Are you talking about the ho-hum result? Had me thinking the final didn’t actually occur today for a second.
really really nice to get dembele involved with a goal after all the shit that was talked about him this week
I know Malaga is shit but we are finally playing a 4-3-3 with Dembele and Countinho on the wings... swoon
Doubt dembele starts. Would be very shocked if we rolled out a 4-3-3 instead of his relied upon 4-4-2. Valverde doesn’t seem to have any interest in starting inexperience in big games. That said, of course Gomes will probably start. Not feeling particularly good about tomorrow’s game. Hopefully Messi comes out with an insane match after the birth of his third.
Yeah. I’ll be shocked to see Dembele tomorrow. Will be watching in Vegas. Loading up on Barcelona with the homer pick
While I don’t disagree about Valverde starting Dembele (as much as it frustrates me), you can deploy Dembele out wide in a 4-4-2. And if I’m forced to choose between Gomes or Paulinho give me Gomes. Better on the ball and quicker with his decisions.
I’m going to have a nervous breakdown if we see a repeat of Busquets appearing to play higher up than Rakitic. Already decided I’m leaving work to watch at home. The result will decide whether or not I head back
Idk about that. Gomes worries me with his decision making. Could easily see him trying to force something that gives up a counter.
I mean, Gomes worries me too. Neither is my ideal option to start. The main reason I prefer Gomes for this match is the way Chelsea is going to play will highlight the worst of Paulinho. Chelsea, even though they need a goal, will play conservative and crowd the middle. Part of the reason we had zero attacking threat away to Chelsea was because we were 1) way to slow in our build-up and 2) had no threat on our right flank (aka start Dembele). Chelsea didn’t respect our right flank and damn near had half their team clogging Messi in the middle. We need to play faster and Paulinho is arguably the biggest problem to our slow build-up considering he needs to take 2-3 touches on the ball and then usually places a square or backwards pass. Chelsea will be more than happy to let us have useless possession outside their 18 while they try to hit us on the counter. And they are more than capable of it as they showed in the first leg.
All of this is why I don’t feel too swell about tomorrow. There isn’t a chance in hell dembele starts tomorrow, though. He’s way too lax on the ball and giving up possession trying to be cute against Malaga isn’t the same as doing it against Chelsea. There’s a lot of early Neymar in dembele (shit, there’s a lot of post-Barcelona Neymar there too.) I’m really worried about the MF. Busquets absolutely has to be the true holding MF for us to have any semblance of cohesion. I’ve been worried about him latlely as he’s looked off. If he isn’t at the top of his game we’re in trouble.
I’m with you on not feeling good about tomorrow’s match. When it comes to starting Dembele or not, I guess it just comes down to whether you are more aggressive or conservative in nature. I’m a huge Pep/Cryuff fag and I always want us playing beautiful, attacking soccer (in a 4-3-3). It’s literally what drew me to being a Barcelona fan. I understand that Dembele will likely lose possession more, but that’s kind of what you get with a true winger. I’d rather take my chances with Dembele because of the space he will create while also having a true creative and pacy threat on the wing. Yes, Paulinho will likely loose possession less, but is it really worth it it’s a result of Paulinho never putting himself in position to lose the ball (being way to conservative)? We are way better than ManU, but I think they are a cautionary tale of what happens when you play too conservative/reactive. I firmly believe that starting Dembele will benefit Messi the most by giving him more room to operate in the middle. I’ll take my chances with playing the players/formation that is going to get the most out of the GOAT. Chelsea is going to nick one off of us so go out and score two.
You have me half-tempted to get all chess strategy up in here, and relating coaches to style of play/strategy with legendary chess players
Couldn’t disagree more about Paulinho. It’s a completely different game at the Nou than at Stamford Bridge. Paulinho can be essential to breaking down a bunker. A box to box physical presence in the middle who can surprise and get behind the opponent’s line is what I want vs an EPL side at home. Andre Gomes is a gifted footballer, it just hasn’t worked out.
We may disagree about Paulinho but if you want a physical B2B midfielder then we should just play a 4-3-3 and deploy Rakitic.
I’m fine with Val’s 4-4-2 because it suits our personnel at the moment. A 4-3-3 is more vulnerable to a counter. I especially dislike Roberto as RB in a 4-3-3 setup as opposed to a 4-4-2. You’re right to be concerned about Paulinho’s limitations on the ball, but it’s his off the ball movement and ability to put himself in good position in the box that gives us another dimension when attacking. Yes, he played poorly in the first leg as did a lot of his teammates. If you recall in one of the few chances we created all game, Paulinho was in position to score point blank in the first half. He uncharacteristically flubbed it.
You are 100% right about Roberto as a RB in a 4-3-3 (although I share your concern about Roberto at RB regardless of formation). I’m going to be honest, I completely forgot about that because 1) Semedo is injured and 2) I’m annoyed that Semedo isn’t our starting RB anyways. Roberto is a midfielder. I also think Valverde will opt for a 4-2-3-1. IF Paulinho is going to start I’m sort of okay with it because he’ll be deployed more as a CAM which naturally has less defensive responsibility. I just really hope we smash Chelsea. It really would be unacceptable to lose to this Chelsea team in the rd of 16.
Dembele gets the start. Don’t think that’s necessary. I get the difficulty in breaking Chelsea down, but there’s no reason for us to take many chances. Let Chelsea do that
I can’t imagine a bigger confidence boost for Dembele than Valverde showing confidence in him by giving him the start and then scoring a goal.
So happy for Dembélé. We should count ourselves fortunate we’re up 2-0 tbh. It’s felt like a Lucho game so far.
Definitely more open than Valverde would have liked. Dembele probably has until the 60th minute until being subbed off.
he was the subject of a lot of rumors and talk about how he wasn't all there mentally, how he wouldn't listen to valverde, and how frustrated the club was with him
Media BS I assume? Seems like a lot to to accomplish in the fraction of time he hasn't been recovering from injury
yea. i think it's really unfair to put that pressure on the kid, but that comes with the club, price, and timing of the signing.
Surprised he didn’t go scorched earth over not getting his bonus money “When the stories started coming out about Barça’s rumoured interest, I had a short conversation with Neymar with the national team,” Arthur said. ”I asked him about Barcelona and he only had praise for the club and the city. He recommended Barcelona to me.”