Lex wrote:

"A club beneath Madrid's standing and ambition" I take it he is a spurs fan???

Isco tries the knee slide celebration after his goal:

I think this year is going to be the easiest last 16 knock out for all teams who won their group. Only City, Dortmund and Juve will be any sort of concern to the first placed teams honestly

First placed teams guaranteed:

Bayern (don't think City will beat them by over 3 goals away)
Barca
PSG
Atleti
Chelsea (I think they can guarantee at least a draw which would put them through as group leaders)
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Man United

Then you have all the second placed teams filled with scrubs:

Benfica
Shaktar/Porto
Schalke/Basel
Galatasaray/Juve
Napoli/Dortmund
Ajax/Milan
Man City
Leverkusen

@Forza

So does that make Chelsea a second rate team because Basel practically took them apart on Tuesday? If not for Basel's wastefulness, they could have been steamrolled 4 nil or 5 nil without even a single shot on the Basel goal! (Or if one is generous, one of the stat keepers found one shot of goal somewhere).

Sometimes clubs do have a day off, no matter who stands on the pitch.

rwo power wrote:@Forza

So does that make Chelsea a second rate team because Basel practically took them apart on Tuesday? If not for Basel's wastefulness, they could have been steamrolled 4 nil or 5 nil without even a single shot on the Basel goal! (Or if one is generous, one of the stat keepers found one shot of goal somewhere).

Sometimes clubs do have a day off, no matter who stands on the pitch.

Chelsea could have been thrashed by Basel, Leverkusen was thrashed by Man U. Hypothetical humiliation and real humiliation are not the same. It is well known that Chlesea are having a patch of inconsistent form. Yes, they did not register a shot on target, but no, they did not capitulate in the fashion that Leverkusen did against Man U.

My position is that when a supposed "top team" (based on domestic position) shows up at their home stadium and puts in such a pathetic performance in Europe, it is an embarrassment to them and the whole domestic league. I can't see it any other way. I believe that a good team can lose badly because they have a bad day or because they are playing  against a fantastic team, but what I saw from Leverkusen was really too poor to be excused. It wasn't as if they were out-coached by some kind of ultra-sophisticated game plan or that they were up against the genius of a player like Messi, or that they were against an opposition who relishes underdog status and was keen to take the scalp of a team with a big reputation (a la Basel)... No, not at all. Leverkusen failed to to the basics right (e.g. defending crosses, marking at set pieces, playing the offside trap, getting width in attack, simple passing). Making basic mistakes repeatedly will cost you dearly against any decent opposition - and that's why Leverkusen's position in the BuLi reflects badly on the league. Because it makes you wonder how Leverkusen can be 2nd domestically, when even making half as many mistakes as they did vs. Man U, they would still be beaten by a well-organised mid-table team in any other big league.

Well, it is because Leverkusen don't usually make such mistakes that they are currently second in the BL. They really had a total off-day yesterday and it is not the way they usually play.

I'd earn myself some really good money last night if they had at least drew at home against Manchester. 0-2 after a bad first half , i was thinking , ze Germans never give up , surely they will give it all to equalise and we're sweet. They are a good team , they can't lose like that . 2nd half kicks in and it got even worse

#Vagi
#Neveragainkusen

Dante same

Neverkusen

Lex wrote:

Lmao

Goal.com or bleacher report?

Only the unevolved trilobites at goal.com could muster up such rage inducing drivel

so depressing it was to sit in the stadium and to see Hyppiä's Leverkusen lose 5-0 and that too against ManU, it seemes like really an off day.
They won 4-0 against Shkahtar and the team was:
   Starting line-up
 
   



       
They lost 5-0 against ManU and the team was:
 
 

They missed the simple creative passes which they used to always do with simple exchanges between Sam,Castro and Can in the midfield area.
Playing Can as LB was suicide really and indirectly responsible for their first goal. Going forward they had no motivation and Kießling often started dropping deep. i think because of this the whole team was frustrated and they did shit defending at set-pieces which you dont see normally. So it was clear that neither Hyppia had any idea how to break down resolute ManU side nor his players. They do not have quality depth and it became clear yday. But I want to see how they do in next round (i hope all these regular players are fit), considering they qualify. I will not accept the argument yet that the second side in BL are not good enough.

So basically a makeshift Leverkusen collapsed. Embarrasing? Yes. But nobody wants to go up against teams like United with a broken team.


Sidney Sam >>>>>

they have this mental stuff against Utd, i think... it is a shame really, i talked to some fans out there and they were also not confident. The CB pair of Spahic and Toprak, I do not think they are good enough to play under pressure against top sides, they can play good but they seem to be inconsistent and no leadership skills at all.

Despite their league form, I never expected anything of Leverkusen. Too many weak links and no experience in big matches like this