LGP Futbol Thread - (CL, EPL, Serie A, Liga, 2016 Euros)

[shafnutz05]

Chelsea getting what they deserve. Excellent.

So happy PSG came back and won on aggregate. Absolutely absurd red card, and then Chelsea's squad practically manhandles the official afterward.

[Avyran]

Chelsea getting what they deserve. Excellent.

So happy PSG came back and won on aggregate. Absolutely absurd red card, and then Chelsea's squad practically manhandles the official afterward.

Ibrahimovic: "When the red card happened the worst thing was the Chelsea players. I felt there were 11 babies around me." (Quote from Twitter.)

Ibrahimovic is great.

[slappybrown]

Chelsea getting what they deserve. Excellent.

So happy PSG came back and won on aggregate. Absolutely absurd red card, and then Chelsea's squad practically manhandles the official afterward.

Two years ago, this would have been a hastily researched troll.

Now, Euroshad delights in switching the play, playing the ball into space, and understanding the game mentally as well as physically.

[count2infinity]

At least Terry was doing his job. Marking Cahill like a champ.

[Trip McNeely]

At least Terry was doing his job. Marking Cahill like a champ.

HAHAHAHA. That is one of the best pics I've seen in awhile.

[columbia]

That third goal was mens versus boys.

[Avyran]

I really want any of Southampton, Liverpool, or Tottenham to overtake ManU and claim the 4th Champions League spot.

Also, Burnley basically gave Chelsea the title today.

[canaan]

I guess Spurs forgot what time the game started

[Pavement]

They have been awful today.

[Pavement]

I'm just watching the replays of the goals, really terrible defending.

[Loaf31]

Thanks Spurs...really thought that you'd do me a solid

[Pavement]

Who do you support Loaf?

[Loaf31]

Who do you support Loaf?

Liverpool

[Rocco]

1) Chelsea (5 home, 5 away; key games- ManU, @Arsenal, Liverpool)- they're trying to throw first place away but they're going to walk to the title. It's depressing that this group of turds will win but the world is a cold, heartless place.

2) Man City (5 home, 4 away; key games- @ManU, @Spurs, Southampton)- they're trying to throw 2nd place away and may succeed at it. Since pantsing Newcastle they've lost 3 of their next 4 games and looked like crap in their one win. It's hard for me to understand how they can be so reliant on Aguero given all the money they've spent.

3) Arsenal (5 home, 4 away; key games- Liverpool, Chelsea, @ManU)- they're going to fulfill their destiny and end up in 4th somehow. They've been playing really well in the league and starting to dream about taking advantage of a Chelsea collapse which would be fun if it were based at all in reality. In addition to their 3 games against teams with a pulse, they have 3 matches with teams in the relegation fight and they get to smack Newcastle around. They'll be fine even with the FA Cup distraction.

4) ManU (4 home, 5 away; key games- @Liverpool, City, @Chelsea, Arsenal)- beating down Spurs was huge for them given their schedule. They play Pool, City and Chelsea in 3 of their next 4 games. Most of the advanced stats hate them given how fortunate they've been to convert their chances in to goals. It was easier to dismiss their top 4 chances prior to Sunday. Whether that was ManU finally figuring out how to play (those plucky overachievers with their limited resources) or Spurs simply Spursing it up remains to be seen. They have the toughest slate of games left out of the contenders for a top 4 spot.

5) Liverpool (4 home, 5 away; key games- ManU, @Arsenal, @Chelsea)- decided at the New Year to stop being idiots and throwing away points to crappy teams. It's been an effective strategy though they may have left themselves too large of a mountain to climb to get a top 4 spot. Their next 2 games are ManU and Arsenal, so by early April we'll know if all that's left for the season is to win the FA Cup and get Gerrard to Wembley. Their bad goal differential looms large, and it's stayed bad despite 6 straight road shutouts.

6) Southampton (4 home, 5 away; key games- Spurs, @Man City)- getting a point at Stamford Bridge was huge for a team that's been going the wrong way. Extremely tough to break down but scoring has been an issue. May be out of steam. What gives them a chance is their schedule- they'll be playing a lot of bad teams in the relegation fight. They may be able to grab points while the teams above them bludgeon each other. Unlikely but still a great story to repeat what they did last year.

7) Spurs (4 home, 5 away; key games- @Southampton, Man City)- No one folds under pressure quite like Spurs, as they reminded us on Sunday. The advanced stats loathe Spurs. Their schedule may give them a shot but their loss to ManU feels like a death knell, much like their 4-0 loss to Pool last year felt like a finishing blow to their season.

[count2infinity]

It's going to be fun down the stretch for those top 4-5. I agree Chelsea is going to walk away with the title, but the race for the top spots is going to be fun.

On the flip side, only 10 points separate 11th and 18th in the bottom. The relegation stretch is always fun to watch, but with how close it is right now, I can only imagine how chaotic that last weekend will be.

[Kraftster]

It is going to be really fun to watch this down the stretch. I agree with your comment re ManU being eaiser to dismiss prior to Sunday. If only there was a way for Pool and ManU to miss, that would be even more fun to watch. I'll say Chelsea, Arsenal, City, Liverpool.

[Rocco]

And now for the bottom of the table:



Newcastle are probably safe but I'm leaving them on the death watch out of principle given they've scored 1 goal in their last 4 matches. Palace still have to play City, Chelsea, ManU and Pool. They're probably safe unless things go to hell on them. West Brom have all of the top 5 left on their schedule. Their last 4 games- @ManU, @Newcastle, Chelsea, @Arsenal. If WBA slump at all and Chelsea and Arsenal have things to play for WBA could be toast...but it's unlikely. They're 8 points clear of some really crummy teams.

I'd previously joked on Twitter that it would be weird next year to not have a Merseyside Derby since Everton would be in the Championship. Beating Newcastle helps their odds of staying afloat. I don't understand why they're so much worse this year than they were last year but they're definitely in the relegation battle as of right now. Hull's remaining schedule- Chelsea, @Swansea, @Southampton, Liverpool, @Palace, Arsenal, Burnley, @Spurs, ManU. Woof. I don't think anyone would miss them if they went down.

Villa looked dead in the water a month ago as they decided to stop scoring goals at all. Turns out they may have just really hated Paul Lambert. They dropped a house on Sunderland and are out of the relegation zone for now. That's the good news. The bad news they play @ManU, @Spurs, @City and @Southampton and they have a FA Cup Semifinal. They have home games w/QPR and Burnley. Those 6 points plus 3 points somewhere else should be enough. Last year I proclaimed Sunderland dead in the water- they proceeded afterwards to draw w/City and take down Chelsea en route to staying alive. They look dreadful lately and just sacked their manager. The good news for Sunderland is their schedule isn't too bad- @Arsenal, Southampton, and @Chelsea on the last day of the season when Chelsea may not give a crap. Once you've given up 4 goals to Aston Villa and Tactics Tim it's hard to believe you're capable of anything.

Burnley's one of the few clubs on the death watch that's sorta fun to watch, and beating City was fun to see even if it makes Chelsea even more inevitable. They have 3 more games against top-7 teams, and those happen to be their next 3 games- Southampton, @Spurs, @Arsenal. If you like cripple fights, they play Leicester at the end of April. QPR is finally rid of Harry Redknapp which makes them about 15% less loathsome. They feel absolutely doomed. They have some winnable matches before a Chelsea/West Ham/@City/@Liverpool. They end the year @Leicester- that could be fun. Speaking of Leicester, they managed to come back from 2-0 down to beat ManU, come back from 2-0 down to draw Liverpool, took points off Arsenal...and are still the worst team in the league. 4 of their last 5 games are at home and their one road match is @Southampton who may have nothing to play for by then, so if you want to be hopeful you have that. Don't get attached to them because they're likely gone.

[Gaucho]

No EPL team in the CL quarters yet again. Pellegrini blames the FFP and the fact he couldn't spend enough in the summer to strengthen his overrated and overblown squad.

[Rocco]

No EPL team in the CL quarters yet again. Pellegrini blames the FFP and the fact he couldn't spend enough in the summer to strengthen his overrated and overblown squad.

Supposedly they're going to blow it up and start over. They should do that but I am skeptical they actually will. If they want to sell Jovetic to Pool for cheap I'd be okay with that.

[Rocco]

No EPL team in the CL quarters yet again. Pellegrini blames the FFP and the fact he couldn't spend enough in the summer to strengthen his overrated and overblown squad.

Supposedly they're going to blow it up and start over. They should do that but I am skeptical they actually will. If they want to sell Jovetic to Pool for cheap I'd be okay with that.

[tifosi77]

The second half of Barca-Citeh was bananas. Between Messi, Neymar and Suarez, I think Barca had something like five one-on-one opportunities against Citeh and Hart manned up and turned them all aside. Then at the other end, Stegen saved a penalty against Aguero. It was very fun stuff.

No EPL team in the CL quarters yet again. Pellegrini blames the FFP and the fact he couldn't spend enough in the summer to strengthen his overrated and overblown squad.

Nor in the Europa League, I think.

[count2infinity]

lol... West Brom getting a red 2 minutes into the game. Weird they didn't give it to the guy that made the bad tackle...

[Avyran]

That was a pretty awful reffing decision. Don't think it would've made a difference who was sent off, but even still.

Can't say I'm surprised at the pushback by Newcastle against Arsenal. Arsenal's basically playing the same team that played in Monaco. They really don't have depth (due to the standard Arsenal batch of injuries).

Also, is Leicester the best bottom team in recent memory? They're pushing back against Tottenham & have tied it up there.

[count2infinity]

Tottenham have been in poor form recently. That's the great thing about actually playing the game. Anything can happen.

[largegarlic]

Also, is Leicester the best bottom team in recent memory? They're pushing back against Tottenham & have tied it up there.

I'm not sure I'd say best, but they're in the mold of those bottom teams who still attack and are fun to watch. They'll end up pulling off some memorable upsets and playing some top teams who assume they'll just sit back close, but will ultimately not be as successful as a bottom-feeder that just parks the bus and hopes to scrape together enough draws to avoid the drop (e.g. Sunderland). They kind of remind me of Blackpool's one EPL season from 3-4 years ago.