Ajax are playing well above their head right now- knocking out Real and Juventus back to back was a lot more unlikley than them beating Spurs- who are without Kane, Son is out for the first leg, Sissoko is likely out, Winks still out, Aurier out, Lamela still out.. so there are just no real scoring options in their current lineup. Maybe if they get a clean sheet draw at home in the 1st leg they can get a couple guys back and have a chance- but its a tough spot.
USMNT/Soccer Thread
- Thread starter BigBlueSean_rivals178247
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I don't think they are over their heads. All the big clubs want lots of their players - and getting them. Won't be around next season. But now I give them a slight edge over Spurs. Bettors have them pretty even.
Absolutely WILD. Its crazy though because of what they are competing for. It is not only just promotion---- Qatar Sports Investments, the owners of PSG have stated they are going to buy a Championship side that gets promoted in the Premier League and dump a ton of money into it. They said they want a side with history. Norwhich City and Sheffield United have sealed promotion. The playoff includes Leeds and Villa along with West Brom and Derby County....
So not only will those 4 play for promotion, they are literally playing for a massive monetary investment as well. I would love to see Aston Villa get it. Villa Park is a pretty amazing place. I wouldn't be too upset if Leeds got it, but I much prefer Villa.
IMO that is a big reason Leeds did not stop and went on to score that goal. Some weird **** happened to Villa this year---- this and their best player Jack Grealish got attacked by a fan. They are the hottest team in the Championship right now. Haven't lost in like 12 games I think. I remember when Christian Benteke was on fire for them a few years back.
Ajax did there thing yesterday. Looked incredible the first 30mins
Cant believe they didnt get more than 1 goal though. May come back to haunt them with Son and possibley Kane back for the 2nd leg
Man oh man, desperately need my beloved Liverpool to take Barca out today. Baraca has a leaky defense and Liverpool will make them pay!!
Cant believe they didnt get more than 1 goal though. May come back to haunt them with Son and possibley Kane back for the 2nd leg
Man oh man, desperately need my beloved Liverpool to take Barca out today. Baraca has a leaky defense and Liverpool will make them pay!!
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Damn right we did!! Woohoo absolutely just amazing. And all without Firmino and Salah...one of the best comebacks in the history of any sport.
Just freaking wow!! Im beyond ecstatic!!
Barcelona only played well for the first twenty minutes or so, thinking they'd just ho hum take care of business score a goal and the game would be done.
When that didn't happen they relaxed to play not to lose, were sloppy in possession and then when the second goal was scored were tight and nervous, which is the worst morale you can have in soccer.
They underestimated Liverpool's resolve... amazing coaching job really to have them motivated alla what Cal does I think with our teams come tournament time and his refuse to lose mentality. Really remarkable comeback.
When that didn't happen they relaxed to play not to lose, were sloppy in possession and then when the second goal was scored were tight and nervous, which is the worst morale you can have in soccer.
They underestimated Liverpool's resolve... amazing coaching job really to have them motivated alla what Cal does I think with our teams come tournament time and his refuse to lose mentality. Really remarkable comeback.
Ajax will beat Liverpool; you rarely see a team play like this in soccer... as impressive yesterday was, this first 30 minutes is even better.
Same thing happening today, up 3-0 loosened concentration then let in 1 goal, tight and nervousness lets in the second, momentum shift and Spurs have this remaining 30 mins to complete another remarkable comeback.
Will really be something else if an all English final materializes like this.
Will really be something else if an all English final materializes like this.
Unbelievable, ive never seen anything like these semifinals. This sport can produce moments unparalleled in anything, truly remarkable.
Totally obtuse, per usual... but hey you do you.
What we witnessed in these semifinals was nothing short of a miracle, 90% heart 10% tactics if that.
Really remarkable and sets up for what could be the best final in years. Liverpool is a team of destiny imo.
As unlikely as last night was for Spurs, it should have never even had a chance to happen. They were last in the group stage after 3 games, relied on PSV to get a result at Inter while they had to do the same on the road at Barca to even get through to the knockouts. They did dismantle Dortmund in both legs, but then the VAR at Man City too... They've barely stayed alive long enough to hope for a run of good fortune.
They haven't had a full squad at any time this season, and the only reason Moura is even on the field is because of other injuries up top. And Moura was the last transfer they got like 18 months ago.
For any Spurs supporter, *belief* is pretty much the most dangerous and cruel thing to have. So even the last minute after the goal was nerve-wracking.
They may go out this weekend and find a way to bottle a +8 goal difference but whatever. If being realistic- it may be the only time they get to the CL final in a lifetime- so everything else is just a bonus at this point.
They haven't had a full squad at any time this season, and the only reason Moura is even on the field is because of other injuries up top. And Moura was the last transfer they got like 18 months ago.
For any Spurs supporter, *belief* is pretty much the most dangerous and cruel thing to have. So even the last minute after the goal was nerve-wracking.
They may go out this weekend and find a way to bottle a +8 goal difference but whatever. If being realistic- it may be the only time they get to the CL final in a lifetime- so everything else is just a bonus at this point.
Apparently we did not watch the same game. If you watch the first game the large portion of that game Liverpool actually were the better team and controlled the game, they just did not take their chances and Barcelona did. Klopp realized he made the mistake in playing Wijnaldum in that false 9 position that Firmino normally plays. He went with an extremely athletic midfield with a high work rate so that they can press even higher up the field because he knew Barcelona is extremely one-dimensional in wanting to play out from the back. He made it nearly impossible to do that. Also, he made a great decision in putting Origi a very strong Center forward that is very good in the air upfront so that they could feed balls into him and play off of him much the same way that Tottenham did with Llorente. While Barcelona's midfield remains very skilled, none of them really can cover ground. Liverpool constantly picked on Sergi Roberto because he is not a natural defensive right back. He is a midfielder. Valverde waited far too long to move Roberto up to the midfield and bring in Nelson Semedo. The reason why the final is Tottenham and Liverpool is because both managers made tactical adjustments that changed the flow of the game. To frame the success of Liverpool in the second leg as a miracle is dumb as hell. You don't put four goals on Barcelona without a masterful tactical plan.
Also by pushing their midfield up it clog the passing Lanes for playing balls into Messi and forced Messi to drop even deeper to pick the ball up. So when he did get the ball he was 15 to 20 yards on Barcelona side of the field. You can live with that happening. What you can't live with is what they did in the first leg and let Messi get the ball just outside of his own box. He's too good to allow him to do that. Make him go on 60-yard runs, not 20.
Hell, that was a somewhat decent post particularly for your standards, but you can always praise the tactics of the winning team because the point of tactics is to score and to win.
WHat really happened is both teams up 3-0 lost the games themselves, though Liverpool more deservedly winners, they were better in both games yes. Tactics have to change when you are down 3-0. Second game Busquets, Rakitic and Vidal were simply very poor... Messi was also poor relative to his standard and should've scored on more than one occasion which would've ended it right there. THe quick corner goal encapsulated entirely the game.
They were brilliant performances both in their own right, but tactics had no more to do with that than any match. They were both indeed miracles, verily. You place too much emphasis on your last ten years of playing Fifa on playstation , which I think it's great someone like you can develop competence, but you've lost the plot. You miss the essence of what is happening on the pitch, and again that is your loss, if you weren't so defensive you could benefit yourself.
WHat really happened is both teams up 3-0 lost the games themselves, though Liverpool more deservedly winners, they were better in both games yes. Tactics have to change when you are down 3-0. Second game Busquets, Rakitic and Vidal were simply very poor... Messi was also poor relative to his standard and should've scored on more than one occasion which would've ended it right there. THe quick corner goal encapsulated entirely the game.
They were brilliant performances both in their own right, but tactics had no more to do with that than any match. They were both indeed miracles, verily. You place too much emphasis on your last ten years of playing Fifa on playstation , which I think it's great someone like you can develop competence, but you've lost the plot. You miss the essence of what is happening on the pitch, and again that is your loss, if you weren't so defensive you could benefit yourself.
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Anyway, I'm not interested in yet another foolish tit for tat with you, so I'll just leave it there before you go insulting attempting to insult me in everymanner that might cross your mind.
Yes, I attack your ignorance... unjustifiable arrogance, but that's to help you because it's true and would only help you to recognise it... i'm not the paddocker kind that's gonna bust yourballs for your tastes or whatever, you don't have to be so defensive. You're simply wrong alot when it comes to this sport.
Yes, I attack your ignorance... unjustifiable arrogance, but that's to help you because it's true and would only help you to recognise it... i'm not the paddocker kind that's gonna bust yourballs for your tastes or whatever, you don't have to be so defensive. You're simply wrong alot when it comes to this sport.
And you grossly oversimplify what happens on the pitch. I'm confused. First it was a miracle. Second Barcas midfield played poor. Third it was due to complacency. You moving the goalposts all around. If you don't think tactics had something to do or influenced that then you truly don't understand the game.
Here, you can watch the special one talk about the games; you'd probably try to argue with him and tell him he doesn't understand the game. He says precisely what I said wrt to the semifnals but you fail to interpret it when I'm telling you.