Copa | Semifinal: Valencia CF - FC Barcelona 0-3 agg.

[BBZ8800]

They played with a deep block. One of the deepest blocks I’ve seen from a top 10 side in recent memory. How do you think Paulinho, Gomes etc would have faired against them? Paulinho was a bad substitute tonight by the way. At a time when structure needed to be maintained. He is not positionally astute.

Answer me this... Have you seen a better defensive display than this all season? Barça won that midfield battle hands down and it was against a top 4 team without a double pivot.

We all know this team is headed for a 4-3-3.

It is a strange coincidence that we started to look toothless exactly in the last 2 matches, when EV switched from 442 or 4411 with 3 Cms to 433 or 442 with 2 Cms+Busi+a winger.

4 days ago people said that Alaves had the strongest bus ever seen.
Now, Valencia with half of their starters out, also had the strongest block seen here in 10 years.

A question time:
1. are these 2 teams the best defensive teams in the world?
2. or we have lost our automatism, magic and chemistry with changing EV's winning 442 into these new setups to fit Coutinho, Iniesta and soon Dembele?

 

[MessiCam]

It is a strange coincidence that we started to look toothless exactly in the last 2 matches, when EV switched from 442 or 4411 with 3 Cms to 433 or 442 with 2 Cms+Busi+a winger.

4 days ago people said that Alaves had the strongest bus ever seen.
Now, Valencia with half of their starters out, also had the strongest block seen here in 10 years.

A question time:
1. are these 2 teams the best defensive teams in the world?
2. or we have lost our automatism, magic and chemistry with changing EV's winning 442 into these new setups to fit Coutinho, Iniesta and soon Dembele?

No. You’re working back from a predefined conclusion. I’ve always said that Barca’s game is not suited to a double pivot. You can go all the way back to when I joined.

But anyway, Alaves defended well but they were allowed an escape due to a double pivot and 2 attacking players on the flanks. Like I said, signing Coutinho changed a whole lot because Valverde can’t get away with flooding the midfield with workhorses. Unless he wants to bench Coutinho permanently.

And tonight’s performance was anything but toothless. It was total domination and the score line flatters Valencia very much but I will give them their due that the deep block worked. If we’d had more fluidity on the right I think it could have been a drubbing.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Poor game? You people are insane. That’s probably the best Barça have played all season. Limiting the opposition to what? 3/4 shots with 70% + possession and a high line. Pressing was exceptional too.

I can only assume it’s the 4-4-2 brigade... After a 4-4-2 rendered a draw before.

Valencia played very defensively. Of course we were going to have 70%+ possession. The thing is, we didn't create enough scoring chances, not that many at the end.

 

[Capitan Puyol]

We are too good for all other teams. Treble loading...

 

[beogatts]

We are too good for all other teams. Treble loading...

i feel the same way. our opponents can only think of is park da bus.

 

[xXKonan]

The pressing was great, but we were missing that one guy other than Messi who can cause a lot of havoc in the box or out wide. Vidal and Roberto weren't doing enough going forward to put the screws to Valencia's Left hand side.

This screams Dembele, someone who can just cause so much damage out wide enough to really unsettle Valencia.

 

[vlad]

At least seven in that CL draw are capable of dumping us and will pack their defence and hit us on the counter attack , they all know exactly how we are going to play and how to deal with it. Messi is the GOAT but he's an achilles heel at times as everyone seems to be told they have got to pass to him anytime we are near the box.

You are giving to much credit to other teams and to little to barca, simple as that, just one defeat until now and that was in Cdr vs espanyol, big win against real, juventus, dominated atletico on away match, blowing the legaue pretty much, i have ptoblem to understand how other teams in CL will suddendly expose barca, in CL except city who is playing great i dont see team better then barca

 

[Ken_rosseneri]

This game was soo frustrating.. teams that sit back and park the bus are really really annoying. glad we won, very frustrating too..but we were outstanding in terms of possession and pressing.. just not many chances created due to the BUS ugh.. glad we found a way to win.. This 4-4-2 is very annoying.. soo fucking annoying. And why can't he play 433 with Coutinho as LW and iniesta in midfield (like Enrique) or Coutinho as a CAM in 4312 like paulinho sometimes? if people say Coutinho is like Neymar then why can't this coach play him there? the coach is annoying sometimes tho.. jus leaving players out of the squad anyhow... i wonder what will happen when Dembele comes back. how will he do it? the 442 formation makes our plays very predictable.. 3 games now we've been sort of struggling from Espanyol to Alaves to Valencia, notice the trend?

 

[MessiCam]

Valencia played very defensively. Of course we were going to have 70%+ possession. The thing is, we didn't create enough scoring chances, not that many at the end.

Yes, and it's no different to how they played in the 1-1 draw at the Mestalla in La Liga where we created even less chances and they had 3/4 clear counter attacks. But that's what deep blocks do. They're designed to limit chances and playing 4-4-2 would have resulted in even less chances in my opinion.

But more than anything it is how we played this time around. Overall, I think it was the best display of the season over a full 90 minutes. Total dominance against a top 4 team.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

The pressing was great, but we were missing that one guy other than Messi who can cause a lot of havoc in the box or out wide. Vidal and Roberto weren't doing enough going forward to put the screws to Valencia's Left hand side.

This screams Dembele, someone who can just cause so much damage out wide enough to really unsettle Valencia.

Coutinho. He can score from distance. One of the best in the world in it.

 

[Raki13]

Coutinho. He can score from distance. One of the best in the world in it.

He's never going to be allowed to play his game , everything around the box has got to involve Messi, its as if theres something in their contracts that says if you are near the box it must go to Messi. A quality side in the CL will do exactly the same defensively and hit us on the break , they all know exactly how we will play because it never changes. Last night was absolutely brutal to watch.

 

[Barcaman]

He's never going to be allowed to play his game , everything around the box has got to involve Messi, its as if theres something in their contracts that says if you are near the box it must go to Messi. A quality side in the CL will do exactly the same defensively and hit us on the break , they all know exactly how we will play because it never changes. Last night was absolutely brutal to watch.

What quality side? You think City or Bayern are without faults? We have chances as much as them, if not more.

Constant doom and gloom is too tedious. First we were finished because we failed to replace Neymar, sign a midfielder, Madrid were gonna dominate the next decade, Messi going to City, Valverde was a fraud, etc. Now that we are heading for record La Liga and Copa win and going as favorites against EPL champs, it's still another big "test" round the corner and only looking for faults.

Season has been nothing but great considering the circumstances, Dembele injury, and I don't think no other manager would have pulled it off.

 

[Windhook]

Some really tired legs out there in the second half. Valverde's Alaves experiment from Sunday night cost us a lot against Valencia.

 

[Ursegor]

Attendance was a joke. This is the most successful team of the decade spearheaded by the best player of all time playing a dominant season and half the stadium is empty against a top La Liga team in a semi-final.

Best pressing game of the season. Looked like old times even if there were few great chances. Chelsea game will look similar I reckon.

 

[jairzinho]

It's not just the attendance but the atmosphere sometimes is really dull as fuck.

If you watch a game at the bernabeu, the fans especially behind the goal are always in full voice.