On Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 1:41:00 PM UTC+1, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6:32:45 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 11:31:09 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 3:06:31 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > On Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 12:47:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > > On Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 4:15:53 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > > > On Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at 11:17:31 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > > > > On Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 2:38:27 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > > > > > On Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 12:56:20 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > https://kassiesa.net/uefa/files/2021-24-uefa-club-competitions-scheme.png
> Champions League Play-Off, 1st leg
> * = seeded team
>
>
> August 22
>
>
> Champions Path
>
>
> Royal Antwerp FC (BEL) v AEK FC (GRE)* 1-0 (1-0)
> (Janssen 16'; Red Card: Bataille (Roy) 50')
>
> Mark van Bommel's side scored with one of their first opportunities - a great pass
> by Antwerp's 18-year-old midfield talent Arthur Vermeeren beat AEK's offside trap,
> and Vincent Janssen expertly slotted the ball past Georgios Athanasiadis (who had
> once more taken over goalkeeping duties from former Salzburg keeper Cican
> Stanković): https://giphy.com/media/Akc9q0jcX1ZnBypMXq/giphy.gif
> AEK subsequently had more and better chances, especially after Antwerp right-back
> Jelle Bataille had been sent off for a leg-breaking tackle on Mijat Gaćinović,
> but the Belgians defended tooth and nail, with their French keeper Jean Butez also
> standing tall, and despite a flurry of crosses they managed to keep the Greek
> champions at bay until the final whistle.
>
>
> RKS Raków Czestochowa (POL) v FC København (DEN)* 0-1 (0-1)
> (Racoviţan 9' (og))
>
> At this stage Raków are no longer allowed to play this in their rather tiny home
> stadium in Częstochowa, and instead moved into the brand-new ArcelorMittal Park
> in Sosnowiec, roughly sixty kilometres to the south.
>
> FCK had the perfect start to the game as they scored with their first foray into
> the Polish box - Raków's French-Romanian defender Bogdan Racovițan unluckily
> deflected a cross by Mohamed Elyounoussi, newly signed from Southampton, past his
> own keeper Kovačević: https://giphy.com/media/MUPuu6xClJXi1tGClC/giphy.gif
> Five minutes before half-time Raków's would-be equaliser through Giannis
> Papanikolaou's header was disallowed by VAR for a hair's breadth offside, and in
> the second half Raków's toothless attack never actually managed to trouble the
> Danish defence.
>
>
> League Path
>
>
> Rangers FC (SCO)* v PSV (NED) 2-2 (1-0)
> (Sima 45', Matondo 76'; Sangaré 61', De Jong 80')
>
> Who knows if the persistent transfer rumours surrounding Ibrahim Sangaré (Bayern?
> PSG?) might not have distracted PSV's Ivorian midfielder, because he contrived to
> lose the ball in front of his own area, which led to Brighton loanee Abdallah Sima
> giving Rangers the lead with a great curler into the top corner:
> https://giphy.com/media/Ptd7qH8uhU8h0nOJCU/giphy.gif
> In the second half Sangaré kind of redeemed himself by sweeping in Johan
> Bakayoko's cross, also thanks to Ismael Saibari's clever dummy:
> https://giphy.com/media/zROUIqTNiPh3YQFhhs/giphy.gif
> A clinical Rangers side (Sturm Graz should take notes on how to properly set up
> against PSV) again took the lead on the break, with Welsh substitute Rabbi Matondo
> finishing off the move from Cyriel Desser's assist:
> https://giphy.com/media/7fxdsDl2cFxoz7mKRB/giphy.gif
> VAR took a long hard look at the build-up, and then surprisingly didn't chalk the
> goal off - those hair's breadth decisions can also go the attacker's way. Still,
> PSV got the somewhat lucky, but overall deserved, equaliser when Luuk De Jong in
> typical Luuk De Jong fashion shouldered in Joey Veerman's corner kick:
> https://giphy.com/media/0N9ZauHiSpSrgscyTt/giphy.gif
>
> The same first-leg result between the two as last season at the same stage. A year
> ago Rangers then followed it up by shocking PSV with a 1-0 win in Eindhoven (with
> the goal coming from a huge blunder by centre-back Ramalho and keeper Benítez). I
> could totally see them repeating that feat, the Scots appear to have a real knack
> for getting their best out of these qualifiers.
>
>
>
> August 23
>
>
> Champions Path
>
>
> Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) v BSC Young Boys (SUI)* 0-0 (0-0)
>
> No efforts on target for YB (and just two for Maccabi), as the Swiss champions
> managed to get the result they had come to Israel for. Haifa's biggest chance was
> a shot by Tjaronn Chery that YB keeper Racioppi only managed to tame at the second
> attempt.
>
>
> Molde FK (NOR) v Galatasaray SK (TUR)* 2-3 (1-2)
> (Ellingsen 8', Haugen 56'; Oliveira 25', Icardi 29', Midtsjø 90'+3)
>
> In a very open match the Norwegian champions took the early lead through Martin
> Ellingsen's well-placed header from Emil Breivik's corner kick:
> https://giphy.com/media/aOYuyzUkbRP4SrVRh6/giphy.gif
> but Gala soon hit back with two goals of their own - Sérgio Oliveira's free-kick
> was unluckily deflected in by the Molde wall, and Mauro Icardi met Yunus Akgün's
> ball over the top with a great volley:
> https://giphy.com/media/o9F5QCciKaph21o1aJ/giphy.gif
> Just before the break another Galatasaray goal by Akgün was chalked off by VAR for
> a foul in the build-up,

It was a clear foul - in basketball! In a football match I fail to see how the minimal contact (hand on the back) could trouble the VAR panel to ask the referee to consider chalking off the goal, frankly stranger still that the referee with the benefit of a replay showing the clear oversell by the Molde player chose to give a foul to Molde and not book the Molde player for simulation. The other odd thing about the position is if the Molde player had just stayed on his feet instead of trying to "win" a free kick the ball wouldn't have rolled to give Galatasaray the goal scoring chance in the first place.

> and Molde got a deserved equaliser when Kristoffer Haugen
> stole in at the far post to volley in Erling Knudtzon's cross:

Drawing a Scandinavian team in the qualifiers is always a dangerous prospect for any team from a country who plays an August to May season as the Scandinavian team are already well into their season so are match fit and have good team cohesion, whereas you're not because you're either in pre-season or only a couple of games into the season. It therefore wasn't a surprise to me that Molde had a number of good chances and could have got more out of the game had some close chances not gone wide.

> https://giphy.com/media/icgl13WnIEfcUvO8wt/giphy.gif
> The Norwegians subsequently had good opportunities to score a third, but a route
> one attack in stoppage time still gave the Turkish champions the away win, with
> Icardi setting up the Norwegian substitute Fredrik Midtsjø to tap into the empty
> net: https://giphy.com/media/6XZNqosHhS9kdwQtXB/giphy.gif

Perhaps a fortunate goal purely based on the balance of play, but I couldn't help but think it made up for the injustice of Yunus' "goal" being ruled out on a VAR.

RM

>
> League Path
>
>
> SC Braga (POR)* v Panathinaikos FC (GRE) 2-1 (0-0)
> (Ruiz 51', Djaló 73'; Mancini 90'+5)
>
> The first half was very balanced and quite poor, even though the Greeks were lucky
> that VAR surprisingly chalked off a Braga penalty, but in the second the
> Portuguese were very much improved and took the lead when a hard shot by their
> Spanish forward Abel Ruiz went through the legs of two Panathinaikos defenders:
> https://giphy.com/media/rgX9PtVDjTiIYoiUsQ/giphy.gif
> Andraž Šporar then missed a huge chance for the Greeks when alone in front of the
> empty net he failed to connect with a cross, and instead a quickly executed
> throw-in caught the Greek defence on the wrong foot (I always enjoy it when an
> offside trap is beaten that way), and Álvaro Djaló fired in Braga's second:
> https://giphy.com/media/eni6BwbCVRKiAzv5Fu/giphy.gif
> But just as in the two previous rounds Panathinaikos showed remarkable resilience
> in the end, and just after Braga had wasted a huge chance to make it 3-0 on the
> counter in stoppage time, with Pana keeper Brignoli saving one-on-one against Rony
> Lopes, at the other end Fotis Ioannidis's perfectly timed pass beat Braga's high
> line and Argentine winger Daniel Mancini slotted past Braga keeper Matheus at his
> near post: https://giphy.com/media/cyhL7KyHgojznCb4Ku/giphy.gif
>
> Everything to play for in Athens, then.
>
>
>
> Ciao,
> Werner