Europa League 2022/23 Knockout Play-offs - Thursday 23rd February, 2023 (2nd legs)

[Goku de la Boca]

1 minute ago, Michael said:

Barcelona's record in the La Liga this season, is 19 wins, 2 draws and only 1 loss. Their only loss came against, surprise, surprise, wait for it, away to Real Madrid!  So my arse they were struggling this season in the La Liga. They've been incredibly dominant in the La Liga, their record this season speaks for itself. Moreover, their 2 draws in the league, didn't come around the time they were competing in the CL groups either. They drew against Rayo Vallecano 0-0 in early August, way before the CL group stage kicked off. While their 2nd draw was against Espanyol, on the 31st of December, that's way after the CL group stage had been concluded! 

You say they have a 6-7 winning streak in La Liga right now, well they had a 7 game winning streak earlier in the season, from August to October in the La Liga. When they had that 7 game winning streak, they were struggling in their CL matches. So your points are debunked. I am not saying that Barcelona haven't improved, but they have been dominant in La Liga all season. They've been beaten again in Europe, this time by Man Utd and again conceded 4 goals over 2 matches. 

I stopped reading at "my arse they were struggling". They went from being behind Real Madrid in the league to being nearly 10 points ahead. They went from being belted at the Bernabeu, to belting Real Madrid in the 2nd Bernabeu match for one of the cups. Fuck off.

[Goku de la Boca]

They literally scraped most games off back when they were still in the CL groups, including against a 3rd/4th tier team, and not to even get started on the Inter and Bayern matches 

It's super easy to talk without watching the matches. I barely watch European football but when I'm with my cousin I take the liberty to enjoy a few games. And he also always updates me since he's a big fan. Barcelona's record may have been near perfect but they still had a ton of trouble earlier in the season. To suggest they haven't improved is a delusional claim.

[Goku de la Boca]

I should also add that most of the improvement wasn't so much due to Xavi being a genius or not, more because they were plagued with injuries earlier in the season. It was obviously never going to be enough for European competition, but I'd argue they would have done better vs Inter Milan if they had Ronald Araujo available. I didn't watch the game in Italy but I did the one in Spain, and yes he was a big miss.

[Michael]

2 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I stopped reading at "my arse they were struggling". They went from being behind Real Madrid in the league to being nearly 10 points ahead. They went from being belted at the Bernabeu, to belting Real Madrid in the 2nd Bernabeu match for one of the cups. Fuck off.

You are a moron, they had a 7 game winning streak you idiot. Real Madrid are a strong side and yes of course they can beat Barca and Barca can beat them. This has always happened over the years. Barcelona haven't beaten Real Madrid in the La Liga this season though, not that they can't. They were thumping most teams during their 7 game winning streak, strange you forgot about that winning streak as well, seeing as you claim to know everything. I never said that they haven't improved, I think you need to read, what I am saying is that they have been dominant all season in the La Liga. 19 wins and only 2 draws and 1 loss, wake up you wally!

 

[Goku de la Boca]

1 minute ago, Michael said:

 I never said that they haven't improved

 

On 22/02/2023 at 16:46, Michael said:

Yes, I am aware that teams improve, but I don't think that Barcelona have drastically improved since Bayern outclassed them. 

You did. 

[Michael]

4 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I should also add that most of the improvement wasn't so much due to Xavi being a genius or not, more because they were plagued with injuries earlier in the season. It was obviously never going to be enough for European competition, but I'd argue they would have done better vs Inter Milan if they had Ronald Araujo available. I didn't watch the game in Italy but I did the one in Spain, and yes he was a big miss.

Maybe they would have done better with Araujo against Inter, but the point is they were still dominating in La Liga, with or without Araujo. Araujo couldn't prevent Barcelona from losing to Man Utd or Bayern, could he?

[Michael]

1 minute ago, Goku de la Boca said:

You did. 

I've said all along, if you read, that I am not denying that they have improved, I just don't believe that they have drastically improved. What don't you understand about that?

[Michael]

The fact that they've been dominant in the La Liga all season and the fact that they continue to struggle in Europe, kind of proves that point. Or at least backs it up.

[Goku de la Boca]

I am not doing this. Had a shitty day and it's probably best for me to not get heated with anyone. I've put my take forward. I don't think Xavi reinvented the team to start walking the league and being a bit more comfortable in matches, but the truth is they were plagued with injuries and while that says a lot about Barca's depth (which isn't very good admittedly), it did still cripple the side. 

Also, and this is just a theory to be taken with a grain of salt. But I think Barcelona's main objective is to take back their throne in La Liga. That's not an excuse for being so shit in Europe but it's too soon for Barcelona to win a treble again and I think Xavi knows this. One step at a time.

[Goku de la Boca]

3 minutes ago, Michael said:

Maybe they would have done better with Araujo against Inter, but the point is they were still dominating in La Liga, with or without Araujo. Araujo couldn't prevent Barcelona from losing to Man Utd or Bayern, could he?

Bayern is a different level to Barcelona and the United game was always going to be a coin flip. Like I said above, Barcelona is trying to recover but it's too soon for them to compete and win all 3 competitions, especially the CL for now.

[Michael]

1 minute ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I am not doing this. Had a shitty day and it's probably best for me to not get heated with anyone. I've put my take forward. I don't think Xavi reinvented the team to start walking the league and being a bit more comfortable in matches, but the truth is they were plagued with injuries and while that says a lot about Barca's depth (which isn't very good admittedly), it did still cripple the side. 

Also, and this is just a theory to be taken with a grain of salt. But I think Barcelona's main objective is to take back their throne in La Liga. That's not an excuse for being so shit in Europe but it's too soon for Barcelona to win a treble again and I think Xavi knows this. One step at a time.

Sorry you had a shitty day. Whether injuries were a big issue or not, the point is that they have literally been dominant all season in the La Liga. So the injuries couldn't really have been a big issue, unless we are saying that most of the Spanish sides aren't that good. Also, the teams that Barcelona played against Bayern, looked very strong, except maybe the defence for the 2nd game against Bayern, as it was missing Araujo. But Araujo played the first match against Bayern.

Moreover, I think that big clubs like Barca, look to do well in both the domestic league(La Liga in Barca's case) and the Champions League. All the big clubs usually put equal focus on both these competitions and prioritise them, as they are the most important competitions in their eyes. I definitely don't think Barcelona will be winning the treble anytime soon. Real Madrid are the other strong team in Spanish football, who are always going to be tough, while getting the better of all the elite teams in the CL is a huge task and yes, I agree that Barca are definitely not ready for this yet. 

[Devil]

One thing of note, I know he scored the penalty but Lewandowski was so ineffective over the two legs. 

Was expecting him to be an absolute nightmare.

[Goku de la Boca]

4 minutes ago, Devil said:

One thing of note, I know he scored the penalty but Lewandowski was so ineffective over the two legs. 

Was expecting him to be an absolute nightmare.

I feel he's never been a big game player. Maybe in the Bundesliga he's done well in the more important games, but in Europe the only one I recall it Dortmund's win over Real Madrid in 2013. With Barcelona it's a mixture of things, less service and just being a tad past his prime. Both arguments have flaws because Lewa has never really needed service thanks to his style, and he's just slightly washed, but that doesn't mean he's not very good still.

This is regarding goals mind you, not build up play.

[Devil]

39 minutes ago, Goku de la Boca said:

I feel he's never been a big game player. Maybe in the Bundesliga he's done well in the more important games, but in Europe the only one I recall it Dortmund's win over Real Madrid in 2013. With Barcelona it's a mixture of things, less service and just being a tad past his prime. Both arguments have flaws because Lewa has never really needed service thanks to his style, and he's just slightly washed, but that doesn't mean he's not very good still.

This is regarding goals mind you, not build up play.

One of his biggest skills was taking the ball in tight spaces turning and getting a shot off, he just didn't seem to be able to shake off Varane or Martinez. 

Maybe I'm doing our defenders an injustice, they were brilliant over both legs. 

[MUFC]

10 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Aw the cunts take the lead

Thought you lot played on Tuesday? 

[Eco]

7 hours ago, Michael said:

Your original point was that they had only conceded 7 goals all season, suggesting that they have been good defensively all season. I can agree that they have improved, but they have still been dominant all season, just like you initially suggested. Well Araujo played again today against United and they still lost 2-1. Barcelona conceded 4 goals over 2 games against United, again suggesting that they find good European teams much tougher than most La Liga teams.

Huh?

Manchester United score an average of just under 2 goals a game, so them scoring 4 goals over two games is slightly above average for them. It's a typical case of a good offense, against a good defense. Stop trying to draw conclusions by bringing in games from last year..

[Eco]

6 hours ago, Michael said:

The fact that they've been dominant in the La Liga all season and the fact that they continue to struggle in Europe, kind of proves that point. Or at least backs it up.

It appears that you have this agenda that you want to try and push, and being that La Liga is on the decline, and ultimately aren't as strong as the Bundesliga.

I've NEVER had a football conversation where someone tried to prove their point by bringing up games from 4-5 months ago, unless the discussion was about NT football. Barcelona have improved greatly on the back line, which has been evident with their league results. Now yesterday you had a team that scores bang on 2 goals minumum a game over the past 10 matches, versus a team that gives up around 1.2 over the past month and a half (if you include CdR), so technically, the scoreline ended just as the stats said was  a very likely possibility.

I don't watch a ton of Man U, but it does appear that both of these teams struggled early, and have been playing much better as of late. Kudos to United for advancing, Barcelona are no easy team to defeat in Europe.

[Eco]

12 hours ago, Tommy said:

Also I love Union's old fashioned scoreboard, where they actually still have people who bring out the right numbers. 

 

I love these.

The Boston Red Sox have the same thing here and it's just glorious.

[Stan]

Missed this last night. What a strike! 

 

[Michael]

13 hours ago, Eco said:

It appears that you have this agenda that you want to try and push, and being that La Liga is on the decline, and ultimately aren't as strong as the Bundesliga.

I've NEVER had a football conversation where someone tried to prove their point by bringing up games from 4-5 months ago, unless the discussion was about NT football. Barcelona have improved greatly on the back line, which has been evident with their league results. Now yesterday you had a team that scores bang on 2 goals minumum a game over the past 10 matches, versus a team that gives up around 1.2 over the past month and a half (if you include CdR), so technically, the scoreline ended just as the stats said was  a very likely possibility.

I don't watch a ton of Man U, but it does appear that both of these teams struggled early, and have been playing much better as of late. Kudos to United for advancing, Barcelona are no easy team to defeat in Europe.

My friend, your initial claim or suggestion, was that because Barca had only conceded 7 goals all season, that Man Utd would find it hard to score against them, or would need a lot of luck in order to score against them. But the fact remains, that Barcelona's defence has been strong in the league all season, yet their defence has conceded a lot of goals in Europe. They would literally concede several goals in a European match one week and the next week, they would keep a clean sheet in the La Liga. As for Man Utd, we saw in the end that they didn't find it too hard to score against Barcelona.

Again, I am not denying that Barcelona have improved, but they can't have drastically improved, if they went on a 7 game winning streak from August to October 2022 in the La Liga. During this 7 game winning streak, they only conceded one goal and scored loads of goals themselves. You want to mention Barcelona's recent league results to support the fact that they have improved and that their back line has improved, yet you completely ignore the fact that they went on a dominant 7 match winning streak in the league in Aug/Oct 2022, conceding only 1 goal during these 7 games. I think you need to be a bit more consistent with your arguments. Just the fact that they have only lost once and drawn twice all season, shows that they have pretty much been dominant all season in the Spanish league.

Maybe I mention the results of Barca 4 months ago in Europe, because they were still dominant in the league during this period. But oddly enough, they struggled in Europe during this time. So there is a significant contrast there. Moreover, a lot of the players who started in some of those matches, are almost the same players who start now for Barca. Now of course, the team could have improved and be playing better now. Most likely with an adjustment of tactics. But there's only so much a team will be improved by that, especially when they still have near enough the same players in the team as they had 4 months ago.

So yeah, no doubt Barca have improved, but they haven't gone from being shit to being an awesome team. They were dominating in La Liga at the start of the season, just as they are dominating now. While in Europe they've lost a lot of matches and lost yet again recently, over 2 legs against Man Utd.