Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid
Atletico 1-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 0-3 Juventus
Athletic 3-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 1-4 PSG
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
He?s done some great things this season in a ?transition? period. But imo that?s too many big games lost. Not saying I expect to win all of those, but I?m not opposed to a different coach next season now. Hopefully they could continue the good things Koeman has done with some new players and take them to the next level.
This pattern could have a lot of explanations.
I am lately leaning towards how our tactics and a lot of players are perfectly suitable for La liga (playing against smaller teams).
For example:
1) Messi is playing his 16th full season against the same opponents.
He knows perfectly well how to score against Getafe and Levante.
Also, majority of weaker La liga teams are latino/Spanish technical teams who rely more on technique and possession than on physique, fouls, aggression or headers.
So, to some extent, Messi got used to them and found a way how to terrorize Spanish minows.
But when we come to a CL: German or English teams are taller, faster, stronger, more aggressive than Getafe.
And what happens with Messi in matches outside of Getafe?
= he is easily tackled, outjumped or outmuscled in Europe. He is usually sulking or invisible and we lose. Yet, 3 days later against Getafe he scores 3 goals, we win La liga and people say how CL is about luck and momentum and La Liga is about consistency.
Imo, La liga is NOT about winning against big teams.
30-32 matches per season are against bad to average teams. A champion is NOT the one who plays the best against RM, but the one who finds the most efficient way to win against Getafe and Levante as often as possible.
And then we have Barca's style/Pep's stlye, which seems to be the best style against smaller opponents.
Paired with Messi's 16 years experience of terrorizing Getafe.
= and we get La Liga domination
But when Messi faces different teams than Getafe, what usually happens in the last few years?
1) Real Madrid = he can't dribble them anymore
2) CL = he is too slow for those defenses
3) NT teams = the same, he is easily neutralized by any random European defense, like Iceland, Croatia or France on the last world cup.
So, in the last few years, whenever Messi faces teams stronger, faster, better than Getafes, he is neutralized in let's say 8 out of 10 matches.
2) Suarez, while he was here:
He was banging 20-30 La liga goals, yet in a CL he scored 2-3 KO goals in a few years, iirc.
So, another monster in La liga and a WOAT in a CL.
3) Busi, the same story.
Awesome and instrumental for our play in La liga, yet an absolute disaster for faster CL opponents.
4) Mats, the same.
GOAT for La Liga and undisputed WOAT in high stakes matches.
5) Frenkie: stamina merchant who is awesome against weak La Liga teams, yet in Europe he is probably even a downgrade from Rakitic and Vidal.
Then a lot of us wonder HOW it is possible that we are winning La Ligas, yet Real is winning CLs yet stay behind us in La Liga?
What if our team is just limited and we are banging La ligas due to:
1) Pep's/Barca DNA tactics = a perfect style against minows
2) Messi knowing La liga opponents way too well
3) La liga teams playing softer football which is suitable for our slower possession football (unlike European opponents) and we can't get exploited in La liga?
= in general, WHAT IF we have just found a perfect trick how to win against Getafe/Levante as often as possible, but in general we aren't a formidable team for the highest level?
On the other hand, with RM, they didn't find a way to beat minows as consistently as we do.
But they have a better mental strength, better defense, better Gks and more different attacking options in Europe, compared to us, who's only gameplan is: dwell on a ball, pass it to Messi and he'll probably pull something.
When we face Roma or Liverpool, we can't defend against corners.
Real can.
When we face Roma or Liverpool, our only gameplan is pass to Messi and he is marked by 3.
Real for years had several attacking options: possession, fast counters or even crosses and headers.
And, of course, they have captains/leaders and they can turn around 0:1 matches, unlike us.
I hope that not too many will get mad, but what if we are La Liga merchants?
Or more precisely: what if we are Getafe/Levante merchants?
What if we are the same as Busi?
= we are perfect/suitable against one type of opponents?
And quite average when you move us from those opponents?
** this is related to Barca after 2014/2015.
