A Beautiful Thread for the Beautiful Game

The CWC's host advancing far enough isn't a new thing. It happened in Morocco 2013 with Raja Casablanca (who reached the Final against Guardiola's Bayern Munich, losing to them in the extra time), and in Japan 2016 (exact same feat for Kashima Antlers, including being capable of resisting until the extra time against Real Madrid). I do hope Al-Ain does not replicate it, though. I want River to reach the Final and, if Madrid continues playing like shit, even win it.

Speaking of pregnant rainbow zebras... Liverpool defeated Manchester United 3-1, which allows Klopp's men to get back the top spot after City's prior victory. It's no secret that Mourinho's days in Old Trafford are numbered. The only surprise is that, even to this day and during a press conference, he still trashed Iker Casillas for God knows what he supposedly did back when they were both in Real Madrid. Luckily, Casillas provided an impressively clever answer.^note Mourinho said that he wasn't fazed by the claims of a nearly-retiring goalkeeper. Casillas then said that he, at age 37, does look like he'll retire soon, but he's curious to know what's the age of retirement for a manager, especially one who lost his touch since some time ago.

In Spain, things are the same as usual. Barcelona won 5-0 against Levante, including a nice hat-trick by Messi, and are first place with 34 points (closely followed by Sevilla and Atlético, and not so closely by Real Madrid). In Italy, Juventus secured yet another victory, this time against Torino with a lonely 1-0 penalty goal by Cristiano (who, by the way, made a rather unnecessary gesture towards the rival goalkeeper right afterwards).

In France, PSG won agai- ehh, it's not even necessary to even say they won at all. Nor that Monaco lost yet again (it's a given that they'll descend to Ligue 2).

Around here in the Americas, two leagues have finished tonight: In Mexico, América won 0-2 against Frustrazul Cruz Azul (sorry, but it's far too evident that the latter team is STILL allergic towards finals); and in Colombia, Junior won the trophy after losing 3-1 against DIM but having won 4-1 in the first leg and thus winning 5-4 in the aggregate. Evidently, Junior was physically and emotionally fatigued after their cruel defeat in the Copa Sudamericana's final, but at least they had enough strength left to barely prevent DIM's consumation of a comeback.

Finally (but by no means least), tomorrow we'll witness the draws for the round of 16 for the Champions League, as well as the round of 32 of the Europa League, and the starting rounds for Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores. Time to keep fingers crossed!

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Dec 16th 2018 at 10:52:17 AM

Raja Casablanca and Kashima are generally better and more well-known than Al-Ain, imo (I think Raja are regulars in their confederation's international comps, and Kashima are close to that). Hence why it's impressed me.

The draws are done:

CL round of 16◊.

Europa League round of 32◊.

In the CL, we have 3 English sides x 3 German sides, Porto got a good draw, considering Roma are not in the best of shapes right now, and Atlético x Juventus will become a cagey defensive affair (boring for most people, fairly exciting for those who like well constructed defensive football, like myself).

In the EL, Benfica's social accounts have already been invaded by Gala fans (not the first time this season they've dealt with Turkish spam and shitposting; Fenerbahçe met them in the CL qualifying rounds), while Sporting have a possible good draw, considering Villareal, like Roma, haven't been impressive in their domestic league. Elsewhere, some tasty match-ups: Shakhtar Donetsk x Eintracht Frankfurt (Frankfurt fans are probably frustrated, due to getting a tough and CL-derived opponent in spite of the achievement they got in the group stage), Celtic x Valencia, Rennes x Betis, Olympiacos x Dynamo Kyiv, Lazio x Sevilla, and Fenerbahçe x Zenit (although Fenerbahçe are in the red zone in their respective league).

A shame Juventus and Atlético have to face each other so soon. Oh well.

I'll definitely watch PSG vs. United, though. Because at least one head will roll. Be it Tuchel's or Mourinho's.

Spoke too soon.

I have, definitely.

Also, I know it's a bit late, but UEFA confirmed that there will be a third overarching continental tourney in th near future. It's not certain which teams will be playing it, though (I'd like it to be the Club Winners' Cup).

Esperánce 1 (6) - 1 (5) Chivas

River Plate (4) - (5) Al-Ain

Surprised?

In fairness, both Esperánce and Al-Ain played very well, and River also made the additional mistake of frequently losing control of the ball, leading to wrong passes and kicking with butchered aim.

Now I'm hoping Real Madrid doesn't repeat the same mistake when facing Kashima tomorrow...

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Dec 18th 2018 at 4:02:23 PM

Boavista 0-1 Vitória SC [Portuguese Cup Round of 16]

We were down to 10 men from the 34' onwards. In the first minutes of the second half, Dodô scored and, from them on, our team had the raça to both sustain Boavista's pressure (especially in the last minutes of the match) and occasionally still getting a couple of counter-attacking chances. Our designated Cup goalkeeper (Miguel Silva) had an immense match, with lots of saves, and Wakaso was a boss. And so we're in the quarter-finals of the Cup. It's been a good day.

We're gonna need to use all the morale we've been building so far (11 matches across both competitions without losing, iirc) for our encounter here against Sporting CP, this Sunday. It's time to see how we fare against their Keizerball.

Edited by Quag15 on Dec 19th 2018 at 8:25:24 PM

Real Madrid defeated Kashima Antlers 1-3, with a hat-trick by Bale. The Final will be, thus, Real Madrid vs. Al-Ain (the second time Madrid face a CWC's host, the first being in 2016 against Kashima themselves). River Plate and Kashima will play to decide the bronze medals (hopefully River will win that match, at least).

Real Madrid won 4-1 against Al-Ain, achieving their third Club World Cup trophy in a row and fourth in the latest five years. Counting the three Intercontinental Cups, they now have seven world-level trophies, more than any other club (Llorente also scored his first goal ever). River Plate won 4-0 against Kashima Antlers and managed enter the podium (they're right now taking a flight back to Argentina to celebrate with their people, as despite their shortcomings in this CWC they have still managed to provide a good conclusion to a historical year, having won the Copa Libertadores against Boca).

Barcelona won 2-0 against Celta Vigo, while Atlético won 1-0 against Espanyol.

Manchester City lost 2-3 against Crystal Palace, while Liverpool did win their match (2-0 against Wolves). This allows Klopp's men to further secure the top spot in the Premier League. Also, with Mourinho gone, Manchester United won 1-5 against Cardiff (cue "bed-making for Mourinho" suspicions). Last time they scored 5 goals was in Ferguson's last match in 2013 (I remember that, it was an epic 5-5 draw). Arsenal won 3-1 against Burnley, while Chelsea suffered a surprising 0-1 defeat against Leicester (and Chelsea tried the very hardest to achieve at least a draw); at this rate, Arsenal has a greater chance to secure the fourth place, the last one leading to next season's UCL (it doesn't help that Sarri may not stay at Chelsea for too long, as a certain club from Spain is looking forward to him).

Lastly, upon the departure of Schelotto from Boca, Gustavo Alfaro is hinted to be their new coach, given that he has suddenly written a farewell letter to Huracán's fans. Controversy is already ensuing there.

EDIT: Oh, and PSG won 1-0 against Nantes.

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Dec 22nd 2018 at 6:31:43 AM

Vitória SC 1-0 Sporting CP

What a wonderful Christmas present! Our team with a really intelligent tactic, holding the midfield for the most part and exploiting Sporting's weaknesses at the back. If it wasn't for their GK and the bar, we could have scored 1 or 2 goals more.

Tozé scored our goal (it was deflected, but screw it, it's a goal, and a damn good one). We are the first team to inflict a defeat in Keizer's reign. We had a lot more shots on target than them, and we fully deserved the win. With this win, we confirm the fifth place during the holiday break (we have 3 more points than Belenenses and Moreirense).

And to put the cherry on top, Braga lost... by 6-2 at Benfica's stadium!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sporting's defeat also makes things easier for Porto, judging by the table.

EDIT: Merry Christmas to you too!

Edited by MyFinalEdits on Dec 23rd 2018 at 11:29:20 AM

Nacional 1-0 Vitória SC

Well, we were poor today. Our coach played too cautiously, in spite of us conceding a goal early on with his substitutions and changes in tactic, and the team was played poor as a result.

This match also broke our streak of undefeated matches (we were on 12) across competitions.

On a funny note, Benfica lost today against Portimonense by 2-0. Both goals being own goals scored by their CB's. Rui Vitória won't last much longer, now that they've essentially jeopardized a chance to remain in the fight for the title.

Edited by Quag15 on Jan 2nd 2019 at 11:03:37 AM

In fact, Rui Vitória has stopped lasting.

And Solari is swiftly heading that way, because the 2-2 draw against Villarreal puts Real Madrid a worrisome 7 points behind the top position, to say nothing of once again having his 4th position endangered for the next matchday. Is this REALLY what awaits to a team that won three UCL in a row? As in, risking themselves to not qualifying to the next one?

Also, Manchester City defeated Liverpool 2-1, which means the bout for the top spot in England is once again red hot.

I doubt Real will miss out. They're too big to fail that goal, and Florentino will probably call out the players and keep them in line until he gets a proper coach. Besides, success doesn't last forever, so, Real should focus on rebuilding properly (and clear out some of the toxic atmosphere in the locker room) instead, in order to prepare for the next era of success.

It is nice for Santi Cazorla for having scored those two goals (including a header nutmeg on Courtois), in any case. He could've easily have ended his career, but the surgery and the careful training has made him feel a lot better.

Belenenses SAD 1-0 Vitória SC

2nd consecutive defeat. Their goal here. Our team was lethargic, and needs a kick up the arse. Douglas was great between the nets, at least. I also don't like how the media are spreading speculation on Luís Castro being proposed by Benfica. Our fans booed the team at times, which is something which didn't happen recently. With this defeat, not only Belenenses has the same points as us, we risk dropping from 5th place if Moreirense - the other team from the municipality, even if they're not located in the city itself - draw or win tomorrow against Aves.

Well, looks like the rebuilding process will take longer than usual, at this rate.

Edited by Quag15 on Jan 6th 2019 at 7:27:28 PM

Yup, a very clear 0-2 defeat. For reference, Real Sociedad's last victory over Real Madrid was in 2014, but that was in Anoeta (a PTSD stadium for big teams, just ask Barcelona). No, if you want Real Sociedad's last victory in Bernabéu before this one, you have to look for it in the past decade, when Solari was a player.

It's evident that Solari won't last beyond this season (we'll see if he even lasts until the end of May), but what worries me more is that Floren wants Mourinho back. And seeing how horribly Mou has decayed in the last six years, I'm only smelling trouble as far as he goes.

I can only see Mourinho going either to Real or Inter. He should take a prolonged break to find his mojo back and adapt to this new era of players, imo.

Vitória SC 1-0 Moreirense

It wasn't a good performance, but this win was important, since: a) Moreirense had 3 more poins than us and they were in 5th place (the highest ever in the history of their club; they're playing above all expectations, and their coach is solid); and b) after two (consecutive) defeats, it was necessary to win to gain morale for the upcoming clashes next week against Benfica both in the Cup and in the Liga (both matches will be played here, with the Cup match being the first one, in the middle of the upcoming week).

Tozé scored our (penalty) goal after a handball. However, the same Tozé got a red card 22 minutes later. Our midfield will suffer a bit due to this in regards to the upcoming Cup match.

Tomorrow, there will be Sporting CP x Porto (15h30 local time; same timezone as London). Sporting have to win in order to keep up with the title race, while Porto has to make sure they keep the comfortable distance from Benfica and Braga. It will be an interesting match, to say the least.

Edited by Quag15 on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:23:34 AM

A bit late, but a couple days ago a major surprise occured: PSG got eliminated 2-1 by Guingamp, the last-placed Ligue 1 team, in the French league cup. Madrid avoided the surprise by winning 3-0 against Leganés in Copa del Rey (though honestly, it's evident they're not favorites to win that competition, considering their current rut).

Manchester United are continuing their winning spree under OGS:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-6587989/Ole-Gunnar-Solskjaer-praised-Darren-Fletcher-Manchester-Uniteds-victory-Tottenham.html

First six games in all competitions won on the bounce, with the first five games he was in charge for in the top league being won as part of that.

The Special One must be absolutely furious with his former players. With some justification, I might add.

Nah, I have convinced myself there was no such thing as a boycott between players in United. Even if there was, Mourinho's horrendously toxic attitude wasn't helping the situation. Instead of beng supportive towards his players, he resorted to name-calling and publicly damaging Pogba's reputation. Naturally, when you have a manager as shady as him, you just can't perform efficiently in football because you're mentally and emotionally battered.

Mourinho is way past his prime, and that's why it would be a fatal mistake to have him back in Real Madrid. He just needs to take a long rest from football.

Speaking of Real Madrid, they got a very agonizing 1-2 victory against Real Betis. The current state of affairs doesn't look encouraging at all. Barcelona's Messi reaching his 400th goal in La Liga (during his 3-0 victory against Eibar) sure doesn't help their emotional situation.

Vitória SC 0-1 Benfica [Portuguese Cup Quarter-finals]

After they scored their goal, they were essentially content to sitting back and hold their result. Possibly because their new manager (promoted from the B team) wanted to play cautiously while seeking to transition away from Rui Vitória's tactics.

As for us, our finishing was really poor, in spite of our play having noticeably improved in the second half. It feels disappointing, and it doesn't help that the ref called so many fouls for both sides that the flow was disrupted.

All that is left for us now is to fight for the 5th place in the Liga. Benfica will return here 3 days from now.

Vitória SC 0-1 Benfica

Yup, crap week. We can't finish for shit, and Benfica only had to focus on a tight defensive structure and doing the minimum required to get the three points. We were doing better throughout most of the second half, but one of our substitutions didn't pay off and, by the 81' minute mark, Benfica did a solid passing that led to their one goal by Seferovic.

Our players need a severe kick in the arse, otherwise, we won't achieve the 5th place.

The one personal bright side is that me and my father went to the stadium, and had a good time commenting and joking back and forth.

Edited by Quag15 on Jan 18th 2019 at 12:33:19 PM

Real Madrid 2 - 0 Sevilla

The match was actually pretty good. Madrid had the more dominating footplay all over the match, but weren't able to score the first goal until 78' courtesy of Casemiro. Modric scored the second during the added minutes. They're now placed 3rd in the table; this is the most likely feat they'll achieve this season if they manage to consistently recover their state. Why, because Atlético had a more comfortable 3-0 victory over Huesca and continues to pursue Barcelona for the league trophy.

Liverpool had another epic victory (this time 4-3 against Crystal Palace) and continues to secure their top position in Premier (Chelsea already has it almost impossible after losing 2-0 to Arsenal, and Manchester United is still on fire after achieving their 7th victory in a row with a 2-1 triumph over Brighton). PSG won 9-0 against Guingamp in Ligue 1, and Monaco lost 1-4 against Strasburg.

On a different note, a few days ago César Luis Menotti was added to the adminship of AFA. Why they think they can persuade Gallardo with yet another Boca Juniors fanboy (there's already Tapia and Angelici) is beyond me.

Kevin Prince Boateng signed to play for Barcelona.

And Venezuela is having a good start in the U-20 South American tournament, with two victories in a row (the tourney has berths for the next U-20 World Cup, of which they're current runner-ups).

The jump to the adult team must be rough.

Thought I would share some women's football news I saw on the local news today: BBC Essex Women's Cup - Billericay Town Ladies 31, Rayleigh Town Ladies 0

Edited by SebastianGray on Jan 28th 2019 at 7:01:06 PM