Unfair Advantage ~ Semi Finals

[Expat Smoggie]

remember all those years ago when we had a 1-0 advantage over Man Ciry only to be smashed in the second leg. Brideshead revisited but I’m sure most of us know it was coming.

 

[Ravs]

2-legged League Cup Semifinals…

Not necessarily “equally“ allotted in that the home teams for the 2nd leg get the additional advantage of extra time + penalties when required.

It’s therefore the luck of the draw to be the away team for the 1st leg.

 

[Nano]

No it isn't. At least not cups.

The reason that the "Champions League" has those mini leagues is to make the exit of a "big club" less likely. In the old European Cup knockout format big clubs would regularly fall in the early rounds. One shock defeat does not mean exit if there are another five games to play.

So cups have always had an element of luck to them. I forget who dumped City out this year but I don't think you could argue that it demonstrates that they are "best" or "better" than city. That is the joy and the drama of a cup competition the simple lottery that means that on a good day the likes of Boro can dump out a top PL side when on a bad day they would get thrashed.

The premise of the cups as a whole is to find the winner. Even the champions league as you mentioned the early rounds don't really have any bearing on the winner. That's essentially a money making qualifier for the real tournament and the aim is still to find the best team in Europe.

The beauty of the cups though is that the best team doesn't always win, and luck plays a huge part in that, and that's what makes them exciting.