Lliga | Round 11: FC Barcelona - Sevilla FC 2-1
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
M
MessiCam
Guest
I could maybe accept this reasoning if we employed these tactics since the season started but it has come about with the switch to a flat 4-4-2 base formation. This sort of thing happened against Girona, Malaga, Bilbao and now again against Sevilla. At times when searching for goals the football was good and last night for the first time (those first 30 minutes) since Juventus and Eibar we actually played very well as a unit in both attack and defence. The pressing and counter-pressing was of a high standard not seen since the early part of the season which had people impressed by what Valverde had done in such little time.Tbh we have small club quality in attacking roster bar Messi. Valverede is simply adapting to this fact and getting amazingly consistent results. He is playing quite defensive tactics, because defense is currently our strongest asset and he is taking advantage of this. If we'd tried to play globe trotter football with this squad it would end up in disaster. In terms of creativity we have mediocre players at best apart from Messi, Busi and old Iniesta. It's time to get in terms with this.
Only thing i'd seriously complain about is some weird stubborn decisions by Valverde with whom to play. Like, Suarez, who hasn't played a single good minute this season is being kept on at all times. For what? Only rationale behind this i could image would be running him into ground in the first part of the season to save better players for crunch time.The same with Rakitic. This may not be his worst performance, but why not rotate him with Suarez on regular bases. He isn't better than him for sure.
As for the 4-4-2 thing it's pretty obvious. We have shit attack so scoring manita every match is not a valid expectation. Better keep our goal safe than hope we still can play friggin' joga bonita tiki-taka. We can't and going all out attack would mean throwing bunch of impotent players forward, who will still fail to score, while exposing our rear for easy pot shots. Defense until now has been top notch.
What is now happening is once we’re leading we’re sitting back and letting teams have the ball and in the process having a go. That’s not good defence, that’s bad tactics. That’s parking the bus to protect a lead...
Nobody here can convince me that Dembélé’s injury resulted in what we have now and if it is then Valverde is even more clueless than I imagine.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
+1
The first 10 minutes of the match could have resulted in 4 goals. Iniesta and Messi were brilliant and if Suarez had lifted the ball just a lttle higher and scored, we'd have said the same about him. Amazing what a few centimeters can do to one's confidence. Suarez 2nd half performance was deplorable and the whole team (except for players who did not play in Greece) looked tired.
Two big positives: Piqué much better than recently and Rakitic had a very good game.
Third maybe even more important thing: 10 first minutes showed that we can still play the most entertaining beautiful football, inspired by our great magicians Messi and Iniesta.
Two big positives: Piqué much better than recently and Rakitic had a very good game.
Third maybe even more important thing: 10 first minutes showed that we can still play the most entertaining beautiful football, inspired by our great magicians Messi and Iniesta.
Alik
Moderator
I would advise you do understand the concept of a forum and learn to type with your hands, and not your butt, before posting.
LeeRomeno
Active member
Not surprised about the whine here, longer the undefeated streak goes, more whiners we have. Barcaforum logic.
Tough match with tough conditions, great to come out with win especially after ref missed so many obvious calls against us. First half gameplay was great, but for some reason we tend to take off effort once we score. Has happened in several games. Overconfidence, mental thing, that we will anyways be able to score even if they equalize? I doubt Valverde tells them to protect 1 goal lead, makes no sense.
Tough match with tough conditions, great to come out with win especially after ref missed so many obvious calls against us. First half gameplay was great, but for some reason we tend to take off effort once we score. Has happened in several games. Overconfidence, mental thing, that we will anyways be able to score even if they equalize? I doubt Valverde tells them to protect 1 goal lead, makes no sense.
Ousmane Dembélé
Banned
God Serena
New member
You need to say this about Suarez before next game
My jinxing powers probably aren't that strong but god dammit I will try.
Defending a lead is not neccessarily a bad thing, many teams do it. But you usually do it against a team of similar stature to yours. Barcelona defending to death against the likes of Sporting, Malaga, Sevilla at home etc. is not something you want to see. Many neutral fans are saying that we are playing weird and boring. It`s not only spoiled Barca fans.
I don`t know is it the players or Valverde, but it`s not sustainable in the long run. We`ll get punished for it sooner or later, especially because Messi and Suarez don`t bother defending.
I don`t know is it the players or Valverde, but it`s not sustainable in the long run. We`ll get punished for it sooner or later, especially because Messi and Suarez don`t bother defending.
Pepe Silvia
Active member
This post aged really well...
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