Champions League Semi Final: Liverpool - FC Barcelona 4-3 agg.

jairzinho

Senior Member
What im concerned about, Liverpool plays fast football with a lot of pressure and our defense has a lot of problems with teams pressing hard. Raki and Busquets have a hard time not beeing overplayed. Often we become very chaotic when this happens.
Esspecially in Liverpool we will have our toughest game this season i guess.

That fast football will be our biggest problem. Balls over the top and out wide when Bob and Alba push up. Hopefully we don't play with too much of a high line when they have the ball.
 

Centauri B

New member
You can be against EV or in favour of EV, ok no problem, but I hope everyone's hoping that we win the CL
Reading some posts I have some doubts

a) Being for or against managers is moronic.

b) Caring for anything besides a Barca CL triumph, simply proves you are no Barca fan.

c) How much do managers matter anyway? You either have the players, or you don't.
 

serghei

Senior Member
I wish Barca had more positional problems like Messi. He goes where he needs to go to win the games, which is perfect positioning.

Messi goes where he thinks he should go, it is up to the rest of the team to do whatever it takes to cover for his roaming. His defensive effort is episodic, as his energy levels permit. Again, the rest of the team must provide coverage.

Doesn't work like that, sorry.

On the ball, Messi makes the difference, off the ball he is a liability in defensive transition. For us the have any chance in this tie we need him doing more than he usually does.

Unless people really expect him to dribble half the Liverpool team like he does with the likes of Eibar and Huesca.

I believe in Messi all the way but he simply needs to give more effort off the ball. If he does we have a great shot to win the CL this year.

Lets just acknowledge that Messi is about to play one of his best seasons ever.

OK then. Then we should all relax, because Messi is playing his best season ever and he's just going to take the ball from the halfway line, dribble everyone for Liverpool and score like he did vs Madrid in those matches from CL. Easy peasy.

Seriously, Messi's 2011 level is a level above what he is playing now.
 
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ThwiX

Best midfielder around
I already consider this one lost. I believe Liverpool will win tomorrow, very possibly by a couple of goals. Only Leo seems to take the CL very seriously this season, and that won’t be enough. Valverde is delivering stupid quotes before this game at the same rate he’s been giving us awful football. Fuck that guy to the end. Hate his face and need to see him gone now.
 

sickstar

New member
What matters is, messi doesn't have really great stamina (anymore). If he use too much energy in tracking the ball, he will have no energy bringing the ball forward.

Let it be one player less in defending, as long as he keep threatening the enemy.

About the off the ball movement. I have once explained again, what messi does in finding spaces is maybe not popular, by waiting in the crowd. But you never know when he would suddenly disappear. How we explain the sheer number of goal if he has zero positioning and just waiting in the crowd?

We know that many of his goals are also started by him.

Vidal is essential. And so does arthur. We may need to play 4-4-2 with vidal, arthur, busquets and rakitic to hold their mid from passing to the front three as ev said in an interview a while ago.
 

BarçaBarça

New member
OK then. Then we should all relax, because Messi is playing his best season ever and he's just going to take the ball from the halfway line, dribble everyone for Liverpool and score like he did vs Madrid in those matches from CL. Easy peasy.

Seriously, Messi's 2011 level is a level above what he is playing now.

I never said easy peasy, nor did I say it was his best season, but certainly up there. As I pointed out, we also need Suarez to cause real trouble for the CB's for us to succeed, and either Coutinho or Dembele to contribute. With Arthur and probably Coutinho starting we should have enough technicians on the field to keep the ball flowing out of their high press line, but of course we need Rakitic and especially Busquets to move a lot in defence.

This is not lost beforehand, come on guys!
 

Neymessi

Active member
I remember Messi gave one against Bayern in 15. Was rare back then and is even now.

Dunno if he will ever give one again but him giving a pre-match press conference oddly makes me feel optimistic.
 

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