2025-26 UEFA Champions League

There's nothing I hate more in football than fans or pundits excusing diving, cheating and feigning injury because a tv slow mo shows the slightest bit of contact.

Madueke clearly dives. He knows exactly what he is doing. He has won the penalty after feeling the slightest touch from a sliding player. Madueke can stay on his feet if he wants to. There is nothing in the contact that trips him up. There isn't a large amount of force in the contact to bring him to the ground. The nature of Madueke's fall to the ground after the slight contact tells you everything. He decides to throw himself down in an almost comical fashion a step or 2 after the slight contact. It is a dive, it is cheating. It's ludicrous that anyone would dispute that even if you support the team involved.

Unfortunately in the football world, and especially in the football world with VAR involved, cheating is handsomely rewarded the past few years. Madueke isn't even the problem, he's a professional footballer who knows that if he cheats in that instance he will win a penalty. The game is absolutely rotten now, a complete mess. It's in a far worse state than it was before VAR was introduced and that's saying something.

Even so, if you're going to slide in off your feet and you touch the player but don't touch the ball, you're asking for trouble.

I'm actually surprised so much is being made of it.

It's much more controversial that Bayer didn't go down to 10 men after 5 minutes, but nobody seems to care about that.

Ah lads wtf are we doing here? Brining the game into disrepute????? Its worse than twitter here at times.

Soft penalty no doubt but was never being overturned after being given

100% this… terrible non decision by the ref

True, the penalty miss could be their Dembele moment (he missed a big chance to put Barcelona 4-0 against Liverpool)

3-0 is definitely doable, they just have to figure out how to feed Haaland and hope Madrid sit back

But I just don't see it this season compares to others. They don't feel as inevitable as they used to under Pep. And Madrid teams in worse shape than this have gotten to finals - it's just what they do at this time of year

Its a contact sport, a touch is allowed to happen.

The way football has changed is that ANY contact in the box excuses a penalty. Any. Thats not how it should be.

Exactly it used to be a much more subjective the call was ref dependent. It used to be not if there was contact. But how much contact. Was it deliberate? Did it cause the player to fall?
It has gone so far the other way, it is amazing there is not more penalties given. The refs now basically side with the VAR takes the pressure off them.

He'll be banned from Swansea, for a start.

He gave the ball boy his jersey afterwards, and apologised.

I've noticed a trend for ball boys to act the boll** in lots of game recently. Obviously trained into that behaviour.

Yer honour, she looked more like a 15/16 year old !

There was plenty of schooling done by Premier league teams to the likes of Real and Bayern pre Christmas.

I guess there is a case there are too many games in England or the physical nature is unsustainable over a full season.

That said, I guess we should wait and see how the rest of the season pans out

I think Liverpool's struggles in the PL could still help in the CL though for this reason

Liverpool had 2 glaring issues against Galatasaray: 1. as you said, not being able to string passes together, and 2. not being able to finish (Wirtz should have scored twice and Ekitike once)

These issues aren't down to their style of play, and Galatasaray weren't playing great football either. They managed 1 set piece goal despite Konaté and others being very sloppy. And they looked very shaky in defence.

But Liverpool showed against the likes of Frankfurt, Real Madrid, Atletico, Marseille that they can attack well when teams are less physical and more open.

Galatasaray gave them every opportunity the other night it was just down to some individual poor decision making in possession and all 3 big chances having poor finishes that led to losing the game

I don't think they lost because of their style, if anything that's what's hurting them in the PL taking so long to adapt

What's so special about Celje ?

that manager has also left to take over a bundesliga team