Other Games 23/34/25

[Charly]

Yeah, I'm not saying we deserved to beat them but we did take them to a penalty shootout.

Yeah, but I think there was a huge gap between us. It felt like they had 3 Manes charging at us. But they are the only team all season that I think looked much better than us, so it was a pretty good indication that we are getting there.


Seen all the violence in Paris? Hopefully they wont host a final again any time soon

[danperkins]

PSG showed us what we needed to improve upon, that's the only good thing about that tie, we knew what we needed to do this summer. They were much the better side over the 2 legs and it could have been a cricket score on another day.

[Mr Pink]

Yeah, some of the praise is a bit OTT. Technically they are the best team in Europe, but they benefitted MASSIVELY from this new format and in no other version of European Cup would they have won it. In fact, I can't think of any other competition you could have a run of 4 games when you only pick up 1 point and go on to win it, be hard to even do it in a 38 game league.

After scraping through qualification when all teams are fresh, they stood out when teams with much smaller squads started tiring after Christmas (not helped by the extra CL games), not to mention, had other domestic competitions to worry about.

This new format could easily see PSG dominate Madrid style for a period of time.

How does the new format benefit them? They had the toughest draw in the league stage..

[Sus]

How does the new format benefit them? They had the toughest draw in the league stage..

Their results in the group stage would have seen them knocked out in the previous version

[Mr Pink]

Their results in the group stage would have seen them knocked out in the previous version

In the previous version, they wouldn’t have had to play Bayern, atletico, city and arsenal all in the group stage?

Don’t see how the new version benefits them in general- why does it give them an advantage for next season?

[RedReet]

How does the new format benefit them? They had the toughest draw in the league stage..

In the previous version, they wouldn’t have had to play Bayern, atletico, city and arsenal all in the group stage?

Don’t see how the new version benefits them in general- why does it give them an advantage for next season?

It's a fair point I suppose, I didn't really consider the harder matches, however we wouldn't have got the German, Italian and Spanish champions in old format either, but we did this time and had to rise to the occasion. I just don't really think it's a great competition format if the 'best' team can lose so many games.

In terms of the new format benefitting them, PSG's squad is going to be much stronger than most teams in the tournament, allowing them to rotate more. The extra games in this new format means having a bigger squad and being able to rotate is even more advantageous. Even without the extra games, we've seen ourselves the difference in energy levels between ourselves and Spanish teams and PSG have it even easier than them with little domestic competition, so more opportunity to rest. Previously, this was maybe considered a disadvantage for them as it was hard for them to raise their game in CL, but with the extra games and condensed format this is much less of an issue for them. For teams with a smaller squad or who can't rest domestically, this is a nightmare.

I don't deny for a second that this is sour grapes for me and in some sense a 'people in glass houses' situation, considering the advantage English teams have over most. But it does detract from the fact that this new set up is tailor made for PSG and with their resources and now a CL win under their belt, they really could dominate the competition like Madrid did when the European Cup first took off.

[SB]

Spain led France 4-0 after 55 mins & stumbled over the line to win 5-4.

[Cerbie]

Nations League Final 1st half has been quite enjoyable. Spain’s 1st goal should have been given as offside, but when it’s the likes of Ronaldo, Silva and Fernandez crying you have to laugh!

[baitman]

What's that ****house tackle called when a player steps across another and uses their thigh to push them off the ball and fall over...

Lots of Spanish and Portuguese lads doing it and the ref is often not arsed to acknowledge its a foul.

[spud_gun]

Southgate can't survive that result surely?

[SB]

Southgate? Who’s he managing ?

Edit. Ha ha you got me

[Le Chef]

TBF to Tuchel he's had 12 sessions and looked at 40 plus players - Give him a chance FFS.

[BigChief]

TBF to Tuchel he's had 12 sessions and looked at 40 plus players - Give him a chance FFS.

Maybe he needs to trust the youth instead?

[danperkins]

Southgate can't survive that result surely?

[Le Chef]

I actually like Ollie Holt but I thought his pop at Tuchel yesterday was wrong - Reminds me of the press going after McClaren when the fat ******* from the sun was in the stands against Andorra and Stevie G saved him