Darren — Ultimate European Challenge, Bordeaux Aug-Dec 2021/22

Hey guys and welcome back to my Ultimate European Challenge. During the last post you saw Bordeaux spend £59 million to topple Lyon. With so much money going out, I just hope the right players have come in. Last season saw me lose the title despite notching up 98 points. To lose in such style again would be devastating. Therefore, the Champions League and any other cup will be seen as friendly match status, only the league matters. I must go up and kick Lyon in the goolies on the way! :)

Ligue 1 results — August to October

You all know I beat Marseille away from home on the opening day. This 2-1 victory offered such a confidence boost and some hope for the new season. We maintained the winning run that was so valiantly upheld from last season and transferred it into these opening three months. After winning all 11 games, it became apparent that Vidal still had the hunger. The Argentine scored 8 and Asin enjoyed  a good start scoring a few as well as defending like a rock. My most impressive new signing was Marques, the right back was bought for £8.75 million and did well with his lightening pace.

Ligue 1 results — November to December

OK so we enjoyed the perfect start. Now its time to get busy with matches against Lyon, Lille and PSG. An extremely difficult winter was made much better after thrashing GF38 5-2. Bordeaux walked into the match away to Lille full of confidence. This shone through thanks to Vidal and Simeoni, a 2-0 victory was just what the doctor ordered. The next three fixtures were all in preparation for the away tie to Lyon. Great preparation too as we beat Lens 3-0, Le Mans 5-1 and  Sochaux 2-1. Resting my main stars during the last match was vital. A fresh and revitalised performance led to an unlikely 2-1 victory against Lyon. I was half way to gaining my revenge. Bordeaux then won the last three games with ease including a 2-0 win against PSG. Asin was really looking good, the centre back has scored 8 goals to date. Cavallo’s corner kick taking is also to thank, I just love the Argentine. :)

Ligue 1 table — have we shaken Lyon?

Of course we haven’t, but I’ve certainly done the best I can. Winning all 20 games to date meant an early exit in the Coupe De La Ligue. And yet Lyon are still just nine points behind with a game in hand. They also seem to be scoring for fun, so I can’t see us enjoying an advantage in terms of goal difference. This means I can afford to lose one match and draw one all season, that will make sure the title is mine.

Champions League results and table

We drew a fairly tough group in Barcelona, Galatasaray and Benfica. The Turkish side are my main surprise, upon inspection they have built a very good team. Proceedings opened with a fantastic 2-0 victory at home to Benfica. Galatasaray then showed off some mega talent to beat me 2-0. With the group looking close and cramped, a loss to Barcelona could end the journey early. My boys sucked it up though and fought for a 2-1 win. Roles were reversed in the return match at the Nou Camp, as Barcelona won 2-1. To make matters worse the weakest side, Benfica then beat us 1-0. With our Champions League fate hanging on other results we could only win against Galatasaray and hope. We did our part with a 2-0 scoreline.  This was the only match in which I used a full strength line up.

Before seeing the group, I want to show you my best match. Beating Barcelona 2-1 was a major shock and one to be proud of. Especially seen as the squad was at full strength. Kalenga has provided ample cover for Vidal in this competition. You can see a wonderful long range header from San Roman too, great performance!

OK enough suspense, time to see if I qualified from my group…3 wins and 3 losses meant I DID qualify, but only just in second place and one point above Barcelona. That’s right the Spanish giants are out after a disappointing campaign. If Bordeaux are to progress much further I’ll need to play my strongest line up.

The First Knockout round draw Bordeaux against Liverpool. The English club have an excellent strike force and I’m expecting to go no further. However, if I do then this competition could be wide open. Real Madrid and Barcelona are out not to mention Bayern.

Squad stats

Time to analyse and decide who are the heroes so far. Luis Asin has been my rock and a towering nightmare from set pieces, 9 goals and an average rating of 7.57 say it all. Vidal picked up from last season, the Argentine has scored 16 goals and assisted 7 from 19 starts. The usual suspects from last season are popping up again, but I’m pleased with new boy Cavallo. The 27 year old has assisted 10 goals from corners. This season has seen my back four in the top 8 for average ratings. I think we can all agree where the difference is and therefore my winning streak…Which by the way has now stretched to 30 games!

Well that is it for today’s update. Next time we’ll be seeing my conclusion and if the Ultimate European Challenge has been completed. After this story, I’ll be resuming my Newcastle game with the aim of making them rich, installing structure and building on youth. This may be happening very soon, so I recommend maybe glancing over the story to date. I have previously finished my fourth season and you can see all the posts in my Newcastle story category. Until next time thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments as always.