CL Round of 16: Napoli - Barca 1-1

[Horatio]

Not sure if world class or not but he is just a bit shy of being elite because he lacks 1 creative passing 2 scoring goals (lampard , Valverde etc). But the rest of game is phenomenal.. head and shoulders above the rest of barca players. By his immense ball control technique he lifts an awful lot of pressure off this team.

He also had numerous recoveries. Correct me if wrong.

 

[Total-Football]

He also had numerous recoveries. Correct me if wrong.

Yes everything else he is amazing it at.. did several recoveries, won duals , protected the ball -as usual- immensely well. Started those signature vertical penetrations with the ball where he just darts from box to box. His arsenal is great . But sadly with the lack of tactics and a structure like proper teams we need those individual initiatives (think of the Pedro pass to lewa). Here dejong comes short. He is not creative enough for an elite midfielder nor does have that goal knack like lampard or Bellingham etc.. but again.. I still think he is world class and better than all of his teammates.

 

[Horatio]

Yes everything else he is amazing it at.. did several recoveries, won duals , protected the ball -as usual- immensely well. Started those signature vertical penetrations with the ball where he just darts from box to box. His arsenal is great . But sadly with the lack of tactics and a structure like proper teams we need those individual initiatives (think of the Pedro pass to lewa). Here dejong comes short. He is not creative enough for an elite midfielder nor does have that goal knack like lampard or Bellingham etc.. but again.. I still think he is world class and better than all of

On top of that he said today his salary is 1/4th of what media had put out. #keeper

 

[Daisymorr]

Was it me or did it look like our legsa really went from 70mins. We couldn't press or push up. Midfield looked gassed. Pedri looked like he could sprint for more than 3 seconds,
I think we will go through to the next round though.

 

[wisconsincule]

Was it me or did it look like our legsa really went from 70mins. We couldn't press or push up. Midfield looked gassed. Pedri looked like he could sprint for more than 3 seconds,
I think we will go through to the next round though.

Not you. Exactly what I saw as well.

Very bitter taste in my mouth. Deserved to leave with a win and not a draw

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Was it me or did it look like our legsa really went from 70mins. We couldn't press or push up. Midfield looked gassed. Pedri looked like he could sprint for more than 3 seconds,
I think we will go through to the next round though.

Exactly. Xavi made mistake not making subs and lost the control of the game. Big mistake. We could have killed this game in the first game. 0-2 and Napoli ain't coming back.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Was it me or did it look like our legsa really went from 70mins. We couldn't press or push up. Midfield looked gassed. Pedri looked like he could sprint for more than 3 seconds,
I think we will go through to the next round though.

Exactly. Xavi made mistake not making subs and lost the control of the game. Big mistake. We could have killed this game in the first game. 0-2 and Napoli ain't coming back.

 

[Chainsaw]

Fell asleep 10 minutes into the game and woke up right before that last minute chance. Read it was an awful game. Incredible how this club turned from a fearsome team into a sleeping pill.

 

[Loki]

Xavi made mistake not making subs and lost the control of the game. Big mistake

The ironic thing is, Xavi said after the game his plan was to slow down and control the game after Lewy scored. So he just watched Napoli dominating for 15 minutes and scoring the equalizer until he finally understood his plan was ass and he needs fresh players on the field. You could already see 5 minutes after Lewy's goal that his control plan failed, but he needed to wait 15 minutes until Napoli scored. The worst ingame coaching I saw for a long time.

 

[Andresito]

1-1 is a result you can accept beforehand. Especially when seeing mighty Bayern and in-form Arsenal lose

But with how the game looked, how many attacks we wasted and how much each victory means long term with CWC in mind, it's bitter taste to go home with a draw.

Add to that we somehow have looked much worse at home compared to away lately. Napoli's new manager will have time to implement his ideas until the next game as well so they most likely won't look as clueless as they did in the first half.

This Xavi side has been underwhelming all season but there have been so many games where you just feel the attackers should've done more with better decisions (deciding when to pass/shoot) and the level of the finishing in general.

 

[El Gato]

Remember when folk were laughing at Bayern for losing to team 7th in Serie A? How does drawing a team that's 10th compare?

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

1-1 is a result you can accept beforehand.

But with how the game looked, how many attacks we wasted and how much each victory means long term with CWC in mind, it's bitter taste to go home with a draw.

Add to that we somehow have looked much worse at home compared to away lately. Napoli's new manager will have time to implement his ideas until the next game as well so they most likely won't look as clueless as they did in the first half.

This Xavi side has been underwhelming all season but there have been so many games where you just feel the attackers should've done more with better decisions (deciding when to pass/shoot) and the level of the finishing in general.

100%

 

[Loki]

but there have been so many games where you just feel the attackers should've done more with better decisions (deciding when to pass/shoot) and the level of the finishing in general.

If the team lacks in that aspect, you cut some rondo time and build and practice such situations in training. That's what training is there for. If the players lack the instinct for such situations, you need to get used to it in training. That's on Xavi and his useless brother.

 

[Messi983]

Remember when folk were laughing at Bayern for losing to team 7th in Serie A? How does drawing a team that's 10th compare?

Better than losing to them that lot of people expected?

Good game overall, should have really killed this tie though. Had enough chances to do so. Expect a better Napoli in 3 weeks and we are playing better away than at home this season so won't be easy but still believe we'll go through.

 

[El Gato]

I expect nothing short of a meltdown if anyone messes up at any point in the game TBH
Team looking as fragile as they did in that 2-8, now against an opponent who are themselves a minnow this season. More of a United vs Montella's Seville vibe to this than anything else

Arguably Xavi's largest shortfall as manager so far has been the inability to manage 2 legged knockouts.
With morale as it is, dont expect surprisingly good performances, unless both teams are on opposite ends of spectrum in league form going into the return leg