Lliga | Round 1: Athletic Bilbao - FC Barcelona 1-0
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Respekt_III
Anti-everything
Watching city and even arsenal compared to us.... Just disheartening
JerseyAddict
Well-known member
Just them?
I have seen more game plan in some bottom tier teams.
Yesterday there were moments when overlaping players at the flanks have been CRASHIN into each other.
At this level, for that money, DISGRACEFULL.
soul24rage
Senior Member
[tw]1163118671721574403[/tw]
Great Analysis on that game
Great Analysis on that game
JerseyAddict
Well-known member
As I said. Players crashed to each other in attacking phase. No plan. No real positioning. No even simplest overlaping. These players know how to do that. Just someone needs to put all of them on their place and usage. They can't play like schoolyard bunch.
Vilarrubi
New member
Retardo Wankverde tactics.
JohnN
Senior Member
WARNING: Long Post Incoming
Just got back from vacation and got a chance to see the match.
After the meltdown in the forum I thought we had a terrible performance, which is not true.
It's the first match of the season, so we shouldn't jump to hasty conclusions.
I will try to remove bias and assess what we saw, judging players without their status, shirt number and history in mind.
Mats - Was stable when needed. Didn't stand a chance to save the goal.
Pique - Very composed when defending, progressed forward the ball with success as well. Good passes. Minimal mistakes if any.
Langlet - Same as Pique. Looked good.
Alba - Provided width and pace. Tried to cross when able and do combinations in the middle. Good at intercepting balls too.
Semedo - Can carry the ball decently until the half way line and cover space too. Seems unsure on how to combine in the final third. Not too useful for
overlaps, despite his good pace, he seems to mistime his runs. Not a fast thinker.
FDJ - Very good in possession, passing, avoiding pressure and covering space. Tried some vertical balls that didn't come through but not too many. Could be even more useful further up the field. 2nd best player of the match.
Alena - Was quick in his decision making and good at distribution. Not efficient outside the box. Should have played in the second half too.
Sergi Roberto - Was invisible. Don't remember him doing anything actually. Was like playing with a two man midfield.
Dembele - Started really really bad. Full of miscontrolls and heavy passes on the right flank. Almost gave an assist to Athletic. Better in the second half (left flank) as he tried to combine through the middle and dribble some more. His passes still let him down. Had a good through ball for rafinha though.
With performances like this, he would be an 80th minute sub, at best, for Barcelona in any other era.
Suarez - Little time played and minimal involvement in the build up. Good turn and shot for his chance. Not sure how to judge him, since he played in the first minutes only, when the team was still searching for rythm.
Griezmann - Didn't get many touches on the left wing, and when he did, he couldn't do much more than pass back. Not a player that will try 1vs1 take ons. Has good instincts for first time passing inside and around the box, but not for finishing. His aim is always to find a player in a better position. Still, more useful when drifting centrally. Not in sync with other players yet.
Rafinha - Very good game from him. Two very good chances (solo chances too), that nobody can blame him for not converting. Very mobile player, with good combinations. Faded away in the dying minutes. Man of the match for me.
Rakitic - Much much better than Sergi. Good in advancing from the back and playing safe passes. Tried some long balls that failed, which gave up possession for no reason. Also tried to force too many lob passes into the box, maybe because he is trying to prove something. Had a good chance too, in which he was unlucky not to score. Should have replaced Sergi and not Alena though.
Carles Perez - Not much to say, except that he seemed more involved than Suarez and Griezmann.
Overall Performance:
Not our best game, but we had some good periods on a very tough ground in the first match of the season. I feel we were unlucky not to win, even with the small amount of chances we created. More so, we were surely unlucky not to get away with the draw, conceding an amazing goal in the dying minutes from a team that we dominated in the second half. Remember we always struggle against them, even with Messi on the pitch.
Conclusion:
The meltdown is not justified. Granted, we were lacking creativity in the final third without messi (amazing conclusion, I know!) and the frontline doesn't have chemistry yet.
What we should take away from this game:
1. Sergi Roberto is not needed as a CM. Anyone can do his job better.
2. Rafinha has been very unlucky with his career. He does have limitations, but it is obvious he has great attributes too.
3. FDJ needs to be trusted more in the final third. His role was to distribute to other players, but he seems more creative than them.
4. Semedo will most probably remain a decent RB throughout his career. Most teams can live with someone like him in the ranks. Don't expect a Dani Alves V2 there though.
5. Rakitic can still have a role in this team. I would take him over Roberto any day of the week.
6. Dembele doesn't seem to have a great footballing IQ and doesn't seem to be able to weight a pass properly. Every passing day it seems more and more unlikely he can develop into a WC player.
7. Frustration is justified when dealing with Valverde. At this point whatever he does, he will never overshadow the CL disasters. Subbing Alena instead of Roberto out, is a testament to his vast tactical knowledge. This team would perform much better without him.
Just got back from vacation and got a chance to see the match.
After the meltdown in the forum I thought we had a terrible performance, which is not true.
It's the first match of the season, so we shouldn't jump to hasty conclusions.
I will try to remove bias and assess what we saw, judging players without their status, shirt number and history in mind.
Mats - Was stable when needed. Didn't stand a chance to save the goal.
Pique - Very composed when defending, progressed forward the ball with success as well. Good passes. Minimal mistakes if any.
Langlet - Same as Pique. Looked good.
Alba - Provided width and pace. Tried to cross when able and do combinations in the middle. Good at intercepting balls too.
Semedo - Can carry the ball decently until the half way line and cover space too. Seems unsure on how to combine in the final third. Not too useful for
overlaps, despite his good pace, he seems to mistime his runs. Not a fast thinker.
FDJ - Very good in possession, passing, avoiding pressure and covering space. Tried some vertical balls that didn't come through but not too many. Could be even more useful further up the field. 2nd best player of the match.
Alena - Was quick in his decision making and good at distribution. Not efficient outside the box. Should have played in the second half too.
Sergi Roberto - Was invisible. Don't remember him doing anything actually. Was like playing with a two man midfield.
Dembele - Started really really bad. Full of miscontrolls and heavy passes on the right flank. Almost gave an assist to Athletic. Better in the second half (left flank) as he tried to combine through the middle and dribble some more. His passes still let him down. Had a good through ball for rafinha though.
With performances like this, he would be an 80th minute sub, at best, for Barcelona in any other era.
Suarez - Little time played and minimal involvement in the build up. Good turn and shot for his chance. Not sure how to judge him, since he played in the first minutes only, when the team was still searching for rythm.
Griezmann - Didn't get many touches on the left wing, and when he did, he couldn't do much more than pass back. Not a player that will try 1vs1 take ons. Has good instincts for first time passing inside and around the box, but not for finishing. His aim is always to find a player in a better position. Still, more useful when drifting centrally. Not in sync with other players yet.
Rafinha - Very good game from him. Two very good chances (solo chances too), that nobody can blame him for not converting. Very mobile player, with good combinations. Faded away in the dying minutes. Man of the match for me.
Rakitic - Much much better than Sergi. Good in advancing from the back and playing safe passes. Tried some long balls that failed, which gave up possession for no reason. Also tried to force too many lob passes into the box, maybe because he is trying to prove something. Had a good chance too, in which he was unlucky not to score. Should have replaced Sergi and not Alena though.
Carles Perez - Not much to say, except that he seemed more involved than Suarez and Griezmann.
Overall Performance:
Not our best game, but we had some good periods on a very tough ground in the first match of the season. I feel we were unlucky not to win, even with the small amount of chances we created. More so, we were surely unlucky not to get away with the draw, conceding an amazing goal in the dying minutes from a team that we dominated in the second half. Remember we always struggle against them, even with Messi on the pitch.
Conclusion:
The meltdown is not justified. Granted, we were lacking creativity in the final third without messi (amazing conclusion, I know!) and the frontline doesn't have chemistry yet.
What we should take away from this game:
1. Sergi Roberto is not needed as a CM. Anyone can do his job better.
2. Rafinha has been very unlucky with his career. He does have limitations, but it is obvious he has great attributes too.
3. FDJ needs to be trusted more in the final third. His role was to distribute to other players, but he seems more creative than them.
4. Semedo will most probably remain a decent RB throughout his career. Most teams can live with someone like him in the ranks. Don't expect a Dani Alves V2 there though.
5. Rakitic can still have a role in this team. I would take him over Roberto any day of the week.
6. Dembele doesn't seem to have a great footballing IQ and doesn't seem to be able to weight a pass properly. Every passing day it seems more and more unlikely he can develop into a WC player.
7. Frustration is justified when dealing with Valverde. At this point whatever he does, he will never overshadow the CL disasters. Subbing Alena instead of Roberto out, is a testament to his vast tactical knowledge. This team would perform much better without him.
the Bilbao goal can be blamed 1/3 on MAtS (kicked ball into the stands), 1/3 Alba (conceded Cross) and 1/3 to whoever was supposed to mark Aduritz.
Alena should have continued instead of Roberto.
Inexplicable dysfunction between Alba and Griezmann - Valverde to be blamed?
Griezmann was booed by Bilbao crowd - not an easy match for him, he will do better next week.
Bad luck for Suarez, he looked slim and fit and could have scored. Moved well before the injury.
Bottom line: Without Messi, Valverde's mistakes can no longer be hidden.
Alena should have continued instead of Roberto.
Inexplicable dysfunction between Alba and Griezmann - Valverde to be blamed?
Griezmann was booed by Bilbao crowd - not an easy match for him, he will do better next week.
Bad luck for Suarez, he looked slim and fit and could have scored. Moved well before the injury.
Bottom line: Without Messi, Valverde's mistakes can no longer be hidden.
JohnN
Senior Member
Semedo was supposed to mark Aduritz. You can't blame the keeper for this. Might as well blame a bad pass 2 minutes before the goal. There is no point. I agree with the rest.
Griezmann with alba have no chemistry yet. Griezmann with Suarez have no chemistry either. Let's hope they will click later on.
powderedtoastman
New member
Last edited:
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