Inverted

Yeah that's the crazy thing, it's felt like there was a proper title race but the final table doesn't lie. It's going to end up as not looking very competitive. It was a mirage, ultimately.

City are going to win it by 8+ points I feel. People years from now will look back and it will be on the record as another title that City won comfortably.

For a team that in theory should be going for it and trying to win every game, Arsenal players are so bad for going down and seeking treatment. Jesus falling over when Steele hits him with a kick at 0-0 just sums it up. Just play and try and win the game ffs. There's something off about that team, mentally.

I'm about a third through and it's easily taken the top spot for most violent book I've ever read. Even more than The Road, which I thought would be hard to beat. Comeplling stuff though.

I think Lucozade used to be specifically marketed as a drink that was especially good at re-hydrating you if were sick and losing a lot of fluid through vomiting/diarrhoea. That probnably wasn't really true (I am pretty sure that water is in almost all cases the best thing for re-hydration), but I would guess the sugar gives you a nice boost of energy and the fizziness can settle some upset stomachs a bit.

In terms of competence/effort it is possibly the most a team has ever deserved to be relegated. But having one of the best coaches in the world for a few games and a team with multiple elite players in almost every position has just about been enough to brute-force their way to survival.

Just absolutely brutal levels of quality all round. Great stuff.

Jesus what a couple of misses. Two poor sides having to go for it makes for great watching, to be fair.

Playing a loose, square ball across midfield like that in a game like this just boggles the imagination. Leicester had been properly struggling to build up as well, and then that is just gifting them a prime counterattacking chance with Vardy on the pitch.

When you look at Pedro Porro you realise that, defensively, the bar is on the floor for full backs and wing backs. Trent looks fine in comparison. Full backs who are properly solid defenders are a rarity in the game, and most of the ones that there are, probably don't play at the elite level because they're too limited in every other respect.

Yeah the Jota challenge was a red but the shit officiating just balanced out in that case.

That is ludicrously embarrassing hahaha

Easy red from Skipp there. Got to assume VAR are taking pity in the circumstances.

I get that Mount isn't the most exciting signing but I think he could be excellent in a midfield 3 for Liverpool. Managers seem to love him, he's presuambly very receptive to tactical instruction and willing to do his bit off the ball. His play style seems to suit how Klopp has been trying to use Henderson and Elliot as kind of roaming #8s who get up and down and in and out of wide areas, except with more legs + ball control than Henderson and more experience + athleticism than Elliot. Plus I guess he could sort of be cover for LW, but Liverpool seem to have loads of forwards anyway.

Even accepting what people say - that he is apparently playing amazingly just apart from the times where I happen to be watching him - I can't believe Bayern have got themselves in a position where they have to keep playing him, even when he's having a nightmare. Surely they could even have put Pavard as RCB and played someone else at RB. I remember back when Bayern had Boateng, Benatia, Javi Martinez and Dante all in the same squad.

I've got to be honest, I'm becoming more convinced that Upamecano is just not great. He wouldn't be the first Red Bull player to struggle when you take him out of their system. This would probably be an evenly balanced tie if you take out his mistakes over the two legs.

Upamecano lucky that Haaland was fractionally offside there. No idea why he needed to make that challenge. Hoping they can change this but honestly I've never seen Upamecano or Musiala have a particularly good game. Granted I've probably watched each of them less than 10 times but I'm just confused by them.

Napoli exerting a lot of pressure but quickly seemed to run out of ideas. Osimhen can't really find any space, Kvaratshowdyouspellit hasn't beaten Calabria once and otherwise can't seem to really impact the game, and Milan are generally closing down all the spaces Napoli want to find for cutbacks and late runners. Then Leao is just unreal on the break. That assist was Henry-esque. The pace and comfort on the ball is just unstoppable when he gets going at full momentum. Should be a good second half as Napoli need to go for it even more than they already are.

Yeah I don't think they're bottlejobs I just think they've been overhyped due to City having an iffy season by their standards and almost every other top 6 side having poor/mediocre seasons. If City and Liverpool had both been at their best then Arsenal could have comfortably finished 3rd and, after the way it ended for them last season, it would have been rightly seen as a big achievement. There have not been many games where I've watched them and thought they were at the title-winning standard that's generally been required for the last 5 years or so. And if City got back to their typical level of performance and it became the type of title run-in we have seen before, where you need to be perfect and win a massive series of games under the worst imaginable pressure, they arent at that level. City could still somehow blow it from here but if they have anything like their usual end of season run of form, it's game over, pretty much.

I've read Siddartha, and Narziss und Goldmund, in English, but I'm reading this in German. Not read a book in German for quite a long time so this will likely take me a while.

Being outplayed that badly by a poor Liverpool side doesn't bode well. Arsenal didn't really look like a team that should be 1st.

Gabriel down. Don't think it's a quite desperate enough situation to be milking the concussion protocols to slow the game down. They could improve the protocols imo by mandating that you need to be subbed off if you go down with a head injury. Would hopefully take away some of gamesmanship.

Penalty. I will be stunned if Arsenal find a way to not win this. You've literally got the officials in fisticuffs with the opposition. Its there for the taking surely. Salah miss - surely got to calm them down a bit now.