catching a bit of the bayern / augsburg game (0-0 at halftime), i was hoping to see a full bench in play. pep was resting neuer, rafinha, benatia, and alonso.

but then (i didn't see this), pepe reina got a red card. so neuer came in for lahm and the augsburg shooter missed the penalty. dammit, why did i miss that (sleeping, that's why).

anyway-- all this fucking commotion just 3 days ahead of the rematch vs. barcelona.

keeping fingers crossed-- here's to no injuries-- at least to avoid a massacre come tuesday.

===

augsburg won 1-0! at allianz arena! (stream interruptions kept me from seeing augsburg score) .

this is funny (both the weird & ha ha kind) -- bayern is already champion, but this part of the season is feeling horribly anticlimactic-- like teh room is caving in on them

==

ps- wtf lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUxPCTlRCLI

Watched Man C destroy QPR. 6-0 but that was more about how absolutely awful QPR were. Has there ever been a worse Prem team?

Derby.

Maybe in terms of results/points but QPR just look like they're not even remotely interested.

Yeah that's true. Just watching MOTD and there was Rob Green and Chris Ramsey hinting that shit was fucked up in the backroom. The pundits were loving it.

The only player who seems half way interested is Joey Barton.

TODAY

Bayern Munich injuries and suspensions

Out: David Alaba (knee), Franck Ribery (ankle), Arjen Robben (calf), Holger Badstuber (thigh) In doubt: Sebastian Rode (hamstring), Tom Starke (ankle)

Barcelona injuries and suspensions

Out: None In doubt: None

==

i do look forward to seeing it, whatever happens

Wait, bayern still playing? Shoulda put that squad out of they misery

when you're a warrior you gotta die standing

but long-term injuries by trying to force an unfit player on a desperate move would be stupid

i say let the kids join the fight-- wieser, gaudino, etc.

well, fuck, i don't think the 2nd half will be bayern 5 barcelona 0

:(

At least its dead now and in a better place..

ha ha! why are you advocating the killing of mules? that's just pure self-hate, mulehead!

===

bayern won, against all odds. that's death with dignity. they didn't make it to the next round but they fought well until the end. bravo!

an error by pep to take out muller for gotze though. muller was the heart of that last-ditch comeback. he's the one who wanted to win the most. gotze could have come in for someone else-- bernat for example. so i think that when pep congratulated luis enrique he whispered in his ear-- "we did it!". ha ha ha ha.

congrats to barcelona. now it's juve's turn to make the final!

Ahem that is a horse yo

I agree, it was almost exciting towards the end. If Benatia had converted that chance, with about 15 mins to go, to get Bayern's 4th, I think Barca would've been seriously rattled. After Enrique took off Suarez at half time, they kind of signalled for Bayern to really get at them, and, while a 4 goal turnaround was never realistically gonna happen in 45 minutes, I get the feeling Barca were quite relieved when the final whistle went.

And yeah, desperately hope Juve do it tonight.

do you realize what a barça/juve final could mean???????????




i can't stop laughing just thinking about it

Haha!!! God yeah, I'd not thought of that. Has to be Juve v Barca now, if just for that.

If it's Real I'll definitely be supporting Barca but even without the Suarez/Chiellini factor I wouldn't mind either Juve or Barca winning. In recognition of the best team right now, I suppose it should go to Barca. It'd be nice for Enrique, too, who I get the feeling is still in the shadow of Pep a bit - even though there's a good argument that this Barca is even better than the Pep era one. But there's a romance about Juve for me that I can't put my finger on but they were the first foreign team I ever really liked as a kid and remember buying their top as a pretentious Euro-phile proto-hipster teen (which inevitably backfired when I wore it around London and regularly got confused for a Geordie).

Just been reminded that not only would he face Chiellini but Patrice "negrito" Evra, too.

took me a bit of wikipeadiaing to find this:



there's an outline for a hilarious bildungsroman hidden somewhere in that story


bbhaaaa ahaaa haa

i hate to use hackneyed phrases, but if suarez didn't exist we'd have to invent him. that match looks super-promising.

Hah!

Well as usual the semis is turning out to be better than the finals ever will be, so for now I'm just enjoying the games we have.

Hoping for Juve to get through tonight. (yes, I said it), as the idea of ANOTHER el clasico just bores me.

I've gotta listen to it on the radio so won't have much of a clue what's going on, especially with Sam 'Alan Partridge' Matterface doing the commentary. Although at Least he's got Alvin Martin next to him instead of Stan Collymore.

:eek:

it has started really well. get yourself the guardian live blog page.

==

ETA - good first half. pretty even in terms of possession and control of the game but the difference is that real attacks with much more danger-- which is how they earned their penalty kick. buffon hero-- even if he didn't stop the penalty, he had some great saves and even when the ball goes out you can see him tracking it perfectly. juve's attack lacking teeth-- too static and predictably down the middle, no real threat so far.

--

pogba makes up for his earlier error and then MORATAAAAA!!!

Found a stream.

Great game but both teams seem below par.

Can't see Real coming back now (fingers crossed)

chicharito just in for benzema.

not sure that's an upgrade but at least he has fresh legs

now juve needs some oxygen.

JUVEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

great defense and brilliant substitutions in the end

Weird that Zonalmarking hasn't looked at either of the second leg games.

Anyway, yeah, great that Juve did it and saved us from a 'Super-Classico'.

Was a messy game really, Real misfiring and Juve doing what they seem to do best: nicking a goal then holding on for their life.

Bale got a battering from the Real fans but I thought a lot of their key players were quiet. Only Marcelo and Kroos really stood out. I had to regularly check to see if Rodriquez was still on the pitch and Ronaldo had the kind of 'where is he?' night that always count against him in the ongoing Messi v Christiano debate. But even Juve were hit and miss. Buffon was brilliant, and Bonucci, and Pogba seemed to improve as the game went on but the jury's still out for me on Chiellini. Stupid penalty to concede and while he must put the fear of God into forwards, he'll need to be at 100% against Barca. Same with Evra.

As a contrast in styles, though, Barca v Juve is the most interesting final we could've hoped for (once Chelsea got eliminated)

i didn't fear a superclásico-- i just didn't want doucheface on the final ha ha ha. not again.

true about the great tactical matchup-- just the opposite of bayern/barça where nobody seemed to be defending. i think barcelona has the higher chance to win, but juventus is not a bunch of rookies, so i believe that they can hold their own against that deadly attacking trio. and then tevez morata and pogba may not be as expensive but they can be as good or even better on any random night. and there's that word--random. anything can happen in a single match. barcelona has teh greater odds though for sure.

From an entertainment pov, the game will need an early Barcelona goal to force Juve out of their shell, although that'd inevitably play even further into Barca's hands. It's hard to know how Juve will approach it, if they risk going for an early lead, knowing that'd leave them vulnerable, or if they just try and soak up the pressure for 90 minutes, hoping for a lucky break. When you look at it on paper Juve don't really stand a chance but, as you say, in a single match ...

especially now that barca can counter-attack now with the best of em. juve will definitely get their chances though. i think its going to be an entertaining game for sure. much better than a barca vs madrid game

Totally. An option for Barca would be to call Juve's bluff early and sit back a bit, conceding possession, tempting them out. Alves has been a revelation this season and could play havoc on the counter against a loosened Juve defence. We saw how effective Marcelo was going forward for Real and Barca have infinitely more lethal finishing options.

So happy that Real is out of Champions League.

All the press and TV and radio are going on about how "everyone" was hoping for a Real v Barca final but nobody I know wanted it.

barcelona vs bayern (in full-force) would have been quite a display.

maybe next year. barça is only bound to get better as the devil's trident melds into further awesomeness. not sure where bayern is going w/ pep. but im looking forward to seeing javi martinez return in full force, plus whatever tweaks they make--right now is not a good time for them.

also, next year BUNDESLIGA ON FOX!!

Sadio Mane Hattrick FC Southampton vs FC Aston Villa



he scored 3 goals within 2 minutes and 56 seconds :eek:

Well that makes MOTD a must watch tonight. Man, did Villa ever crumble harder than today? Pretty shocking tbh.

Isn't this the same scoreline as when S'oton played Sunderland earlier this season?

Nothing against Villa but since Sherwood went there I've been hoping for a thrashing like that. He rates himself far too much, imo.

EDIT: And well done today. You deserved it. We're a joke. End of.

bayern lost 2-1 today to a freiburg fighting relegation

dortmund also lost 2-1 but at least it was against wolfsburg who is only 2pts ahead of monchendgladbach

wolfsburg + gladbach are now secure in the top 3

these (plus bayern) will be your enemies in next year's CL

only 1 week left. feels a bit sad.

don't worry, we have copa america coming up!

Sad farewell from Anfield for Gerrard yesterday. Off to the US of A now.

She'll be pleased

I think Everton and West Ham fans are in the same boat at the moment. A frustrating lack of consistency and a feeling of coasting from the managers and chairmen for both teams.

Never have I wanted a season to be more over than this one. I can't even be arsed to watch the Man Utd/Arsenal game today that's how dulled I've become.