Just seen the penalty incident. Not sure what the fuss is about beyond the usual partisan bleating. Of course it’s not a penalty, if you live in 1985. In the modern game it’s given every time. Get over it.
And those pundits are still talking about it this morning because it wasn’t a pen. However I’d rather concentrate on how well we played and how proud I am of this team, squad, manager and club. To go away from home in the UCL with 12 regulars missing and not be able to make a single substitution in 98 mins and still get a result is amazing.
I loved Keegan’s Entertainers but this squad and team is better because they can do everything. KK’s team were swashbuckling individuals who couldn’t defend. I used to say about SAF’s Man United that it didn’t matter who played, they just seamlessly slotted into the system. That’s what we have now. A 17 year old coming in and playing as well he did is because he knows what that position needs in that team in that game.
Brilliant. We definitely have our club back thanks to our owners and manager. Very proud this morning.
I thought it was harsh but actually by UEFA rulings it was a correct decision due to the fact Livramento's arm was away from his body and therefore created an 'unnatural' barrier. Not sure what he could have done to avoid it but that's the rules. PL application of the rules are different though.
Salient extract;
“An extended left arm that essentially creates a barrier…once that left arm is out, even though there is a deflection — that no longer is part of the interpretation and analysis — but since it’s a barrier preventing that ball from crossing in, this is an expected VAR recommendation for a handling offense that the referee is not able to see from his angle and positioning.”
Tino Livramento's arm was up and extended from his body, and thus in an "unnatural" position according to the current interpretation of the rules.
https://www.sportingnews.com/uk/foot...ged%20unfairly.
IFAB rules (and as far as I'm aware they apply to UEFA compeitions in the same way they do the Premier League) say:
..."touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised"
I'm no fan of Newcastle, but it was an awful decision. His arm position was entirely natural for somebody running along. Where else would you expect his arm to be in that position, it's hardly any different to Mbappe waiting behind him. If you watch the video of it, you can see his arms are in a completely natural position.
If it it had hit his other arm which was fully outstretched, then maybe that would have been justified.
Last nights VAR official has been removed from his game tonight
GENEVA (AP) — A video review official has been removed from his Champions League game on Wednesday, one day after having a key role in a disputed decision to award Paris Saint-Germain a stoppage-time penalty for handball against Newcastle which contradicted UEFA’s own advice to referees.
https://apnews.com/article/newcastle...fd4da406e4ddd#
Will last night's referee, Marciniak, who refereed last season's CL Final & the 2022 WC Final (both with Kwiatkowski on VAR), also be sanctioned?
The VAR can't award the penalty, the onfield referee does. Marciniak is extremely experienced & he, not Kwiatkowski, awarded the penalty presumably because he agreed with the VAR & thought it was a handball having viewed the replays.
One to watch etc., etc..
______
Jim.
It was a correct decision to award the pen by the laws UEFA have adopted so he won't get sanctioned he'll get applauded.
Stupid law IMHO but it is what it is, if you keep letting their right winger cross the ball in this can happen - there was another handball that could have been given a pen as well but wasn't.
Exactly the same situation as last night in Paris just happened in the Arsenal game. Ref didn't give it, VAR checked it….no pen.
What on earth were United thinking splashing out £47m on Onana. I know De Gea has declined steadily over the years (but is still a very good keeper on his day) but to replace him with Onana makes no sense. The guy went on a free to Inter.....that should have told United something. That was an absolute howler for their 2nd goal.
So the VAR assistant who asked the ref to examine Livramento's handball was removed from his post. Not for that decision, but for not asking the ref to look at Antony Gordon's challenge in the box earlier in the 2nd half!
I reckon UEFA will be awarding pens for defenders giving attackers a dirty look next..
I’ve underestimated Nited this season .
I can see their plan now . Get in the Thursday Club Cup with their biggest rivals in the world and play a final in front of both sets of home fans in the final in Dublin.
Clever .
Onana looks like a competition winner. I thought we had a rotten goalie in Robin Olsen at Villa, but at least he's only back up and didn't cost £50m.
I often hear that the German and Spanish leagues are inferior to the Premier League and, as I watch quite a bit of those leagues, I'd tend to agree. Yet Bayern and Real top their groups and are cruising into the knockout stages. Bayern haven't lost a UCL group game for six seasons and beat Man Utd last night without getting out of second gear. Real have a 100% record in their group. As the yanks would say "go figure?".
It’s the teams below the top teams in the foreign leagues are poor but the top teams are high level.
I think on the whole the prem has the highest overall standard across the board.
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Yeah I agree, it's the depth of quality in the EPL that sets us apart. What never seems to corelate for me is how the best teams in those leagues remain top sides in Europe when they only have a few difficult and challenging games per domestic season. Using that formula, Celtic and PSG should be regularly winning the UCL!
It is a strange one.
That's the marketing spin, best league in the world blah blah blah
Doubt theres much between them in reality. It's not like English clubs are smashing the 2nd and 3rd tier European competitions is it
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Tend to agree though Frankfurt beat Bayern 5-1 at the weekend and that put them up to 7th.
The English league has more strength in depth right through the league but I'd still expect any la liga team to have a chance against similarly placed English team.
Money talks.
Villa have breezed the Conference League group stage so far, top of the group and just need a point tomorrow away at Mostar to guarantee coming top and having one game fewer in the next phase in the new year.
The Europe leagues are dross.
No English team takes it serious and most teams just play fringe players in it and don’t get serious about it until the 1/4 finals.
I haven’t even watched a Liverpool game in the Europa these team I’ve no interest at all and wouldn’t care if they got beat 10-0 every game by an FC Unknown.
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Another very special atmosphere at the cathedral on the hill.
Googled a couple of interesting articles on this
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevepr...-in-the-world/
https://sportsquabble.com/is-english...ague-the-best/
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
As I said originally, I don't think it's a massive gulf between them.
What I would say is that Sky/The Times/The Sun/BBC et al etc are all minded to hype their product in their main market.
Whos going to spend £50 a month to subscribe to a TV sports package for "Quite good Footie" rather "EPL best league in the world"....
Possibly ignorant and a bit arrogant if we're not even up for questioning this
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Last edited by xxnick1975; 13th December 2023 at 21:36.
Newcastle looking really comfortable, just don’t get caught on the break and they have this in the bag.
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Good news from the other game. Dortmund 1-0 up
Dortmund 1-1 now
Last edited by hilly10; 13th December 2023 at 22:17.
Guimaraes has been appalling. He's hit 6 misplaced passes so far