UEFA Champion's League

[DaCapn]

Upcoming matches:

Feb 18th
Manchester City v. Barcelona - 14:45 EST
Bayer Leverkusen v. Paris SG - 14:45 EST

Feb 19th
Arsenal v. Bayern München - 14:45 EST
AC Milan v. Atlético Madrid - 14:45 EST

I haven't paid much attention as to who's fit for play but these should be an exciting couple of days.

[Nilandia]

If it weren't for the Olympics taking over my TV, I'd be all over watching a couple of those.

Gretchen

[Mohrgan]

Visca Barca!

[DaCapn]

Nothing too surprising in the results except 3/4 matches showed a red card. Wow.

[DaCapn]

Neglected today's matches!

Feb 25th
FC Zenit v. Borussia Dortmund - 12:00 EST
Olympiacos Piraeus v. Manchester United - 14:45 EST

Feb 26th
Galatasaray v. Chelsea - 14:45 EST
Schalke v. Real Madrid - 14:45 EST

[glinty]

Prediction: Rooney gets a red, Van Persie gets hurt, and Moyes rues further missed opportunities.

[DaCapn]

Upcoming matches:

Mar 11th
Bayern München v. Arsenal - 15:45 EST
Atlético Madrid v. AC Milan- 15:45 EST

Mar 12th
Barcelona v. Manchester City - 15:45 EST
Paris SG v. Bayer Leverkusen - 15:45 EST

Standings:
Bayern München v. Arsenal - Bayern +2 goals away, Arsenal needs +2 differential to tie
Atlético Madrid v. AC Milan- Atlético +1 goal away, Milan needs +1 differential to tie
Barcelona v. Manchester City - Barca +2 goals away, Man City needs +2 differential to tie
Paris SG v. Bayer Leverkusen - PSG +4 goals away, Leverkusen needs +4 differential to tie

[Latrinsorm]

I hope Arsenal focuses on the FA Cup. It's a lot more realistic.

[DaCapn]

Neglected today's matches! (Again)

Mar 18th
Chelsea v. Galatasaray - 15:45 EST
Real Madrid v. Schalke - 15:45 EST

Mar 19th
Borussia Dortmund v. FC Zenit - 15:45 EST
Manchester United v. Olympiacos Piraeus - 15:45 EST

Standings
Chelsea v. Galatasaray - Chelsea 1 away, Galatasaray 1 home, Chelsea wins on a tie match
Real Madrid v. Schalke - Madrid +5 goals away, Schalke needs +5 differential to tie
Borussia Dortmund v. FC Zenit - BVB +2 goals away, Zenit needs +2 differential to tie
Manchester United v. Olympiacos Piraeus - Olympiacos +2 goals home, Man U. needs +2 differential to tie

I'm hoping for an unprecedented Schalke comeback today, but basically only because I like to see that braying donkey face that Ronaldo makes in anguish.

[DaCapn]

The quarter-final fixtures were drawn this morning!

Barcelona / Alético Madrid
Paris Saint Germain / Chelsea
Manchester United / Bayern München
Real Madrid / Borussia Dortmund

Looks like Manchester's comeback was in vain. PGS/Chelsea should be interesting.

[DaCapn]

On a related note, El Clásico is tomorrow (Sunday) at 16:00 EST. I think Barça and Madrid are quite free of injury and Madrid is in good form right now. Should be a good one.

[Drew]

I'm not sure if I should be upset Cardiff scored 3 on Liverpool, or happy that Liverpool scored 6.

[DaCapn]

Since you've basically endorsed my league tangent in a confederation-centered thread, I've got to mention Dortmund/Schalke tomorrow at 15:00 EST. Dortmund is only one point ahead in the table and rife with injuries. Also, Schalke is coming off of a massive defeat to Madrid in the last CL round, who Dortmund is paired with for the quarter-final!

The day Dortmund beat Bayern in the German Supercup last year, I saw a girl with black and yellow striped socks on and I tried to share in a bit of a celebration but she seemed confused. I realized that it was some kind of anime outfit or something and she had some sort of black and yellow (possibly pokemon) backpack on. In hindsight, I'm not sure who was the weirdo.

Here's a little Jürgen (Dortmund coach) for you guys (the first one was celebrating that supercup win so you can clearly see why I was so enthusiastic):

http://media.bundesliga.com/media/images/00_imported_920/bvb_klopp_springt_supercup_920.jpg
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/the91stminute/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Juergen-Klopp.jpg
http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/187887/article_9f99f5c5c4b0abc7_1365543057_9j-4aaqsk.jpeg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img685/4517/kloppt.gif

[DaCapn]

Quarter-final first leg is today!

April 1st
Barcelona v. Atlético Madrid - 14:45 EST
Manchester United v. Bayern München - 14:45 EST

April 2nd
Real Madrid v. Borussia Dortmund - 14:45 EST
Paris SG v. Chelsea - 14:45 EST

[Nilandia]

I don't know who to root for with ManU and Bayern München. They're both the Yankees of their respective leagues and I prefer to cheer for the underdogs.

Gretchen

[Drew]

When in doubt root against ManU. They're gonna lose anyway.

[Latrinsorm]

I don't know who to root for with ManU and Bayern München. They're both the Yankees of their respective leagues and I prefer to cheer for the underdogs.

GretchenIs it a coincidence that Man U. and the Yankees are on the outs at the same time?

Probably. Man City are the real Yankees anyway. Ancient success, era of mediocrity starting in 1982, $$$, wins. Obviously it took them until 2011 instead of 1996 because they didn't have the greatest clutch winner leader of all time: Luis Sojo.

[DaCapn]

Second leg of the quarter-final starts tomorrow!

April 8th
Borussia Dortmund v. Real Madrid - 14:45 EST
Chelsea v. Paris SG - 14:45 EST

April 9th
Atlético Madrid v. Barcelona - 14:45 EST
Bayern München v. Manchester United - 14:45 EST

Standings:
Borussia Dortmund v. Real Madrid - Currently (0-3), Dortmund needs +3 goal differential to tie.
Chelsea v. Paris SG - Currently (1-3), Chelsea needs +2 goal differential to win.
Atlético Madrid v. Barcelona - Currently (1-1), Barça needs +1 goal differential to win.
Bayern München v. Manchester United - Currently (1-1), Man U needs +1 goal differential to win.

Remember folks, when Real Madrid loses, so does Ruh. Für den BVB! Since so much is at stake, I'd like to share some facts about these two teams: Real Madrid has ~€40mil/yr in contracts for their front 3 players and their starting 11 cost ~€400mil in transfer fees. Dortmund's star striker that Ancelotti puts so much emphasis on has a ~€2mil/yr contract (which I think is their highest) and their starting 11 cost ~€40mil in transfer fees.

Also, for the Liverpool fan(s?), the match vs. Man City is this weekend. Won't be one to miss.

Also, also, for the soccer haters who like to cruise through (you know who you are!), these are elimination matches and aggregate ties don't exist. Just FYI.

[DaCapn]

Semifinal matchups will be drawn on Friday the 11th.

Not going to spoil any second leg results until then in case someone is going to catch any of them on replay and wants to be surprised.

[DaCapn]

Semi-finals first leg is tomorrow!

April 22th
Atlético Madrid v. Chelsea - 14:45 EST

April 23th
Real Madrid v. Bayern München - 14:45 EST

[DaCapn]

Semi-finals second leg is today and tomorrow!

April 29th
Bayern München v. Real Madrid - 14:45 EST
Currently (0-1). Bayern needs to win (1-0) to tie, or win by +2 to win on aggregate.

April 30th
Chelsea v. Atlético Madrid - 14:45 EST
Currently (0-0). Tie match results in Atlético wins on aggregate.

[Nilandia]

Bayern München, I am disappoint.

Gretchen

[DaCapn]

Don't sweat it. Atlético will stick around to take care of business.

Also, there couldn't have been a better moment of contrast: Bayern is down, Pep takes out Mandzukic and puts in Martinez. Chelsea is down, Mourinho takes out Cole and puts in Eto'o.

[DaCapn]

Tomorrow, May 24th is the battle for Madrid!
Real Madrid v. Atlético Madrid - 14:45 EST

If Madrid comes away the victor, it would mark their 10th win in this competition (the all-time leaders above AC Milan) and would be in addition to their Copa del Rey win this season. If Atlético wins, it would be their first CL title (with only one other appearance in the final in 1974) and would be a nice capper to their La Liga title win last Saturday.

Also, regarding Saturday, which was a HUGE day... Dortmund may have lost the DFB Pokal last Saturday, but a tainted win for Bayern is forever. I want an asterisk engraved on that fucking cup. Congrats to Arsenal for their first trophy in almost a decade.