UEFA Champions League Round of 16 - 4/3/25 and 11/3/25

BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Yes but he’d have done it anyway given draw didn’t distinguish between 1st, 2nd.. 8th. Most teams (in or around top 8.. or in or around top 16), couldn’t risk it.

And it’s a cup comp. Someone can put you out of the FA Cup then get City next round… then another good PL team.
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Draw absolutely distinguishes between the 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 pairs. Their possible opponents were known since the last league phase games.
 
You just need to be top 8, it doesn't matter which position as you can't account for what will happen in the play-offs anyway. That'll be obvious to every team now when it wasn't before.

A cup draw is always random and luck is always involved. If we can't beat PSG then we don't deserve it anyway. And we could potentially have Villa or Bruges in the QFs if we win which would both be a relatively easy draw for a QF. I don't ge tthe outrage amongst Liverpool fans online at all, just get on with it.
 
antk said:
Draw absolutely distinguishes between the 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 pairs. Their possible opponents were known since the last league phase games.
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I’m probably not being clear .. I simply meant some teams (incl Liverpool) had some positives of being so clear in the top 8, as they could rest for last match. Others couldn’t.

As opposed to “it makes no difference where you end up, there’s no advantage to first or eight at all”.
 
RobinLFC said:
You just need to be top 8, it doesn't matter which position as you can't account for what will happen in the play-offs anyway. That'll be obvious to every team now when it wasn't before.

A cup draw is always random and luck is always involved. If we can't beat PSG then we don't deserve it anyway. And we could potentially have Villa or Bruges in the QFs if we win which would both be a relatively easy draw for a QF. I don't ge tthe outrage amongst Liverpool fans online at all, just get on with it.
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Would you fully support Liverpool against Brugge as a Belgian? Would be awesome to see a Belgian team reach the semis for the first time in a long long time :)
 
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BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Yes but he’d have done it anyway given draw didn’t distinguish between 1st, 2nd.. 8th. Most teams (in or around top 8.. or in or around top 16), couldn’t risk it.

And it’s a cup comp. Someone can put you out of the FA Cup then get City next round… then another good PL team.
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I don't disagree with your point on cup football but you're just factually incorrect that he'd have done it anyway. He literally said the opposite, and went as far as saying he checked if there was a difference between 1st and 2nd before picking the squad, nevermind 1st and 8th.
 
Would have been fun to play Leverkusen, Atletico definitely won't be fun, they never are.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
I’m probably not being clear .. I simply meant some teams (incl Liverpool) had some positives of being so clear in the top 8, as they could rest for last match. Others couldn’t.

As opposed to “it makes no difference where you end up, there’s no advantage to first or eight at all”.
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Oh yeah sorry, I didn't get what you meant. You're right.
 
Botim said:
Would you fully support Liverpool against Brugge as a Belgian? Would be awesome to see a Belgian team reach the semis for the first team in a long long time :)
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Are you kidding me? Liverpool wins and I get to laugh at a load of friends who support Brugge, win win :lol:

I don't really have an allegiance in Belgium. Generally want to see every team do well in Europe so will be rooting for them against Villa - and basically anyone, just not Liverpool.
 
Pintu said:
So Liverpool won the league confortably and end up with Paris, the toughest draw for their Ro16… While Villa who only made it top 8 thanks to Milan’s massive bottle job at Zagreb will get their Ro 16 against Brugge.
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Yeah. The idea of the league format is cool, but the execution stinks. There should be fewer than 24 teams making it to knockouts, and more clear advantages to finishing high in the table if you're going to go through all the trouble of 8 games. Heck, let the highest performing teams in the league phase choose which opponents they want in the knockouts. That'll make for exciting league phase games and drama even at the top of the table.
 
RobinLFC said:
You just need to be top 8, it doesn't matter which position as you can't account for what will happen in the play-offs anyway. That'll be obvious to every team now when it wasn't before.

A cup draw is always random and luck is always involved. If we can't beat PSG then we don't deserve it anyway. And we could potentially have Villa or Bruges in the QFs if we win which would both be a relatively easy draw for a QF. I don't ge tthe outrage amongst Liverpool fans online at all, just get on with it.
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But the question is why make it random? There's no advantages to UEFA to doing so, that I can think of at least.
 
So based on that, I'd say it's fairly safe to assume Barcelona or Munich will be in the final.

I think how Arsenal do against Real or Atletico (if they get through PSV) will depend on if Saka is back or not. They're a completely different prospect to playing City.

No idea how we'll get on but if we get through PSG, I'd back us in the quarters. Potential for us to play Arsenal at Anfield twice in a week.
 
Cheimoon said:
@KirkDuyt vs @Eendracht maakt macht in the finals - it's possible!
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I'm quite certain this is the end of the line for both of us.

Though if PSV find their form from the beginning of the season / end of last season and Arsenal's injury woes persist, they may habe a chance.

I give us very little chance to beat Inter. Not in the least because we are missing a few players until the end of the season.
 
GoonerBear said:
Agreed. Unfortunately the state of this attack all bets are off really, it's hard to do any sort of predictions on how we will fare.

To be honest, even at full strength, i think we are basically a quarter final team. We just don't have the forwards that so often can decide these cup ties at the business end of a competition, we all seen that after the Bayern tie last season and we've literally done nothing to address that since.
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Yeah I get that but also on the other hand think not conceding many goals and being firm is a good thing about your team for Champions League. Barca look really exciting etc. but also concede plenty and usually I don't trust teams that are like that. Scorelines like 5-4 are fun but winning 1-0 can sometimes be better. It's why I believe Inter could go far again this season.

But yes not having players to decide in close games is definitely a problem for a team that wants to win big things.
 
GoonerBear said:
Imagine if Arsenal & Real go through to meet in the quarters, & Real have a front 3 of Mbappe, Vinicius & Rodrygo & Arsenal have a front 3 of Trossard, Merino & Nwaneri! :lol:
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"Imagine if Arsenal & Real go through to meet in the quarters, & Real have a front 3 of Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul & Arsenal have a back 4 of Flamini, Senderos, Toure and Eboue! :lol:"
 
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