Champions league & Europa leagues 2023-24

[mikesiva]

Started with the Super Cup.

Sevilla 1-1 Manchester City

Manchester City win 5-4 on penalties.

[Durhamfootman]

tough group for Newcastle, but as a pot 4 team it was always going to be thus.

AC Milan, PSG and B Dortmund can look forward to some atmospheric nights at SJP. Newcastle have never played any of these teams before

bring it on

[mikesiva]

GROUP A
Bayern Munich
Manchester United
Copenhagen
Galatasaray

GROUP B
Lens
Sevilla
Eindhoven
Arsenal

GROUP F
PSG
Dortmund
Milan
Newcastle

GROUP G
Manchester City
Leipzig
Red Star Belgrade
Young Boys

GROUP H
Barcelona
Porto
Shaktar Donetsk
Royal Antwerp

[Durhamfootman]

0-0 for Newcastle at the San Siro

if you'd offered me that this afternoon, I'd have taken it all day

Milan peppered the Newcastle goal, but couldn't find the net

we're up and running and we've got points on the board

[sussexpob]

0-0 for Newcastle at the San Siro

if you'd offered me that this afternoon, I'd have taken it all day

Thought Newcastle were surprisingly negative. Just seemingly turned up to defend, and really that should have been their outdoing... Milan dominated, and really should have won

[Durhamfootman]

I haven't seen the match, just couple of minutes of highlights, but they certainly gave Milan an awful lot of respect in the first half. New experience for a lot of the players and the first game for 20 years, so maybe they can be forgiven for that. I understand the match was more evenly contested in the second half. With a doubt, Newcastle rode their luck. The smarty pants back heel attempt that left the attacker flat on his face instead of burying the ball in the back of the net and the Giroud attempted bicycle kick at the back post were the most obvious examples of Newcastle getting away with a couple.

Could have snatched it at the death too. It was a good save by the Milan keeper

[mikesiva]

Munich 4-3 Manchester United

Continuing to leak goals through the porous defence.

[sussexpob]

After moaning about the Belgian FA, UEFA are next on my hit list. After pushing the games forward to 18h45 this year, it was no surprise to see the match start had to be delayed, as everyone trying to get into the ground got caught in the gridlock of rush hour traffic. 15 minutes before kick off when I arrived at my seat, I would say the stadium was 1% full. There was literally no one else there. Thankfully the referee made the right call to accept delaying the start... if he hadn't, 20,000 people miss the first 30-45 minutes. Its an absolute joke.

Brussels has one of the largest amount of daily commuters coming from its metropolitan zone in Europe/world, and for its actual size, the ratio is one of the highest in the world (more people compute to the Brussels Capital Region daily than live inside it, something like 1.1 million people). One junction on the motorway, you have the EXPO centre currently having its biggest event of the year. There is an important summit at the Commission this week which closes like 1/5 of the metro, and causes absolute chaos in road closures and so on.

And yet, some tiny hamlet in Eastern Europe where they are +1 hour in time difference, ends up with a game at 22h00 and we have to play when its literally impossbile for people to get there?

Just no respect or thought given to fans at all..... none whatsoever. Its moronic and drives me insane.

Schedule all the teams from further east to play at home in the early games. Then schedule the rest in cities that don't have millions of people trying to get home at the same time, with several events finishing at the same time, with a ground in the middle of those events.

Guess that would be way too difficult though.

[sussexpob]

I mean, Brugge for instance played at 21h00... Brugge is the size of my house!!!!! You can walk to the ground in 10 seconds from anywhere in town!!!

Gent too played in the late game.... another tiny town.

[Durhamfootman]

terrible night for Arsenal and Man Utd, last night

let's hope for a better night tonight (fingers crossed, but in hope rather than expectation)

[Durhamfootman]

Oh what a night

Early October, twenty twenty three

what a very special time for me

I remember what a night

(where's all those dancing smiley's when you bloody need them?)

[Durhamfootman]

4 bloody 1

get in!

[Durhamfootman]

there was a massive march through Newcastle city centre by the PSG ultras with a huge police escort before the game, so I hope there's no trouble after that scoreline

[mikesiva]

Manchester City win in Leipzig.

Marching on.

[sussexpob]

2-0 loss in Liverpool, but a great day was had.... especially when the Athletic and Liverpool ECHO both concluded no fans would match the party atmosphere we brought to Anfield.

Football doesn't have to be about winning and fighting.... it's much more fun with respect and sharing a beer with the opposition after