Umtitti was arguably the best CB in the world last year. As much as I want De Ligt, selling Umtitti to acquire someone who has the potential to be one of the best CB’s vs someone who already is (when healthy) would be a huge mistake.
Umtiti is damn near a Puyol-level destroyer. And he’s only 25. Get your knee fixed, bud. No sense offloading him for the shear fact that Lenglet has performed admirably. Last I checked, Pique isn’t getting any younger (although maybe, because he was kind of butt last year and somehow completely turned things around this year).
Nothing that I’ve read suggests Umtitti isn’t fit. Knowing Valverde, he is playing Lenglet instead of Umtitti because he hasn’t given him any reason to bench him. Valverde, IMO, is very stubborn when it comes rotation. Once a player earns his trust it takes a huge fuck up to force his hand. The only problem I see with the move is you’d have four starter quality CB’s. It’ll be hard to keep them all happy. Maybe Pique is closer to retirement than we thought?
Malcolm produced more in 25 minutes at LW today than Coutinho has all year. Valverde needs to figure this shit out.
I struggle to come up with one thing that Coutinho does really well. Guy is just a fucking waste of possession out there.
Need a healthy and in-form Dembele for the business end of the Champions League. As great as Messi is, we are too predictable when we have to put Coutinho at LW.
To counter though, Messi had 3 or 4 runs where he looked as explosive as 2009-2012 Messi. Honestly, Messi has always been the best player in the world but I legitimately think we are witnessing one of his best seasons ever. Maybe he can carry us all by himself.
Nothing scarier for a Barça fan than the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Deliver us from evil Messi.
I didn't think we looked like shit. I thought a high quality squad played us tough as hell at home. We had some really good chances. We got an away goal and now we head back to the Camp Nou.
Also, can anyone explain to me why Pogba is considered so good? In the half dozen or so ManU games I've watched, he hasn't done a thing. Yet, EPL analysts talk about him as if he's the centerpiece of ManU's success
Maybe its just me but Coutinho did not look completely useless out there today. Maybe it was the English weather or maybe he just prefers the atmosphere of an EPL game. Still, fuck him. Useless cunt.
Busquets was abysmal. Whenever that happens our midfield tends to get overpowered. Tons of bad touches and passing abound. And Messi just didn’t look interested after he got his bell rung. We were quite lucky not to concede. ManU’s finishing product was quite embarrassing
They clearly weren’t clinical but they didn’t generate that much either. And yes, we were sloppy at times (uncharacteristic from jordi and busi) but we never lost our shape and asserted ourselves quite clearly as the dominant side. In previous editions of this tournament in this stage as visitors we were not only sloppy but a tactical mess as well (no ideas offensively and leaky as hell in the back). A lot of excellent movement from Semedo but just lacked clarity in the final third. Also liked that Val was decisive with his subs and not waiting till like the 75th to pull the trigger. Man united didn’t threaten at all after the changes. We’re an organized and fresh squad going down the stretch and it shows. I thought coutinho did just fine that first half. Pretty pleased overall.
Coutinho just doesn’t fit. He’s capable, just not with this roster construction. Just sell him. Keep Malcom. Team should be able to take care of business at home. Liverpool is a whole other monster. They are a brutal matchup.
Just finished watching my recording. I thought we were brutal to be honest. I’m also not judging our performance on what it takes to be MU, but what it will take to beat Liverpool. MU aren’t good and they showed that today. When we play Liverpool the second leg will be at Anfield. Even if we do go there with a lead, if we play as we did today then A) our midfield will get completely overrun and B) we’ll likely concede multiple goals. I also see little reason to think we will play with more decisiveness and bite in the final third against Liverpool based on past performances under Valverde away in the CL.
The bar is so low for Coutinho nowadays that people praise him for essentially not fucking up. He’s listless at LW and just gets in Alba’s way. His best position is as a number 10 and that’s not happening for obvious reasons.
Dembele just needs to be healthy. He adds so much offensively. Legitimate goal and creating threat. If he’s healthy, Liverpool game will be more interesting. Lineup today won’t work against them. Arthur hitting a bit of a wall. Just nothing there offensively right now. Semedo needs to keep starting. I’d almost be willing to start Roberto in midfield instead of Arthur
Would love to see something like Cillessen Wague Todibo Murillo (wish we had someone to plug in for Alba) Alena Vidal Puig Dembele Ruiz Malcom
Would like to see limited minutes for Dembele. A half at most. Get him back on the field, but easy. Get him ready for Wednesday.
Impressive strike, but his little gesture there is kinda bullshit. Sorry the fans have expected more out of the clubs record signing.