Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

2-2 reprise?

Marcelo

At fault for both goals

Beautiful football game.

marcelo screwed this for us

people like to give marcelo a pass and hardly call him out. well, i'm asking now, has this guy's game grown since he signed for us? yes he's not as terrible on defense when we first got him, but he's nothing special defensively neither. and he still neglects his defensive duties even more. but because of the flash, we pretend like the guy is mr reliable, and he is far from that.....clumsy today, very clumsy

titosantill wrote:people like to give marcelo a pass and hardly call him out. well, i'm asking now, has this guy's game grown since he signed for us? yes he's not as terrible on defense when we first got him, but he's nothing special defensively neither. and he still neglects his defensive duties even more. but because of the flash, we pretend like the guy is mr reliable, and he is far from that.....clumsy today, very clumsy

Nobody is giving him a pass. Marcelo was horrendous tonight.

i say its time we started looking at options for a reliable left back. marcelo is not going to get any better than what he is now. bringing back a crocked coentrao was just ludicrous.

Even with Marcelo, we could've easily won. I didn't count, but I remember we created many clear-cut chances. We should've taken those...and of course it would've helped if Marcelo hadn't decided to play for Dortmund for the last 15 min.

It's safe to say that Dortmund is lucky to have gone home with a point. This was a Real Madrid show all along. Only when the subs came in that we lost a little bit of control. But that's understandable: Kroos and Morata have just come back from injury.

halamadrid2 wrote:If only we had a LB like Carvajal

alvaro tejero

oh boy, here we go again....let him go on loan first

If you look at the other groups, finishing second isn't that bad!

We get one of Arsenal, Napoles, Monaco, Leicester City or Juventus. Nothing terrifying there.

If we had won, it would have been one of PSG, Benfica, Man City, Bayern, Leverkusen, or Porto.

I think we get the better draw!

As to the game, I think we finally saw the real Benz tonight. Other than Marcelo, we can't really complain. We were clearly the better team.

I'm beginning to think we have been unduly harsh on Zidane. It's been a while since we have complained that team looked bad, that tactics were wrong. Seems to me the only real complaint we had recently has been player selection, most notably the guy who proved us all wrong tonight and timing of subs.

Yet the team remains undefeated, sit first in liga, all ready for January Copa games and now ready for CL knockouts. These results all with substantial injuries and various players getting into game shape and form. And he's done that having used in entire squad (well maybe except Coentrao), something I don't remember any coach doing before. He has 24 in squad plus he got good games out of Odegaard, Tejero and his own son the other day and even the practice goalie got game action.

@Tito re your comment earlier about use of Castilla players; this year Castilla stinks. The only talent they have played in that Copa game. Our real talent is out on loan and expect Odegaard to join them in January.

Am I just the eternal optimist or have we been right in our heavy criticism (of Zidane)?

the list of those we can meet in the next round sounds good. but i've always been nervous about playing the first game at home and the second away. that's what really worries me, anyway, let's see what happens. i don't think zidane could be blamed for this result today, marcelo was the culprit, and we missed some good chances too

Frustrated by the inability to kill off a game, but I am okay with the result and being in second place as bill stated, and as I mentioned a few weeks ago- A lot of top teams placed second this year so we may have accidentally done ourselves a favor finishing second.

Impossible to improve on Marcelo. This game doesn't change that

Missed the entire match due to exams. Not one but two exams. Only watched the highlights so forgive my ignorance on the actual proceedings. How exactly we blew a 2-0 lead. Something tells me we were actually cruising with the 2-0 too.

Also, how was Benzema? Those 2 goals I am sure kept the Bernabeu from jeering him. Seriously, how good/bad were we?

Also also, placing 2nd isn't that bad though we can easily draw the likes of Juventus and Arsenal but more than likely, we would get Leceister City.

It's a shame that we conceded two goals, because Carvajal and Varane both had a very good game.

Doc wrote:How exactly we blew a 2-0 lead.

Wastefulness and complacency. We had many chances to score at least four goals, but we didn't take them. Dortmund didn't do much, but they took the only two chances they had all game, and one of them was a mistake from Marcelo.

Something tells me we were actually cruising with the 2-0 too.

We were actually. At some point, only Madrid was playing and creating chances. Dortmund was simply content with sitting back and countering. They really should feel lucky to have gone home with a point.

Also, how was Benzema? Those 2 goals I am sure kept the Bernabeu from jeering him.

He was his usual self, lazy and indifferent. But this time around, he actually scored, so he wasn't totally useless.

Seriously, how good/bad were we?

We played very well, except for two or three players. It was just one of those game where you feel it wasn't just meant to be.

Also also, placing 2nd isn't that bad though we can easily draw the likes of Juventus and Arsenal but more than likely, we would get Leceister City.

We'll play Leicester, Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, or Napoli.
Had we topped the group, we would've been playing PSG, Benfica, City, Bayern, Leverkusen or Porto.

I think had we finished first, we would've had an easier road. Bayern is going through a rough patch and aren't as strong as they used to be. The same can be applied to both PSG and City. And I don't think Benfica, Leverkusen and Porto would've posed a threat.

On the other hand, now that we've finished second, we could face Arsenal or Juventus. The Gunners are doing very well, and Juventus are getting results without playing well. But you should always be wary of them.

So if you ask me, we are more likely to face a tough team now than we would have, had we finished first.

titosantill wrote:i say its time we started looking at options for a reliable left back. marcelo is not going to get any better than what he is now. bringing back a crocked coentrao was just ludicrous.

Stop buying fraud like Contreao and Danilo then.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

Doc wrote:How exactly we blew a 2-0 lead.

Wastefulness and complacency. We had many chances to score at least four goals, but we didn't take them. Dortmund didn't do much, but they took the only two chances they had all game, and one of them was a mistake from Marcelo.

Something tells me we were actually cruising with the 2-0 too.

We were actually. At some point, only Madrid was playing and creating chances. Dortmund was simply content with sitting back and countering. They really should feel lucky to have gone home with a point.

Also, how was Benzema? Those 2 goals I am sure kept the Bernabeu from jeering him.

He was his usual self, lazy and indifferent. But this time around, he actually scored, so he wasn't totally useless.

Seriously, how good/bad were we?

We played very well, except for two or three players. It was just one of those game where you feel it wasn't just meant to be.

Also also, placing 2nd isn't that bad though we can easily draw the likes of Juventus and Arsenal but more than likely, we would get Leceister City.

We'll play Leicester, Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, or Napoli.
Had we topped the group, we would've been playing PSG, Benfica, City, Bayern, Leverkusen or Porto.

I think had we finished first, we would've had an easier road. Bayern is going through a rough patch and aren't as strong as they used to be. The same can be applied to both PSG and City. And I don't think Benfica, Leverkusen and Porto would've posed a threat.

On the other hand, now that we've finished second, we could face Arsenal or Juventus. The Gunners are doing very well, and Juventus are getting results without playing well. But you should always be wary of them.

So if you ask me, we are more likely to face a tough team now than we would have, had we finished first.

DoC, I have to disagree with you. First off on Benz. I thought he played well yesterday. There was much more energy in his game yesterday than we have seen in a long time. He got two goals and had at least a couple more good attempts.

Generally speaking I thought team played very well. Just one of those games were balls just weren't finding net, but the chances were there. I do fault Marcelo for that last goal but also Varane tried to play Reus offside and it failed so he takes some blame on the goal as well.

As to finishing first or 2nd, regardless of where we finished we are due for a tougher road to CL championship this year. At this point, I fear no one, but the best out there IMO are Barca, Atleti, Bayern, all of whom we miss in 1st knockout round. Being 1st or 2nd, means possibly facing Juve, Arsenal vs City, Bayern, PSG. I don't see a big difference there.

Don't you feel maybe it's time to let up on the criticism a bit?

I'm confused because I don't remember criticizing the team this time around. I said Dortmund should feel lucky to have gone home with a point and that we created many chances to score.

Where's the criticism here? I really don't know. Unless you were referring to the Benzema criticism, then point taken. But I didn't criticize our team, not once this time.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

Doc wrote:How exactly we blew a 2-0 lead.

Wastefulness and complacency. We had many chances to score at least four goals, but we didn't take them. Dortmund didn't do much, but they took the only two chances they had all game, and one of them was a mistake from Marcelo.

not sure if serious