Post Match Pints

29 May 2019

London > Baku

The less glamorous of the trophies is up for grabs on a Wednesday night, a great excuse for some school night drinking. It’ll see a London derby take place 2800 miles away from its normal stage. Not ideal travel circumstances with reports of no direct flights available from London.

Both sides performed exactly as expected in their groups by cruising to 5 wins and 1 draw. Chelsea’ knockout stages started in Sweden where they eased past Malmo before an 8-0 aggregate win over Dynamo Kyiv. Things fared a little more difficult with Slavia Prague scoring 3 away goals at Stamford Bridge – shame the tie was almost done before they bagged the third. That win took them into the semis where last night their shootout practice came in handy.

Arsenal had a far shakier round of 16 where they found themselves 3-1 down to Rennes after the first leg. At the Emirates they went 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes and an Aubameyang goal, with 18 minutes to go, relieved the pressure on boss Unai Emery. A quarter final win over Napoli set up the tie with Valencia where an abundance of goals resulted in a 7-3 win and progression to the final.

Now. The final. In the corporate mental world we live in, only 12,000 tickets will be made available between the clubs for their fans to purchase. The stadium holds over 68,000 spectators! UEFA would rather give out freebies to some businessman because hes a paper pusher for a sponsor. I understand that tickets need to be offered as a dangling carrot for these big companies to plough money into the competition, but the teams should always come first.
The game itself could go either way, what Chelsea will turn up? What Arsenal will turn up? Both teams certainly have the ability to score, with both having even more capability at conceding. I would expect goals in the game…

So naturally.
Prediction. Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal *AET (Arsenal win 4-3 on Penalties)

1 June 2019

“we were 3 down to Barcelona”…”we were 3 down at halftime in the second leg, Jurgen”

Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool, 20.00 GMT, Madrid, Spain.
A match blurb few of us would have predicted at the beginning of the campaign.
Spurs had 4 points from their first 4 games, needing a win in Milan and a favorable result in Barcelona to stand any chance of reaching the last 16. A 1-0 win in London and a dramatic 85 minute equaliser was enough to put them through with their better head to head record over Inter Milan – was this the start of their destined run to the final? A convincing Round of 16 win over Dortmund meant another all English tie with Spurs facing Manchester City. A fairly drab 1-0 Spurs win was completely eclipsed by the 4-3 win for City at the Etihad. Saved by VAR in the 93rd minute, Spurs were off to face Ajax in the semi finals, and we all know what happened there. Lucas Moura, that’s what happened!

Liverpool finished second in their group behind PSG, who have owners desperate to get their hands on this trophy. Facing a Bayern Munich side who are beginning to lose their European powerhouse status, Liverpool progressed to face Porto in the Quarter final stage, brushing them aside 6-1 on aggregate. Liverpool’s progression to the final took them by Barcelona, overcoming a first tie deficit and booking a return flight to Spain for the final.

Unsurprisingly, these teams know each other well. It’ll be a cagey affair and I would be surprised if it reached any sort of excitement bar set by either semi final. It will attract a massive audience from all over the world, hoping for the magic of this season Champions League not to disappoint.

My heart says Pochettino deserves this trophy. His passion, his belief, his progression and his genuine nice guy persona make him a very likable character.
My head says Liverpool. They are a team full of consistent talent, losing only 1 league game this year! Eriksen and Kane would get into the Liverpool starting XI with a big shout for
Toby Alderweireld as well. Imagine him and VVD as your centre back pairing! It would also be class to see Klopps reaction if he won. A guy who modeled his sideline clobber from Tony Pulis, but a humble man, never frightened to show his emotions…after checking his watch;
“It’s 10.10pm and the children are probably in bed so I’m sorry about the language but can I say these boys are fucking talented giants. It’s all about the players.”

Prediction. Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool

Weekday news has been full of the Brexit chat for a number of weeks, but no matter how you voted, there’s only one way you want your football team – IN Europe.

Time to nail my colours to the mast for those who don’t know me. Kilmarnock FC are the team who give me ounces of joy, as well as despair. Our last European tie was 18 years ago during the Bobby Williamson days! This season has shaped up to be one to remember for Killie fans. We have had highs with wins over both Celtic and Rangers, along with defeats at Livingston and draws at Hamilton. One constant has been the attitude and application of the players and staff. Its became a constant feeling of moving forward, even if only small steps. The man at the helm has picked up the Manager of the Year award and deservedly takes all the plaudits for getting this club to its current heights. European football isn’t near confirmed yet, 3 games to go, and if anyone can find a way to lose it, we will!

With my blue and white nail in the wood, something a little far fetched for the Rugby park 4G…how about these Champions League semi finals?!

The Champions* League

*(3rd in England vs 2nd in The Netherlands) (1st in Spain vs 4th in England)

Spurs and Ajax began proceedings for the Semi finals at the impressive new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, famed for its bottom to top pint filling glasses! (its just a glorified magnet).
The Dutch side have already swept aside Real Madrid and Juventus but were somehow still being described as “minnows” by some media outlets. The Sons of the Gods will take an away goal advantage back home after an impressively confident display in London. The goal came after a quarter of an hour with Spurs lacking any real goal threat with Harry Kane sitting in the stands. The composed finish of Van De Beek epitomized the way Ajax have went about this year’s Champions League, cool, calm and collected…and scoring.

A major talking point came just before half time when Jan Vertonghen got a nasty knock on the head and a cut around his nose. The referee seemed to have big Jan’s safety at the forefront, while Spurs doctors were guiding him back over the white line! Should there be a more serious concussion protocol? Similar to that of rugby or American football?

Spurs had Hugo Lloris’ woodwork to thank in the second half where Ajax looked to put the game to bed. All to do for Spurs on the 8^th of May.
Prediction Ajax 2 – 1 Spurs.

G.O.A.T

Messis’ stunning free kick makes it 3-0 for Barcelona

The best place to begin with this one…the end. Lionel Messi hits a rocket of a free kick to mark his 600th goal as a Barcelona player, 14 years to the day since his first goal. Not surprisingly, he is their all time top scorer, a title that doesn’t look under threat with the 386 goal advantage over second place. The reactions of the crowd in the above picture were echoed in my Glasgow flat, suitably followed by an expletive text off my dad.
Former Liverpool nibbler Luis Suarez opened the scoring before the woodwork provided the assist for Messi to make it 2-0. Liverpool would feel hard done to be 3-0 after the first leg.
Prediction Liverpool 1 – 2 Barcelona.

Ma da is better than your da!

Time for another debate (not Brexit this time). Messi vs Ronaldo, the generation of these two incredible footballers is slowly coming to a close. Who would you have in your team, you can only have 1!? For me, it would be the Argentine, but the discussions of pros and cons could go on forever. So at a time when the best and second best player in the world is uncontested, who comes in third place?

Alexander (Arnold) the great!

Well, when a prediction doesn’t go well….Liverpool last night gave their fans a night to remember. An unbelievable achievement from the reds saw them stick 4 goals past Barcelona and book the first place at the Madrid Final. With Salah and Firmino both out injured, it was grim reading after the 3-0 show at the Camp Nou.

7 minutes in, and there was life in the Liverpool crowd. Origi giving them the perfect start. With Andy Robertson going off at HT, it was his opposite wing counterpart who provided 2 assist for Wijnaldum and then a very clever quick corner to catch the Catalans sleeping. Not sure the odds on an Origi and Wijnaldum double – eye watering for any bookie who was unlucky enough to have his punter place this bet.

Rightfully this XI deserve every praise, as well as their leader. The result might not compare to that night in Istanbul, but its a game that’ll forever live in the memories of the Kop faithful.

Now attention turns to who they’ll face in Madrid on June 1st.

Wednesday trumps Tuesday

Hat-trick hero Lucas Moura completes the most impossible comeback since…well, since last night.

This has nothing to do with Donnie who’s sitting in the oval office. Spurs have taken centre stage away from Liverpool after an incredible game in Amsterdam saw a 96th minute away goal allow Spurs join their Premiership buddies in Madrid.

The 2-0 halftime score saw Ajax show some inexperience and Spurs took full advantage. 2 goals in 4 minutes made it a nervy time for the Dutch side than many expected. Their resilience showed, with them taking the game back by the scruff of the neck and squandering a couple of chances to see off the Londoners. The ever debatable away goal has to be addressed, needs scrapped as soon as possible.

This Ajax side are full of confidence, a joy to watch and absolutely fearless. I just hope they bounce back from this, continue to do what they have been and get back to this stage next year. Feel gutted for them, but nothing can deny the determination from that Spurs side. What an unbelievable result. Lucas Moura with the biggest goals of his career to date.

What a couple of nights in European football – and here’s me excited about a possible first round qualification game for Killie. Most likely is some obscure, difficult to get to, expensive, far out shitehole. That’s European football!!

That brings to an end the first published blog of my life! I hope you’ve enjoyed the content and keep an eye out for next week when I’ll be covering the final couple of games of the Scottish season along with the start of the English Playoffs.

I hope my blog has lit a spark, provoked some thoughts and maybe even cracked a smile or two.

Cheers!