La Liga week 29 fixtures - 31st March-3rd April

[Carnivore Chris]

[SirBalon]

Sevilla 0-0 Sporting

Sevilla's crisis continues and Sampaoli must have his nerves on end. No way should they be getting the results they have recently and this all started with the elimination from the Champions League by Leicester City. 

[Stan]

42 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Sevilla 0-0 Sporting

Sevilla's crisis continues and Sampaoli must have his nerves on end. No way should they be getting the results they have recently and this all started with the elimination from the Champions League by Leicester City. 

thought they were pathetically poor today. Granted they're not in form, but to not beat a team 3rd bottom in the league at home is not acceptable.

They're well on their way to screwing up their chances of automatically qualifying for the Champions League group stages at this rate. 

[Stan]

switched on to Real vs Alaves while HT in the Arsenal game. 

Isco's just scored a great goal. Powerful shot in to the roof of the net from a fairly tight angle.

[Stan]

and it's 3-0 very shortly after. Bale's swerving free-kick is tipped on to the bar but Nacho gets on to the rebound to head in. Tough on the keeper there. 

[noelcwt]

Lucky with the first goal, was offside and that Alaves just couldn't find the net. Bayern would have easily smash 3 or 4 past us with the amount of chances we gave to the opposition today.

 

Glad with a win, but we will be in serious trouble playing like this against Bayern. 

 

Isco is just  Ronaldo with another assist. 

[SirBalon]

22 minutes ago, noelcwt said:

Lucky with the first goal

Did you know that's 12 off-side goals Real Madrid have scored this season in La Liga mate? 

[Stan]

Finishes 4-1 to Barca. Granada got one back shortly after HT but Barca scored a couple of goals late on as Granda went down to 10 men.

Neymar got his 100th goal; quicker than Messi got to 100 for Barca, interestingly. 

[SirBalon]

That wasn't as easy as the scoreline suggests for Barça.  The first half was certainly all Barcelona and they should've scored at least three or four goals with a top performance from Guillermo Ochoa.  A wonderful pass by Jordi Alba to Luis Suárez for the Uruguayan to score an absolutely sublime chip over the stranded Mexican keeper.

But in the second period Barcelona done what they've been doing a hell of a lot this season and that's try and see the game out and hoping to catch the opponent on the counter with pace up front.  Granada scored a very good goal although the Barça backline was caught very high up the pitch and couldn't recover...  Good finish for the equaliser.

But then Neymar came into his own and goals from Alcácer, Rakitić (deflected and don't know if he'll be credited with it) and finally Neymar (MOTM) finished any hope Granada had of causing an upset and alleviating their relegation issues.

Important victory for Barcelona though as they can't make any mistakes now.

[Carnivore Chris]

19 hours ago, SirBalon said:

That wasn't as easy as the scoreline suggests for Barça.  The first half was certainly all Barcelona and they should've scored at least three or four goals with a top performance from Guillermo Ochoa.  A wonderful pass by Jordi Alba to Luis Suárez for the Uruguayan to score an absolutely sublime chip over the stranded Mexican keeper.

But in the second period Barcelona done what they've been doing a hell of a lot this season and that's try and see the game out and hoping to catch the opponent on the counter with pace up front.  Granada scored a very good goal although the Barça backline was caught very high up the pitch and couldn't recover...  Good finish for the equaliser.

But then Neymar came into his own and goals from Alcácer, Rakitić (deflected and don't know if he'll be credited with it) and finally Neymar (MOTM) finished any hope Granada had of causing an upset and alleviating their relegation issues.

Important victory for Barcelona though as they can't make any mistakes now.

Suarez had a great battle going on with Ochoa, especially in the first half and he forced some cracking saves from the Mexican(I still don't understand how he's at Granada and not somewhere like Sevilla), but it wasn't enough in the end.

Paco had a cracking game I thought and has done so whenever he has played recently, which is only sporadically, and I think he deserves more opportunities. Messi, Neymar and Suarez all need resting more often and Paco should be playing more minutes. His movement is excellent, but what he was lacking at first was his final product, although since finally grabbing a goal, you always have confidence in him scoring whenever he's on the pitch now.

Neymar and Suarez were the main difference makers though, also Rakitic had a solid game.

That ball by Alba for the first was immense by the way(and finished brilliantly by Luisito) and I thought Sergi Roberto had a good game.

 

[SirBalon]

13 hours ago, The Rebel CRS said:

Suarez had a great battle going on with Ochoa, especially in the first half and he forced some cracking saves from the Mexican(I still don't understand how he's at Granada and not somewhere like Sevilla), but it wasn't enough in the end.

Paco had a cracking game I thought and has done so whenever he has played recently, which is only sporadically, and I think he deserves more opportunities. Messi, Neymar and Suarez all need resting more often and Paco should be playing more minutes. His movement is excellent, but what he was lacking at first was his final product, although since finally grabbing a goal, you always have confidence in him scoring whenever he's on the pitch now.

Neymar and Suarez were the main difference makers though, also Rakitic had a solid game.

That ball by Alba for the first was immense by the way(and finished brilliantly by Luisito) and I thought Sergi Roberto had a good game.

 

Luis Suárez did have a marvellous game and he was a constant thorn in the Granada's defence.  He showed a different side to his game to the one Barcelona fans are used to.  He even came deep a few times to bring the ball under control and make some fantastic mid-range passes.  Busquets in the first half was a monster and showed how he's the only midfielder anywhere in the world playing in that position between the defence and the midfield itself that has that type of technical ability where after destroying, he then shows some amazing ball skills.

Did you see the Celta Vigo v UD Las Palmas game mate?

One of your favourite players Giuseppe Rossi played an incredible game and scored a hat-trick.  It ended 3-1 to Celta.

[Stan]

1 minute ago, SirBalon said:

Did you see the Celta Vigo v UD Las Palmas game mate?

One of your favourite players Giuseppe Rossi played an incredible game and scored a hat-trick.  It ended 3-1 to Celta.

Watched this while watching Inter vs Sampdoria.

Celta could and maybe should have been about 3-0 or 4-0 up come half-time. Totally dominant and found so many gaps in the Las Palmas defence.

Celta have actually been enjoyable to watch this season. They play good football and I was so happy for Rossi last night. I just wish he was more consistent but then I can understand injuries have severely hindered him and held him back a lot.

Las Palmas are equally entertaining but if I was a fan of them, I'd be concerned at how many goals they'd be conceding and how easy it is to score against them. 

[SirBalon]

6 minutes ago, Romesh said:

Watched this while watching Inter vs Sampdoria.

Celta could and maybe should have been about 3-0 or 4-0 up come half-time. Totally dominant and found so many gaps in the Las Palmas defence.

Celta have actually been enjoyable to watch this season. They play good football and I was so happy for Rossi last night. I just wish he was more consistent but then I can understand injuries have severely hindered him and held him back a lot.

Las Palmas are equally entertaining but if I was a fan of them, I'd be concerned at how many goals they'd be conceding and how easy it is to score against them. 

Indeed... Away from home Las Palmas have shown to be naïve in defence.  They seem to want to play in the same manner as they do at home where they're one of the most difficult sides to beat in La Liga.  That's obviously down to something Quíque Setién isn't getting through to the players and I say it in that manner because when he was coaching at Lugo their form was just as good away as it was at home.  He doesn't want to renew his contract at Las Palmas, so something's going on there.

On the Giuseppe Rossi detail... His constant longterm injuries throughout his career has indeed hampered what he could've achieved on the whole.

[Carnivore Chris]

12 hours ago, SirBalon said:

Luis Suárez did have a marvellous game and he was a constant thorn in the Granada's defence.  He showed a different side to his game to the one Barcelona fans are used to.  He even came deep a few times to bring the ball under control and make some fantastic mid-range passes.  Busquets in the first half was a monster and showed how he's the only midfielder anywhere in the world playing in that position between the defence and the midfield itself that has that type of technical ability where after destroying, he then shows some amazing ball skills.

Did you see the Celta Vigo v UD Las Palmas game mate?

One of your favourite players Giuseppe Rossi played an incredible game and scored a hat-trick.  It ended 3-1 to Celta.

 

That's because he had to mate in the absence of Messi(and also Iniesta in midfield) as when those 2 are playing, it enables players to relax more. With those 2 out, it was all on Suarez'(and Neymar's) shoulder and he stepped up. It was the perfect game for Messi to miss also and he should be refreshed for the Sevilla game.

I think Enrique should play his strongest 11(and ditch the 3-4-3, which was perfect in the "remontada" vs PSG, but not something to use permanently) as it seems like all the key men are back in form now and Rakitic is playing at a much higher level than he started the season. He's vital for the side when at his best and is often an unsung hero, although until recently he weren't showing that level.

Ter Stegen

Roberto -- Pique -- Umtiti -- Alba

Iniesta -- Busquets -- Rakitic

Messi -- Suarez -- Neymar

 

I didn't see the game between Celta and Las Palmas mate. I was planning to then I ended up forgetting about it and dropping off to sleep early, but I checked the highlights and it's good to see Rossi grab a few goals. I'm surprised he hasn't done better than he has for Celta to be honest, although maybe he can end the season strongly and take that into next season for them.

[SirBalon]

18 minutes ago, The Rebel CRS said:

 

That's because he had to mate in the absence of Messi(and also Iniesta in midfield) as when those 2 are playing, it enables players to relax more. With those 2 out, it was all on Suarez'(and Neymar's) shoulder and he stepped up. It was the perfect game for Messi to miss also and he should be refreshed for the Sevilla game.

I think Enrique should play his strongest 11(and ditch the 3-4-3, which was perfect in the "remontada" vs PSG, but not something to use permanently) as it seems like all the key men are back in form now and Rakitic is playing at a much higher level than he started the season. He's vital for the side when at his best and is often an unsung hero, although until recently he weren't showing that level.

Ter Stegen

Roberto -- Pique -- Umtiti -- Alba

Iniesta -- Busquets -- Rakitic

Messi -- Suarez -- Neymar

 

I didn't see the game between Celta and Las Palmas mate. I was planning to then I ended up forgetting about it and dropping off to sleep early, but I checked the highlights and it's good to see Rossi grab a few goals. I'm surprised he hasn't done better than he has for Celta to be honest, although maybe he can end the season strongly and take that into next season for them.

I think the reasons for the 3-4-3 are two from what I've been listening to from Barcelona based journalists...

1. Barcelona have created 3 times more goal scoring opportunities since playing the 3-4-3.
2. With the obvious weakness in the right flank defensively, he uses a stronger midfield as cover.

I have a feeling Luis Enrique is going to live or die with this formation till the end of the season on most games to be honest.  Depending on the form of the front three and Iniesta, then that will determine if he also plays that formation even in the big games.  It's only the big games which I'm not convinced he will use that formation in and may be more pragmatic if you can call a 4-3-3 being pragmatic.  It's a shame that the front three HAVE to play and that Luis Enrique can't feel free to manipulate his starting lineup depending on the importance of the game.  I'm sure he would do it if it didn't create all the issues ranging from any player getting silly and upset to the press questioning him and calling for an inquisition.  The irony is that the press actually complain about Luis Enrique not having even more balls in that aspect but he also knows that if he did do it it would be a catch 22 situation where they's come down on him like a ton of bricks coupled with the issues it would create in the dressing room.