[EU] Champions League 2008/2009 (16 Viewers)

[Alen]

Fact remains that beating teams like Bayern, Lyon (however off form they may be) in such a manner is admirable to say the least. I cannot think of any team that would have done to those teams what Barca did to them.

Sure. Probably no other team is able to destroy Lyon and Bayern the way Barca did it.

Lets put it this way.... Milan with Kaka, Shevchenko, Pirlo, Rui Costa, Inzaghi, Crespom, Seedorf, they were destroying teams 6:1, 5:0, 4:0, while Capello's Juve was beating these same teams 1:0, 1:0, 2:0, 1:0. In the mutual match Capello's Juve beats the super Milan 1:0.
Or your super Arsenal from 2003/04. They were destroying everything on their way until they got Makelele's Chelsea in the quarters of CL.

No team in the world has so much quality in midfield and attack as Barcelona has right now and no-one can score with such ease as they can. But there are teams that with great tactics, great quality everywhere in the team and great defending can stop Barcelona, just like Capello stopped Milan or Chelsea stopped Arsenal.

 

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[Fred]

bremen decorticated bayern 5-2 at home, lyon plays in a joke league and are getting old, dont know if you remember but they used to say the same thing about barca when they lost 3-0 to milan in that famous final

I was 5 at the time, i remember fuck all

I did add that they were off form but in any case you can only beat whats in front of you. Barca beat Valencia, Villareal, Real Madrid, Athletico, Bayern, Lyon. and they beat most of those teams with big margins.

They scored more than any other team both in their domestic league and in the CL. I can't grasp why some people dont want to give them credit for their terrific season.

 

[king Ale]

Fact remains that beating teams like Bayern, Lyon (however off form they may be) in such a manner is admirable to say the least. I cannot think of any team that would have done to those teams what Barca did to them.

Wolfsburg did, of course. Oh and Bayern easily crushed Lyon in Stade de Gerland, not a tough defensive team they are.

 

[Fred]

Sure. Probably no other team is able to destroy Lyon and Bayern the way Barca did it.

Lets put it this way.... Milan with Kaka, Shevchenko, Pirlo, Rui Costa, Inzaghi, Crespom, Seedorf, they were destroying teams 6:1, 5:0, 4:0, while Capello's Juve was beating these same teams 1:0, 1:0, 2:0, 1:0. In the mutual match Capello's Juve beats the super Milan 1:0.
Or your super Arsenal from 2003/04. They were destroying everything on their way until they got Makelele's Chelsea in the quarters of CL.

No team in the world has so much quality in midfield and attack as Barcelona has right now and no-one can score with such ease as they can. But there are teams that with great tactics, great quality everywhere in the team and great defending can stop Barcelona, just like Capello stopped Milan or Chelsea stopped Arsenal.

Nobody stopped Barca in 2004, you dont need to bring up examples of other teams. Nobody stopped Man Utd last year.

 

[Fred]

Wolfsburg did, of course. Oh and Bayern easily crushed Lyon in Stade de Gerland, not a tough defensive team they are.

Go look at my initial post, i did say they were off form. I didnt mean that nobody could crush Bayern individually or Lyon individually. I mean beating those two big names by such big margins by one team isnt do-able

 

[king Ale]

Nobody stopped Barca in 2004, you dont need to bring up examples of other teams. Nobody stopped Man Utd last year.

That's because they didn't even qualify for those competitions

 

[Alen]

Nobody stopped Barca in 2004

Nobody did it because they didn't even play in CL that year.
I guess you mean 2006. Barcelona won but they surely didn't impress. Clear goal disallowed for Sheva and Barca wins 1:0 on agg and then they hardly won after playing with a man more in the final.

Nobody stopped Man Utd last year.

As if Manchester were that impressive as Barca are this year. And they needed all the luck in the world in the penalty shoot outs.

I thought we're talking about destroying other teams. But even Barcelona in 2006 and Manchester in 2008 proved that they can be stopped from winning easily, even though they won the CL at the end.

I've seen way too many matches in my life to know that the superb teams that everyone thinks can easily win everything, were stopped by great defense.
There are many more such examples than examples when everyone's favorite from the start was actually winning the whole thing (WC, EC, CL).

 

[king Ale]

I've seen way too many matches in my life to know that the superb teams that everyone thinks can easily win everything, were stopped by great defense.

The 2005's Barcelona against Chelsea.

The 2006 WC Argentina didn't even have to face a great defense to be stopped.

 

[Fred]

Sorry i meant 2006 when they beat us in the final.

Man Utd's team last season was not weaker than Barca's this season imo thats for one.

and the point i was trying to make wasnt that Barca are unbeatable, nor was it that they'll win the CL this year, I just want people here to acknowledge their great season and not try to find excuses for it like they werent tested.

 

[Alen]

But they weren't tested.
They're having great quality, great offensive power, great season, but they weren't tested by another great team.

 

[Bjerknes]

The past two times Barca played Chelsea I correctly predicted the outcomes of the aggregate scorelines. When they played during the knockout round in 2005 it was quite clear Barca would be stifled by the aggressive Chelsea midfield and their own inability to handle the counterattack. When they met the year later, I thought Barca would go through due to how they were able to refine their defense against counters.

So basically, it was the opposite of what the majority thought.

This time, however, I believe Barca will progress simply because they're too much to handle offensively through all parts of the pitch and seem to be able to handle counters. Chelsea hasn't really impressed me much, and I don't really think we can take much out of their match with Liverpool as they're EPL sides and play each other regularly. It's always a gamble with those sides.

Of course this post takes into account that Chelsea will progress, which is not certain yet. Don't count Liverpool out quite just yet... they're known for comebacks.

 

[Mark]

Just wait for next year's Juve.

 

[Alen]

I'm seriously asking....when was the last time Chelsea conceded 3 goals at home?
That's the minimum Pool needs to score at Stamford Bridge so i wonder how big chances the stats are giving them.
I know that they never conceded 3 goals at home in CL on the 39 home matches they played in the Champions League, but i don't know their stats in England.

 

[Bjerknes]

I think a lot of bias exists against Barcelona because we are essentially the anti-Barcelona. Most people here will probably not like to see such a skilled team offensively win the Champions League, as that takes a toll on the psyche when knowing Juventus is like Debbie Downer at the Prom. And considering we lost to Chelsea on aggregate, those here will naturally hope for a Chelsea win.

 

[Bjerknes]

I'm seriously asking....when was the last time Chelsea conceded 3 goals at home?
That's the minimum Pool needs to score at Stamford Bridge so i wonder how big chances the stats are giving them.
I know that they never conceded 3 goals at home in CL on the 39 home matches they played in the Champions League, but i don't know their stats in England.

How about the stats in the Champions League final? Has a team ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win before Pool?

 

[Alen]

How about the stats in the Champions League final? Has a team ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win before Pool?

I said that i was serious with the question. If you know the answer than i'd appreciate it if you share it with me.

But even if you want to play it that way, i can tell you that it was once in a million what Liverpool did, but if Chelsea didn't concede more than 2 goals in the last years at home, just like they never conceded more than 2 at home in CL, then it's a trend and it actually says something.
But like i said, i don't know Chelsea's stats in EPL so i'm asking if someone knows them.

 

[Enron]

I said that i was serious with the question. If you know the answer than i'd appreciate it if you share it with me.

I don't know the answer and I really can't be bothered to seek it out. But before Liverpool beat Chelsea at the Bridge (2-0) in February they hadn't lost there in 85 matches prior to that. If that gives you and idea.

 

[Bjerknes]

I said that i was serious with the question. If you know the answer than i'd appreciate it if you share it with me.

But even if you want to play it that way, i can tell you that it was once in a million what Liverpool did, but if Chelsea didn't concede more than 2 goals in the last years at home, just like they never conceded more than 2 at home in CL, then it's a trend and it actually says something.
But like i said, i don't know Chelsea's stats in EPL so i'm asking if someone knows them.

Oh, I know full well about trends. That's basically all I work with in meteorology/climatology and picking good plays in the stock/commodities markets.

I'm fairly sure Chelsea has never conceded more than three goals at the Bridge. Something pops in my mind that they experienced a 3-3 draw against Arsenal some years ago, but I'm not entirely sure.

My only point is don't count Gerrard and Pool out. They always seem to be able to muster a comeback.

And again, I'm not that impressed with Chelsea. We should have beat them at home. Nowhere near that of when Mourinho was in charge.

 

[Alen]

Chelsea-Aston Villa 4:4
Last year in EPL. I found it myself.

That's all i was asking. Thanks.
I wasn't implying anything at all, it was just an honest question.

 

[Enron]

I made it through this season before I gave up.