UEFA Champions League Continued 2015/16

[Aidan11]

Had to miss the second half but looking at the first I thought RM would coast the second leg. They were all over the Juve goal.

[sussexpob]

Barcelona will eat this Juventus team alive

Much like Madrid was suppose to do?

Madrid have been copping loads of stick for their underwhelming play since Christmas, and even Schalke werent far away from knocking them out in the end. Defensively they have been poor, and Bale, Ronaldo and Kroos havent really looked like they are gelling in this system they adopt. They want to play the ball 100mph, so teams just sit back and wait for them to make their own mistakes, or wait for guys like Sergio Ramos to attempt 60 yard racking hollywood passes rather then attempt to build play patiently.

I think like Mourinho, Ancelloti has been crushed by the constant pressure of Madrid, and he looks like a broken man since Christmas, and I think some of the new players are struggling to accept the uncompromising demands of playing for Real..... even Ronaldo has shown signs that he is becoming very frustrated with the pressure there at the moment, and doesnt look happy.

I actually bet on Juventus going through at 6/1, not because I thought they should win, but because I thought they had a very good chance of it and at those odds took a punt. Certainly didnt think it would be easy for Real in this tie.

[sussexpob]

I guess another huge factor was Juventus winning Serie A with two months to play. Sometime before they first leg they lost to Parma because they rested everyone for Madrid, Madrid were still locked in a title battle until Sunday, and had no grace to rest players.

Barcelona are looking fit, and above all they look arguably the best form they ever have done, they are purring. Ok, they lost away to Bayern, but that was more to do with the fact they took the foot off the gas second half when it was clear Bayern had to score 6 past them in one half, which was never going to happen.

Teams that used to adpot 8 man defences, like Chelsea have done successfully, now really cant because Suarez gives them that extra dimension in holding the ball up.... I can see Juventus not only losing, but getting a real pasting

[Gingerfinch]

Barca are certainly more entertaining than they were under Pep.

I hope they win it, but wouldn't be surprised to see Juve nick it, or win on pens, the Italian way.

[ddb]

Bale closer to moving on the back of this...?

[sussexpob]

Bale closer to moving on the back of this...?

Id be surprised if he plays for Madrid next year.... fans have turned against him, and no doubt Real will spunk 200 million on a new squad next summer.

[ddb]

Even if he doesn't move this year I can't see his Real Madrid career being a lengthy one.

[sussexpob]

Even if he doesn't move this year I can't see his Real Madrid career being a lengthy one.

Di Maria proved though that they will still get money for Bale, so any team wishing to buy him has to decided if they want to pay 85mill for him

[Gingerfinch]

Is Ronaldo on the wane? He has scored 55 goals this season, so no is the obvious answer but the team seems to play for him, rather him making things happen. He's definitely not as dynamic as he used to be.

[sussexpob]

Is Ronaldo on the wane? He has scored 55 goals this season, so no is the obvious answer but the team seems to play for him, rather him making things happen. He's definitely not as dynamic as he used to be.

I want to agree with you.... but the whole 55 goals thing says it all.

[Gingerfinch]

Is Ronaldo on the wane? He has scored 55 goals this season, so no is the obvious answer but the team seems to play for him, rather him making things happen. He's definitely not as dynamic as he used to be.

I want to agree with you.... but the whole 55 goals thing says it all.

Hard to argue with 55 goals, I know.

[dan08]

Is Ronaldo on the wane? He has scored 55 goals this season, so no is the obvious answer but the team seems to play for him, rather him making things happen. He's definitely not as dynamic as he used to be.

As he's 30 now and had injuries recently, he can't be as dynamic as he used to. Still very fit but to prolong his career he switched from winger to striker. So he basically waits up top to finish chances instead of linking with the midfield. I'd say he's not as good as he was last season but obviously still a very fine player.

[dan08]

Even if he doesn't move this year I can't see his Real Madrid career being a lengthy one.

Plenty of journalists seem to think Bale won't be sold this summer although don't know about after that. If they get a large bid this summer though then they may be tempted to sell.

[sussexpob]

Even if he doesn't move this year I can't see his Real Madrid career being a lengthy one.

Plenty of journalists seem to think Bale won't be sold this summer although don't know about after that. If they get a large bid this summer though then they may be tempted to sell.

If you had a 100 million Euro assets that you didn't particularily want but others desperately craved, would you be telling them "nahhh.... boys s**t, we don't want him"???????

To say Bale is not for sale is to add 20 million onto his eventual value

[sussexpob]

Is Ronaldo on the wane? He has scored 55 goals this season, so no is the obvious answer but the team seems to play for him, rather him making things happen. He's definitely not as dynamic as he used to be.

As he's 30 now and had injuries recently, he can't be as dynamic as he used to. Still very fit but to prolong his career he switched from winger to striker. So he basically waits up top to finish chances instead of linking with the midfield. I'd say he's not as good as he was last season but obviously still a very fine player.

It would seem that when the world sees Messi being utterly brilliant, Ronaldo's contributions are instantly questioned, and when Ronaldo won the last two ballon d'ors, Messi was playing much worse then he ever did, blah blah....Both never hardly ever have a bad match, both are still incredible, and both have been staggeringly dominate for such a long time.

Ronaldo is still as quick and strong as ever, its just the fact that Real Madrid bought so many midfielders, they cant get the team to gel. Kroos/Bale/Ronaldo/Benzema/James simply cant play in the same team, and this evolution of Ramos into a Xavi role has been an embarrassing failure that has been exposed.

Ronaldo will get worse, his explosive power on the run will decline.... but it hasn't, not yet..... when a guy scores 55 times in a season and people question if he is on decline, I struggle to understand it