Euro footie comps 2014/15

Post by **BobHelm** » October 23, 2014, 3:06 pm

Neat opening goal by Ronaldo.
Rodgers must be regretting his pre-match predictions about in trouble again Mario Balotelli though..

Post by **BobHelm** » October 24, 2014, 6:13 am

Tottenham 5-1 Asteras Tripolis
Celtic 2-1 Astra Giurgiu
Lille 0-0 Everton

Harry Kane scores his first ever hat trick for Spurs. Then ends up in goal after Hugo Lloris is sent off & misses the only save he was asked to make. Spurs are joint top on 5 points with Besiktas while Asteras Tripolis are a point back. Who blinks first in this Group I think..

Celtic rather laboured to an undeserved win, but the result is all in these Group games. They & Red Bull Salzburg are tied at the top of the table, already 5 points clear of Dinamo Zagreb in third. So far it is all going well for the Scottish side to progress.

The Toffees couldn't score in France but this was a better display by them than the last time out. They remain undefeated & top the Group but it is mighty tight. Only 3 points separates them all & it is all very much still up for who can grasp a good result or two..

Post by **BobHelm** » November 5, 2014, 6:15 am

Athletico top group A by 3 points but it is all still to play for as the Old Lady just defeats Olympiakos to tie them on 6 points in second & third place.

The FC Basel win puts them into second spot 6 points behind all conquering Real Madrid. Despite a better performance by Pool they are still equal with Ludo on a meager 3 points after 4 games.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have a nice 4 point lead on the others in Group C. Nothing else is decided though as the other 3 sides are separated by only 1 point, with Monaco just in second.

The Gunners contrive to throw away a 3 goal lead at home, with less than 30 minutes to play. They only need a point from their last two games to qualify though as Borussia Dortmund win again to make sure that they progress to the next stage.

Post by **BobHelm** » November 6, 2014, 6:21 am

Group E dominated by Bayern, who have run over the rest of the group with 2 games still to go.
Citi sink to the bottom as they are beaten by CSKA as Toure & Fernandinho are sent off to compound their problems. A fairly disastrous European night for them in a pretty awful season in Europe.

Group F is still a battle for the top stop between Barca & PSG with the French side still a point ahead. Ajax had a man sent off last night as Messi nets a couple more for the side.
PSG netted after only a minute but no floodgate for them as that was how the game ended..

Group G is still all to play for as Chelsea fall behind & miss a penalty while managing to stretch their unbeaten run to 16 games. They are 3 points ahead though & should win the group baring a disaster as Sporting do them a favour last night by beating Schalke.

Group H is all wrapped up between Porto & Shaktar Donetsk. but either of those could actually win it.

Post by **socksy** » November 6, 2014, 10:08 am

Not forgetting Messi scored twice to equal Raul's all-time Champions League scoring record as Barcelona beat Ajax to qualify. =D>

Post by **BobHelm** » November 7, 2014, 5:45 am

Asteras Tripolis 1-2 Tottenham
Astra Giurgiu 1-1 Celtic
Everton 3-0 Lille

Spurs new media darling. Harry Kane , makes it 8 goals in 8 games as Spurs top the table equal on points with Besiktas. They are both 4 points clear of the third placed side (Spurs last nights' opponents) & very close to progressing to the last 32.

Celtic are now second & 5 points clear of third placed Dinamo Zagreb, leaders Salzburg did Celtic a large favour in thrashing Zagreb last night.

Everton are almost through to the next stage but still have a battle for top spot with Wolfsburg, who they head by a point. They are next away to the Germans.

Post by **BobHelm** » November 25, 2014, 9:30 am

Citi are out if they do not win & either of CSKA Moscow or Roma win their game.
It has been a disappointing European competition again for them & they have a host of their top players out for this fixture. Yaya Toure and Fernandinho miss out through suspension, David Silva, Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov are all injured.

Roberto Di Matteo's Schalke host his former club, Chelsea. A win would see them join The Blues at the top of the group. It might just be an interesting game to watch..

Post by **BobHelm** » November 26, 2014, 6:44 am

Well the 1 star for Citi that was available was Aguero & he proved to be enough on his own. Scored all the Citi goals, including 2 in the last 5 minutes to win an unlikely game for the home side.
The other encounter also goes their way as it ends in a draw. All 3 sides are in with a chance as they are locked on 5 points. Bayern already run away winners.
From looking doomed Citi are now in a last game shoot out chance of qualifying.

Messi sets records everytime he walks onto the pitch these days. However that was not even enough to gain Barca top spot. PSG hold that honour still. One of the other Group winners is going to be might unlucky to be drawn against a second place Barcelona!!

Chelsea win their group at a canter & do Sporting a huge favour in the process.
It is close between the Portuguese & Schalke for the final qualification place. as Sporting have to come to London for the final game.

Porto qualify as winners & Shakhtar Donetsk clinch second spot despite losing. The third place Europa spot is still all to play for between the other two though..

Post by **stattointhailand** » November 26, 2014, 8:06 am

City game seemed to sum up their season so far ......

Go from 1 - 0 up to 1 - 2 down against 10 men, then Aguero comes to the rescue with 2 late goals

Post by **BobHelm** » November 27, 2014, 6:30 am

An easy win by Athletico sees them top group A. At the same time, the Old Lady finally gets her act together away at Malmo to snatch the second spot from Olympiakos. It could change on the last game though as Athletico go to Juve & Olympiakos host the whipping boys Malmo.

Real have a narrow win away in Basel while Pool do just enough with an away draw against Ludogorets Razgrad. It is enough to leave the final Pool home game against the Swiss to see who takes second spot. I suspect that even if they win through this competition will then prove too tough for them. They could, however, still end up in the Europa Cup. Equally a long run in that without actually winning it might be a dubious honour..

Monaco give themselves a great chance of qualification out of Group C with a tough win away at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The Germans are probably favourites to win the group as thery are a point ahead of the French side with a last game away at bottom side Benfica. Monaco are at home to their rivals for second spot, Zenit St Petersburg so it is really all in their hands.

Good win by The Gunners at home to the top side, Borussia Dortmund, sees them confirm advancement. It is unlikely that they can wrest the top spot from the Germans in the final game though. The Gunners would need to win in the hostile atmosphere of Galatasaray while the Germans lost at home to RSC Anderlecht.
The first aim is qualification though & that has been achieved & should put a stop to the ridiculous calls from some to sack the manager.

Post by **BobHelm** » November 28, 2014, 6:45 am

Spurs get into the last 32 but the press will all be about 3 pitch invasions. The ref suspended the game 10 minutes before the break after the 3rd. moron got on the pitch. Not sure if any action will be taken, but I will be surprised if something is not done.

Celtic also somehow qualify as runners up in their group. I suspect that it will be a short experience. The winners last night rather easily topped group D.

Everton's impressive unbeaten run continued away in Germany. They qualify & will win the group at a canter..

Post by **747man** » November 28, 2014, 7:17 am

Yes Bob, At A Canter is CORRECT.....And according to UEFA Seeding we were the 3rd best team in Group H ...

Post by **BobHelm** » November 28, 2014, 7:55 am

Hey don't get too excited 7, it is the early stages of the Micky Mouse cup after all...

But they have done all that they could so far...

Post by **747man** » November 28, 2014, 9:09 am

The Mickey Mouse Cup......Yes Bob,Liverpool Fans used to call it that......Until They Won it..Deludes..

Post by **Macca** » November 28, 2014, 1:26 pm

Celtics 4th defeat in Europe this season, but the deluded Deila still fancies their chances in the knock-out stages.

Post by **socksy** » November 28, 2014, 1:34 pm

5555

Post by **BobHelm** » December 9, 2014, 10:04 am

Last game tonight for the Group stages of groups A to D.

Pool must beat Basel tonight in order to seal second spot & progress to the next round. Pool are striker struggling at the moment with Balotelli not fit to play, although that might prove to be a huge blessing in disguise given his form & contribution when he does play.

The Gunners have a long trek to Turkey. They have already qualified & so this is a bit of unwanted travel given their current form. In theory they could win the group if they win in Galatasaray but results would have to go their way in the other game as well. You don't really want to lose 2 on the trot (after defeat at Stoke at the weekend) but it is difficult to see them going for a win full speed ahead!!

Post by **stattointhailand** » December 9, 2014, 1:23 pm

Interesting to see Wenger has named his team a day before the game

Hope nobody strains a muscle getting off the plane

Post by **BobHelm** » December 10, 2014, 6:22 am

Pool can only draw & so the worst possible scenario happens for them.
They are out of the major competition but still in the Europa Cup. That will prove an ongoing distraction from the Premier league.
The Gunners do as much as asked of them, but still end up second on goal difference..
Here are the final Group tables.

Tonight...

Citi will progress with a win in Italy as long as CSKA Moscow fail to defeat group winners Bayern Munich in Germany, while a draw will be enough if the Russian side lose in Bavaria.
Chelsea do not even need to turn up to progress as group winners. Sporting know a draw at Stamford Bridge will put them through to the last 16. Depending on the result in the other group game (if Schalke do not win) even a loss will..

Post by **stattointhailand** » December 10, 2014, 10:12 am

Cartoon from Basel fans pointing out that they have not got a bad recent record against EPL teams...