all count for 3 in the table ronnie was immense bringing roberto and alonso on and staying with 4 at the back is some lunatic shit
Fewest conceded goals in the top 5 leagues. So that's something. And that's without Araujo for months. Christiansen for weeks. Kounde for several games. And therefore needing to play fucking Alonso at CB for several games.
you're all a bunch of cunts (both the players and you guys as posters) and I wish nothing but the worst for all of you but I have to say that to this point Barca have been far stronger mentally and much better at grinding out results on off days & winning the matches they should draw or outright lose.
cant help but wonder how different things might be this season if ronnie, jules, and christensen didnt all get hurt at the exact same time at the exact worst time ah well
Not worried in the least. Kid is 20 and still recovering mentally from being out for over a year with his two injuries. I like that they are forcing him into the game and trying to get him back into form with brute force. Easing him in with 20 mins there, a start here, etc. They can see that he's not right, and they are taking their time and trying to nurture him back to form instead of just, like, demand that he gets back to it.
I know how I feel about it. It fucking sucks. Our identity is possession and attack, not sit back and defend. We're going to give up a late goal, aren't we?
Gavi and Pedri as 6 and 8 Wish the team would just chill the fuck and let the Masia talent matriculate for a hot minute. Hopefully Xavi realizes this and it’s not just a factor of being broke as shit. Gavi is the best. Dude’s a reincarnation of Puyol and is balls to the fucking wall no matter what.
I figured y'all could empathize with dramatically underperforming xG, or did you mortgage the club to get by on Gazzaniga howlers?
nice adjustment of spamming the left side of the attack in the second half knowing montiel was still going to push forward and lamela not being interested or capable of providing cover
Amazing run of from in La Liga. Let’s hope we can put together some strong performances in Europe now.
really poor in attack today and this end of game strategy sucks - just a matter of time before they get burned by it
This is true, but this is the first time in a long time that I am confident in our defense to absorb pressure. In the past, even if we didn’t concede in the last 15 minutes we still gave up quality chances and we were more lucky than good. Despite Villarreal’s pressure in the last 15 minutes, I don’t think they even created a quality chance on goal.
Pretty insane numbers: "Gavi is small at 5-foot-8, but he's in LaLiga's top 10 midfielders when it comes to winning aerial duels (24), and he has won a whopping 63% of the jumps for the ball he has contested with opponents. The other thing is that nobody in LaLiga has won the ball in the rival's half more than Pedri (42). Ter Stegen hoofs the ball upfield, Gavi leaps for it, Pedri picks up the crumbs. It was utterly unthinkable when Xavi was Guardiola's midfield general, but it is utterly effective right now. At least in LaLiga, anyway." https://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelo...manager-or-xavi-the-player-against-man-united
de Jong is quietly having a really nice season too. Idk how it looks to the xG-type nerds, but for the guys like me that just watch games and don't need to quantify everything, he's been really good.
Overall, I’m a bit bewildered by what Xavi was going for. This game clearly cemented that Araujo belongs in the center. He makes up for a ton of others mistakes. Not sure why Xavi didn’t go with the tried and true backline that we’ve already established in league play. Original thought was that it was to counter Rashford’s speed on the wing. But Rashford got shifted all around in order to counter that approach. Araujo has zero crossing game, so he has no business pushing that far forward. Kounde had an incredibly off game. I would like to see more of the Pedri, FDJ, Kessie midfield trio with Kessie covering for FDJ when he bombs forward, most especially given the emphasis on direct counters. Both teams left multiple goals out there; could’ve easily lost by three, honestly. Also, I feel Raphinha, but that substitution was strictly for fresh legs and chasing a goal purposes. Don’t get in your head about it.
I enjoy the autocorrect on this one Personally, I’d let it rip with Pablo Torre in front of FDJ and Kessie. I guess Ferran on the left? Idk, Fati just doesn’t have his shit together right now.
couldnt watch yesterday, so no thoughts there and as lovely as it is to beat united, getting knocked out next week and being able to focus entirely on la liga wouldnt be the worst thing in the world - especially with pedri out for awhile
no justice in football sometimes sergi sucked shit the entire half and walked away with a goal and an assist lol
you know what makes it harder for the other team to score? possessing the fucking ball and playing like you do the first 75 minutes of a game
As expected, starting our strongest back 4 has looked pretty good. As expected, Pedri/Gavi replaced in the midfield by Kessie/Roberto has made the midfield our weakest spot. Losing tons of possession from bad passes and decisions.