Honestly this was a very surprising game. When I watched the Liverpool-Madrid game and saw that Ancelotti was playing with four attacking midfielders, I immediately thought that if he tried a line-up like that against us, he was going to get burned. It honestly nearly unraveled on him in the first half, to be honest we were creating the better scoring chances in the first half and while the scoreline and the overall result suggests we are still a long way behind Madrid, the first half was much more like how I thought the game was going to play out. Yes, Madrid have a good back line that can make money last ditch challenges and yes Ancelotti has them organized well but its nothing terribly complex. In the first half, we were utilizing the space in between their defensive and mf line well with Neymar's goal being created from him cutting into the middle with the space left from their MF.
It was clearly a game of two halves however because the Barca in the first half and second half were night and day. And while I initially focused on Madrid and Ancelotti's choices, I am turning my attention to Lucho now and why I am starting the be concerned with his decision making. First point being, I have no idea what he was thinking playing Mathieu in the role he had him play. Madrid playing a 4-4-2 made it
vital to have size and strength in the center back pairing since Ronaldo and Benzema were for the most part playing through the middle. Mathieu's best attributes so far has been his ability to clear in the air, recover off of breaks and being strong in the tackle with a no nonsense approach on the ball. Putting a player like in not just a LB role but honestly as an attacking fullback, to mark James, a 5'9 shrimp with not a lot of physical attributes, was baffling from Lucho. Time and time again when Mathieu ventured forward to support the attack, he would turn the ball over. Its not slight against him as a player, he simply isn't a wing back. So again, pushing Mathieu out wide to mark James and expecting Mascherano to contain Benzema is bass ackwards thinking from Lucho.
Its like he didn't know Madrid were going to play a 4-4-2, even though they have practically all season.
Point two that Lucho deserves criticism for is Madrid overall played more precise then we did, and that is the first time in over 5 years I am saying this. Yes we had more completed passes and possession but when they had the ball, the moved it quickly and precisely with a clear idea of what they wanted to do and who was open. Madrid's entire game plan offensively is opportunistic, they create a majority of their goals from counter off of a defensive transition after winning the ball which is why they can score goals against the run of play at times. The way you combat that is by not making mistakes and making smart decisions in possession, things us fans took for granted because Barca's players naturally play that way. Well, they didn't today with the key example being Iniesta's turnover leading to Benzema's goal, the goal that really killed the game. Iniesta turning over the ball? That shouldn't be happening. Busquets made numerous mistakes in possession. Messi missing chances he usually buries in his sleep, these things show a lack of poise, a lack of execution, a lack of killer instinct. Poor and sloppy passing, lingering on the ball too long, these are things Lucho should have hammered out of the squad earlier in the season and them rearing their head in these big games (we lost to PSG in very similar fashion) is a very worrying sign to me.
The third thing that really concerned me from Lucho tonight was his man selection and subs during the game. Personally I would have kept Suarez on the bench to bring on as the difference maker in the 2nd half and start Munir, a player who Madrid don't know how to play exactly and would be itching to make a name for himself in a big opportunity on the big stage. I already talked about Mathieu but bringing off Xavi for a more defensive Rakitic when you are chasing a game is counter intuitive. As is bringing off Suarez, who was our best player in the 2nd half, for a totally piss poor Pedro who did nothing but run around like a chicken with his head cut off.
0 for 2 so far in the big games for Lucho and that's not a good sign. We need to hope NMS can figure out how to create goals and link-up among themselves (it looks promising, Suarez's service from in wide positions was a joy to behold) otherwise its going to be another disappointing season.
Really fucking pissed Pepe the Goon scored the game winner too...
