CL | Round 1: Borussia Dortmund - FC Barcelona 0-0

[Leo_Messi]

A mediocre performance offensively to say the least with the same old unstable defense and the feeling of the team being overrun physically and having no answers but to sit deep and pray for MAtS to save the day.

Which is quite concerning given Arthur's and FDJ's presence and ability to control the game/possession for long streches of the match.
I had a feeling of the team being capable of collapsing each second and we could have played 90 minutes more and we would still not have scored a single goal. Same old story against quality/above average opponents in the CL away from home.

There is something seriously wrong with the mental state of the team away from home in the CL against quality and above average opponents. An utter contrast to our home form at the Camp Nou where we are arguably the most dominating team in Europe across all 3 yearly competitions. We don't have such mental complexes in La Liga away from home against the strongest opponents in the league either.

Similarly with Suárez' inability to score away from home in the CL. It has been 4 freaking years. Not logical for a player that has been scoring for fun against all the top teams in La Liga, home and away, in the same period, as well as against top teams in the CL at the Camp Nou.

What is more worrying is that the useless board has done little to address this underlying problems that are the cause for our CL embarrassments in recent years.

That said, one point against Dortmund away from home is not the end of the world. Even less so with Inter and Slavia Prague drawing. If we can manage to win against Inter at the Camp Nou in the next game and afterwards win both of our games against Slavia Prague, we will pretty much have secured our place in the Round of 16 before the home game against Dortmund and away game against Inter.

 

[DonAK]

[MENTION=19517]Leo_Messi[/MENTION]

Suarez has like four goals in this last three CL seasons. He's not scoring many goals at home either.

 

[Leo_Messi]

[MENTION=19517]Leo_Messi[/MENTION]

Suarez has like four goals in this last three CL seasons. He's not scoring many goals at home either.

I have not looked at the statistics but my points remain the same in relation to the enormous difference of the team's performances at the Camp Nou in the CL compared to the away performances in the CL against quality and above average teams. Not withstanding the domestic dominance (La Liga and CdR) and utter dominance against all our domestic rivals at the Camp Nou and away from home. With the same Suárez having decent stats in the last 4 years domestically.

Something is completely wrong with the mental state of the team, tactical approach, chance creation, defensive organization and pretty much everything else in the CL away from home. Even in the group stage we have struggled despite the group stage always being a formality for us and always ending on top of our groups.

The contrast is not normal and if I had to make a guess (not a sports psychiatrist) a lot of it is mental. Just hope that the likes of FDJ, Griezmann, Firpo etc. will not catch the same disease when shit hits the fan in the knockout stages this year.

 

[JohnN]

Tough game away from home. Seemed more like a knockout game than a Group stage one. Happy for the point and a couple of players.

Recap:

Mats: No words for this performance. MOTM.

Alba: He was really missed. I believe we lost control after he was subbed off because he is so vital for our game plan. Also, BVB attacked and exploited his side, only when he was replaced by Semedo.

Semedo: Pretty decent on the right. Was constantly challenged when he changed sides. Can't really judge him for this game. He tried his best out of position. Also very unlucky penalty.

Pique: He was good in my opinion. Not too many mistakes by him and that's the most important thing for a CB.

Lenglet: Bad game from him, easy mistakes even under low pressure. Performances like this will cost us later on. Unfortunately he is our only choice for 2nd CB except if Umtiti comes back to his old level at some point.

Busquets: He is just too slow for this kind of pacy opponent. All his problems and mistakes derive from this. He can't reach the ball fast enough, his reflexes are slower. On top of that, he doesn't provide the technical and classy moves he once did. We must find an alternative lineup for games like this without him.

Arthur: Incredible player. He is a beast in possession and runs like crazy in defence. Minimal mistakes, but couldn't find a forward pass - because there wasn't one to be found most of the time. He missed a couple of runs by fati or didn't want to give away possession with a risky pass. Cooled off a bit in the second half. MOTM outfield player.

FDJ: Amazing technical quality this player. Better in the second half, even better when busquets got subbed off. Intercepted some very difficult balls and run his lungs off too. Best outfield player after Arthur.

Fati: Rough start to the game. Made many mistakes and giveaways. He looked like a 16 year old child playing with grown men. And that's what he is after all. Got better as time went by and much better when moved to the left side. Respect to Fati for keeping his shit together while playing his first CL away game in such a tough ground at 16 years old.

Suarez: He is too slow - same as busquets. Had two good contributions to the game with a solo run and a combo with fati and griezmann. His defensive workrate has deteriorated, but I wouldn't expect him to chase the BVB defenders all game long to no avail. All that being said, he is obsolete for this kind of games. Cannot offer much anymore.

Griezmann: Absolutely wasted on the left wing. He cannot do anything constructive there. It's obvious he has great qualities and on top of that defends like a madman. But he is not a creative / pacy / penetrating left winger. Must play instead of Suarez. Even if he is not a no.9, at least then he will be able to move more centrally and perhaps combine with Messi.

Sergi Roberto: Insignificant contribution both defensively and on attack. Doesn't provide anything more than Semedo. Still, can cover many positions, so that's a plus.

Messi: First game for him against a tough opponent. Subbed in at a point when we had lost control of the match. Still, his presence was positive even though he lost some balls trying to penetrate the defence on his own. The difference in creativity when he is around is astonishing. He doesn't seem 100% fit yet.

Rakitic: Not much to say about him. Played some safe passes and tried going forward. As I said before about Messi, we had lost momentum when he was subbed in.


Valverde: He is trying to be more reactive both before games (choosing lineups) and during (Subs early on and decent subs too).
But.. why.. for the love of god, do you play Fati on the right and Griezmann on the left? That was a mistake, clearly.
He has trusted Fati, which is astonishing, even though he used him the wrong way.
At some point, I believe he will phase out both Suarez and Busquets. He seems more capable do to so this year. I hope.

 

[EdmondDantes]

Tough game away from home. Seemed more like a knockout game than a Group stage one. Happy for the point and a couple of players.

Recap:

Mats: No words for this performance. MOTM.

Alba: He was really missed. I believe we lost control after he was subbed off because he is so vital for our game plan. Also, BVB attacked and exploited his side, only when he was replaced by Semedo.

Semedo: Pretty decent on the right. Was constantly challenged when he changed sides. Can't really judge him for this game. He tried his best out of position. Also very unlucky penalty.

Pique: He was good in my opinion. Not too many mistakes by him and that's the most important thing for a CB.

Lenglet: Bad game from him, easy mistakes even under low pressure. Performances like this will cost us later on. Unfortunately he is our only choice for 2nd CB except if Umtiti comes back to his old level at some point.

Busquets: He is just too slow for this kind of pacy opponent. All his problems and mistakes derive from this. He can't reach the ball fast enough, his reflexes are slower. On top of that, he doesn't provide the technical and classy moves he once did. We must find an alternative lineup for games like this without him.

Arthur: Incredible player. He is a beast in possession and runs like crazy in defence. Minimal mistakes, but couldn't find a forward pass - because there wasn't one to be found most of the time. He missed a couple of runs by fati or didn't want to give away possession with a risky pass. Cooled off a bit in the second half. MOTM outfield player.

FDJ: Amazing technical quality this player. Better in the second half, even better when busquets got subbed off. Intercepted some very difficult balls and run his lungs off too. Best outfield player after Arthur.

Fati: Rough start to the game. Made many mistakes and giveaways. He looked like a 16 year old child playing with grown men. And that's what he is after all. Got better as time went by and much better when moved to the left side. Respect to Fati for keeping his shit together while playing his first CL away game in such a tough ground at 16 years old.

Suarez: He is too slow - same as busquets. Had two good contributions to the game with a solo run and a combo with fati and griezmann. His defensive workrate has deteriorated, but I wouldn't expect him to chase the BVB defenders all game long to no avail. All that being said, he is obsolete for this kind of games. Cannot offer much anymore.

Griezmann: Absolutely wasted on the left wing. He cannot do anything constructive there. It's obvious he has great qualities and on top of that defends like a madman. But he is not a creative / pacy / penetrating left winger. Must play instead of Suarez. Even if he is not a no.9, at least then he will be able to move more centrally and perhaps combine with Messi.

Sergi Roberto: Insignificant contribution both defensively and on attack. Doesn't provide anything more than Semedo. Still, can cover many positions, so that's a plus.

Messi: First game for him against a tough opponent. Subbed in at a point when we had lost control of the match. Still, his presence was positive even though he lost some balls trying to penetrate the defence on his own. The difference in creativity when he is around is astonishing. He doesn't seem 100% fit yet.

Rakitic: Not much to say about him. Played some safe passes and tried going forward. As I said before about Messi, we had lost momentum when he was subbed in.


Valverde: He is trying to be more reactive both before games (choosing lineups) and during (Subs early on and decent subs too).
But.. why.. for the love of god, do you play Fati on the right and Griezmann on the left? That was a mistake, clearly.
He has trusted Fati, which is astonishing, even though he used him the wrong way.
At some point, I believe he will phase out both Suarez and Busquets. He seems more capable do to so this year. I hope.

That's what could be our downfall this season: lack of movement from our forward line.


We've had problems with it in the last 2 years, and it will probably be worse this season.

 

[blueandclaret]

Reminded me of the Manchester United away leg last April. Totally outplayed but we’re extremely lucky our opponent kept screwing up chance after chance and also Stegen making miraculous saves. Game should have easily been 3-0 Dortmund. There’s no doubt our away leg embarrassment is coming next April in the quarters.

Also, nobody really talking about Lenglet. Thought he was terrible tonight as well.

 

[Obiaseti]

Dortmund were unlucky. On another day they could have easily had at least two goals over us.

 

[LMTR14]

insanely intense match, dortmund really strong, especially in defence. nobody was bad tonight, ter stegen obviously fantastic (also de jong). this was the toughest group stage game, so a draw is fine. I do think we should've tried to shoot from a distance a lot more often to maybe score that lucky decider. this was a damn exciting match and maybe the best barca 0:0 I've ever seen!

 

[LMTR14]

This Barça team has become so shitty. It shames the club tradition. Simply nonexistent football

yeah really no clue what game you watched. shitty is what we played against bilbao and even in the win against whoever be beat 2 rounds ago. tonight was spot on against an extremely strong opponent. you people seem to have lost connection with reality, I mean what did you expect to happen tonight?!?! this and the valencia game were SO MUCH BETTER than the earlier games this season! the entirely (!) negative reaction to this match in this thread is utterly mindblowing.

 

[gregorrin10]

Reminded me of the Manchester United away leg last April. Totally outplayed but we’re extremely lucky our opponent kept screwing up chance after chance and also Stegen making miraculous saves. Game should have easily been 3-0 Dortmund. There’s no doubt our away leg embarrassment is coming next April in the quarters.

Also, nobody really talking about Lenglet. Thought he was terrible tonight as well.

He's never really been that great to me, but lately he's actually been extra bad. Definitely not a long term starter material for me, 3rd choice at best. That's why I was so gutted when Umtiti refused to properly heal himself and actually begin the path back to the world class level he was, and even more so when we missed out on De Ligt, especially now that Umtiti will never get back around to world class level, it seems. Pique needs a partner who drives him to be better, Puyol was the ultimate one, and Umtiti was also that, back when he was world class. I haven't seen that in Lenglet at all. And now with these silly mistakes and the marking, my god, it's horrible. They don't even know what tight marking is apparently, they always stand like 2-3 meters away from their man at least, and watch as he takes his shot with ease. and this game was no different. They don't have a clue about actually defending one on one, they're all about heading the ball away, but being a Barca CB is so much more than that. They're just lucky Ter Stegen saved their asses this time.

We seriously need at least one or two new CBs in the next 2 years as Pique will be retired by that time I think. So at least one left footed and one right footed CB are a must. Luckily the market for CBs has never been better, now it's just the question of bringing the right players. Maybe we'd be better off leaving that for the new Board to handle, and just stick with Umtiti, Pique, Lenglet and Todibo until 2021. After that, Pique will retire, Umtiti will probably be sold. Lenglet can stay as the 3rd or 4th choice, I guess. As for Todibo, it's all about his development until 2021, if he can prove he can make it here, I could see him staying, otherwise he'll be gone too.

 

[Sasuke85]

Tough game away from home. Seemed more like a knockout game than a Group stage one. Happy for the point and a couple of players.

Recap:

Mats: No words for this performance. MOTM.

Alba: He was really missed. I believe we lost control after he was subbed off because he is so vital for our game plan. Also, BVB attacked and exploited his side, only when he was replaced by Semedo.

Semedo: Pretty decent on the right. Was constantly challenged when he changed sides. Can't really judge him for this game. He tried his best out of position. Also very unlucky penalty.

Pique: He was good in my opinion. Not too many mistakes by him and that's the most important thing for a CB.

Lenglet: Bad game from him, easy mistakes even under low pressure. Performances like this will cost us later on. Unfortunately he is our only choice for 2nd CB except if Umtiti comes back to his old level at some point.

Busquets: He is just too slow for this kind of pacy opponent. All his problems and mistakes derive from this. He can't reach the ball fast enough, his reflexes are slower. On top of that, he doesn't provide the technical and classy moves he once did. We must find an alternative lineup for games like this without him.

Arthur: Incredible player. He is a beast in possession and runs like crazy in defence. Minimal mistakes, but couldn't find a forward pass - because there wasn't one to be found most of the time. He missed a couple of runs by fati or didn't want to give away possession with a risky pass. Cooled off a bit in the second half. MOTM outfield player.

FDJ: Amazing technical quality this player. Better in the second half, even better when busquets got subbed off. Intercepted some very difficult balls and run his lungs off too. Best outfield player after Arthur.

Fati: Rough start to the game. Made many mistakes and giveaways. He looked like a 16 year old child playing with grown men. And that's what he is after all. Got better as time went by and much better when moved to the left side. Respect to Fati for keeping his shit together while playing his first CL away game in such a tough ground at 16 years old.

Suarez: He is too slow - same as busquets. Had two good contributions to the game with a solo run and a combo with fati and griezmann. His defensive workrate has deteriorated, but I wouldn't expect him to chase the BVB defenders all game long to no avail. All that being said, he is obsolete for this kind of games. Cannot offer much anymore.

Griezmann: Absolutely wasted on the left wing. He cannot do anything constructive there. It's obvious he has great qualities and on top of that defends like a madman. But he is not a creative / pacy / penetrating left winger. Must play instead of Suarez. Even if he is not a no.9, at least then he will be able to move more centrally and perhaps combine with Messi.

Sergi Roberto: Insignificant contribution both defensively and on attack. Doesn't provide anything more than Semedo. Still, can cover many positions, so that's a plus.

Messi: First game for him against a tough opponent. Subbed in at a point when we had lost control of the match. Still, his presence was positive even though he lost some balls trying to penetrate the defence on his own. The difference in creativity when he is around is astonishing. He doesn't seem 100% fit yet.

Rakitic: Not much to say about him. Played some safe passes and tried going forward. As I said before about Messi, we had lost momentum when he was subbed in.


Valverde: He is trying to be more reactive both before games (choosing lineups) and during (Subs early on and decent subs too).
But.. why.. for the love of god, do you play Fati on the right and Griezmann on the left? That was a mistake, clearly.
He has trusted Fati, which is astonishing, even though he used him the wrong way.
At some point, I believe he will phase out both Suarez and Busquets. He seems more capable do to so this year. I hope.

Great recap, bro

For some reason I cannot like your post, so I have to quote and commend it like this.

 

[Chainsaw]

I just watched the highlights and it was all Dortmund. Wow, things are worse than I expected. Don't know what the board was thinking about keeping Valverde.

 

[Horatio]

Too early to judge how this season will turn out. Madrid looked horrendous during group stage in two of their 3 CL winning runs.

 

[utility73]

Congrats for another trademark Valmerde shit show.

 

[BBZ8800]

If Stegen had been having a bad day today, we would have been humiliated. This game was identical to Liverpool, Roma, Turin, Madrid (Atleti) and Paris away. Every year, same shit.

Back then people said that we are losing balls because Raki is not press resistant.

Today we had 3 press resistant midfielders and still couldn't do anything.

We avoided a press and still couldn't do anything.

My point: people think that we will be fixed without Raki or Ev.
That is like a level 1 or a step 1.
Remove them and new 9 problems/levels will occur until our team will be fixed.

We fixed a press resistance today.
But we still lacked running, passion, leaders, attacking options, shots on goals, goals and even defending.