Cicero 5,265 Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 The 3rd goal is exacty why Marcelo hates Messi. Sent him back to Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Coutinho 76 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 @Stan @Cannabis @SirBalon @The Rebel CRS @Spike Wonderful dummy by Ronaldo intended for Carvajal who failed to convert. Certainly had everyone fooled. He's a 5-time Ballon D'Or winner with good reason. The Manita was there for the taking but Barca just put the handbrakes on after the red card. It's because Valverde's Barca are not very spectacular but they are mighty effective. I'll take it for now but still crave for that "wow" factor as I'm sure do most Barca fans. Ironically, this season's Barca reminds me of Real Madrid last season, in that that they may not always play the most beautiful football, but always find a way/have a "get it done" way about them (ruthlessly effective) to eke out results and win. And how bout that wonderful Barca defense!! Never ever thought I'd get to write that sentence!! LOL!! Historically, we've NEVER been known for our defense. Last season's Madrid did fill me with dread. Shoe, other foot. Barca's very much a "second half team" this season. Goes to show just how good a manager Valverde is. Like a chess player. Cerebral manager in the mold of Guardiola himself. It's also quite obvious Barca this season are more psychologically resilient and resolute than Real Madrid. Quite the role reversal from last season. In Spain, Real Madrid has also been associated with a swashbuckling style of football. The football Madrid played in the second half of El Clasico was not swashbuckling in any way, shape or form. It remains to be seen how Barca would fare against the likes of Bayern, PSG and Manchester City but there's a good chance Barca can accomplish the European Double (La Liga and Champions League) this season. Sweet redemption, this. (Heynckes' Bayern is a bit of an unknown in that we don't know just how good they truly are this season. Obviously Heynckes is able to bring out the best of any Bayern squad (remember his invincibly formidable 2012-2013 Bayern side that conquered all? Now that was a side that even the Madrid of last season would have dreaded) and he's steadied the Bayern ship (even beating PSG in the process) but just how convincing can his current incarnation of the German giants be against this new look Barca?) I'd say Barca in their current mood look unbeatable (much like Double winning Madrid were last season). Heynckes is due to retire again at the end of the season. I, for one, hope he stays on. Never really liked Bayern, always respected them. You always want to compete against and beat the best. Especially teams that were assembled the right way (snatching up all your opponents' players in the domestic league), not with sovereign wealth funds oil money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Just to add that it hasn’t been many times in history that Real Madrid go into a game thinking how to stop the opposing team instead of just playing their game and win, lose or draw like the massive club that they are. Last time was Mourinho with his double pivot against Barça and the result was 5-0 to the Blaugranas. This time it was Zidane who puts a man-to-man marker on Messi (Kovacić) and ends 0-3. In the first Barcelona goal we see Kovacić goes with Messi who annuls himself from the play and in so doing dragging Kovacić away from the centre of the pitch and leaving a motorway for Rakitić to run through. Clubs with resources of the like of Real Madrid or Barça (as well as others all around Europe) can NEVER or should NEVER worry about the opponent. Be prepared to die standing and fighting instead of maybe living another day on your knees like a coward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Coutinho 76 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 12 minutes ago, SirBalon said: In the first Barcelona goal we see Kovacić go with Messi who annuls himself from the play and in so doing dragging Kovacić away from the centre of the pitch and leaving a motorway for Rakitić to run through. Almost like they were escorting/forming a guard of honor for our Rakitic and Messi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 It's got to be said, that I told you all that you couldn't take anything at all from the Super Cup result. If that's the case, then Athletic Bilbao wouldn't have gotten stomped in la liga 2 seasons ago and would have won la liga themselves. The Super Cup is played at a time where teams are still pretty much in pre-season mode. You can't take anything from it. I didn't expect Barcelona to win so comfortably in the second half yesterday, but I knew that Real Madrid wouldn't dominate the game either. I was expecting it to be a tight knit affair(or an end to end goal-fest), somewhat how it went down in the first half to be honest. Busquets was immense yesterday and looked a class apart in that second half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 35 minutes ago, The Rebel CRS said: It's got to be said, that I told you all that you couldn't take anything at all from the Super Cup result. If that's the case, then Athletic Bilbao wouldn't have gotten stomped in la liga 2 seasons ago and would have won la liga themselves. The Super Cup is played at a time where teams are still pretty much in pre-season mode. You can't take anything from it. I didn't expect Barcelona to win so comfortably in the second half yesterday, but I knew that Real Madrid wouldn't dominate the game either. I was expecting it to be a tight knit affair(or an end to end goal-fest), somewhat how it went down in the first half to be honest. Busquets was immense yesterday and looked a class apart in that second half. On the Supercopa detail... Add to that the turmoil Barça were in at that moment.... New coach, Neymar leaving in the way he did a few days earlier and other factors with new players and what not. Another thing has to be said where Real Madrid are in question and shows Zidane’s mental issues. All the new players aren’t playing and they’re quality players. Isco who has been their best player this season and one of Europe’s outstanding players so far was left on the bench (he also refused to come on as a sub apparently)... His insistence on his countryman Benzema is also being questioned when he’s been terrible (to put it lightly) and how he’s destroying Asensio which he’s getting stick for by the Madrid based media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Yeah, Valverde was still settling in and getting to know his team. It was the worst time to have played a side like that around then. All the best performances seem to come at the Bernabeu these days. Other than the 5-0 in 2010, most of the great results over the last decade or so have come at the Bernabeu. The 6-2 in 2009, 4-0 in 2016(or was it 15?), last nights game, the 2-0 in the Champions league, the 3-1 in the Copa Del rey in about 2012 or whenever it was when Abidal scored, etc. Obviously there was also the sweet last minute winner against them last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon 2,692 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 1 hour ago, The Rebel CRS said: Yeah, Valverde was still settling in and getting to know his team. It was the worst time to have played a side like that around then. All the best performances seem to come at the Bernabeu these days. Other than the 5-0 in 2010, most of the great results over the last decade or so have come at the Bernabeu. The 6-2 in 2009, 4-0 in 2016(or was it 15?), last nights game, the 2-0 in the Champions league, the 3-1 in the Copa Del rey in about 2012 or whenever it was when Abidal scored, etc. Obviously there was also the sweet last minute winner against them last season. I think I heard last night thay it’s 7 wins in the last 10 seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu (La Liga). Yesterday’s performance was top notch because it seemed that Barça measured the game in the first half and then literally ate them alive in the second... The Barcelona players looked fitter and ready for a big encounter. There’s also another detail that has to be looked at which is the difference between rivals in the Champions League and La Liga this season. Marcelo said it right post match yesterday when interviwed... “People can say what they like elsewhere, but this is the most difficult league in the world because here you may beat teams by a considerable amount at times but that’s only because here even the smallest side will play you to try and beat you. We have found playing Europe’s best like playing against lower league sides in Spain in recent years. Levante gave us a better game than the best we’ve faced in Europe in our group this season. People are too used to us seeing us win and take it for granted. This league is extremely difficult, it’s the best and when you face a side like Barcelona and you aren’t perfect, then you lose. Nobody has to face what we did today anywhere else.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris 2,606 Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 On 21/12/2017 at 8:37 PM, Cicero said: What's Messi's record at the Bernabeu? Forget his goal scoring record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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