CL Quarter Final: Barca - PSG 1-4

[Neeraj]

Another bottle job and European humiliation complete. It feels like no matter what the situation is, we just cannot escape a CL humiliation.

We are TWO goals up, playing at home against a shaky midfield and defense. How much more of an advantage does this team need to take it home? If you can't keep composure and being it home from this AMAZING position, what chance do you ever have when you need to dig deep and come from behind or even compete at 0-0?

Things like 'mentality' etc. are intangibles and can often be overused but is there any doubt that the mentality of this club in Europe weaker than anyone out there? Look at the decisions from Araujo, lewa (finishing), xavi and Co red cards, cancelo, etc. The pressure just makes us lose our minds.

I'm done with football for the season. As I was saying earlier, I never thought xavi was the right man, and one fluke win against PSG and a few games unbeaten in the league were going to change my mind after having seen almost 3 seasons of an amateur. Yes this game was more on Araujo than xavi, but we have a TWO goal lead when we go down to 10 men. Imagine us trying to get those 2 goals back against Mourinho or Simone or any top manager really. We'd struggle and possibly not make it. Whereas with this team and Xavi it was a forgone conclusion.

 

[malvolio]

Clear Red & Clear penalty. Araujo started badly, gave the ball away poorly and made a stupid decision to try to intercept rather than take a straighter line back to goal and front up Barcola. Xavi had no choice but to sub Yamal really.
From then on we needed leaders and strong defence and we have neither. FDJ has zero defensive awareness, doesn't break up play, doesn't control tempo, doesn't make long passes or make runs in to the box, doesn't score and doesn't assist. Apart from that he's a world class player worth 100m+...
Raphinha never stopped running and was probably the only player to come out with any credit. Kounde and Cubarsi at a push, although Kounde should have done better with a fairly simple clearance instead of using Martinez's ass to pass to Mbappe.
Xavi fell short badly. How can you expect your players to keep their composure when you can't keep yours on the sideline? His younger players needed support and guidance through a difficult situation. He was found wanting tactically too, should have restructured at half time to make us more solid and deny space when we were still leading the tie.

Really sound analysis here.

What's more worrying is the delusion Xavi showed after the match, on the field and in the press conference. Guy went straight for the ref excuse, even though in both legs vs PSG we went balls over top or cross and inshala + some help by PSG gifting us goals. Zero control from midfield in three halfs of football.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

Though Araujo made a bad mistake, the soft pass that was intercepted and which led to the opportunity was the real issue (Gundogan?). To be honest, I was just waiting for it to happen; Barca was playing far too sloppy with players dwelling on the ball and allowing outlets to be closed down. It wasn't a matter of if but when.

 

[Kubala]

' Zero control from midfield in three halfs of football.'

Agreed, and this used to be our main strength!

 

[FC B]

Just 2 things from me:

1. Araujo is extremly stupid, as Gundogan has pointed out. No matter how good he usually is and how many times he saved the team, but we lost this game and a possible final only because of him in the end. If you're not sure you can reach the ball, you let him through. He might miss, ter Stegen might save and even if it's a goal, the outcome is still way better than playing the whole game with one player less.
You only go all-in if it's near the end of the game, not during the start, especially a comfortable start like that. This stupidity is inexcusable on this level, as it costs the club much prestige and a lot of money in a serious situation, not to mention millions of fans are absolutely gutted.
In this very rare case, you can say he lost the CL run on his own.

2. The ref is simply put a piece of shit. Like Buffon once said, where a football heart should be, he has a trash can instead. Not even because he gave Araujo that red card, but because he didn't let VAR analyse the situation. If it's a 50/50 thing, VAR can't overrule you anymore. That's why you need to have the decency to let them check a game deciding moment, if it's not 100% clear and the foul wasn't that hard to be that clear. He can always let the VAR analyse, go to the monitor, watch the replay and then if he comes to the decision the situation is enough to decide a QF, then he can still send Araujo off. But this arrogant piece of garbage denied himself that possibility. Maybe he jerks off to pictures of him being the man on the field, I don't know. But he completely misses the sensitivity a ref needs to have in such games. Too much is on the lines in such games to let your shitty personality overrule the right, sensitive behaviour a situation like that needs.

Moreover, had this ref or any other had an identical situation with a Madrid player on Bernabeu, the player would've never been sent off.

 

[BusiTheKing]

The one guy I would take from PSG is Barcola btw. Would have done the job on the left for us. Excellent player at Lyon who should never have made his way to Qatar gaming their FFP.

Vitinha was also good for them but mostly due to us.

Nothing about him except his pace impressed me. Also scoffed a huge chance in the first tie due to poor technique. Be a poor fit here.

 

[companyofcules]

List of people I blame for the loss.

That bum ass ref.. clearly paid by PSG. I hvae 0 doubts.
Lewandowski the fraud.
Cancelo.
Frenkie that fooking bum.

Gundogan points at Lewandowski.
They were 3 outside the box holdig 3 players, Vitinha was free so somebody had to step. Only Lewandowski was free. Blaming FDJ for turnig back too late to counter is not really ok since he had to help Cancelo like a DM.

 

[companyofcules]

But again Barcelona is not a park the bus team to hold out to a fantastic attack 1 man down.

 

[companyofcules]

Another bottle job and European humiliation complete. It feels like no matter what the situation is, we just cannot escape a CL humiliation.

We are TWO goals up, playing at home against a shaky midfield and defense. How much more of an advantage does this team need to take it home? If you can't keep composure and being it home from this AMAZING position, what chance do you ever have when you need to dig deep and come from behind or even compete at 0-0?

Things like 'mentality' etc. are intangibles and can often be overused but is there any doubt that the mentality of this club in Europe weaker than anyone out there? Look at the decisions from Araujo, lewa (finishing), xavi and Co red cards, cancelo, etc. The pressure just makes us lose our minds.

I'm done with football for the season. As I was saying earlier, I never thought xavi was the right man, and one fluke win against PSG and a few games unbeaten in the league were going to change my mind after having seen almost 3 seasons of an amateur. Yes this game was more on Araujo than xavi, but we have a TWO goal lead when we go down to 10 men. Imagine us trying to get those 2 goals back against Mourinho or Simone or any top manager really. We'd struggle and possibly not make it. Whereas with this team and Xavi it was a forgone conclusion.

Well they do have a team exactly fit to make us suffer. Fast, clutch, powerful with some skills pitted against a team without any DM
It's not the mentality lol It's the quality. Iniesta was not some Ramos but he had quality. Quality makes the difference. Xavi is like any deluded barca kid, thinks tactics midfielders can won by themselves.

 

[Messigician]

In the words of a wise man

zis is football heritage

 

[Temptation]

In the words of a wise man

zis is football heritage

Only that wise man can save Barca. Bring him home!

 

[behindbrowneyes]

Red card changed the game.

Disappointed with how the game involved.

 

[NKMaribor]

Moreover, had this ref or any other had an identical situation with a Madrid player on Bernabeu, the player would've never been sent off.

This post is so fckin stupid, that no wonder everybody is making fun of Barca.

 

[FC B]

This post is so fckin stupid, that no wonder everybody is making fun of Barca.

Fuck off you stupid madridista.

 

[NKMaribor]

Well they do have a team exactly fit to make us suffer. Fast, clutch, powerful with some skills pitted against a team without any DM
It's not the mentality lol It's the quality. Iniesta was not some Ramos but he had quality. Quality makes the difference. Xavi is like any deluded barca kid, thinks tactics midfielders can won by themselves.

It‘s both imo. As long as Pedri and co. are depicted as top tier, while also club being such a mess institutionally, well…