Barça looks stronger in every line, but Bayern might play with 3 CBs and a weird midfield with 5 dudes that shall shake things up.
Champions League & Europa League 2014-15 Thread - Page 189
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Salteador Neo
Andorra5591 Posts
Barça looks stronger in every line, but Bayern might play with 3 CBs and a weird midfield with 5 dudes that shall shake things up. | ||
Maenander
Germany4926 Posts
![]() Bayern were much better in the first half of the season, just watch their recent games against the best of the Bundesliga. | ||
WillyWanker
France1915 Posts
Barça has the best defense of the league almost every year and yet they're 'fragile'? Please... Any team that would play like Barcelona with 8 men up front would put itself at risk as much as them if not more. Piquė isn't fast? Well at least he has vision and anticipation, and for me he's top 5 when in shape, easily. Mascherano not a cb? So what, he's still better than 90% of the cb in the EPL and knows how to pass the ball better than 99%. Yes on the wings they're not too balanced but which good team in Europe still plays real defenders as wingbacks? | ||
Rebs
Pakistan10726 Posts
On May 06 2015 20:40 WillyWanker wrote: Also could we please stop analyzing the back 4 only when defending is a 10 men job, especially in Barça. You say they're never in danger because they have the ball, well what if I told you that holding the ball until you get the right opportunity is a smarter way to defend than park the bus? Barça has the best defense of the league almost every year and yet they're 'fragile'? Please... Any team that would play like Barcelona with 8 men up front would put itself at risk as much as them if not more. Piquė isn't fast? Well at least he has vision and anticipation, and for me he's top 5 when in shape, easily. Mascherano not a cb? So what, he's still better than 90% of the cb in the EPL and knows how to pass the ball better than 99%. Yes on the wings they're not too balanced but which good team in Europe still plays real defenders as wingbacks? I was gonna say Chelsea but then I remembered they arent even top 8 in Europe this year | ||
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Pandemona
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Charlie Sheens House51490 Posts
On May 06 2015 20:20 Rebs wrote: Pique has actually looked pretty good. John Terry lacks pace. He had the best year of his life. Pique didnt have pace when he was amongst the best in the world and he didnt have pace when he was sucking. So the pace argument fails. I agree Masch isnt a CB. Busquets also never relied on pace nor does he have any now. Wingbacks have been reigned in quite heavily actually for bigger games compared to what they do normally. This isnt Guardiola barca that sends the entire team past the half. This one tends to sit back and let Messi make the play from deep. Not sure what you are watching again. Usually in your case its mostly confirmation bias so never mind. Also they have played plenty of tougher games than the PSG City games. You just cant appreciate it because you dont watch the league and dont really understand quality beyond kick and rush. Just last week Seville had real on the ropes like you wouldnt believe. Real kicked,scraped and Ronaldoed their way to the win. Honestly I personally have no idea how this game will play out. Usually I know what to expect but here I dont know what to expect at all. Too many variables, although Barcelona on paper should have an advantage. Pique vs John Terry pace wise of course Pique miles ahead, but John Terry has a unit around him, Pique is exposed due to his unit is not around him is it. You didn't see anyone point out Maldini's lack of pace of Desailly's either because of the units they had around them they rarely got exposed. Whenever Pique was dubbed best defender in the world? Not in my lifetime. Puyol is the only reason Pique ever looked good, as soon as Puyol dropped off surprise surprise everyone jumping on the Pique is shit band waggon. Busquets and Masch are in the wrong positions and other than that no one for Barca will ever put in the shift that is needed in big games. So they have no defensive unit or structure, they win and keep clean sheets by keeping the ball and limiting other teams to counters. However teams like Celta Vigo have dealt with Barcelona perfectly this season and shown the blueprint which is known how to beat them when the coach nullifies them. Playing vs Sevilla is not the same as playing vs City and PSG though and never will be, Real Madrid struggle vs alot of teams this season which is down to the manager, he doesn't get his team focused on the games they should win. I know this first hand due to what he was like with Chelsea. Our record vs the top 4 in the season we won the league was the reason we won the league, we dropped so many points vs the bottom half teams it was unreal. Real do the same now, drop points vs the teams they should beat but give Barcelona and Atletico tough good games. But how do you rate a defense if you say conceding goals is ok vs Sevilla and City/PSG. Barcelona have been made a team that coaches at the top level know how to "nulify" to an extent. There is a reason why Barcelona have tough times vs certain teams of La Liga than others same in the Champions League when they scrape past APOEL 1-0 etc. Everyone knows Barca are different to Peps Barca now and he has addressed certains flaws without having a Xavi and Iniesta in there prime, he bought in a striker that suits Barcelona's play and can keep Messi from dropping deep causing the two centre backs to be free to pick up runners easily. It helps having Rakitić replacing Xavi too, he is not the same level of passer because there isnt that many sick Xavi level playmakers in the whole game, but his engine and work rate is great to balance the side again. People have short term memories in football though, it wasn't 4-6 months ago? that people were calling for his head saying he had 1 or two games to save his job...now he has a better record than Pep did and is on course to doing a league and champions league double with a Barca side who have adapted their style tenfold. On May 06 2015 20:40 WillyWanker wrote: Also could we please stop analyzing the back 4 only when defending is a 10 men job, especially in Barça. You say they're never in danger because they have the ball, well what if I told you that holding the ball until you get the right opportunity is a smarter way to defend than park the bus? I didn't say it was bad way to defend, i also dont agree with it that it is the best way to defend either. It is a way to defend and thats how Barca do it but there is cons to that too. | ||
Faruko
Chile34171 Posts
Of this was 100% vs 100%, it will easily be a 50/50, right now its about 80-20 or less | ||
Rebs
Pakistan10726 Posts
On May 06 2015 20:56 Pandemona wrote: Pique vs John Terry pace wise of course Pique miles ahead, but John Terry has a unit around him, Pique is exposed due to his unit is not around him is it. You didn't see anyone point out Maldini's lack of pace of Desailly's either because of the units they had around them they rarely got exposed. Whenever Pique was dubbed best defender in the world? Not in my lifetime. Puyol is the only reason Pique ever looked good, as soon as Puyol dropped off surprise surprise everyone jumping on the Pique is shit band waggon. Busquets and Masch are in the wrong positions and other than that no one for Barca will ever put in the shift that is needed in big games. So they have no defensive unit or structure, they win and keep clean sheets by keeping the ball and limiting other teams to counters. However teams like Celta Vigo have dealt with Barcelona perfectly this season and shown the blueprint which is known how to beat them when the coach nullifies them. Playing vs Sevilla is not the same as playing vs City and PSG though and never will be, Real Madrid struggle vs alot of teams this season which is down to the manager, he doesn't get his team focused on the games they should win. I know this first hand due to what he was like with Chelsea. Our record vs the top 4 in the season we won the league was the reason we won the league, we dropped so many points vs the bottom half teams it was unreal. Real do the same now, drop points vs the teams they should beat but give Barcelona and Atletico tough good games. But how do you rate a defense if you say conceding goals is ok vs Sevilla and City/PSG. Barcelona have been made a team that coaches at the top level know how to "nulify" to an extent. There is a reason why Barcelona have tough times vs certain teams of La Liga than others same in the Champions League when they scrape past APOEL 1-0 etc. Everyone knows Barca are different to Peps Barca now and he has addressed certains flaws without having a Xavi and Iniesta in there prime, he bought in a striker that suits Barcelona's play and can keep Messi from dropping deep causing the two centre backs to be free to pick up runners easily. It helps having Rakitić replacing Xavi too, he is not the same level of passer because there isnt that many sick Xavi level playmakers in the whole game, but his engine and work rate is great to balance the side again. People have short term memories in football though, it wasn't 4-6 months ago? that people were calling for his head saying he had 1 or two games to save his job...now he has a better record than Pep did and is on course to doing a league and champions league double with a Barca side who have adapted their style tenfold. I didn't say it was bad way to defend, i also dont agree with it that it is the best way to defend either. It is a way to defend and thats how Barca do it but there is cons to that too. Right John Terry has a unit around him = Chelsea defend deep and Matic sweeps infront of them. Thats basically it. Not rocket science. And frankly if you do that against good teams they find a way through more often than not. You probably know. PSG did it already. Oh and I didnt say he was the best in the world at his peak. I said he was amongst the best. And there is no discussing this its well accept that at his peak he was an excellent centre back. You dont win everything you can pretty much possibly win as a centerback by 23 if you dont have some juice to you. Puyol or otherwise. He has been miserable for the past few years but let not forget that everyone was creaming their pants over him for a while back when. Short memories ? Right back at you. Your belief that putting in a shift only means tracking back is also fundamentally flawed. Barcelona plays some of the best high press (along with maybe Dortmund at their peak) on a regular basis and just because they dont defend deep and press high doesnt mean they are bad defensively. Its very simple. If you break the press you get space. If you dont break the press they win the ball right back. The possession stats arent high just because they are good in posession. They are high because they are also excellent at winning it back. Granted I would prefer that against better opposition they have to be less gung ho and more circumspect because top teams do break them regularly and then they get space, but neverthless thats how it works. Also Celta troubled Barcelona by pressing high and attacking them with the ball. Any team will struggle with high intensity stuf they pulled out that day. Losing a game means you are figured out. Losing consistently does. You can a lose a game here or there for a 100 different reasons. Either way your example is bullshit. So is the APOEL example. Sometimes teams are able to hold out by defending deep. Sometimes. Not all the time, not often. Sometimes. Its the exception not the rule+ Show Spoiler + (Unless all you have to deal with is Alexis Sanchez running himself ragged or lame knockdowns from afroman and Ashely Yuung Cutbacks. Then its easy for anyone really. The last 3 weeks have shown that in Uniteds case atleast.) Oh and its boring as fuck. I dont care how your daddy Mou wants to rationalize it. Its fucking boring. Theres a reason this Chelsea team is respected but it will never be loved. Ever. Not by footballing history anyway. Just Chelsea fans, but thats all that matters right ? Now lets see the Ancelotti example you gave, you have personal experience so it must be a fact. Ancelotti's Real Madrid dont win games they should win easily and give Barca and Atleti good games. That is your suggestion yes ? Lets just look at the league right ? Real have lost 6 games in the league (only the 1 drawwhich Barca hence the lack of point differential) now of those 6 4 are against top 4 opposition, 1 against Sociedad and 1 against Bilbao. The later both Basque teams well known for being fearsome even against the very best at home. So really they have been absolutely murdering teams they should and losing to relatively stronger teams. Kinda the opposite to what your saying. They also got knocked out of the Cup by.. youuuuu guessed it Atleti and they are still in the Champions league but really the Juve game was a pretty miserable. Sooooo whatsup with your hypothesis bro? | ||
Undead1993
Germany17651 Posts
On May 06 2015 17:04 Maenander wrote: Sturaro defending the James header: http://i.giphy.com/xTiTnymJW3PKIGT7mE.gif Holy shit. wow amazing | ||
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Twisted
Netherlands13554 Posts
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Steveling
Greece10806 Posts
I'd expect barca to win like 3-0 and bayern returning the favor in the return leg. Surprisingly the defence will make this tie. | ||
Steveling
Greece10806 Posts
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IAmWithStupid
Russian Federation1016 Posts
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FueledUpAndReadyToGo
Netherlands30548 Posts
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Alucen-Will-
United States4054 Posts
I guess I'm going to watch tonight. | ||
Pantagruel
United States1427 Posts
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FueledUpAndReadyToGo
Netherlands30548 Posts
Messi still pretty good xD Neuer doing a Neuer | ||
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TheNewEra
Germany3128 Posts
On May 07 2015 03:50 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote: Nahhh Suarez that was too easy Messi still pretty good xD Neuer doing a Neuer Because his defense didn't give a fuck and the referee was a bit late with the offside... Rafinha is looking pretty shaky today so far -.- | ||
Mafe
Germany5966 Posts
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Steveling
Greece10806 Posts
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sharkie
Austria18417 Posts
On May 07 2015 03:57 Mafe wrote: The way this game is going right now, I wouldnt be surprised to see it end 4-0. I agree with you | ||
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