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[](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/) # [Maych Publishing](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/) Subscribe Sign in [LIVERPOOL 2025/26](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/s/liverpool/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=menu) # Can Liverpool ACTUALLY Win The Champions League? ### The Silver Path of Death (or Destiny) Awaits… [](https://substack.com/@thepaulmachin) [Paul J. Machin](https://substack.com/@thepaulmachin) Feb 27, 2026 6 1 1 Share [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oVhI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F641e985e-59fa-4593-a4a4-5e3373d0e6a2_1920x1080.jpeg) **When is a win not a win?** First things first. If you had asked me who I would have preferred to get in the Round of 16 draw, it would 100% have been Galatasaray over Atletico. Yes we lost to them in the league phase and triumphed over Atleti, but I think they are eminently beatable, and as such we’ve got the best standalone draw of any of the English teams. So yeah, good… *Good*, right? Err… No. No, probably not. Maych Publishing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The Gala draw puts us in the bracket with PSG/Chelsea, Real Madrid/Man City and Atalanta/Bayern. Or the side of the draw that contains the last 10 winners of the Champions League. Also known as the brown trousers side of the draw. Liverpool’s potential path of progression to the final is the stuff of sweaty sleepless nights. Beat Galatasaray and you are likely rewarded with PSG. Beat the reigning European Champs and it could be Real Madrid, Man City or Bayern in the semi finals. And then there is the final itself. Barcelona could be waiting for us in Budapest in a straight fight for a 7th star. And then there is the alternative. Arsenal. Can you imagine losing to Arsenal in the Champions League final? Could you imagine having to live in that world? Their first? Against us? A summer, a season, the rest of time having to deal with the fallout? Robbie and Ty dancing in the streets? Good lord. My anxiety is through the roof just dipping my toe into that pool of thought. **This is of course shit bag thinking.** Because, if it’s possible to squeamishly fear the worst, it is equally possible for us to dream of the glorious other side of the coin. First off, a rematch with Paris St Germain, the team that knocked us out on penalties last season and lives rent free in Arne Slot’s lizard brain. I’m not going to sit here and say that such a match up would be a walk over, far from it, but it is *juicy* isn’t it? I’m certain that Paris’s late season flourish was a big part of Slot and (*\*sigh\* Big Moves*) Hughes’ conversations about strategy over the summer. It would be very interesting to see how Liverpool approached it this time around. Have lessons been learned? Which of the new boys were bought as PSG killers? Last season’s game was lost on the lottery of pens, is it too much of a stretch to imagine the lottery balls falling Liverpool’s way this time? In my Hollywood script, for the semi finals it’s either Real Madrid or Man City (soz Bayern). There are healthy storylines in both, and I could happily spin out both of those threads, but my gut feeling is Real. As much as it would be nice to put right the wrong of our Anfield collapse against City, the chance to knock Trent out of Europe is just too tasty. Anyone who watched our live draw show on Redmen (another tour de force performance by Mister Champions League Draw himself, Chris Pajak by the way), will have noticed me almost myopically focussing on my next point. [Leave a comment](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/p/can-liverpool-actually-win-the-champions/comments) All I asked for from the draw was two things. 1) Galatasaray. 2) To be on the same side of the draw as Real Madrid. My reasoning for this is very simple. I NEVER EVER, EVER WANT TO PLAY REAL MADRID IN A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL EVER AGAIN. Liverpool’s European pedigree is such a thing, but it can’t be a thing and Real Madrid’s not be. I do think that they are beatable over two legs though. Again, not easily, the Bernabeu is a nightmare, but going there, maybe shutting up shop, and then Anfield in the second leg is the best way to get the job done. Call me crazy, but even now seeing the absolute unbalanced state of the draw, and the mountain it gives Liverpool to climb, I would STILL take it over the alternative, because it means we can’t play *them* in the final. The flip of that is that no team on the blue path fills me with that kind of dread. Except Arsenal. Again though, that is an anxiety thing, it is my darkest inner thoughts cut loose. It is not based in reality. Arsenal are good. *Really good*. They are likely going to win the league and they have the squad depth to compete on multiple fronts whilst doing it. Right now, they are my pick to win the whole thing. But, despite being Champions-elect they have taken just one point from a possible six against us this season. *They have also never won the European Cup*. In fact it’s twenty years since they were even in the final. We have seven players in our first team squad who have played in *at least* one final themselves. Five of them have won it, all of them for Liverpool. It wouldn’t quite be the same as playing Spurs, but you would have to feel like that lived experience would tip things in our favour on the day. The fear of it going wrong is massive, but can you imagine the alternative? Could you imagine Arsenal winning the league and then Liverpool beating them in the Champions League final? A million people descend on the city for the parade and no-one on earth cares about the Prem? The ultimate disaster or the ultimate high and no middle ground whatsoever. THAT is Hollywood shit. *I live for Hollywood shit.* Listen, this is all a flight of fancy. There’s a lot of footy to be played, and there are 16 very good teams in that draw. We might have more injuries, or have to shift all focus onto fighting for 5th in the league. Hey, Arsenal might get Bodo/Glimt’ed all over the place in the Quarters. Anything can happen. **Anything.** *Watch the video version of these musings here:* And if you are looking for a bit of football escapism, and happen to love the Marvel movies then why not pick up a copy of my debut novel, **“The Eternal Flame: Yester-Boy”**? It’s a fun, action packed, witty, time travel adventure story about a boy who finds himself trading lives with a forgotten WWII super soldier on the French frontlines. Can he harness the awesome power of the Eternal Flame? Can he face down a Tiger tank? Will he be able to catch the eye of his school yard crush? And will he ever remember to bring in his kit for P.E lessons? Signed copies are available too\! [www.maychpublishing.com](http://www.maychpublishing.com/) [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dwfP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa605b856-3940-459f-a7f4-fe0e422e3b45_1500x2398.jpeg) Cheers\! Maych 6 1 1 Share #### Discussion about this post Comments Restacks [](https://substack.com/profile/227580173-chris?utm_source=comment) [Chris](https://substack.com/profile/227580173-chris?utm_source=substack-feed-item) [3d](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/p/can-liverpool-actually-win-the-champions/comment/220697361 "Feb 27, 2026, 9:48 PM")Edited We’re European giants & we’ve beaten them all. Bring it on [Reply]() [Share]() Top Latest Discussions No posts ### Ready for more? © 2026 Paul Machin · [Privacy](https://substack.com/privacy) ∙ [Terms](https://substack.com/tos) ∙ [Collection notice](https://substack.com/ccpa#personal-data-collected) [Start your Substack](https://substack.com/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer) [Get the app](https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button) [Substack](https://substack.com/) is the home for great culture This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. 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[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oVhI!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F641e985e-59fa-4593-a4a4-5e3373d0e6a2_1920x1080.jpeg) **When is a win not a win?** First things first. If you had asked me who I would have preferred to get in the Round of 16 draw, it would 100% have been Galatasaray over Atletico. Yes we lost to them in the league phase and triumphed over Atleti, but I think they are eminently beatable, and as such we’ve got the best standalone draw of any of the English teams. So yeah, good… *Good*, right? Err… No. No, probably not. The Gala draw puts us in the bracket with PSG/Chelsea, Real Madrid/Man City and Atalanta/Bayern. Or the side of the draw that contains the last 10 winners of the Champions League. Also known as the brown trousers side of the draw. Liverpool’s potential path of progression to the final is the stuff of sweaty sleepless nights. Beat Galatasaray and you are likely rewarded with PSG. Beat the reigning European Champs and it could be Real Madrid, Man City or Bayern in the semi finals. And then there is the final itself. Barcelona could be waiting for us in Budapest in a straight fight for a 7th star. And then there is the alternative. Arsenal. Can you imagine losing to Arsenal in the Champions League final? Could you imagine having to live in that world? Their first? Against us? A summer, a season, the rest of time having to deal with the fallout? Robbie and Ty dancing in the streets? Good lord. My anxiety is through the roof just dipping my toe into that pool of thought. **This is of course shit bag thinking.** Because, if it’s possible to squeamishly fear the worst, it is equally possible for us to dream of the glorious other side of the coin. First off, a rematch with Paris St Germain, the team that knocked us out on penalties last season and lives rent free in Arne Slot’s lizard brain. I’m not going to sit here and say that such a match up would be a walk over, far from it, but it is *juicy* isn’t it? I’m certain that Paris’s late season flourish was a big part of Slot and (*\*sigh\* Big Moves*) Hughes’ conversations about strategy over the summer. It would be very interesting to see how Liverpool approached it this time around. Have lessons been learned? Which of the new boys were bought as PSG killers? Last season’s game was lost on the lottery of pens, is it too much of a stretch to imagine the lottery balls falling Liverpool’s way this time? In my Hollywood script, for the semi finals it’s either Real Madrid or Man City (soz Bayern). There are healthy storylines in both, and I could happily spin out both of those threads, but my gut feeling is Real. As much as it would be nice to put right the wrong of our Anfield collapse against City, the chance to knock Trent out of Europe is just too tasty. Anyone who watched our live draw show on Redmen (another tour de force performance by Mister Champions League Draw himself, Chris Pajak by the way), will have noticed me almost myopically focussing on my next point. [Leave a comment](https://maychpublishing.substack.com/p/can-liverpool-actually-win-the-champions/comments) All I asked for from the draw was two things. 1) Galatasaray. 2) To be on the same side of the draw as Real Madrid. My reasoning for this is very simple. I NEVER EVER, EVER WANT TO PLAY REAL MADRID IN A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL EVER AGAIN. Liverpool’s European pedigree is such a thing, but it can’t be a thing and Real Madrid’s not be. I do think that they are beatable over two legs though. Again, not easily, the Bernabeu is a nightmare, but going there, maybe shutting up shop, and then Anfield in the second leg is the best way to get the job done. Call me crazy, but even now seeing the absolute unbalanced state of the draw, and the mountain it gives Liverpool to climb, I would STILL take it over the alternative, because it means we can’t play *them* in the final. The flip of that is that no team on the blue path fills me with that kind of dread. Except Arsenal. Again though, that is an anxiety thing, it is my darkest inner thoughts cut loose. It is not based in reality. Arsenal are good. *Really good*. They are likely going to win the league and they have the squad depth to compete on multiple fronts whilst doing it. Right now, they are my pick to win the whole thing. But, despite being Champions-elect they have taken just one point from a possible six against us this season. *They have also never won the European Cup*. In fact it’s twenty years since they were even in the final. We have seven players in our first team squad who have played in *at least* one final themselves. Five of them have won it, all of them for Liverpool. It wouldn’t quite be the same as playing Spurs, but you would have to feel like that lived experience would tip things in our favour on the day. The fear of it going wrong is massive, but can you imagine the alternative? Could you imagine Arsenal winning the league and then Liverpool beating them in the Champions League final? A million people descend on the city for the parade and no-one on earth cares about the Prem? The ultimate disaster or the ultimate high and no middle ground whatsoever. THAT is Hollywood shit. *I live for Hollywood shit.* Listen, this is all a flight of fancy. There’s a lot of footy to be played, and there are 16 very good teams in that draw. We might have more injuries, or have to shift all focus onto fighting for 5th in the league. Hey, Arsenal might get Bodo/Glimt’ed all over the place in the Quarters. Anything can happen. **Anything.** *Watch the video version of these musings here:* And if you are looking for a bit of football escapism, and happen to love the Marvel movies then why not pick up a copy of my debut novel, **“The Eternal Flame: Yester-Boy”**? It’s a fun, action packed, witty, time travel adventure story about a boy who finds himself trading lives with a forgotten WWII super soldier on the French frontlines. Can he harness the awesome power of the Eternal Flame? Can he face down a Tiger tank? Will he be able to catch the eye of his school yard crush? And will he ever remember to bring in his kit for P.E lessons? Signed copies are available too\! [www.maychpublishing.com](http://www.maychpublishing.com/) [](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dwfP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa605b856-3940-459f-a7f4-fe0e422e3b45_1500x2398.jpeg) Cheers\! Maych No posts