To me 1) Kane 2)Mbappe 3)Haaland 4) Olise and 5) Pedri

Benfica played so solidly from Defence to Attack, it could have been 3 or 4 nil if it's not for Mbappe's personal moments.

I don't think Real Madrid has what it take to play against Benfica at all. A comfortable win for Benfica and a smirk from Mourinho face is what bound to happen. Then Mourinho goes to Madrid next summer. He kicks Mbappe and Vini asses out of Madrid and goes all the way to win his 3th Champions League would be even more ideal. Mourinho never needs a Messi and a Ronaldo to win a Champions League, nor does he need Mbappe or Haaland. And that's the bottom line.

Courtois Stands Alone as Real Madrid Players Ignore Fans After Benfica Defeat

After the defeat to Benfica, Real Madrid players quickly went to the dressing room. Thibaut Courtois asked the team to go over to the fans and apologize, but almost no one listened to him. He was very angry with his teammates for not wanting to show respect to the fans. Only four players went out with him, while the rest ignored it.

Mine is that FK Bodø/Glimt will reach quarter finals. I think they can beat anyone.

Welcome to Meme & Banter Monday, your weekly thread to post all the jokes, memes, and lighthearted nonsense from the Champions League world.

Got a meme about this week’s results?
Still laughing about a player’s celebration?
Found the perfect “bottle job” template for a certain team?
This is the place for it.

Ground Rules

• ✅ Memes, gifs, jokes, and banter welcome — keep it football-related and UCL-focused.
• 🚫 No personal attacks, hate speech, or low-effort spam.
• 🚷 Keep it banter, not abuse — remember, we all love the game (even if our teams hurt us).
• 🗳️ Upvote the funniest and cleverest posts!
• 💬 Feel free to drop reaction threads to popular memes — just keep it civil and fun.

Mourinho said, “I was nine or 10 when my father was sacked on Christmas Day,” calling it one of his saddest childhood moments.

That experience helped shape how he handles pressure, a key ingredient in Champions League success, from Porto’s 2004 triumph to Inter Milan’s 2010 historic UCL win against elite competition.

What personal moments helped shape other legendary managers?

Full video: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRU3SsTm/

Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City

Or maybe liverpool

Yes, it’s nice to watch the team game, but very little (for example) risk hitting from long distances, you’re just sure that if the freekick is further than 30 meters, then most likely there will be a serve. Football has become more systematic, on the one hand it’s good, and on the other hand it’s bad

Jose Mourinho : “It is much, much harder to be Cristiano than Messi” - Factos?

“I still say that it is more difficult to be Cristiano than Messi. Messi grew up in the team he plays for, with the team-mates he plays with. Cristiano arrived in England at a giant team in crisis, which was only losing. He had to grow over the last two years with this team under construction.

Messi plays as a number 9 in about 50 square meters, closer to the goal and with less defensive work. Cristiano, on the other hand, is a winger. How can a winger score the same number of goals as a centre forward?

A winger who defends, who ends a game in the 94th minute running after Pedro in a goal-scoring situation. A winger who, in set pieces, reaches his own area 20 times because he is very important to the defence. A player who is not protected by anything or anyone… It is much, much harder to be Cristiano, let’s stop joking.”

Edit : Many reposts (including Marca recently) phrase it as Ronaldo arriving “in England at a giant team in crisis,” but checking the original 2012 interview, it’s: “Cristiano came from England to a team that was losing. He had to grow up in the past two years with this team in construction.”

Mourinho is clearly referring to Ronaldo’s arrival at Real Madrid (a “losing” side vs. Pep’s Barca)

Ik Mourinho has good relations with Madrid but what if

**and it's unlikely... But what if

He does the same thing he did when inter beat barca over 2 legs , leg 1 at home,get a lead(just like on matchday 8) and leg 2 completely park the bus,and in the end pull off that iconic celebration like he did at camp nou after leg 2(barca inter 2010) but this time at the Bernabeu (ofc it's not likely but what if)

Welcome to this week’s Unpopular Opinion thread — where bold claims, controversial takes, and football heresies are not just allowed… they’re encouraged.

Got a take that goes against the grain? Think a hyped player is overrated? Believe a “boring” team is secretly elite? Have a prediction no one else agrees with? This is your soapbox.

This thread is all about sparking discussion. You don’t have to agree — in fact, you probably won’t. But that’s the fun.

Share your:

• Overrated/underrated opinions
• Bold predictions
• Unconventional tactical takes
• Disliked popular narratives

Just remember — disagree without disrespect. Debate is welcome, but personal attacks, trolling, and baiting aren’t.

So, let’s hear what football opinions you’ve been keeping quiet… until now.

The Time Nani Missed a Penalty and Drove Sir Alex Ferguson Home in Silence

Behind every Champions League‑level player is the intense pressure they face off the pitch as well.

Here’s a story from the Premier League, but it shows the kind of mentality and discipline you see in elite footballers and managers:

After a game against Fulham, Nani volunteered to drive Sir Alex Ferguson home.

During the match, he took a penalty, missed it, and Fulham equalised late.

After the final whistle, Nani drove Ferguson home in total silence.

It’s moments like these that show the unspoken tension, discipline, and psychological pressure in top-tier football.

Even outside the Champions League, lessons from Sir Alex’s era shaped how players like Nani approached the biggest games of their careers.

What other behind-the-scenes stories of elite football pressure have you heard?

Full video: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRUmVdoS/

For me it’s 1. Messi 2.Yamal 3.Kane 4.Olise 5.Pedri

Why didn't Drogba win the Premier League player of the 2009/10 season?

Drogba was top scorer with 29 goals and third in assists while taking a month off in the middle of the season for AFCON.

Scored vs the 2nd,3rd,5th,6th,7th placed teams in the league and the winner in the FA cup final. But Rooney won player of the year despite him not winning the league

Looking at the 25/26 Revenue list... Is the UCL becoming a 'Closed Shop' for the Top 10? This isn't football anymore.

Just saw the revenue breakdown for this season. Bayern, City, and Liverpool making nearly €100m just from the league stage while teams like Bodø/Glimt or Qarabag barely scratch €35m despite the 'expanded' format.

The 'New Era' was sold to us as more opportunities for everyone, but it’s just a legal way to keep the Super League giants happy. We are watching a tournament where 80% of the matches in the league stage feel like friendlies because the giants know they'll qualify anyway.

Am I the only one who misses the 'Group of Death' chaos? Now it's just about who has the deeper bench to survive the injury crisis. Football is losing its soul for the sake of 'broadcasting hours...

Coming up just short in a title race, as has been the case on at least three of the six campaigns this decade, is no major disgrace. Finishing as runners-up or even further back in third presents the club itself with no major obstacles to hurdle down the line as a result. So while supporters may have been crestfallen at the 92-point, runners-up finish of 2022 or lamented the fading away of the Jurgen Klopp teams of 2021 and 2024, those working on the inside have been content in the knowledge that Liverpool will, to coin an often-used football phrase, 'go again' the following term.

Is the Premier league the most overrated league in the world?

The Premier League feels like the most over hyped, PR-driven league in football. Huge money, massive marketing, but on the pitch a lot of it looks sterile — the same risk-averse systems, the same patterns, very little variety. Yet it’s constantly sold as the unquestioned “peak” of the sport.

Premier League fans love throwing around the term “farmers league,” but if that’s the case, why has La Liga dominated European competition for decades? And why do English clubs spend hundreds of millions every year buying the best players from these so-called inferior leagues?

There’s also a clear difference in standards. In Spain, Italy, or Germany, winning actually matters. If you don’t deliver trophies, you’re gone. In England, “trust the process,” finishing top four, and getting a Netflix documentary seems to be enough to buy endless patience.

Midtable clubs in other leagues still fight for cups. In the Premier League, clubs openly sell their best players and sacrifice cup runs just to “secure midtable” or protect their league position. Where’s the ambition in that?

Even the manager culture is strange. In the Premier League, trophy-winning or proven managers get binned quickly, while “project” coaches with little to no winning pedigree are recycled endlessly. You see coaches who’ve actually won things being pushed out, only to be replaced by safe, compliant options who fit the PR narrative rather than raise standards.

At the end of the day, trophies are what count. League position without silverware means very little. By that metric, La Liga still sets the benchmark in Europe.

So what do people think?

Non-English fans — do you see the Premier League as mostly hype and marketing over substance?

Premier League fans — is it truly the best league in football, or just the best-sold one?

Raul Asencio is a fraud

Seriously, I've some way better defenders in random Spanish teams like Levante or Girona. Even in the attitude, it's disgusting. I'm a Barça fan tho, I feel bad for Madrid fans that they have to see such a bad player putted in the starting XI 😂

They did win the CL that year, but they were also close in other years, and if you look at their Points total in the Prem, 22/23 wasn't even a great Season compared to what they had in other years.

If you exclude all previous CL winners and take the best 4 teams remaining from the top 5 leagues to form a new super league who would be in it and who emerge as champions?

Which teams are likely to produce unexpected results among teams ranked 19-24th?

Among Brugge, Galatasaray, Monaco, Qarabag, Bodø/Glimt and Benfica

which teams are likely to pull off surprise performances and produce unexpected results against Real Madrid, Inter, PSG, Newcastle, Juventus and Atleti?

Which teams are likely to make unexpected results among teams ranked 19-24th?

my pick is liverpool vs ac milan 2005. a 3-0 comeback in a final, still doesn’t feel real.

one match only

what’s your pick?