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one more thing: a good coach prepares his players for the referee. He tells them that there is ZERO TOLERANCE for bad behavior with certain referees known to make life difficult for Barça. Why did Neymar get a yellow card that was completely unnecessary? I remember that Barça had committed 5...

Lucho did a terrible job with his team selection. The result also points to 3 facts: 1. Piqué is a key player, without him we lack stability in defense 2. Without Iniesta and Rakitic, our midfield is below average. Why not at least play Roberto? 3. Neymar lacks maturity, he cannot be relied upon...

Neymar

Messi Umtiti Roberto

must have been more than just a torn meniscus ... rehabilitation will be tough and should be taken seriously - let's wish him all the best!

Messi Iniesta Suarez HM: Rakitic, Piqué, Umtiti

But 1st half was very promising. If we play like that against Juventus we should be ok.

Neymar is again showing problems with his finishing, hesitating too much. He can still learn from Messi how it's done.

Suarez was outstanding, in particular considering his long trip back from South America. Well done!

Suarez Neymar Busquets

but Suarez still knows where the goal posts are

Neymar with jet lag, lacking precision

Ochoa having a good day

You are right that Pochettino's history with Espanyol makes it more difficult, but isn't it time to put such emotions behind? Are feelings still running so high that he would be afraid to be called a 'traitor' by Espanyol fans? I recall a personal Barcelona experience, a party with friends of my...

How about trying to get Maurizio Pochettini? After 3 years of amazing progress with the Tottenham Hotspurs, this Argentinian coach may be ready to take the next step and come to Barcelona. In his active career he played as CB, so he may be able to improve the defensive qualities of Barça. His...

Is there a way to reject a referee? I think for Clasico matches La Liga should invite outside referees, somebody approved to referee CL games. UEFA could start such a program for very special national matches across the big leagues of Europe.

Whenever Messi has a subpar performance it usually is because he did not have enough rest before the game. He is the world's best player but not top level in ability to recover after a tough match, or overcome jet lag after long travel. Check out his 'bad' performances and you will find that I'm...

I fully agree with you. Spain rescued his football career, Barcelona made him what he is today, the best player ever. There would be no question asked if he had chosen to play for Spain. If he had played in the Spanish NT with his Barça friends, he would have at least 2 Euro trophies and at...

I just watched the beginning of the ARG- BOL match and could not continue - it's a bad team without Messi. I think the dream of winning a WC with the ARG NT is no longer realistic. I think Neymar has a much better chance reaching this goal with Brazil. So the 4-game penalty may be a blessing, it...

.. and La Paz is 3500 meters above sea level. Acclimatization usually requires 2-3 days to reach normal performance and home team has definite advantage.