Champions League — quarter-finals and semi-finals draw

Still vividly remember City thrashing Madrid in 2023. Can’t see beyond City winning the CL again. They just have the ability to perform when it matters and then give a little extra on top of that.
I still vividly remember Pep's City blowing their CL chances in ties against inferior competition and they are not as convincing as last year. Surely City remain strong favorites to win the whole thing, but I keep my hopes with Madrid.
 
I'm surprised people think the Real vs City game is already decided.

City have struggled to win the big games they've played in this season, and Real Madrid only need 3-4 mins of their Real Madrid-ness to turn a game around.
 
I'm surprised people think the Real vs City game is already decided.

City have struggled to win the big games they've played in this season, and Real Madrid only need 3-4 mins of their Real Madrid-ness to turn a game around.
I guess the 4-0 last season plays into it a fair bit, but again - should be an even tie.

Don’t really know who I’m rooting for overall. Probably Atletico?
 
Personally wanted Arsenal to draw one of Real or City & get knocked out. It will always be feck Arsenal in my household.
 
This is a good draw. Arsenal Bayern will be a cracker and I think Bayern can do em'. I also think Real may be a handful for City. I will be putting a few quid on Atletico to win it, which I would personally, love to see.
 
I guess the 4-0 last season plays into it a fair bit, but again - should be an even tie.

Don’t really know who I’m rooting for overall. Probably Atletico?
Atleti winning it would be epic.
 
Personally wanted Arsenal to draw one of Real or City & get knocked out. It will always be feck Arsenal in my household.
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Reminder that Real Madrid are still missing Courtois and Rudiger is our only fit defender, Nacho notwithstanding given he's looked completely cooked this season and we're actually better off playing Tchouameni in his place
 
So one of PSG, Barca, Atletico Madrid and Dortmund will be in this final.

I guess I gotta root hard for Atleti to come out of that bunch and then hope Bayern get through Arsenal and Real or City.
 
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City v Real is an interesting one, City are far from the team and the level of last season and unlike last season Real will probably actually turn up at the Etihad and give City a game.

Cant see Arsenal getting past FC Bayern as they are their bogey team and the last 3 games between the 2 all ended 5-1 to FC Bayern.
 
Love that we are playing Bayern. Cruising for a bruising for a long time. Another wrong that we can overcome. Couldn't have asked for a better draw.

Goodluck to all.
 
I really don't know anything about Dortmund or Atleti this year. But I'm content with drawing Bayern. They're not the behemoth that they've been in the past and I think they're fairly evenly matched with Arsenal. But the rest of that side of the bracket it brutal
 
It's just kinda gross to me that the quarter-finals could have a match like Madrid/City, meanwhile a bang-average club like Dortmund or Atletico are going to trip backwards into the semi-finals due to the luck of the draw.
 
Pity we're on the side of the draw with the 3 teams I fear the most. Was hoping for Dortmund, PSG or Barca. The trauma of those 5-1 batterings from Bayern is still lingering. Still, this is what it means to be at the table. Bring it on.
 
This is not 2012-2016 Bayern anymore :)

Bayern got smashed by Leverkusen. Even Utd gave them a scare in the group stages

Happy to get them instead of Real, Man City or PSG. Even Atletico would've been worst given the shithouse football they play.
That was before they decided to sack Tuchel. Funnily enough Bayern actually looks improved since then, seems to be mostly because Tuchel doesn't give a f*ck any more about player preferences and club politics and just sets up the team as he really likes (stuff like moving Kimmich to RB).
 
That was before they decided to sack Tuchel. Funnily enough Bayern actually looks improved since then, seems to be mostly because Tuchel doesn't give a f*ck any more about player preferences and club politics and just sets up the team as he really likes (stuff like moving Kimmich to RB).
Also Player seem to give less fecks and just play.
 
City and Real is 50:50.

Bayern will dispatch Arsenal with relative easy, then get wrecked in the semis by whoever it is from the other two.

Dortmund and Atletico will probably be terrible to watch, and Atletico will continue.

Barcelona and PSG is also 50:50, and both will struggle to get past Atletico. Could see Atletico reach the finals.
 
It's just kinda gross to me that the quarter-finals could have a match like Madrid/City, meanwhile a bang-average club like Dortmund or Atletico are going to trip backwards into the semi-finals due to the luck of the draw.

Yeah let's have a draw system instead where the best 2 or 3 clubs can face each other in the final every year. That's so exciting right.
 
Atletico to shithouse their way past a naive Dortmund side.
Barsa will have just enough quality to stop PSG.
Bayern will take out Arsenal. The big game experience will be too much
City and Real might look 50-50 but it comes too soon for Ancelotti's men. No Militao or Courtois and a healthy KdB means this is City's for the taking.
 
Imagine Arsenal get through that side only to get done by Simeone in the final.

I don't think we'll ever see such irrational hate of one man by one fanbase like it :lol:
 
Oof, that’s us most likely out. Think we only have 1 win against Pep’s City. Very bad match up for us to begin with and now we have a bunch of players on a yellow card, leaky defense and no #9. Very unfortunate but then again no one really expected a CL win this season.

All other games seem like a 50-50, no clear favorites. Interesting games for sure.
 
It's just kinda gross to me that the quarter-finals could have a match like Madrid/City, meanwhile a bang-average club like Dortmund or Atletico are going to trip backwards into the semi-finals due to the luck of the draw.

What's really gross is that City will have faced Real Madrid more times in Europe than us by the end of the quarter-finals

All down to being taken over by an authoritarian state and shamelessly cheating their way to the top
 
Love that we are playing Bayern. Cruising for a bruising for a long time. Another wrong that we can overcome. Couldn't have asked for a better draw.

Goodluck to all.
What other ‘wrong’ have you overcome?
 
To see 8 'top' European clubs in the QFs and no sign of Utd...depressing times and perhaps not due to change anytime soon! Ratcliffe has all the incentive he needs to get this club where it belongs.
 
To see 8 'top' European clubs in the QFs and no sign of Utd...depressing times and perhaps not due to change anytime soon! Ratcliffe has all the incentive he needs to get this club where it belongs.

Nah, we're not that far away. Right now, I'd say we are better than Dortmund from these 8 teams. And just last season, we were probably a better team than Barcelona and Atlético are now.

One of the great benefits of being one the 3 biggest clubs in the world is that even after 11 years of comical mismanagement, we're still just 2 or 3 years away from being a real contender for the PL and CL.
 
for 2 years in a row the better teams are drawn together and the weaker teams play each other in the quarter final...
 
Love that we are playing Bayern. Cruising for a bruising for a long time. Another wrong that we can overcome. Couldn't have asked for a better draw.

Goodluck to all.
At this stage and level all the teams left are very good teams, but I am glad we didn't need to play Atleti next round.
 
Yeah, the x2 5-1 games vs Bayern instantly stand out as they were the most recent, and was a massive gulf in class. The series of games we played in that era seemed to get progressively worse. The first was actually quite tight, in 2012/13 we lost the first leg 1-3 at home but actually went to Munich and won 0-2 to get put out in away goals.

The year after we lost the first leg 0-2 at home before drawing at Bayern 1-1.

We then played them in the group stage in 2015/16 and won the home leg 2-0, but lost the away tie 5-1, and that seemed to set the scene for the 5-1’s the following year! :wenger: