Some of the cules here praising EV 2 months ago (GOATVerde etc) now screaming for his head on a plate .. You are so pathetic and childish!
Bad night for the club and for everyone. Was it down to tactics? Maybe you didn't watch the game at all. No Barca player (bar Ter Stegen), including Messi, showed up on the pitch. They didn't win a single battle during the game. They were just absent, while Roma looked like playing with 14 men, they were everywhere and winning all duels.
Its 100% down to the players (bar Ter Stegen), and 100% down to the part played by EV in not motivating the players enough. Everyone underestimated Roma, approached this game as another normal boring day at work. Not the right attitude for CL quarterfinals no matter the name of the opponent.
All other discussion about tactics is just stupid. you can only discuss tactics when the players play the game, not when they are mentally just at a parallel universe.
No bad tactics will get Barca being humiliated in this game (84% of the simulations and winning it 4%. This is out of a Barca - Ludogorets game. Not possible given any tactical standards)
It was by far the worst performance of the year by any standard, right out of last year's CL away games (PSG, Juve). And that's the issue the club should seriously look on long-term basis. The only serious thing stated today was by Busquets: We should find out how to become stronger in knock out ties. Since Pep left, our place in the semis is not secure at all, but we are just bad in dealing with knock-out ties and away games especially, even when Pep was here.
Look at all our away knock-out in CL results since 2008:
Lyon D, Bayern D, Chelsea D/ Stutgart D, Arsenal D, Inter L/ Arsenal L, Shaktar W, Real W/ Leverkusen W, Milan D, Chelsea L/ Milan L, PSG D, Bayern L/ City W, Atletico L/ City W, PSG W, Bayern L/ Arsenal W, Atletico L/ PSG L, Juve L/ Chelsea D, Roma L
26 games: 7 wins, 8 draws, 11 losses. Horrendous record.
Even during Pep's era only significant away win was against RM 0-2, and then against a Shaktar (after a 5-0) and a Leverkusen.
The only season we looked really confident and able to win anyone away from home was 14-15. We lost to Bayern in Munich, but could have won that if we played the first game away. Other than that, the issue is clear here..
Is it a mentality issue? Is it an issue with this competition (CL) in particular? Is it an issue with approaching knock-out ties? People should really look into that so that next year we will start taking seriously the knock-out phase of this competition.
PS: some already discussing managers (tuchel, sarri). You are just laughable
. Let Xavi take over! He will do a good job (like when he was interfering with Martino's job, thinking he is a coach already, and not having realized we were not playing Pep's football anymore). Let Pique take over, who thinks he knows more than EV
, while being abysmal on the pitch and making Dzeko look like Gert Muller and Romario together