CL Challenge 2022

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League Final
Chelsea vs Liverpool
They've had some glorious semi-finals but for the first time Chelsea play Liverpool in the final

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

Somehow we were 0-0 at halftime. Well makes sense for Liverpool with their 0 shots on target but we were over double figures in the first half shots. Liverpool then took the most undeserved lead in final history. My shadow Franciso Chiesa immediately equalised from kick-off and Hudson-Odoi knocked the winner in with 12 minutes to go and we managed to knock another team off the list for the challenge.


Premiership

We beat Man Utd and won the League with a few games to go.​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 6
Dortmund

For the 2nd job in a row, i was at the end of a very long managerial merrygo round. It should have been far simpler with the Real or Barca manager getting the Italy/Spain job but no it went to Arsenal's Arteta. Pep then took his job and Ten Hag left Dortmund and replaced him at Juventus. So for the second time, i take over from the Dutch manager and boy what an awful squad he had. Lower half Premiership team at best. Lucky for me there was still significant money left from Haalands sale and between managers they sold Moukoko to Man Utd for over £100m so i had money to rebuild the squad in the final week of the transfer window.


Squad

Very solid squad. Managed to add top-class players like Laport, Kessie, Sterling & Osimhen that could make us contenders. Dragutin Braun is the first wunderkind i've had that we will be starting from day 1


Champions League Group

Not bad at all for being 2nd seeds​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

September & October
​

Champions League

We're on fire in Europe. I sneaked into November to get the Inter game out of the way to secoure the top spot of Group A


Bundesliga

Our domestic for has been awful. So inconsisatnat and already 10 points off the top​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

November & December

Champions League

A win and a draw by the reserves

Last 16 Draw
Man Utd vs Dortmund

United, Barca & Chelsea were the teams to avoid. could be looking onto season 2 already,


Bundesliga

We're closing the gap to the top but the form still is not great in Germany. We will need to make serious track into the top 2 before the last 16 games come around​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Last 16

1st Leg
Man Utd 2-0 Dortmund

We set out to defend and maybe grab a goal on the counter. Gave a good account of ourselves otherwise and the result was slightly unfair

2nd Leg
Dortmund 4-2 Man Utd AET
Man Utd win 4-3 on Pens

Can't believe we let this one slip away and how we did. We'll fast forward to the 79th minute when we scored a 3rd to take the lead on aggregate and tried to close out the game, which we did till the 96th minute when former player Moukoko dived in to drag the game to extra time where we would again take the lead only for a former Bayern player in Musiala to draw United level once again. In the shootout, our most confident player Laporte and best take Kessie both missed to end this year's challenge very early on.


Domestic

The league's been a disaster too. Need the Real, Barca or Liverpool job to come up asap​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 7
2nd shot with Dortmund. The squad seems more coherent and condensed for a shot at the champions league this season. Hope this is my last season at Dortmund champions League or not with either Liverpool, Bayern, Inter, Real Madrid or Barca coming up after Euro 2028


Squad

Transfer Listed upgrades came in the shame of Sule, Ricci and Richarlison in each phase of the game. Broke the bank twice to add Gvardiol from rivals Leipzig & to help with the champions league quote we brought Pulisic home from Inter Milan


Champions League Draw

Us vs Juve for the no1 seed​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

September & October


Champions League

We won the big game against Juventus but while resting players for the Bayern Munich game we were beaten in Lisbon


Domestic

We've been far more consistent this season. Gladbach would be the only really disappointing result in Germany


Table

If we can turn some of these draws to win we might finally end this Bayern dynasty​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

November & December


Champions League

Came so close to doing the double against Juventus but the draw was enough to secure the top spot in a very turbulent group


Last 16 Draw
Roma vs Dortmund

Defiantly got one of the better draws. Was expecting one of the Manchester giants again.


Domestic

Except for the reserves losing to Mainz its been a perfect 2 months in Germany


Table

We might manage to make it a two way fight this season with a good January?​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Last 16

1st Leg
Roma 0-2 Dortmund

The first 20 minutes was a ding dong back and forth game then we just took total control and should have won by much more than 2

2nd Leg
Dortmund 2-0 Roma
Dortmund win 4-0 on Agg

This is an even bigger mystery as to how we only scored 2, not that it matters as we're in the quarters


Q/F Draw
Dortmund vs Man Utd

The dream was Porto but i just wanted to avoid the Manchester teams. Far more confident this season!


Domestic

We're still unbeaten getting a huge win over Bayern. 3 draws were all with rested squads so I'm not too worried there.


Table
/

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League QF


1st Leg
Dortmund 2-0 Man Utd

Are we going to win every game 2-0? Once again we were in total control and are in a great place for the return a Old Trafford next week

2nd Leg
Man Utd 1-0 Dortmund
Dortmund win 2-1 on Agg

we played our usual way for the first 50 minutes but with Man Utd in charge i slowly went more and more defensive and once they scored i went 5-1-2-2 with no strikers. Thankfully despite 7 minutes added on time, we held on. Just


Semi-Final

Arsenal vs Dortmund final, please!


League

The way the fixtures fall we might not get to play a full-strength 11 in the league again. Bayern close the gap as we lost​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League Semi-Finals

1st Leg
PSG 3-1 Dortmund

Calling Major shenanigans on Gio Reyna here. Right before our game, he called out the dressing room atmosphere due to the Bayern defeat in the cup before calling out our lack or trophies. We were onto a loser here and this one mouthpiece has possibly cost us the champions league. At least it's only 2 goals we have to pull back.


2nd Leg
Dortmund 4-1 PSG AET
Dortmund win 5-4 on AGG

PSG reach a new high in lows of bottling a tie. We were waltzing towards the final with a 2-0 lead when Pellegrini got sent off. Tie nuked or so it seemed when Sancho had PSG ahead before the break. After much enthusiastic shouting, we had our best spell of the 2nd half where Osimhen completed the hattrick and a disallowed own Antonio goal amongst an utter barrage from PSG led to extra time. Osimhen put us ahead for the first time since the start of the 1st leg before immediately being withdrawn for a CB where we completely shut up shop and went full Atletico to secure a spot in the final.


Both semis were utter barnstormers

Domestic

In all the excitement i forgot to explain what led to this dramatic turnaround. We beat Panderborn 7-0 to secure the Bundesliga which surprisingly changed Reyna and everyone else's a bad opinion of the club. As mentioned there was a Cup semis final defeat to Bayern in a game we were 2-1 up but didn't back off thinking a 3rd goal would secure the win and i could then rest a few players for coming games.


League

​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League Final 2028

Dortmund vs Arsenal
Two teams that have had no success in the League combining for 0 titles since 2011 until we won the Bundesliga this season. For name value, it has to be the weakest final since Porto vs Monaco.


Dortmund 2-1 Arsenal

The wingers won us the final after Osimhen scored all the goals to get us here. Reyna put his humphs about how terrible we are behind him long enough to give us the lead in a spell where we were in total control. Arsenal scored their first real chance just after an hour then were in total control. Raphinha gave us the lead against the run of play and then i panicked and put everything defensive and we held on through the Arsenal barrage to secure the club's first Champions League in 31 years.​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 8

You're going to get a season preview and review all in one.

There was only one former CL job that came up and that was with Nottingham Forest in the championship, so i took them on to at best build them up now or at worst improve their squad and get them into the premiership so they can at least get there hands on the TV money while waiting for one of the big jobs to come up.

The Forest job was going swimmingly well up to mid-March when Jurgen Klopp was sacked while sitting 5th and out of the champions league. I resigned from Forest leaving them comfortably clear at the top of the championship to take on the Liverpool job.


Liverpool
We drew our 1st game at Leeds before winning every game after that to finish 2nd almost winning the League to go with the FA Cup we won.

Nottingham Forest will also be in the top flight

I'll post the squad next season. It's by far the best first 11 and squad I've had and anything less than a Champions League win will be a failure.


Juventus beat Bayern in this year's edition.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Season 9
Liverpool

So our next stop is the team i want to manage least in the save but which should be the easiest season of all.


Squad

By a mile the greatest squad i have ever had in an FM game. My cut and paste job however?


CL Group

Liverpool's famous run of getting easy groups extends to this game too i see.​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Sept/Oct


CL

One stumble in Porto but this is a group that we really should have gone 6/6 from.


Domestic

Not as tidy a start as i expected. Everton seems to be our kryptonite

 

[Mr_Grieves]

November & December


Champions League

We win the group with ease as expected.


Last 16

Very strong lineup this year. Leipzig is a decent draw


Domestic

​

Our form gets more consistent in a good way. We tanked the Forest game as they need all the help they can get. The highlight of the month was Mo Salah scoring in the 86th and 94th minute to turn the Man Utd game on its head and put us top of the table.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League
Last 16


1st Leg
Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool

We scored halfway through the first half and i expected the floodgates to open but no such luck and we'll have to play a strong team in the 2nd leg

2nd Leg
Liverpool 5-1 Leipzig
Liverpool win 6-1 on Agg

No Worrys back at Anfield


Q/F Draw
Liverpool vs Bayern

This must be my mandatory one tough draw. Nagelsmann at Bayern is one of the 3 managers yet to leave their starting job at a big team along with the Classico sides. The only other top side left to go after these three are Inter who have sacked 3 managers just at the wrong time. All are top of their leagues at the moment so another trip to a smaller side probably awaits if i can win with Liverpool this season.


Domestic

Our only defeat was away to Spurs when i took a chance resting my 1st 11 for the top of the table clash with Man Utd who we were tied at the top. FA Cup draw has been fine with Lower League or a Man City team going through their 6th manager change of the save with Klopp making is City appearance as he does in most saves.

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League
Quarter-Finals

1st Leg
Liverpool 6-1 Bayern

This is daft. We utterly hammered the Germans who now must sack their manager in June if i win the CL!

2nd Leg
Bayern 2-3 Liverpool
Liverpool win 9-3 on agg

Bayern put in a bit more fight although we were never out of 2nd gear making sure players were rested.


Semi-Final Draw
Liverpool vs Juventus

The defending champions are up next.

Domestic

We drew with Chelsea but destroyed everyone else in our sights.

Was tempted to rest the team vs Forest but they look doomed and we are in a close fight at the top with 8 to go.

​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Semi-Final

1st Leg
Liverpool 8-0 Juventus

Our best player and striker was out injured and this still happened. XG 3.5 lol

2nd Leg
Juventus 1-1 Liverpool
Liverpool win 9-1 on AGG

Juventus showed up today but they were long since dispatched in the 1st leg

PSG in the final. We have a oil-rich team to stop

Domestic

A win over Southampton or Villa or a draw with Arsenal will secure the title.​

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Champions League Final
PSG 1-1 Liverpool AET
Liverpool win 5-3 on Pens

For the first time in years, i was losing my mind with this game. We didn't dominate but was making plenty of chances and when Greenwood gave PSG the lead it wasn't totally underserved. WE then pummeled them for half an hour and I've no idea how we didn't equalise. So with 2 CL jobs already on the market even before the world cup, i saw another season at Liverpool being a disaster after proclaiming this to be the easiest season ever. Thank god then for Pedri scoring in stoppage time to force extra time where little happened and it was onto penalties. Greenwood missed the first and only penalty of the shoot-out as we just and only just get Liverpool to the Champions League title.



Premiership

Won at a canter. Arsenal ran out of gas at the end and was pipped for 2nd, Forest finished bottom. all my hard work for nothing!


FA Cup Final
Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool

United beat Liverpool 1-0 to win the FA Cup and ensure Liverpool do not do the treble. Needless to say, i am devastated with joy​