Madridistas wanted City and they got City, what a surprise!!

 

Roma, Wolfsburg, Manchester City

What a fascinating route huh.

City will prob beat them tho.

 

Good draw.

Don't think Real and Bayern have ever met in a EC/CL final before, which is strange I think.

Hopefully it happens, would be a great occasion cos of the rivalry between them.

 

Bayern to collapse in the semifinals for the third year in a row against a Spanish team?

 

The advantage for Simeone is that Bayern and Barca have similarities in their approach to the game, so he'll know how to set his team up against Bayern. Atletico were effective at hurting Barca on the counter attack, and Bayern's achilles heel is the same.

If Bayern are to progress it could be Vidal that is the key component again. His direct and aggressive style of attack is an effective counter balance to Bayern's usual possession based approach.


Overall I think this is the most intriguing semi-final draw in years. Looking at both ties you can make strong arguments either way. One semi-final is a clash of opposing philosophies and the other is between two great attacking sides that are questionable at the back and not tactically astute.

 

Its time for Man City to show what they are made of. If City doesnt show up, Real are in the final.

The other game is going to be a battle. Attack vs defence.

 

Its time for Man City to show what they are made of. If City doesnt show up, Real are in the final.

... funny dumb statement. And if Real don't show up?

 

Pool v Villarreal should be a good game in EL.

 

Hopefully Bayern get their act together and do Atletico's shit-house football.

Don't need that in a CL final.

 

Ronaldo will nick a goal against this City. Thats why i say that. I can see Real even go through with a meh performance if City are also not at their best. Real has experience at this stage and certain players who can turn into match winners, like Ronaldo, even Ramos could score vital goal from a corner kick or smth. Remember Aguero missed a penalty which could have proved costly. I dont think City really played that well at home last round. If Blanc hadnt made mistakes PSG could have gone through.

I personally think Bayern and Atletico would have been harder opponents for Real. 2nd leg is in Madrid so the crowd will be behind Real. I can see Man City crumble there. City doesnt have that european pedigree yet. Also the atmosphere in Man City stadium is lethargic. Wouldnt surprise if we will hear Madrid fans outsing all game in Manchester. For some reason the Man City fans stay quiet.

 

No doubt City is great tie for Real.

 

If RM play the 1st leg the way they played against WFB, RM will get eliminated on the spot.

Should play it smart, in the away game, give them the ball ... play on the counters and this way RM can heavily punish them coz their defence is very fragile and RM plays some venomous counter attacking football ...

If we control the ball and push fwd like we did against WFB, we are out from the first game

 

Looks like a City v Bayern final. Real are crap and Atletico have used up a bit of luck with penalties and ten men and whatnots. Bayern still got their luck reserves

 

Puh, that second match against Juve... :surprise:

 

Another all Madrid final again is definitely the most plausible and realistic outcome but if that happens I actually can see Atletico winning it this time. After all, they have the best defense in Europe, they beat the favorites and displayed a very smart tactical performance.

 

Think Bayern will be a step too far for Pathetico.

Pep's time I think.

 

Hoping for Bayern, don't want Atletico in the final, not a good match up for us.

This is Real's CL to lose.

 

Famous last words

 

As long as you don't have Danilo in place of Carvajal again, you'll be ok. Amazing what a difference it makes

 

Nonsense, the key is Casemiro. Lets KroDric roam and dominate the midfield, he cleans everything up. What's amazing is that it took an ex-player who was an attacking genius to believe a strong DM is required in almost every game. Good on Zizou for that.

 

Danilo is dire.

Should never start if Carvajal is available.

 

by many odds ...

REAL 36%
Bayern 33%
Aletico 21%
Mancity 10%

Based on that a Final between Real and Bayern is inevitable, wiyth almost close equal chance for both teams

 

How is it almost equal chances for both teams when Real brushed aside Bayern 5-0 on aggregate with ease a mere 2 years ago? Both teams have more or less the same squads as they did in 2014.

 

If James says the final will be Real-Bayern, get ready for a City-Atletico.

The advantage for Simeone is that Bayern and Barca have similarities in their approach to the game, so he'll know how to set his team up against Bayern. Atletico were effective at hurting Barca on the counter attack, and Bayern's achilles heel is the same.

But I guess Bayern will play with much more energy than Barça.

 

Guardiola is going to be super motivated not to be embarrassed (fare worse than his future club) so it is no surprise if he conjures some genius plan especially for this tie

 

Bayern has been dreadful most of the 2nd half of the season.

BTW, I'll say it. No matter who wins the title, it'll be the weakest UCL champion of last 10 years only 2nd to 2012 Chelsea.
Currently, Bayern are the biggest favourite but it's not that they improved greatly, the competition suffered horribly.

 

Stat attack: The last time a side who played the first leg away advanced to the finals was in 2011.... both Man Utd and Barcelona!

That makes 2 out of the past 14 finalists.

 

Bayern only won with penalties in 2012 semis against Real. Both won home games 2-1.

 

true ! and taht's why the odds gave Real a bit more stakes 36% to win CL than Bayern with 33%

but in reality 33 or 36 (only 3%) is not a huge margin of (esp just based on stats)

 

there is a big chance that spain team will win the CL

 

50%? :weee:

 

The last good game from Bayern is over a month ago. It can be interpreted in two ways as usual. Either you think they will continue the poor form or if you think they are too good to have too many bad games in a row you can hope that at some point rather sooner than later they will pick up form again and start playing better.

 

City made Sevilla look like an amateur team early in the season. They've had a weird one, and KdB's injury didnt help, but they will be very tough for Madrid to beat now that they are at fullf strength and have nothing else to play for.

 

City made Sevilla look like an amateur team early in the season.

At home we were certainly dire

but when we played at Man City, we really should have won that game

 

Ur underestimating City pav...Aguero / KdB / Silva and behind them Hart on form can do a counter attacking job on anyone...

 

Atletico fav to win the while thing lol

No need to respond after that. All this talk of Real making so many semifinals now ignores the fact that they've only made one final in half a dozen tries. They were the best draw City could've got. Soft in the middle.

Not that City are that great mind. Just that they literally have nothing else to do, domestically.

Same reason Liverpool will probably win the Europa.

 

Not that City are that great mind. Just that they literally have nothing else to do, domestically.

They still have some work to do. While they are in a better position now than a few weeks ago, they still could fall out of a CL spot. And I'm sure they want to get 3rd now so that they don't have to go through the CL qualifiers.

All of this assuming they don't win the CL this time of course.