The Soccer Thread (Version 8)

Coaches like Mourinho are ruining the game with their defensive crap.

 

Except for a 15 minute stretch in the second half, Man City-Barca was high paced and riveting soccer. Tons of great offensive moves by Barca in the first half and aggressive soccer in the second half by Man City.

 

I think Man City got a man ejected, thats why they had to play a more conservative defensive game at home.

 

Btw Real Madrid is reporting that they have about 450 million fans, their website's visitors lately are mainly from the US, I will bring the note once I get a chance.

 

In Europe you have regular league play and also various domestic cup tournaments going on at the same time, as well as Champions League, which is the elite in Europe. They can be hard to keep up with at first, but you'll get the hang of it.

Two-legged cup pairings sound silly to Americans accustomed to best-of-three formats, but it makes a lot of sense. You have scheduling certainty and give both sides an equal chance to defend their home stadium. If the series is completely level at the end of the second leg, resolve it with extra time and a shootout.

 

No, the first tie-breaker in a two-game series is team with most away goals. If that's equal it's on to extra time.

 

That is why I said completely level.

 

Another week, another EPL referee controversy. In the Man United-Sunderland match, Falcao was brought in the box. 100 percent a penalty at a DOGSO red card. But the ref sends off the wrong player (Wes Brown) instead of the player who committed the foul (John O'Shea).

 

Great announcing by Phil Neville today in the Arsenal-Everton match. An Arsenal defender had a collision earlier in the match with one of his teammates and he busts open his nose. Later in the match, while trying a header, the ball hit off of nose and he goes to the ground bleeding. Neville says -- "I think that's the same nose that he hurt before".

 

Why is the EPL season still going on at the same time that the two-game playoff series playoffs of the world is going on?

 

If you mean the Champions League, those competitions run concurrently. Champions League games are played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and, with a few exceptions, EPL games are played Saturday and Sunday. So for those teams still competing in the Champions League (or its lesser version, the Europa League which is played on Thursdays), they just have a busier schedule. Or if you want to be a football snob, a more crowded fixture list.

 

Wow. Do the players get any extra compensation for participating in the world playoffs?