European Leagues.

[yellowcard]

Jesus Christ lads will you come off all this shite talk of mentality and bs. No one gave  real a chance going into any of the last 3 rounds because we're fed the sky sports/ bt horseshit that the pl is the only league in the world.

Real won because they're the better team and have better players. A few are pushing on and not fit for a flawless league run a la Liverpool or city but they're still a simply outstanding squad with talent all over the park. If they played in England jake humphries and the fanboys would be creaming over them every week.

There's a concentrated attempt to try and explain away how real won the tie (and the previous one) as if the obvious answer isn't that they simply were talented enough to match city for 180 mins and then win it in extra-time.

I do think tradition stands for plenty. You only have to look at Mayo in our own sport and their brain freeze when it comes to AI finals. But I do take your point that the English media spin a narrative that they think their audience wants to hear. Namely that the Premier League is so superior to everything else on the continent They are in constant product sales mode. Man City were almost built up to be this super Harlem Globetrotters side who were facing a vastly inferior European club side (even though it was the 13 time champions against a side plying their trade as a third tier English team 15 years ago). Listening to the BT commentary you would have thought at times that Kyle Walker was prime Cafu last night.

The irony is that the majority of English fans which would have made up much of their audience, were probably cheering on Real Madrid. It will be the same in the final when most English fans will be supporting Madrid. However the media commentary has started already with plenty in the media writing off Real Madrid yet again. I can guarantee that this is not the view on the continent and Real Madrid would have been expecting to win that game last night. They have plenty of outstanding players and the difference at that level of football is very small margins. Perhaps Man City played better football over 210 minutes especially when you consider the first leg but the margins between teams at that level of football is very small. In this tie it was down to finishing which is a massive part of the game but Pep has played without a striker for much of the season so he has deliberately chosen to flood the side with possession based creators at the expense of finishers.

As for the Pep bashing, he is still the same manager he was yesterday but people need to have some reason for the defeat and someone to blame when it is much more nuanced than that.   

[Armagh18]

Jesus Christ lads will you come off all this shite talk of mentality and bs. No one gave  real a chance going into any of the last 3 rounds because we're fed the sky sports/ bt horseshit that the pl is the only league in the world.

Real won because they're the better team and have better players. A few are pushing on and not fit for a flawless league run a la Liverpool or city but they're still a simply outstanding squad with talent all over the park. If they played in England jake humphries and the fanboys would be creaming over them every week.

There's a concentrated attempt to try and explain away how real won the tie (and the previous one) as if the obvious answer isn't that they simply were talented enough to match city for 180 mins and then win it in extra-time.

I do think tradition stands for plenty. You only have to look at Mayo in our own sport and their brain freeze when it comes to AI finals. But I do take your point that the English media spin a narrative that they think their audience wants to hear. Namely that the Premier League is so superior to everything else on the continent They are in constant product sales mode. Man City were almost built up to be this super Harlem Globetrotters side who were facing a vastly inferior European club side (even though it was the 13 time champions against a side plying their trade as a third tier English team 15 years ago). Listening to the BT commentary you would have thought at times that Kyle Walker was prime Cafu last night.

The irony is that the majority of English fans which would have made up much of their audience, were probably cheering on Real Madrid. It will be the same in the final when most English fans will be supporting Madrid. However the media commentary has started already with plenty in the media writing off Real Madrid yet again. I can guarantee that this is not the view on the continent and Real Madrid would have been expecting to win that game last night. They have plenty of outstanding players and the difference at that level of football is very small margins. Perhaps Man City played better football over 210 minutes especially when you consider the first leg but the margins between teams at that level of football is very small. In this tie it was down to finishing which is a massive part of the game but Pep has played without a striker for much of the season so he has deliberately chosen to flood the side with possession based creators at the expense of finishers.

As for the Pep bashing, he is still the same manager he was yesterday but people need to have some reason for the defeat and someone to blame when it is much more nuanced than that.   

He blew £100m unnecessarily on a good but hardly outstanding Grealish who plays in a position they have far better players in, when a blind man could see they needed to buy a striker. Added to that they clearly didnt have the mental toughness when it came to injury time the players genuinely looked scared and bewildered, at least part of that comes down to the manager.

[thewobbler]

Man City lost a two-legged game by the odd goal, to the the most successful team in the history of the sport.

They didn't blow up. It's just a disgrace. It's not a sleight in their characters. It's not underachievement. It's not poor investments catching up on them. It's not a shit season.

Only one team can win a tournament ffs.

[yellowcard]

Jesus Christ lads will you come off all this shite talk of mentality and bs. No one gave  real a chance going into any of the last 3 rounds because we're fed the sky sports/ bt horseshit that the pl is the only league in the world.

Real won because they're the better team and have better players. A few are pushing on and not fit for a flawless league run a la Liverpool or city but they're still a simply outstanding squad with talent all over the park. If they played in England jake humphries and the fanboys would be creaming over them every week.

There's a concentrated attempt to try and explain away how real won the tie (and the previous one) as if the obvious answer isn't that they simply were talented enough to match city for 180 mins and then win it in extra-time.

I do think tradition stands for plenty. You only have to look at Mayo in our own sport and their brain freeze when it comes to AI finals. But I do take your point that the English media spin a narrative that they think their audience wants to hear. Namely that the Premier League is so superior to everything else on the continent They are in constant product sales mode. Man City were almost built up to be this super Harlem Globetrotters side who were facing a vastly inferior European club side (even though it was the 13 time champions against a side plying their trade as a third tier English team 15 years ago). Listening to the BT commentary you would have thought at times that Kyle Walker was prime Cafu last night.

The irony is that the majority of English fans which would have made up much of their audience, were probably cheering on Real Madrid. It will be the same in the final when most English fans will be supporting Madrid. However the media commentary has started already with plenty in the media writing off Real Madrid yet again. I can guarantee that this is not the view on the continent and Real Madrid would have been expecting to win that game last night. They have plenty of outstanding players and the difference at that level of football is very small margins. Perhaps Man City played better football over 210 minutes especially when you consider the first leg but the margins between teams at that level of football is very small. In this tie it was down to finishing which is a massive part of the game but Pep has played without a striker for much of the season so he has deliberately chosen to flood the side with possession based creators at the expense of finishers.

As for the Pep bashing, he is still the same manager he was yesterday but people need to have some reason for the defeat and someone to blame when it is much more nuanced than that.   

He blew £100m unnecessarily on a good but hardly outstanding Grealish who plays in a position they have far better players in, when a blind man could see they needed to buy a striker. Added to that they clearly didnt have the mental toughness when it came to injury time the players genuinely looked scared and bewildered, at least part of that comes down to the manager.

He's not perfect but he is probably the most coveted coach in world football so that tells you enough. Pep has elevated Man City onto another sphere and given them way more credibility than they had before he came in.  I agree, buying Grealish was an extra luxury but when you are handed a bottomless pit of money the price is irrelevant to them as long as they are being seen to stick withing FFP guidelines. Plus he did unsuccessfully try to get Kane and then Ronaldo (although I'd be dubious as to his intent) before the window.

When the match went to extra time, the mental state of the respective teams was always going to be vastly different. Whilst Pep is highly strung and his sides have sometimes faced meltdowns before, I don't know how much he could be held accountable last night. You could question some of the logic in his substitutions but then again we don't know his reasoning and it is very easy to be wise after the event. Perhaps it is best just to give Real Madrid some credit.   

[seafoid]

PSG,Spurs,Kildare, Mayo, Waterford and Schalke all have the same problem.

[Armamike]

Jesus Christ lads will you come off all this shite talk of mentality and bs. No one gave  real a chance going into any of the last 3 rounds because we're fed the sky sports/ bt horseshit that the pl is the only league in the world.

Real won because they're the better team and have better players. A few are pushing on and not fit for a flawless league run a la Liverpool or city but they're still a simply outstanding squad with talent all over the park. If they played in England jake humphries and the fanboys would be creaming over them every week.

There's a concentrated attempt to try and explain away how real won the tie (and the previous one) as if the obvious answer isn't that they simply were talented enough to match city for 180 mins and then win it in extra-time.

Real are a good team, with a sprinkling of highly talented players, no question.  But they have been dominated in large spells by the opposition and have dragged themselves out of desperate situations, in large part at home in front of fervent supporters.  I wouldn't say they're a better team than City or have better players.  They did believe in themselves though to keep going right to the end, where other sides would have accepted their fate in a few of those games.

[screenexile]

Just to add there's a fair chance Casimero should have been sent off but his 2 challenges were definite yellows with most referees.

Would he have made the second challenge if he had been booked first time we don't know but he would have had to change his game!

[Captain Obvious]

Cresswell gets himself sent off in a Europa League tie again. Uphill task for West ham now.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

The huns have started rightly

[rodney trotter]

Rangers will have earned a tidy figure should they reach the final .  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/europa-league-prize-money-breakdown-how-much-do-winners-2022/uviivwm7iuadjq8tbmrmr7ad

[Tony Baloney]

Horrible horrible shower but they have given the Europa a good rattle. Heading to Seville but The Bill was cancelled years ago!

[bennydorano]

Fair play to Rangers, great win. Giovanni VB is no dozer tactically, going to be an Interesting couple of years with him & Ange in Scotland.

[Captain Obvious]

Rangers off to Sevilla some atmosphere in Ibrox tonight and would have to give them a decent chance against Eintracht Frankfurt.  Leicester and Brendan Rodgers miserable season over at the hands of Jose Mourinho  who should add another new trophy to his CV

[Armagh18]

Mbappe is getting some deal in Paris.... Sad state of affairs that the 2 best young talents in the world are stuck at oil clubs

[RedHand88]

A 23 year old picking your manager. Madness. Hope it all backfires to teach the rest of Europe a lesson.