Champions League

Barcilliant

Senior Member
Why do you say us? I don’t understand wanting to see Barca fail in CL.

I don't want us to fail. However even if we beat Napoli to advance we are only postponing the inevitable. A young, hungry side or one of the big ones will expose us. A third consecutive humiliation may also hasten the exit of the board and seniors which can only be a good thing.
 

Barcilliant

Senior Member
Ok, I'm with you on the seniors who won everything but new signings (post-treble season) like Coutinho, Dembele, MATS, Griezmann, Arthur, FDJ, etc. Why are they not motivated? Each one of them can cost all starting 11 Leipzig team. I'm sure with your "not good enough" theory you won't pick any of Leipzig players to play for Barca but they are actually doing well at UCL.


These new players being over awed and influenced by our entitled seniors. Didn't help that Dickverde was manager too.
 

jairzinho

Senior Member
😃 Napoli are going to destroy us in Naples. There is going to be alot of wailing, hand wringing and tears after the game.

Not too confident about us winning either, but i don't think we'll be destroyed.

The board has to accept full responsibility for all the mess that we're in.

After the Anfield and Valencia games last year what exactly did we do to change. ?

We signed Greizmann and Frenkie but all they did was just paper over the cracks.

So we started the season with the same shitty coach and the same old slow, sluggish football.

I like Setien but it's a tough task to implement a new identity midway through the season and under the current circumstances.
 

Devils

Senior Member
Losing the clasico and napoli tie wont be a problem for me. At least I could finally have some peace from this miserable season, dawg.
 

LeeRomeno

Active member
Our success in CL in many years has been down to the fact if second tie is played at home or not. Which is why i am not worried that much about Napoli game. We may just as well get to finals if we keep having second leg at home, but it is not that likely no matter who we face in next round if second tie is away. Our core is still the same, with fragile mentality, crumbling under pressure, while playing decisive away game, no matter what score was at home. There is no overcoming it with current playerbase, needs complete overhaul. And Messi is influenced by it as much as anyone else and as he is captain. I do not see this problem going away before Messi is gone.
 

henias

New member
Looking at stats Valencia got bit unlucky.

There's no luck here. Valencia is a low scoring side and conceded a shit ton of goals in the league. Atalanta surprisingly is a high intensity attacking side, and their league stats back them up. Valencia was just shooting whenever they can, not being composed at all and panicked. They all lacked shooting technique and finesse. Stats generally dont tell much. Any team can "try" to score, pass and shoot wildly but if they dont create dangerous chances, or be able to shoot properly under pressure it's pretty much pointless. Tactically their 442 kinda failed as well. Fairplay to Atalanta and they deserved to get destroyed. No excuse for such a scoreline.

Pretty much like Barcelona at times when we talk about xG or possession or whatnot but still end up losing in the end.

On the other hand, I think Valencia got pretty lucky getting out of grp stage. I felt Ajax would have been better.
 

Andrew M

New member
There's no luck here. Valencia is a low scoring side and conceded a shit ton of goals in the league. Atalanta surprisingly is a high intensity attacking side, and their league stats back them up. Valencia was just shooting whenever they can, not being composed at all and panicked. They all lacked shooting technique and finesse. Stats generally dont tell much. Any team can "try" to score, pass and shoot wildly but if they dont create dangerous chances, or be able to shoot properly under pressure it's pretty much pointless. Tactically their 442 kinda failed as well. Fairplay to Atalanta and they deserved to get destroyed. No excuse for such a scoreline.

Pretty much like Barcelona at times when we talk about xG or possession or whatnot but still end up losing in the end.

On the other hand, I think Valencia got pretty lucky getting out of grp stage. I felt Ajax would have been better.

I agree with this. Valencia are not good. Totally expected them to go out
 

serghei

Senior Member
Our success in CL in many years has been down to the fact if second tie is played at home or not. Which is why i am not worried that much about Napoli game. We may just as well get to finals if we keep having second leg at home, but it is not that likely no matter who we face in next round if second tie is away. Our core is still the same, with fragile mentality, crumbling under pressure, while playing decisive away game, no matter what score was at home. There is no overcoming it with current playerbase, needs complete overhaul. And Messi is influenced by it as much as anyone else and as he is captain. I do not see this problem going away before Messi is gone.

If we lose like we've lost in Rome or Liverpool it doesn't matter if the 2nd leg is at home. Not all teams will collapse like PSG, allowing us to turn around a massive deficit on Camp Nou. With Juve we've played away first. Shat the bed, 0-3 and bye bye.

Almost all teams in CL know we're weak fitness wise. Just press us hard and we'll start to crumble.
 
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LeeRomeno

Active member
If we lose like we've lost in Rome or Liverpool it doesn't matter if the 2nd leg is at home. Not all teams will collapse like PSG, allowing us to turn around a massive deficit on Camp Nou. With Juve we've played away first. Shat the bed, 0-3 and bye bye.

Almost all teams in CL know we're weak fitness wise. Just press us hard and we'll start to crumble.

Sigh, but for some reason those superfit squads fail to do anything against this old unfit squad at Camp Nou. Nice logic, our players grow separate pair of legs at home?
If that were true, we would get overrun in every CL tie vs semidecent squad in CL, that has not happened. Difference is in mentality. Especially with Valverde, we always approached our away ties as first game cautiously (and got trashed for that as well). We grinded 0-0 1-1, 1-0 and similar results. We knew that aslong as we keep the results decent, we can come back and do remontada at home. Its different going to away game with good result and suddenly everything turning against you. Mindblowing you do not understand the difference.
Spoke to couple of friends who support Atletico and they were all very happy that they only won by 1 goal as a) opponent has otherwise nothing to lose, they know they have to score big and go guns blazing at you, while losing only with 1 goal they are more cautious and do not put you under so much pressure from beginning as they do not want to concede b) team also does not have big advantage in their thoughts and knows everything is still to play for.
 

serghei

Senior Member
Sigh, but for some reason those superfit squads fail to do anything against this old unfit squad at Camp Nou. Nice logic, our players grow separate pair of legs at home?
If that were true, we would get overrun in every CL tie vs semidecent squad in CL, that has not happened. Difference is in mentality. Especially with Valverde, we always approached our away ties as first game cautiously (and got trashed for that as well). We grinded 0-0 1-1, 1-0 and similar results. We knew that aslong as we keep the results decent, we can come back and do remontada at home. Its different going to away game with good result and suddenly everything turning against you. Mindblowing you do not understand the difference.

Come on, you know it's true. We are probably the team with the slowest passing rate and the least km / game in terms of work rate, and this indicates a fitness/physicality problem, on top of the mental one. Teams always go at it more at home, in front of their own fans backing them up, than away. You simply have to show the same as a visiting side, or else you're gonna be in trouble. Take the heat and don't buckle, respond fire with fire. Instead of doing that we shit our pants, at times even when we play against B level teams like Chelsea and Roma. It's unacceptable.

We keep showing up away form home looking lazy, uninspiring and running consistently less than the opponent. That's a major issue and a big part why we almost never score away.
 
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LeeRomeno

Active member
Come on, you know it's true. We are probably the team with the slowest passing rate and the least km / game in terms of work rate, and this indicates a fitness/physicality problem, on top of the mental one. Teams always go at it more at home, in front of their own fans backing them up, than away. You simply have to show the same as a visiting side, or else you're gonna be in trouble. Take the heat and don't buckle, respond fire with fire. Instead of doing that we shit our pants, at times even when we play against B level teams like Chelsea and Roma. It's unacceptable.

We keep showing up away form home looking lazy, uninspiring and running consistently less than the opponent. That's a major issue and a big part why we almost never score away.

Took last 6 years in CL, we have played 9 ties with second leg at home and won 8 of them, we have played 5 ties with second leg away and won only 1. Its vital for us.
 

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