Champions League, Matchday 4

Tuesday

Arsenal - Panathinaikos
PSV - Rosenborg
Barcelona - Milan
Celtic - Shakhtar
Bremen - Anderlecht
Inter - Valencia
CSKA Moskva - Chelsea
Porto - PSG

Wednesday

Olympiacos - Monaco
Deportivo - Liverpool
Dynamo Kyiv - Real Madrid
Roma - Leverkusen
Bayern - Juventus
M. Tel-Aviv - Ajax
Man. United - Sparta
Lyon - Fenerbahçe

I suspect Milan might finally find their footing here, though they have a monumental task ahead given how formidable the Barca squad looks. I am also curious to see how Valencia manages against Inter following that embarrassing performance at home. The matchup in Kyiv should be quite compelling as well; there is a distinct possibility that Dinamo could walk away with a comfortable victory.

Galliani apparently gave Ancelotti a heads-up that Milan needs to field their absolute strongest lineup, which implies we should see:

Dida - Kaladze, Nesta, Maldini, Cafu - Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso - Kaká - Shevchenko, Crespo.

Even if there’s a set rotation planned: I guess Crespo might come off around the 70th minute for Ambrosini.😁

It should be an interesting match, though Barcelona seems to be missing quite a few of their regular starters...

Chloe Palmer2 said:It should be an interesting matchup—Barcelona is definitely feeling the absence of several key starters right now...

Because of those gaps in the lineup, I'm calling it a draw.

Barca vs. Milan ending in a 1:1 draw? I’d bet my life on it. 100% 😁

Klasnic scores in the 2nd minute! 1-0

PSV is up 1-0

Way to go, Klasnic! 🙂

I'm pulling for Barca in this match.

Penalty for Arsenal,

1:0 Arsenal

1:0 for AC Milan
Shevchenko

Klasnic 2:0 👋👋👋👋👋

Bremen leads 3:1
PSV 1:0
Celtic 1:0
AC Milan 1:1 Barcelona
Arsenal 1:0

Urs is basically the referee's personal assistant at this point. First, Gattuso breaks through the wall and walks right up to the free kick taker from five yards away, and Urs just stands there silently. Then Kaká plays the ball with his hand, and Urs stays quiet. After that, Gattuso gets in the way of Dec, resulting in an indirect kick, and once again, Urs says absolutely nothing.

The ref is clearly in on it.

😁 I suppose I should vent my frustration regarding Ambrosini and whoever decided he belongs ahead of Seedorf 😁

It’s not a bad take, Ambrosini, just a little 😁

Inace, Milan has a clear identity—they play their own way, and honestly, it's working for them.

But let’s be real, Barca’s attack is just too heavy for that defense to hold up for a full 90 minutes.

The only massive hole in Barca's game is the backline; they're about as solid as Swiss cheese. Plus, that kid Deco drives me crazy—he’ll ruin five passes just to somehow force the sixth one forward properly.
That jerk 😁

So much 😂 I suppose I’m feeling like Maradona regarding Ambrosini😁
And I guess Shevchenko will eventually find a way to score on them... just you wait.😁
Deco is absolutely useless. I can't bring myself to like him simply because he's competing with Shevchenko.😁

He’s got nothing on Andriy Shevchenko; honestly, the Ukrainian player is a whole class above him.

Check this out—Ronaldinho just hammered that free kick like he was playing in a backyard league.😁

Franz Beckenbauer is absolute Dž with a heavy dose of Dž

Damn their imperialist agendas.😁 I honestly wonder if FC Barcelona will face any repercussions for shouting HU-HU-HU at Clarence Seedorf and Didi. But no, I guess when Americans do it, everyone starts losing their minds. Unbelievable.

Ronaldinho

FC Barcelona 2:1, what a freaking beauty of a goal from Ronaldinho under Lipi's guidance!! Honestly, FC Barcelona is playing the most gorgeous football on the planet right now, it's unreal. Yellow card for taking the shirt off though, typical.😁

Well, I suppose it was deserved. That goal was 🙏 😲 🙏. The man is a professor on the pitch compared to everyone else out there; I guess I'm just eagerly waiting to see Brazil crush Greece in the FIFA Confederations Cup.
And maybe Anceltotti 😠 😠 🙂

Arsenal 1:1—I honestly don't think I can ever trust them again....

Inter .... For the first time in forever, I actually put my money on them and they let me down. Guess it'll be a long time before I feel comfortable backing them again...