Champions League knock out stage

[ale]

The Athletic are rightly querying why away goals are still being counted when so many ties no longer have a team with home advantage.

[Satchmo Distel]

UEFA perhaps like the artificiality of the "away" team having an incentive to grab a goal, but the rule has become counter-productive since teams realized that 0-0 at home is a good result in that format.

How many games have switched so far?

[ale]

Its probably more to do with UEFA reluctance to lose TV money for 2 games of each tie. Even if both end up being played on a neutral ground. And there is also the ignoring of the issue that the more games you play on neutral grounds the more risk you have for spreading Covid.

[Satchmo Distel]

I can't believe that governments are going to allow teams to fly out and back twice to the same venue in the space of a week.

[ale]

Leipzig & Liverpool off to Hungary as are Monchengladbach & Man City and Wolfsberg v Spurs
Atletico & Chelsea to Romania
Sociedad & Man Utd going to Italy as are Benfica & Arsenal
Molde & Hoffenheim to Spain

[Satchmo Distel]

Is that for both legs of each tie?

[Janik]

I don't think Bareclona are going to overturn PSG's first leg lead this time around.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Liverpool beat Leipzig more comprehensively than the score indicates.

[jwdd27]

Mbappe only turned 22 in December. He could be one to watch. I noticed tonight that (at least in The Guardian's match report) he's credited as Mbappe-Lottin, which it seems is his actual name.

[Satchmo Distel]

He was sensationally good, not just the lightning speed but the close control. However, Barcelona are still the shambles they were against Bayern, except with less attacking guile.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Barcelona reminds me of those abandoned post Katrina buildings in New orleans. They look kind of ok from the outside, but they're basically just held together by paint, and filled with toxic mould, and liable to fall apart in a light breeze or a shower of rain. You know you're in trouble when your plan for dealing with the fastest player in the world is to bring pique back after three months out injured.

[Mr Beast]

Barcelona’s recently improved form certainly doesn’t really bear close scrutiny. There’s not a lot they’ve done right for a couple of years. Interesting times for them, pity they were banking on predictable times.

[Sporting]

Picking Pique was either foolhardy or arrogant, or desperation.

[EIM]

I'm looking forward to going back to the Barcelona museum in a few years time. A giant, hubristic temple, empty but for a few photographs of silverware long since sold to pay the wages of the 47 year old Lionel Messi.

[DPDPDPDP]

I'm looking forward to going back to the Barcelona museum in a few years time. A giant, hubristic temple, empty but for a few photographs of silverware long since sold to pay the wages of the 47 year old Lionel Messi.

Based on last night’s performance, a 47 year old Messi would probably still be better than most of the Barcelona players.

[Satchmo Distel]

A remarkable seven away wins in the R16 first legs. Only Porto bucked the trend and only by a 2-1 which leaves Juventus as marginal favourites. Obviuously a huge COVID effect (some neutral venues, no fans) but it seems to have favoured the bigger clubs even more.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Liverpool's "home" leg against Leipzig also moved to Budapest. With it looking likely that 3 of the last 8 are going to be English sides, shouldn't UEFA already be looking into doing what it did last year and just having a final 8 tournament in one place in a bubble over a week in May?

[Satchmo Distel]

Why don't Leipzig forfeit the tie given that it's the German government whose restrictions are preventing Leipzig playing at Anfield?

[Ray de Galles]

Oh gawd! :

Champions League: Reformed 36-team tournament could be agreed this month

Instead of eight groups of four playing six games each as is currently the case, all teams would play 10 matches against opponents of varying strengths and decided on each club's Uefa ranking.

Results in these matches would form an overall table which, along with some two-legged play-offs, would determine qualification for the post-Christmas knockout rounds.

The individual European leagues want the four additional places to go to champions of 'middle-tier' countries - leagues whose champions do not already automatically go through to the group stage - and be decided on sporting merit.

But the likelihood is two of the places will be given as 'wildcards' - with England likely to benefit from an additional fifth place - which could be decided on co-efficient.

[elguapo4]

Even less reason to watch it.

[Satchmo Distel]

League Cup would be a goner, but even then I don't see how they would fit in 10 games plus playoffs. Presumably also this would be the season after Qatar 22 as it would be madness starting it in a World Cup season.

And, yes, it's totally pointless, a few token hammerings for teams who have to sell their best players to compete. And if they let EPL 5 in, well ffs!

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I read that the "wildcard" idea wouldn't be EPL fifth place per se, but rather the top 2 clubs on UEFA's (5 year) coefficient list who didn't qualify. Liverpool, this season, for example, if they finish 8th.

[ursus arctos]

That would certainly be in keeping with the general "principle" guiding Agnelli et al, which is that their clubs should have permanent entry to the competition.

[Satchmo Distel]

They'll start with two and then increase it, but it still wouldn't help teams in long-term decline, like Milan have been for a while (currently 54th). However, I think Arsenal (11th) would have got in this season, so it's certainly protecting some fading sides who drop into the Europa, otherwise how do you get 6 English clubs in the Top 14?

https://www.uefa.com/memberassociati...club/#/yr/2021

[caja-dglh]

"“If you take golf, if it’s interesting at all, it’s only the last six holes on the final day" - Agnelli really playing his best cards on this one.