I think Group B should be Atletico Madrid, going from last season's performances, plus a n other. It is a bit too early to have an idea about anyone yet though.

 

[Liquid]

The more big boys that knock each other out early, the better.

 

[mustafur]

Group A is almost completely plastic lol

 

[Dave A]

I think united have got a good group but I don't really think its easy, just because we have avoided the bigger teams doesn't make it easy.

Group B definitely group of death.

I agree, we did lose to Villareal in the Europa League final after all. It's taking games agaisnt supposedly lesser teams for granted that can create the biggest challenges and issues sometimes (Istanbul anyone).

I think Liverpool have a good chance to get out of Group B, AC Milan aren't the force they used to be, but it certainly isn't an easy group. Probably the hardest one to call.

 

[mustafur]

I agree, we did lose to Villareal in the Europa League final after all. It's taking games agaisnt supposedly lesser teams for granted that can create the biggest challenges and issues sometimes (Istanbul anyone).

I think Liverpool have a good chance to get out of Group B, AC Milan aren't the force they used to be, but it certainly isn't an easy group. Probably the hardest one to call.

I think Atalanta would be the more dangerous threat though, they have been killing it the last few years.

 

[Dave A]

I think Atalanta would be the more dangerous threat though, they have been killing it the last few years.

True, they shouldn't be taken lightly either, they've been getting better and better in recent years.