Hello everyone!

I've been gone for a while and this is only my impression of the community after only a few visits but there seems to be an abundant number of topics about things that are non-football related.

What is going on?

Fellas..

FOOTBALL IS BACK! No more never ending transfer rumors that we know don't have legs, no more hyping up teams that we just know will disappoint once the season starts. We have our football matches back instead!

Are we tired of talking about it? I certainly hope not.

Seeing as how there isn't a CL discussion going on even though match-day one is behind us, I figured i'l start one myself.

The Champions League heavyweights, with the exception of the holder, have all started with a statement of intent. Barcelona have demolished Celta, Bayern Munich buried Rasta. Obviously these two teams are the favorites to win the whole thing again, it's quite clear from the very first game who the best teams are.

I like to think of Real Madrid as belonging to that elite little group but since they have just won the competition, the odds are stacked pretty heavily against us. When you add in the fact that Zidane has said our priority is La Liga, you can almost write us off. Almost. Not just quite. As Sporting game has shown, with remontada spirit alive and kicking in all it's glory, I think that Real Madrid are outside favorites to retain the trophy.

No other club in Europe identifies as closely and as intimately with the Champions League as Real Madrid, so despite what Zidane might've said, I know the players will give it their all to try to retain the trophy. Making CL history is almost synonymous with Real Madrid. But anyway, enough about Real Madrid.

Who do you guys think are the other favorites to win this year? Will there be somebody new to break the cycle of the big three (Real, Bayern, Barca)?

Atletico have come the closest and have lost two finals in the last three years, and seeing as how they kept most of their players, along with a few additions that have actually strengthened them, it's to safe to expect them to at least reach the semis.

Will Guardiola do one better from last year, and take his new club to the final? Anything less than that 'should' be considered a failure, right? They have started the season very well, with new acquisitions adding a lot of depth to their squad. Nolito and Gundogan bring a lot of quality to a side that is already brimming with it. I think they'll go far, but probably not to the final. They're just not at the level of the big three.

It seems like this year will be a transitional year for PSG, and I don't really think they'll go further than quarter finals, and will have to improve dramatically to even reach that.

The only other team that I think is capable of doing something this year is Juventus. Sure, they sold Pogba and some others but new acquisitions Higuain and Pjanic have both impressed on their debuts, and I expect their performances to keep getting better. With Khedira in the form of his life, this looks like it's going to be his best season ever, along with Dybala and the always, always strong defense - they make a strong claim to the trophy. Even though they struggled in their first game of the Champions League drawing at home with Seville, I'm sure they'll pick up steam soon after and will be one of the contenders.

Did I miss anybody? Do you think one of the clubs I haven't mentioned should be considered as favorites? Make your case. :)

Oh by the way, United lost their opening Europea League game against Feyenord. (lol).

Amerr, your back! :D I was starting to miss you! Anyway, I agree with what you said, Bayern, Barca, Real, Atletico, City and Juve are the team whom I think we can expect the most of. PSG is seriously not feeling as good as last year so I don't think they will do too well and go too far but they might just suprise. Other team I feel could do well is BVB, they got a great team, a good coach, lots of youth and of depth, the only thing wich in my opinion might keep them for going far is that they can be inconsistent.. I don't expect much from other English team but I would like to see more good results for French team, maybe having all of team managing to get to the next phase. Anyway, on the matter that Real Madrid could win it again, I don't think it is likely and as a neutral it wouldn't really be something I would love, but it is certainly possible that it will happen, I don't think they got less chance than team like Barca and Bayern. Above all of what as been said though Amerr, its great to have you back. :D

Football is back not amerr :D there was no longer football when he left lol. Jokes aside welcome back.

For me the first day doesn't give you any guarantees, knowing that only March form decides the winner in final stages, also draw may play a big role, if you do not meet any of big horses till the final Bayer-Barca- Madrid you are in a pretty good shape.

About Pep, one only could admit that he is gifted, to reach the final with City is mission impossible. When Mourinho reached the final with Porto okay he had to deal with United in his road wich his team brilliantly did but all the actual Europeen monsters were in crisis, I don't think it's the season to see a Porto or a Leicester achievement. 3 clubs are favorites in my eyes, draw and march form will decide because no one has a clear superiority.

Favs : Bayern, Barca, Real Madrid
Outsiders : Atletico, Juve, Man City, Psg

I think Pep strength is league consistency, his method gives a +85 pts league winner because possession makes you dominate midtable teams, but he always did good in Cl, won 2 with Barca and reached 2 semi finals with Bayern, to loose on semi you should reach them.

I think many will only give him credit when he will lift PL this season, and give City the consistency to win next year wich only United could do under SAF, few give him credit for a long time knowing how many times he owned Mou in 1 vs 1 duels and to the shape of the teams he managed, AND I think despite winning two PL in a row he will still have people who doesn't like him as a coach or a human, we can't take subjectivity from everyone.

For me he is a world class coach, he changes everything in the team he coaches and lift the league wich is for me the most important trophy to judge the whole year effort.
He only trained monster teams, yes. But he is made to coach them. City were underachieving knowing that they didn't drawn a game yet since the start of the season in all competitions.

Now will he win the CL with City ? I don't think so. In term of motivation and getting 100% of his teams for me he is the best, I won't say he is one dimensional but you clearly know how his team will start a game, despite the fact that on a league basis, it always works after 38 games, in CL you just need to flop on one to loose the competition and he could get surprised plus the fact he has arguably the 4th strongest squad of the CL, if we put City squad above Juve and Atletico, because top 3 are still a little higher on paper.

What I retained from first day ?

• Leicester will focus on CL rather than PL and its honorable attitude, once in a lifetime maybe for the fans PL is each year.
• Tottenham just being themselves in Europe
• City looks serious semi final material if they do not meet a top 3 early in the competition
• Madrid of September doesn't have any impact on Madrid of March, all conclusions now would be clueless
• Barca has the best attack but defensively doubtful, will depend on March form
• Bayern under Ancelotti is what I expected, this coach never disappoint, so class and elegant and handle well egoes, my favorite coach
• Arsenal will highly depend on draw, beside top 3 they may have their chances, injury will be key in March form
• PSG under Unai Emery and without Ibra are still under construction.

At the end in 3 words : draw - March form.

@tiki_taka Great post, its alway great when you get serious and make those kind of analysis tiki, I feel it is quite true indeed, I wonder if I'll be able to make that kind of analysis in the future. :s

Match day 1 was good, but as Tiki rightly said, match day 1 form is irrelevant. It is the form at the end of the season that matters.

Barca and Bayern both shined, and yes they are the favourites. Real Madrid were made to work hard for it but they won too. Big 3 after all.

But I seriously think this year none of these 3 will be champions come June. There are many good teams this year in the CL.

Dortmund have returned to the Champions League after a one year absence and showed us what we were missing with a 6-0 thrashing of Legia Warsaw. Dortmund basically ended the match in only 15 minutes. As usual, they have sold a couple of their good players, Hummels, Miky, and Gundogan. And as usual, they have got some good players like Gotze, Schurrle, etc. I think that if they don't meet any of the big 3 in early stages (they are already in danger of missing out on top spot in the group) then I think they can reach far. They have the attacking quality to score goals, and on their best day can beat anyone.

Juventus have made some really strong additions to their squad. Higuain, Alves, Pjanic, have all impressed when they have played so far. Yes, they could not defeat Sevilla but they dominated the whole game from start to finish and Sergio Rico made some good saves. They lost Pogba but then they have made good signings. Their record in the previous couple of Champions League seasons have shown that you can't underestimate them.

Atletico are pretty much the same team, with the only notable additions being Gaitan and Gameiro. It is my opinion that they blew their chance to win the CL last year, and with Barca and Bayern both getting stronger this summer, and Real generally have the upper hand against them in CL, I think they'll find it very difficult to reach the final this year.

How far Man City reaches this season depends largely on the shape of the title picture this season come March. His first prioirity will be the PL, which he was brought in for, and he himself has said that his squad is not ready yet. This year they'll be mainly challenging for the Premier League, maybe next year they can think of CL.

I've said this elsewhere as well, but I don't think that PSG are gonna get anywhere this season. I don't even expect them to reach the quarter finals.

So, to sum it up, I feel that this will not be a year where the big 3 again dominate the CL. More than a couple good teams have a chance of going all the way. The odds will be stacked against Real, and they'll find it very difficult to retain their trophy.

Leicester will focus on CL, and rightly so. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them.

P.S @Amerr I was about to upvote your well written post, but then I read the last line.

For me the first day doesn't give you any guarantees, knowing that only March form decides the winner in final stages, also draw may play a big role, if you do not meet any of big horses till the final Bayer-Barca- Madrid you are in a pretty good shape.

You don't say..

About Pep, one only could admit that he is gifted, to reach the final with City is mission impossible.

Watch when they'll beat Barca.

I think Pep strength is league consistency, his method gives a +85 pts league winner because possession makes you dominate midtable teams

Stupid. Since when has possesion football been the major factor to victories in the PL? Proper bullshit.

I think many will only give him credit when he will lift PL this season, and give City the consistency to win next year wich only United could do under SAF, few give him credit for a long time knowing how many times he owned Mou in 1 vs 1 duels and to the shape of the teams he managed, AND I think despite winning two PL in a row he will still have people who doesn't like him as a coach or a human, we can't take subjectivity from everyone

I see the CL thread now became a Pep Guardiola thread. Typical tiki.

My take on it: Barca and Bayern favorites to win (no explanation needed). Followed by City (spent a ridicolous amount of money on the right players and will offer a hard game against all opponents), Juve (Honestly think they're at least as strong as last year without Pogba - although they might have a slow start to both the league and the CL cup - As evident by the draw against Sevilla that they should beat!!) and Atletico (As they've managed to keep most of their squad and always somehow seem to manuovre their way through the different stages). Next pot: PSG and Arsenal. PSG is considerably weaker without Zlatan. Although, many believe that they deserved a win against Arsenal, I would argue for that the fact that they didn't win is due to PSG being a weaker team than last year. Not the same money coming in, Zlatan out and a new manager.

Leicester had a great game and I believe that they'll proceed through the group stages with ease. How far they go after that will depend on the opponents. Obviously they will focus on the CL, because it is the first time they ever compete in it. Secondly the amount of money associated with the CL offers much to fight for a smaller team like Leicester.

Russian success story Rostov is also interesting to follow, although I donät believe they'll see the same success as LEicester. Partly, because of a much harder group.

@KTB Please don't bring the frustation you build up in my prediction thread to this thread, I'm sorry if I putted you in bad disposition with what happened. :( Also, sorry if I seem to be on your back, I just don't want to be responsible for starting a conflict on Amerr thread. Anyway, on with the thread, I mostly agree with you, in particular with Leicester proceeding to the next stage. You can see, they are focusing on CL wich is great, they are in a situation where they got nothing to lose.

If City under Pelligrini was one goal away from a CL final, I have no reason to think Pep's City team getting there is "mission impossible." I'm not sure I've ever seen a more dominant start to the season that what we're seeing from City right now. They're just on another level.

@Sunflash
Man City's form last year in August, in the first five PL games - WWWWW
We all know where they ended up then. (coming 4th only on goal difference)
Form this early in the season means nothing. I would just wait a little more to declare City runaway leaders of the PL and strong CL contenders.

You have to say City got a great team with big potential and even better manager. They are playing amazing so far.

City can definately do it, i can't believe that i'm saying this but pep guardiola has been doing a fantastic job at city and transformed them into a world class team with alot of hunger.

@sunflahs @quikzyyy @chelsea I fear I have to agree with all of you, City is looking way too good since last year, I know it is still soon but with the way MC play, thing can only get better for them. :O

City didnt faced any stronger opposition yet to begin with, im waiting to see them face Barça, despite defensive issues its still enough to beat them. I Hear you guys many people here didnt agree on last year City underachieving post btw the lord who jumped at me to say its because of mighty Bournmounth And co Bla bla bla TV rights you know the non sportive clueless excuses when you cant see a team not reaching 50% of their potential... Well this Guy is the one trying to have an argument here he wont have his point is dead in one month.
Secondly the reason why I dont see Pep tactics succeed in CL only due to the kind of teams he will meet, any defensive minded team like Atletico or Juve could cause problem And the fact he plays the same way Barca plays with less chemistry atm and a prone injury Aguero while the top 3 has 3 or 4 Aguero category players if not higher can weaken chances. I also think clubs WC and international break Will cause Madrid problems and City being in 2 nd place of the group if They finish above Barca will get them difficult draws.

As a Barca fan I dont wait to face two teams due to their styles : Bayern, Atletico. The rest in a 2 games confrontation will be okay. Pep is pasting Barca style so in a normal day Barca Will win because they Will still dominate midlefied and City is not a defensive minded team as I saw, their strike force is amazing but they suffer without the ball, I dont see them outscoring MSN despite KDB/Aguero.

And even if the inexpected for me happens, They still have 4 or 5 teams who could defeat them, How many CL winners They have in their squad ? Didnt They lost against a poor form Madrid with an injured CR7 without showing any character.

Well Pep for me killed the fact there are strong teams you cant win that easy bla bla you know Lodatz/Ktbffhswe usual 2 words

Since his charge all competitions included : WWWWWWWW

But as I tried to say, its a mission impossible for Pep in the movie it was possible at the end but you need to make the impossible : be 1st of group stage ahead of Barca ( not facing spurs Arsenal or Leicester in 1/8 is seen probably as bad news for Pep while the Spanish if they grab first place are delighted not to face each others. Lets resume be first ahead of Barca to have an easy 1/8 draw, probably face top 3 in quarters and semi, And need to defeat Barça-real-Bayern-atleti all played many CL finals lately.

Is City the ultimate team to defeat in a row all the squads full of confidence in Europe ? May happen once, twice but doing it till the end is mission impossible. With games of their lifes and big luck.

But Atletico, Chelsea and Juve reached the final, Chelsea even did it. Yes exactly, They had all something in commun, what ultimately Is City weakness : lethal defense and not suffering without the ball, the moment City loose the midlefield batlle against a big gun They are out of CL, PLUS the moment They face Atleti or Juve style Pep is in trouble, he was in 2008 vs Inter, he was in 2012 vs Chelsea and he ultimately was last year vs a young Atletico under construction while he had 6 WC champions, Lewa, Ribery, Koman, best GK in the world and probably the most complete squad.

Mission impossible for me and i tried to write things without looking to making my post look good or beatiful im in a pub atm on my cell phone.

So why I still admire Pep, I responded to it, best coach in the world in term of consistency, small PL teams, small minded if mister budget wants to bring his science, these teams will come and go week in week out with 4-5 goals. He Will win many big games but not all of them. And while his full confidence team Will face à top 3 there will be no wake up call in CL you are just out. Luckily they have Barca on groupstage. Sterling and co
Should comfirm what They did this month what teams are doing for 5 years now.

Resume if people doesnt want to read late in the weeknd :

• City relies on 2 big players, but imo only 2 KDB And Aguero, hope They dont get injured in March.
• They suffer once They loose the ball, try this against Bayern or Barca who know Pep more than le knows them.
• Madrid full strenght will defeat Pep City
• defensive teams with hign intensity And tactical awarness we have two of them : Juve And Atletico kryptonite of Pep hitting back in counters
• John Srones, Nolito, Sterling we all saw their potential, ok Pep brought the Sterling i used to not Hate back, but They will face Chiellini, Godin, Vidal type of players have more experience than all the kelechi And co assembled.
• Ultimately what defensive teams are able to do that would kill City ( being comfortable without the ball And closing spaces trying to defend a one goal lead for minutes while Bayern is giving wave after wave of attacks ) is ULtimately what City should have to win CL, 2 dimensional. Atletico has more chances to go far waiting for final draws
• Pep strenght is league, he will win it but high intensity will cost injuries or tiredness maybe off form from march to may.

Remains predictions based on a little analysis of the past, the style, the players, the experience, the kind of draw. Blaming Pep for not winning CL would be stupid, another thing for the

What Pep is implementing with City a GK who starts building And a confident team bringing fear for rivals is not recolutionary 2 teams were built like this one in Spain one in Germany, both evolved into 2 dimensional teams with New coaches based on Pep work, under Ancelotti i fear Bayern : double knowledge And more effectiveness And double achievers on the field in case of Bavarians achievers are even on the bench.
At the end I may be wrong :) but I will takes mockery after City lifting the trophy with fair play And smile, wont disappear.

@satvik from what I saw this start of the season, City won the league, others still looks under construction who take too much Time. I would actually want Ibra to lift the trophy that bad but United midlefield doesnt allowing it yet, Conte grabbed points at the last minutes each time wont work on 38 game basis, Arsenal has off form where some players are mentally on holidays, Wenger should be more demanding for a challenger consistency, Liverpool well im more expecting them to get of form than easy winnners City, clearly a different year in PL one team is clearly superior And has a champion chemistry. We are in september yes but its still pretty safe How things are going.

"Tottenham just being themselves in Europe"

If you mean: they lost their first group game, well, they did that last time they were in the CL, and then got to the QFs, so, yeah, maybe they are. :)

If you mean: losing to Monaco, well, we did thrash them 4-1 last year, so I guess they owed us one, though I did notice that Monaco beat PSG this year so far too (by more, think?), so maybe they're getting good. As for the game itself, we had 60% possession, 7 shots to their 3, 11 corners to their 0, and 19 crosses to their 9, so perhaps we didn't play so badly after all, and you didn't watch the match. ;)

Let's see how that works out when we go to France. Scoreline might be a little different.

If you mean something else, then you'll probably have to explain it, since it's not really clear... you're not trying to troll, or anything, are you, by chance?

City relies on 2 big players, but imo only 2 KDB And Aguero, hope They dont get injured in March.

Who on Earth says that they are reliant upon 2 players? They've played 5 games, and this is where they are at:

de Bruyne: 2 goals, 3 assists
Sterling: 3 goals, 2 assists
Aguero: 3 goals
Iheanacho: 2 goals, 3 assists
Nolito: 2 goals, 1 assist

I don't think I need to read the rest of this discussion to know how it is going...

Bournmouth is not Bayern thing you will never understand mate. Completely different planet maybe sport, compare Nolito or Ihenacho to what CL rivals have atm as nuclear weapons. We were arguing on Cavani not being CL material now this. Well good luck Spurs to lift CL I trust it 100% im with you mate.

And please dont read, going further wont make you stay And I really dont mind, its actually more interesting forgot my comment And make some posts for the others ignore me.

Are you kidding? At this rate Manchester City are heavy favorites for the CL trophy. Forget their results, look at how great they play together. I think the two heavy favorites are Man City and Bayern at this moment (due to their managerial experience, outstanding squad quality and depth, and tactical discipline). Unlikely but possible winners are Real, Barca, and Atletico. The dark horses would probably be PSG or BVB.

"City didnt faced any stronger opposition yet to begin with, im waiting to see them face Barça, despite defensive issues its still enough to beat them. I Hear you guys many people here didnt agree on last year City underachieving post btw the lord who jumped at me to say its because of mighty Bournmounth And co Bla bla bla "

Wait a second, are you joking?

Do you remember how many points City had after 5 games last season, in which they ended up scraping 4th? They had 15, same as this season. And yet here you are, declaring them the champions already.

See, this is because you have a two-horse mentality. You are so used to watching a league in which there are only 2 horses. It's been the nature of the Spanish league for the last 10+ years. Wanna see?

That's 12 years where 22 out of 24 first and second slots were taken up by 2 teams. Oh, and look at the red, will you? That's the points difference between first and third, and then first and fourth. La Ligas has been, historically, a two-horse race, and that's why you are so quick to declare a winner of the league whenever you see (after 5 games, of course) that one team, a team far richer than most, is playing well.

Do you want to see what the PL's one looks like?

Look at how many different clubs are on that list. Look at the diversity of the league by comparison. And pay attention to the red again, and how much smaller it us over the course of 12 years. That's why when someone like me points out that the leagues are different, and that smaller teams make a larger difference in the title race, you don't understand it, because you don't understand the league.

Once again, I really didn't need to read this thread to know where it was going, but hey, it's always worthy pointing out your bias. :)

And aren't you up a little late? What time is it in France, tiki, or are you actually in the US? ;)

I think you missed the point Liga vs PL is not here. Dont ruin this create a thread. Underachieving exist in a dictionary maybe City should have hired Pep And some good players earlier before struggling in group stage earlier In the same decade just like mighty Spurs. Make a thread or stay on topic

Edit : since you disappeared maybe you didnt remember that my English was that bad, atm im not shakespear yet lol, short memory just like for soccer oops Football, well done Sherlock well done. Im your neighbour 0o look at from the window.

One last question Sherlock, how come I didnt said your username for more than 6 month And you appear 5 min later ? Lets see if im as good at guessing : are you Casper ? Oh you work for the NSA right ? XD Sunday Bloody Sunday good night :)