CL 2019-20

[ad hoc]

VAR ruins football. There is absolutely nothing good about it.

[anton pulisov]

Yep, the new handball rule is insane. It punishes defenders for having limbs. It doesn't apply to Chelsea players in Amsterdam though.

Soon forwards will just start shooting the ball at defenders from point blank range. It's easier than trying to shoot on goal.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Yep, the new handball rule is insane. It punishes defenders for having limbs. It doesn't apply to Chelsea players in Amsterdam though.

Soon forwards will just start shooting the ball at defenders from point blank range. It's easier than trying to shoot on goal.

There's nothing wrong with the new handball rule. That shouldn't have been given last night.

[anton pulisov]

Group table is currently 7 7 7 1

It should be 12 7 3 1

[Jah Womble]

Yep, the new handball rule is insane. It punishes defenders for having limbs. It doesn't apply to Chelsea players in Amsterdam though.

Soon forwards will just start shooting the ball at defenders from point blank range. It's easier than trying to shoot on goal.

Agree - it's the handball ruling that I cannot abide.

VAR is almost 'good' by comparison.

(Was so hoping that Ajax would nick it at the end. Ah well.

They must hate the Champions' League.)

[Satchmo Distel]

It feels inevitable that an excellent side from a less rich league would eventually get fucked in the CL by refs when playing a side that the big TV markets would want to get through. I still think Ajax will go through, though.

[Gangster Octopus]

The Liverpool-Genk game was on in the club. Looks like we missed out...

[Ray de Galles]

I'd been watching the BT European Goals show to keep up with all the matches until it all went mental at Stamford Bridge, so I switched to the dedicated coverage of that game.

In all the brouhaha for the remainder of the match and the attempts to sort through it in the analysis I managed to miss the fact that Liverpool and Dortmund scored winners in their games until reading this morning's paper.

[Mumpo]

Soon forwards will just start shooting the ball at defenders from point blank range. It's easier than trying to shoot on goal

Soon?

[wittoner]

I was vaguely hoping some Genk fans would turn up in Hartlepool last night...

[Third rate Leszno]

Soon?

That was my first thought, too.

The Liverpool game was pretty flat last night, until the 35th minute Genk were nothing like as attacking as they'd been at home but then they suddenly burst into life, scored once and had other good chances. Liverpool took their goals well and Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita has decent games, but overall it was an evening most memorable for the enthusiasm with which the locals around the ground were embracing fire and explosives. I suspect some fans who'd parked in the local estates will be heading down to their nearest garage this morning to price up a respray cos some of the firework scars on car roofs didn't look like they'd T cut out.

[anton pulisov]

Well, that was a handball before the rule change as well, seeing as he was waving his hands through the air.

[Tactical Genius]

Soon?

Great example of Tripper showing his opponent the inside instead of shepparding him down the wing to cross with his weaker left foot. Sissoko was waving at him to show Mane down the line.
Glad he's gone.

[Sporting]

Madrid going for a cricket score.

[Janik]

Pinballtastic goal for Spurs.

[Tony C]

Simon Kjaer on the bench for Atalanta tonight.

I remember when he was considered the best young centre back in Europe with all the CL big hitters linked to him.

He's still only 30.

[Tactical Genius]

What on earth is that red thing behind the goal ATL Madrid are attacking?
It looks like the VIP area from a Gladitorial arena.

[Janik]

VAR ruins football. There is absolutely nothing good about it.

Apropos of anything in particular? It wasn't involved in the Chelsea-Ajax incidents, which were all decisions taken on the pitch as far as can be told. Certainly the second yellow for Blind and the penalty for handball were decided that way.

[ursus arctos]

It is the home of controlled substances, TG

[caja-dglh]

Kyle Walker is in goal for Manchester City. This reminds me of happy times. Outfielders in goal are the best.

[Ray de Galles]

The final thirty minutes of Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar Donetsk was pretty insane, especially the eight minutes of injury time where the visitors took it from 3-1 to 3-3 - the equaliser courtesy of a penalty for a double foul on their keeper who was up for a corner.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Apropos of anything in particular? It wasn't involved in the Chelsea-Ajax incidents, which were all decisions taken on the pitch as far as can be told. Certainly the second yellow for Blind and the penalty for handball were decided that way.

VAR ruled out a chelsea goal for handball by tammy habraham.

That first spurs goal is a goal for the ages. It would also seem that Atalanta are more inexperienced than terrible.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Is there a reason why you keep on calling Tammy Abraham, Habraham?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

It's what jose called him when he was saying that Lampard picking abraham over giroud or batshuayi tp reduce expectation on himself. was a sign that there was no expectation that they had to win anything, that it was not a serious season.

Essentially by jose's reckoning, abraham is at least three years too young for this to be taken seriously. It said a lot more about mourinho and his limitations as a manager, and as a person really, than anything about abraham, who went on a fucking goal rampage.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Oh, OK. I thought that there must be a reason rather than a simple misspelling.

TBH, I've been very pleasantly surprised by Abraham's impact. He wasn't one of the ones that I thought would do well. I've rated Hudson-Odoi and Mount for a while and Tomori and James look like tremendous prospects but Tammy wasn't really on my list. Chuffed for him obviously.

Jose's always been pitifully distrustful of young players, or more accurately players that need to be developed rather than arriving as the finished article, even if that finished article is no better than competent.