UEFA Champions League and Europa League

[Milos-BC]

Čukarički Stankom - Santa Julia 4:0



Great start of the European debut season for the team of Čukarički As I said in that short analysis above, Čukarički is simply much much better than the team from Andorra so any other outcome except this one would have been shocking. I expect an easy victory in the second leg as well.

 

[Milos-BC]

HB Torshavn has eliminated Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) with a total result of 6-3 (1-1, 5-2).



That means that our first rival in the Champions League qualifications will be HB Torshavn! This is pretty much expected as HB Torshavn was absolute favorite in the duel with Lincoln.


I have analyzed Torshavn on their two matches from the 1st round of qualifications and one from their league match, and what I can say is that they do have some sort of quality and they play with a lot of passion, but still, we musn't have problems with this rival, as it is way below our level. No player actually stands out, they are working as a collective.


We must prove on the field that we are better. It would be the best if we can fill them in the first match and beat them as hard as possible, so that we can wait for the second leg relaxed and use it as a picnic on Faroe Islands. Of course, no underestimation, as we were known to mess up a lot with such approach. Simply, we must show who is who from the start. We are the favorites and we must prove it.

 

[Morty]

Just a small heads up: It's Torshavn, not Torsahvn.

 

[Milos-BC]

lol, fixed, thanks for the correction I know it is Torshavn, but I misspelled it by accident and since I copy-pasted that first entry, all of them turned out to be incorrect.

 

[lucian-crusher]

Steaua Bucharest's results in the second training camp in :

Steaua Bucharest - Ludogorets 2 - 4

Steaua Bucharest - Oldham Athletic 4 - 1

Steaua Bucharest - AEL Limassol 1 - 1

 

[Milos-BC]

Santa Julia 0-0 Čukarički Stankom


A bit shocking result, but I guess Čukarički was just relaxed after 4:0 from the first match and didn't want to jounce themselves too much. The most important thing is that they passed this first obstacle, anyway.


Their next rival is SV Grodig. Grodig is absolutely the favorite here, but Čukarički still has objective chances of passing through.

 

[QwaarJet]

I'm pretty happy seeing Aberdeen win 8-0 on agg. Hopefully they can make the group stage.

 

[Milos-BC]

So, today:

Partizan - HB Torshavn


First match of the season. It is always specific and tough as teams are getting out of the preparation stages, the legs are still "tough" and in this level of competition, a result is needed at once.

So, today, we are playing a match where we absolute favorites, and there is no running away from that fact, but it will not be easy at all to prove that on the field (as much funny as it sounds), as the team from Faroe Islands certainly won't come with an intention to lose with as little margin as possible.

There musn't be any underestimation because today, everyone plays football. And this world cup has proven that. If we enter the match in a fashion of "this will be a piece of cake", then the fact that we are much stronger will not be so useful.


As for the team of HB Torshavn, it is a limited team, but a team where every player devotes a maximum of himself to the team, and collective is the strongest side of it. Also, they are dangerous in the breaks, and that is where we must focus and not let any surprises happen. Their defenders are quite slow though, so that is where I see a chance for our attackers.


All in all..........a victory of 2-0 ad 3-0 and without a conceived goal would be ideal today, but we must be serious on the field, from the first moment until the last.

 

[QwaarJet]

Celtic in action today against a bunch of amateurs. 5-0 at least, hopefully.

 

[nofuxCZ]

Sparta Prague 7 - 0 Levadia Tallinn
Well, what can I say Sparta totally dominated them
David Lafata is a beast, 5 goals in one game

 

[Milos-BC]

Partizan 3:0 HB Torshavn


Fantastic result, and we must be satisfied with it. This result pretty much guaranties a peaceful second leg on the Faroe Islands, though we musn't relax, as this was only the first half and nothing is finished yet.


The result is great, our play could have been better and it has to be better, but it was good for the first actual match of the season. First half was bad. We did score early, but there was too little energy, too little runing and we had a huge number of incorrect passes. But that is all normal for this stage, as I said. Second half was much better, the running was much better, and we were much more dominant as a result of that. We could have scored several more goals, but their goalie had some epic reactions + it is tough to fill the team that is defending all the time with all 11 players.

The team of HB Torshavn didn't have a single scoring chance on the match and they didn't have any shot on our goal at all. They will be braver in the second match, and they will be more offensive, but, if we take that match seriously, they will not leave the stadium without at least 2 or 3 goals as well in their net.We can now peacefully await the draw on Friday and our next rival that is going to be tough. Celtic would be the worst option for us, but whoever comes, nobody is that stronger than us so that we can't play against him. We will certainly prepare ourselves well and scout the rival to the deepest details.

 

[aletem]

Rabotnicki - HJK helsinki 0:0

Not a bad result, but I wanted a victory. Would have been happier with 3:2 to be honest. Rabotnicki had chances to win, had the initiation, but wasn't precise. I think the chances still exist. And Rabotnicki should go brave and score a goal or two there. And if they pass Helsinki, would love to see Maccabi or Sparta as possible opponents. Everything else is a no-no.


LE
Metalurg - Zeljeznicar 0:0

Metalurg finally lost their virginity and won in the first round over UE Santa Coloma from Andorra. They couldn't do it two years ago over the team from Malta, but they managed it this time. So no goals with Zeljo, it can go either way here. I am not too optimistic though. I hope they get a 1:1 there.

 

[QwaarJet]

Mixed results for the Scottish teams last night.

Motherwell 2-2 UMF Stjarnan - Last minute equaliser makes this a bad result, against a team Motherwell should really be beating.

Aberdeen 0-0 FC Groningen - I expected Aberdeen to be outmatched here, so this is a solid result. No away goal for Groningen means the Dons have a chance in the away leg.

FC Luzern 1-1 St Johnstone - Amazing result for St. Johnstone, as this was a mismatch on paper. All they need to do realistically is to avoid defeat in the home leg.

 

[Milos-BC]

Not a great day for clubs in the Europa League qualifications yesterday............


Trencin 4:0 Vojvodina

A complete debacle of Vojvodina and a shameful result. These two teams are pretty much equal on the paper, and the way Vojvodina played yesterday, Trencin looked like Real Madrid compared to them. The Slovak team was much more aggresive, agile, they won every duel, they were easily getting into chances, easily fooling around with Vojvodina's defenders...............even this end result is good for Vojvodina, as they could have passed like against and even worse. Europe is over for them even before it started.



CFR Cluj 0:0 Jagodina

This is the only good results yesterday. Well done to Jagodina, they secured a good result against a stronger team and now they have objective chances to pass, since the rematch is in Jagodina. Well done to the coach Dodic as well, I have very high opinion of him. Last year Jagodina was also great against Rubin and now the same thing repeats against CFR Cluj. I still think that the Romanian team is the favorite here but Jagodina's chances are bigger than they used to be before this match.



Cukaricki 0:3 SV Grodig


An easy victory of SV Grodig. It was seen, basically, from the first minute that they are better. And when you get this result while your team's orientation is basically just defending, then everything is clear. I would love Cukaricki to demant me, but I think Europe is finished for them as well.

 

[QwaarJet]

Some absolutely terrible draws for the Scottish teams if they get through.

Champion's League :

Legia Warsaw/ St. Pats Athletic VS Celtic - Assuming the Legia wins their second leg, this was the worst Celtic could have got. Bah.

Europa League :

FC Zestafoni/ Spartak Trnava VS St. Johnstone - This is a great draw due to St. Johnstone's match being seeded. But holding on to their away goal lead against Luzern will be difficult.

JK Nomme Kalji/ Lech Poznan VS Motherwell - Bad draw, Poznan have CL experience and would likely be too much for Motherwell.

Aberdeen VS Real Sociedad - Nightmare draw. If this match happens it will be a Germany VS Brazil number.

 

[doctormalisimo]

Legia Warsaw/ St. Pats Athletic VS Celtic - Assuming the Legia wins their second leg, this was the worst Celtic could have got. Bah.

On the contrary, I think Celtic is the best draw St Pats could hope for if they make it through. Not too much travelling and a guaranteed massive crowd for their home match.

 

[QwaarJet]

On the contrary, I think Celtic is the best draw St Pats could hope for if they make it through. Not too much travelling and a guaranteed massive crowd for their home match.

If it was St. Pats, I would agree with you, but Legia are going to kill them in the second leg. As a Scottish supporter, I'd much rather face Pats than Legia.

 

[Milos-BC]

In the next round of Champions League qualifications..............



Ludogorets - Partizan


So, same rival like last year in this period. Everything is the same, even the leg schedule. We are first traveling to Bulgaria, and then the second leg is played on our stadium. This is "deja vu"

I am very satisfied since we got a rival that is of similar quality with us. Plus, there is a motive of revenge, that musn't be forgotten. Last year, they managed to eliminate us and they had a lot of luck in both matches and now we have a chance for revenge. They are definetly stronger than last season + they have experience from Europa League, but we are also a different team, much different than the one that faced them in July and August 2013.


A maximum respect for them, because they really had an impressive season last year, they knocked out Lazio, beated PSV Eindhoven twice, Dinamo Zagreb also twice..........that is really for maximum respect. But we have our chances as well. I am pretty sure we are going to confront them much better than last year, when we were, once again, on the edge to knock them out.

Chances are 50:50.

 

[lucian-crusher]

UEFA Champions League, 2nd round:

Stromsgodset - Steaua Bucharest 0 - 1
We played bad, but we managed an away win wich should be enough for qualifying to the next round.


UEFA Europa League, 2nd round:

Petrolul Ploiesti - Flamurtari 2 - 0
Expected result for Petrolul and they are in the next round.

CFR Cluj - Jagodina 0 - 0
As I said after the draw. CFR Cluj shouldn't play in Europe as they only qualified due to Dinamo Bucharest's bankrupcy. Jagodina played very good last night, so they are favourites now.

 

[lucian-crusher]

UEFA Champions League, 3rd round:

Dinamo Tbilisi/ Aktobe - Stromsgodset /Steaua Bucharest
When I saw the draw I was like "the same opponent as last year, it's either revenge for them or deja vu for us", but I see that ktobe won the first leg, so it will be interesting to play against them.


UEFA Europa League, 3rd round:

Petrolul Ploiesti/ Flamurtari - Viktoria Plzen
Terrible draw for Petrolul! The chances are like 80 % - 20 % for Viktoriia Plzen, but they eliminated Vitesse Arnhem last year so I guess it's possible.

Dinamo Minsk/ MyPa - CFR Cluj /Jagodina
So, CFR Cluj got an easier opponent in the next round. If they pass Jagodina, which I doubt, they will probably meet Dinamo Minsk.

Astra Giurgiu - Kosice /Slovan Liberec
It's an ok draw for Astra. Slovan Liberec is a strong team, but more beatable than Real Sociedad.