UEFA Champions League 18/19

Here's the thing, though; soccer is such a high-variance sport (luck and happenstance have an enormous role in specific outcomes of matches) and rosters turn over so often that "winning things" is often a misleading marker of which teams are best *right now*.

The Man City of this season happens to be basically the same team which won the league last season but bears essentially no resemblance to the Man City which won the league in 2013/14. Referring to them as "the same team" is effectively absurd.

Liverpool *right now*, by both eye test and underlying numbers are one of the very top teams in the world. That remains true whether or not they win the league or the Champions League or both/either.
You're right.

I think I said at the beginning of the season that all I hoped for Liverpool was to put up 90+ points and see how it shakes out. That's still all I'm hoping for, and I'll be extremely happy with it. Best case, it ends in a trophy. Worst case, I'll have watched my favorite team win a whole helluva lot of football matches, and that's a whole helluva lot of fun.

They ain't sending me a trophy either way, so I take my reward when there's a good performance. It's why I would be happy to see LFC v Barca next round. That just seems like a whole lot of fun.
 
Not at all disagreeing with anything you've said, but if City gets to 100 points and wins the league for the fourth time in eight years you can say all you want that Liverpool's the better team but it's going to be hard to argue with the titles. And to flip that around, Liverpool could also make it to 100, and could also easily win the title. That would effectively end the need to argue about whether they're really that good, because in fact they are. And even as a nervous City fan (<-- permanent condition, apparently) I'm loving that this season's race is going to be down to the wire.

And also, that's why I personally never get jerseys with names or numbers on the back. The teams absolutely totally change year over year, but they're still the same team.
Hint: neither MCFC nor LFC can mathematically get to 100pts this year, so neither will match nor eclipse the 2018 MCFC team.

LFC has played 33matches and stand at 82pts with 5games left & a max pt total of 97. Chelsea Cardiff Huddersfield Newcastle Wolves. Chelsea and Wolves are not gimmes.

MCFC has played 32 matches and stand at 80pts with 6games left & a max pt total of 98. Palace Spurs ManU Burnley Leicester Brighton. Spurs & ManU are not gimmes. Leicester also beat them in first match.
 
Rory Smith of the NY Times is worth the price of admission. Here he is describing Pep's gesturing and theatrics from the sidelines of the Spurs match.

After a while, once the movements are decoded, it is almost possible to tell how Manchester City is playing simply by watching Guardiola, a cross between a telegraph service and an interpretive dance troupe.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/sports/champions-league-manchester-city-tottenham.html
 
Hint: neither MCFC nor LFC can mathematically get to 100pts this year, so neither will match nor eclipse the 2018 MCFC team.

LFC has played 33matches and stand at 82pts with 5games left & a max pt total of 97. Chelsea Cardiff Huddersfield Newcastle Wolves. Chelsea and Wolves are not gimmes.

MCFC has played 32 matches and stand at 80pts with 6games left & a max pt total of 98. Palace Spurs ManU Burnley Leicester Brighton. Spurs & ManU are not gimmes. Leicester also beat them in first match.
Well crap, looks like I gave them both one extra match apiece.
 
Cold blooded performance. Are you scared of them? Scared of the narrative?
Not at all. I love both players. And I love that they abused United. I hate that they aren’t wearing the right crest anymore.

I don’t fear Barça for Liverpool. Even if they’d have won 5-0. I expect it will be a battle. But I like Liverpool’s chances. If LFC lose, oh well. Whatever. Lost before. Nice to lose in UCL semis. And nice that it’s getting back to routine to be there.
 
All that just for them to just lay down and take it up the ass when they play Barcelona.
 
Barca were really good yesterday. Man U came out full of piss and vinegar and taking the game to their opponent and Barca swatted them away like a fly on a leopard.
That save the Barca keeper made on the near post header was insane. That’s a goal in any other game.