Champions League

[Sterlingfan2000]

I'm still buzzled how we can embarass every team in the world at camp nou, but away from home we are looking like an scared amateur side.

Believe me it has to do with the way we play and with the big pitch. In our pitch we can use our technical ability to Bypass everyone

 

[henias]

Guys, we won because we converted chances and they didn't. The same happened in Liverpool, but in reverse.

First of all, the pitch size definitely matters, it is not a myth. If it doesnt matter then why is it so made so big in Camp Nou?

When Barcelona was creating chances in Camp Nou, Liverpool's defence was wide open, there was lots of gaps because players like Alba stretched their defence. Klopp's mistake was that he went with a diamond 442, with the absence of Firmino which is extremely narrow. Hence they were toothless in attacking and Barcelona could contain them easily. Had Klopp went for traditional 433 it would have easily resulted in more xG for Liverpool in the first leg and things could have been much of a different story. The moment Firmino came on Liverpool starts becoming more dangerous in the box.

Now the only difference Klopp doesnt care about the injuries in the second leg, while Ernie went for the exact same cautious approach. Klopp went for more pressing and width, more attackers and Barcelona couldn't deal with it due to a more constrained space at Anfield. Attacking wise it's the same, Barcelona suffocated and also lacked the pace to counter attack even though they tried. Extremely easy for Liverpool to contain them.

In my opinion, even though the xG were about the same with both legs, Liverpool did tremendously well, especially with injuries suffered and didnt had enough rest during the weekends. The pitch defnitely played a part and Klopp used that to his advantage, while Ernie who had the luxury of smashing them at Camp Nou failed to do so, instead just waited on a Messi magic. The same tactics were futile, especially at Anfield.

It is a factor that coaches could capitalise on, but of course, it is not the main reason why we lost.

 

[JohnS]

Keep making half arsed excuses. The pitch at Anfield is not small. In the Nou camp Liverpool with anything like their normal finishing would have scored a minimum of 3 goals. The had the larger percentage possession as well. The truth is that Barca could not cope with the pace of the game Added to the fact that Liverpool were without 2 of their 3 preferred forwards and you have the demise and collapse of Barcelona. Watching Coutinho struggle when he was outstanding for us means you bought him for the sake of it. You had n real plan to use him wisely. The team is raging and so is messi. Better prepare for life without him.

 

[Centauri B]

Keep making half arsed excuses. The pitch at Anfield is not small. In the Nou camp Liverpool with anything like their normal finishing would have scored a minimum of 3 goals. The had the larger percentage possession as well. The truth is that Barca could not cope with the pace of the game Added to the fact that Liverpool were without 2 of their 3 preferred forwards and you have the demise and collapse of Barcelona. Watching Coutinho struggle when he was outstanding for us means you bought him for the sake of it. You had n real plan to use him wisely. The team is raging and so is messi. Better prepare for life without him.

Sorry, but that is BS. Liverpool had some chances, but other than Salah's, none of them was clear-cut.

Possession was 52-48 in the first leg, so what? It was 55-45 for Barca in the second leg. Again, so what?

Of course, Liverpool had territorial superiority plus much better athleticism, but that was expected by everyone, Barca fans, Liverpool fans and neutrals alike. If we are being honest, Barca had somewhat the better chances over both legs. The xG over both legs was exactly the same for both teams, but that is skewed by the ball-boy fiasco (100% Barca's fault)

The team is not ageing, the team has already aged, and that is the only reason why Liverpool went through. Enjoy it while it lasts. We are rebuilding with De Ligt, De Jong, Arthur & Griezmann at the very least. Maybe, we'll see you again next year, when all pressure and expectations will be on your shoulders.

Good luck against Spurs, and maybe win a league title sometime in the 21st century.

 

[Givenchy]

we didn't lose vs Liverpool because of the pitch, we lost because our manager is retarded first and foremost, then you consider our players have barely any hunger left.. those Liverpool players wanted it more, Klopp wanted it more, our manager wanted.. well i have no idea what the fucking idiot wanted but it wasn't a CL final at any cost. thats how meh players like Origi and Wijnaldum put in the performances they did, Klopp inspires and EV expires

 

[Hardy]

look at this, what a bunch of pussies, this is basically the pic of our entire match

[tw]1125884164069191680[/tw]

 

[BBZ8800]

if EPL is so awesome why haven't they won a CL properly since 2008 (Chelsea doesn't count)? Answer: EPL didn't have Klopp/Pochetino before

They started to have higher income in the last few 3-5 years, right?
It needed some time before you will see an impact.
Also, Seria A was the best in 90s while it had the money.
When money was gone, you know what happened.

So, if someone thinks that we will be able to win against them with pure "knowledge" and less money, long term, it usually won't work.
It is not as if EPL teams are dumb and doing everything wrong and as if we have some better knowledge than them.
In the end, trophies go where the money is.

So, the answer is: some time needed to pass until their money and transfers clicked properly.

We don't cover enough distance and don't have stamina. Whose responsibility is it to rectify that by drilling players and benching the lazy/old players who can't/won't do it? Answer: Valverde

True.
The problem is that we lost in exactly the same way against Atletico in 2014, 2016, Psg 2017, Juve 207 under Tata and Lucho.
So, even those coaches couldn't make our players run more?
So, maybe we have some deeper problems and problems who are here since for 10-20-30 years.
Imo, we never relied on defending and physique.
And for 106 years of our history, we were paying the price for it.
Then we got the best generation ever, won some CLs, but now when that generation is finished, all we have is technical talent.
EV tried to add some defense, but it seems that it was not enough.
We will need a mix of technique, defending, running, stamina, some height (corners, crosses in defense), mental strength, motivation, fighting spirit, leaders on a field.
We will need a lot of things. In this moment we have ONLY: technical talent, lol.
So, the problem is way deeper than your beloved Valgreen.

Our team is old and slow. Who keeps playing the turtle grandpas Busi/Raki every game? And why did we end up with such an old squad. Answer: Valverde and Bartomeu

True.
And who will keep Busi as a starter for 2-3 more years because he is an icon and Catalan?
Barto. So, thanks Bartro.

Why don't we have motivation and fighting spirit while Liverpool has it in abundance? Answer: Liverpool has Klopp and we've Valverde

I don't know you personally. Maybe you weren't here 2-3 years ago. Maybe you were travelling or living somewhere without Tv and internet.
In that case, I'll give you some infos. In 2017, under Lucho (he is not the same guy as EV, Lucho is another guy), we lost in exactly the same fashion against Psg 4:0 and Juve 3:0.
So, in the last 24 Months, this team has Psg 0:4, Juve 0:3, Roma 0:3, Liverpool 0:4.
Which one is more likely:
1) EV was guilty even for defeats against Psg and Juve?
2) or our core is shit, filled with oldies with drained motivations, and who, even on prime lacked a fighting spirit but then they were able to mask it with Messi's goals and Xavi-Iniesta magic.
With those 2 factors gone, you have a bunch of pussies sulking and being mentally bullied by any decent European team.

Here is a video, against Psg.
Doesn't it remind you on famous nights in Rome and Liverpool?
Our guys are invisible, the other team is running like crazy, Messi Mia, Suarez Mia, midfield Mia, defense can't do anything, Spiderman conceding a looot.
So, we had almost exactly the same problems before Valgreen.
He added some new additional problems, I agree. But remove him and you still have a shitty, complacent team of choir boys.

Liverpool is taller and more muscled--Valverde played your favorite workhorse midfield which you said "never concedes goals". What did they do against Liverpool? Answer: BBZ conveniently distancing himself from his beloved workhorses. Muscles and height are not the be-all end all. We lost because we couldn't handle Liverpool's press and we played like cowards not because they outmuscled or outjumped us.

Regarding muscles and defending, I changed my mind.
I thought that EV's defending alone mixed with Barca's players will be enough for a CL.
But it seems that we will need: technique, defending, stamina, pace, motivation, fighting spirit, leaders on a pitch, younger players.
In this moment we have: only technique.

Regarding height, we still had only Pique and Lenglet who can jump.
Alba, lol. Roberto, lol: Busi, come on double lol. Raki and Vidal ok.
So, we are still one of the weakest European teams in the air.

So what did we learn? That the reason Barca is lagging behind other teams is because they have a manager with an infectious mid-table team mentality and a clueless board who are more interested in politics than football.

I learned that we need: technique, defending, stamina, pace, motivation, fighting spirit.
Again, we have only: technique and we had defending.
What Liverpool had: technique CHECK, defending CHECK, pace CHECK, stamina CHECK, fighting spirit CHECK, motivation CHECK, a better coach: you got me here, CHECK.

Keep shifting the goalposts and twisting the narrative to suit your agenda. You've been caught with your pants down defending Valmierda, so now you're distancing yourself from him changing your agenda to "mentality". Still you keep giving yourself away by "but but the team has always been shit". If you actually think you're fooling anyone i pity you

As explained, I KNEW that Barca's style is not good enough for Europe anymore.
I thought that defending alone will be enough to transform us into a winning side.
We learned that it is not enough and that we lack a few other factors.

The ad thing is, reading a lot of users here, after our defeat to Liverpool, they didn't understand that we lack in several different areas.
A lot of fans figured out: oh, defending is bad, Frenkie-Arthur-Puig, here we go.
We'll see very soon how that idea will work out in knockout matches.
I am only hoping that EV won't be our coach then (and that Raki will be gone), because without EV, you will need to find new alibies.
Imagine: a new coach, no Raki, we play with Frenkie-Arthur-Puig, and we get eaten alive as always.
As said, I'll wait for your alibi till then.

Serious question. If Valverde stays would you be okay with it? Honest answer and explain the reason behind your answer

Not anymore.
I am CL oriented fan.
Even though there is a chance that we might lose La Liga with a new coach, I guess that we can win it with anyone since we won it even with Paulinho-Rakitic-Gomes trio.

Even though, I don't think that we have any chances in a CL in the next few years:
1. Messi will be 33
2. Busi will be starter, since he is Catalan
3. Dumbele will be our key player
4. a lot of oldies will still be here

There are a few good guys in our team, but imo, we won't win a CL anytime soon.
But still, we won't win it win EV either.

I only hope that Xavi won't be a coach right away until he proves himself. I want to see whether he will be obsessed with possession or will he evolve and learn.

 

[Sterlingfan2000]

They started to have higher income in the last few 3-5 years, right?
It needed some time before you will see an impact.
Also, Seria A was the best in 90s while it had the money.
When money was gone, you know what happened.

So, if someone thinks that we will be able to win against them with pure "knowledge" and less money, long term, it usually won't work.
It is not as if EPL teams are dumb and doing everything wrong and as if we have some better knowledge than them.
In the end, trophies go where the money is.

So, the answer is: some time needed to pass until their money and transfers clicked properly.



True.
The problem is that we lost in exactly the same way against Atletico in 2014, 2016, Psg 2017, Juve 207 under Tata and Lucho.
So, even those coaches couldn't make our players run more?
So, maybe we have some deeper problems and problems who are here since for 10-20-30 years.
Imo, we never relied on defending and physique.
And for 106 years of our history, we were paying the price for it.
Then we got the best generation ever, won some CLs, but now when that generation is finished, all we have is technical talent.
EV tried to add some defense, but it seems that it was not enough.
We will need a mix of technique, defending, running, stamina, some height (corners, crosses in defense), mental strength, motivation, fighting spirit, leaders on a field.
We will need a lot of things. In this moment we have ONLY: technical talent, lol.
So, the problem is way deeper than your beloved Valgreen.



True.
And who will keep Busi as a starter for 2-3 more years because he is an icon and Catalan?
Barto. So, thanks Bartro.



I don't know you personally. Maybe you weren't here 2-3 years ago. Maybe you were travelling or living somewhere without Tv and internet.
In that case, I'll give you some infos. In 2017, under Lucho (he is not the same guy as EV, Lucho is another guy), we lost in exactly the same fashion against Psg 4:0 and Juve 3:0.
So, in the last 24 Months, this team has Psg 0:4, Juve 0:3, Roma 0:3, Liverpool 0:4.
Which one is more likely:
1) EV was guilty even for defeats against Psg and Juve?
2) or our core is shit, filled with oldies with drained motivations, and who, even on prime lacked a fighting spirit but then they were able to mask it with Messi's goals and Xavi-Iniesta magic.
With those 2 factors gone, you have a bunch of pussies sulking and being mentally bullied by any decent European team.

Here is a video, against Psg.
Doesn't it remind you on famous nights in Rome and Liverpool?
Our guys are invisible, the other team is running like crazy, Messi Mia, Suarez Mia, midfield Mia, defense can't do anything, Spiderman conceding a looot.
So, we had almost exactly the same problems before Valgreen.
He added some new additional problems, I agree. But remove him and you still have a shitty, complacent team of choir boys.

Regarding muscles and defending, I changed my mind.
I thought that EV's defending alone mixed with Barca's players will be enough for a CL.
But it seems that we will need: technique, defending, stamina, pace, motivation, fighting spirit, leaders on a pitch, younger players.
In this moment we have: only technique.

Regarding height, we still had only Pique and Lenglet who can jump.
Alba, lol. Roberto, lol: Busi, come on double lol. Raki and Vidal ok.
So, we are still one of the weakest European teams in the air.



I learned that we need: technique, defending, stamina, pace, motivation, fighting spirit.
Again, we have only: technique and we had defending.
What Liverpool had: technique CHECK, defending CHECK, pace CHECK, stamina CHECK, fighting spirit CHECK, motivation CHECK, a better coach: you got me here, CHECK.



As explained, I KNEW that Barca's style is not good enough for Europe anymore.
I thought that defending alone will be enough to transform us into a winning side.
We learned that it is not enough and that we lack a few other factors.

The ad thing is, reading a lot of users here, after our defeat to Liverpool, they didn't understand that we lack in several different areas.
A lot of fans figured out: oh, defending is bad, Frenkie-Arthur-Puig, here we go.
We'll see very soon how that idea will work out in knockout matches.
I am only hoping that EV won't be our coach then (and that Raki will be gone), because without EV, you will need to find new alibies.
Imagine: a new coach, no Raki, we play with Frenkie-Arthur-Puig, and we get eaten alive as always.
As said, I'll wait for your alibi till then.



Not anymore.
I am CL oriented fan.
Even though there is a chance that we might lose La Liga with a new coach, I guess that we can win it with anyone since we won it even with Paulinho-Rakitic-Gomes trio.

Even though, I don't think that we have any chances in a CL in the next few years:
1. Messi will be 33
2. Busi will be starter, since he is Catalan
3. Dumbele will be our key player
4. a lot of oldies will still be here

There are a few good guys in our team, but imo, we won't win a CL anytime soon.
But still, we won't win it win EV either.

I only hope that Xavi won't be a coach right away until he proves himself. I want to see whether he will be obsessed with possession or will he evolve and learn.

U forgot Suarez starting because Messis Protection

 

[KingLeo10]

Keep making half arsed excuses. The pitch at Anfield is not small. In the Nou camp Liverpool with anything like their normal finishing would have scored a minimum of 3 goals. The had the larger percentage possession as well. The truth is that Barca could not cope with the pace of the game Added to the fact that Liverpool were without 2 of their 3 preferred forwards and you have the demise and collapse of Barcelona. Watching Coutinho struggle when he was outstanding for us means you bought him for the sake of it. You had n real plan to use him wisely. The team is raging and so is messi. Better prepare for life without him.

demise and collapse of Barcelona...make try such doom and gloom when we can't win a league in 30 years like you lot.

you can point out that liverpool were superior to barcelona in the fixture without resorting to needless hyperbole, especially when your team has been THE gold standard for what a collapsed team looks like for 30 years.

 

[Centauri B]

demise and collapse of Barcelona...make try such doom and gloom when we can't win a league in 30 years like you lot.

you can point out that liverpool were superior to barcelona in the fixture without resorting to needless hyperbole, especially when your team has been THE gold standard for what a collapsed team looks like for 30 years.

If it wasn't for ours and AC Milan's stupidity, Liverpool would be just another Leeds United or Nottingham Forrest.

 

[FCBfan22]

Well, even Maribor-Olimpija derby gets out of his hands sometimes... So... It should be interesting.

 

[Lightning f57]

I think some valid reasons have been made why Barca have not succeeded last few years.

In football you do need some luck put away any one of those opportunities and this conversation would be different.

I think there is a physiological barrier teams need to overcome to be successful, in the CL Barca are either taking it easy and underestimating their opponents( to be fair most thought away ties for both Roma and Liverpool were dead rubber return legs), or the team have literally bottled it and give up when it is going against them.

The example of Liverpool, Klopp has been there for 3.5 years so his had time to mould the team in his image. No one player is above another and Klopp has no problem benching players.

Manager is key to bring out the best in players but also a number of Barca players I think are now in decline. The MSN team which won the CL were a hungry beast,team had great pace with Neymar and under Enrique it was more direct football.

I'm not a Barca fan (support liverpool) but watched many Barca games when Enrique was in charge. Loved the football then now it's still good but it lacks same intensity and the team is becoming too reliant on Messi. Its abit like Argentina.

 

[JerseyAddict]

I sincerely think that for the first time in say 20 years I will miss UCL final match.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

I sincerely think that for the first time in say 20 years I will miss UCL final match.

Me too. I don't give a shit. I hope Tottenham wins so it seals Messis Bdor but I doubt they win.. It's Liverpool's to lose.

 

[Luis Suarez]

Someone wrote: "If Kane starts Spurs will lose."