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Here is how tight it is globally (I am D in 11th).

I wouldn't be surprised if they do, tbh. They have a habit of pulling an upset out. However, I think most will go with Arsenal. It is time to play safe and solidify my position rather than take too many risks.

Today I am going for Chelsea, Bournemouth, Arsenal and Newcastle to all win. Three away wins. Bournemouth to win at Spurs might be eye-raising but Bournemouth are a good team and Spurs have struggled a lot so I reckon they can manage it.

@Horatio @Temptation @Fati_Future_BallonDor @KingLeo10 @Don Juan Laporta Estruch @Messigician @soul24rage @CatalinR10 @Rassvet Now 11th in the world and 3rd in UK. Might have been higher had I had the guts to back Forest to win rather than going for the draw (I think most went City win) 14...

Think what he was saying (and what I said) is their peak came in Europa League that season. Sure though they had to sacrifice the league to get it done. Which is partly why I agree with you here in general.

Fair enough. I tend to agree more with you in this debate anyway.

Yer, like the league champion is consistent whereas the CL winner does it in big games over a shorter period. It isn't always like that, but it can be a rough rule to follow.

I think you can argue they peaked as a team for one season or half season under Bielsa. But Jammy is saying they have been consistently good over a prolonged period under Valverde. Maybe not quite as high a peak as under Bielsa, but overall more consistent.

True. You're right. There's a lot of 'good' teams in La Liga, over the last 20 years. Teams like Athletic, Villarreal, Sevilla, Betis, Sociedad. All solid and respectable clubs. Valencia are likely the third biggest club in Spain, and you're right they have been on a massive decline.

Fair enough. You can debate it either way, I think you both have good points. I will say it's difficult for other teams in La Liga. The clasico sides are far and away the most powerful and biggest teams, and Atletico have been great for over a decade too. 4th is sort of best of the rest. But...

True but bear in mind that United dropped into the EL that season from the CL. You can say that was a fluke (they did come close to winning the league that year, the infamous Agueroooo season) but I think they were already into their decline (I think they were in decline even when they won title...

Yeah getting to the Europa League final in 2012 was a great achievement, and that Athletic team was stunning to watch. But I agree with Jammie here - doing it consistently in the league is more impressive than a one-off knockout tournament (which can rely more on luck and hitting high peaks).

Going for 2-0 or 3-1. By the way the opening post is incorrect - Saturday is 8th, not 5th.

'This is the typical Salah dribble in his prime. Instead of beating players comprehensively he used to do this around the box. Ronaldo used to actually beat players everywhere on the pitch and carry the ball for a long time and distance.' That's true. More a positional difference.

True, but a lot of Ronaldo's dribbles went nowhere and he didn't always look in control of the ball. Plus, he relied more on pace when dribbling than Salah (Salah had better footwork, better agility and turning being shorter) and his touches were way bigger/looser. More of a large spaces...

Lovely goals there

Good to see you can leave bias at the door here :)

Yes Man U Ronaldo was all about pace and large touches. Salah is about close control and ability in smaller spaces. Ronaldo never scores goals with twists and turns like some of Salah's vs Chelsea and Man City, for example. The fact some would say Ronaldo at Man U was a better dribbler than...

Not in his prime I didn't. Now yes, but in his prime he was an excellent dribbler. His close control and ability to turn was excellent.

Yeah he had one chance in the 2002 final in particular he took down brilliantly and shot well and Courtois made an amazing save. That goes in the narrative is totally different. His all-round game has been fine in big finals generally, he just hasn't scored and that affects what people think of...