Re: Celebration Thread

[Khaled]

This Pic is :dance:

[BarcaKizz]

Anyone know if Xavi's goal will count for him or an own goal?? Barca website has Xavi, but Goal.com and others have Marcelo (OG)

[alexjanosik]

"DEFENCE?? yeah Guardiola did it!! he played 3 at the back vs madrid"


I thought it was a 4-3-3 ?

Kinda but not what you would think. Like, Alves was playing as RW(not RB).

When Madrid had the ball, Busquets went to CB, and Puyol went to RB. Abigod stayed at left for the entire match. Pique was also constantly at CB(so we DID have a back 4-only when we didn't have the ball).

When we were attacking, it was a 3 man back line with pique, Puyol and Abigod. Alves was nowhere near the defensive line.

Pretty much this.I will copy paste what i wrote in the other thread.

I was thinking the exact same thing at half time.
I know we win but still cant help but feel that Pep got things wrong.
Also know that both Cesc and Sanchez scored but imo his decision to play the both of them almost cost us the match.Both did absolutely nothing apart from the goals.
Cesc again did his 'Lost Puppy' act.He was atrocious.I hope Barca fans realize that he is nowhere even remotely close to Xavi and can never be.
Had thiago played instead we would have won more comfortably.
Sanchez scored a goal but other that that his best contribution was whining to the ref.
We were basically playing a couple of men down with Cesc and Sancehz on the pitch.

Tactically its also meant that Iniesta was on the wing and it showed as we couldnt dominate the midfield.He was having a poor game in the first half.

But interesting tactical change by Pep in the second half.
He pushed Alves up into midfield,dropped Busqutes back into defense and played Puyol at RB.But it wasnt a conventional back four.Busquets would often come into midfield as a sweeper.
Alexis played the role of CF.
But this time Iniesta started dropping into midfield and Cesc would go over to the left.
As a result we started controlling the midfield and from then on there was no chance as Madrid were left chasing shadows.

On the players Messi was the MOM.I know he sort of faded out after we went up 3-1 but with the game on the line and almost all of our players struggling,he stepped up and took the game by the scruff of the neck and delivered big time.Didnt score but he had just one chance and Casillas pulled off an excellent save.Still the best player on the pitch.
Like i said,if he wins La Liga and CL this season GOAT for me.

Sergio Busquets
And to think there are idiots who think he is not world class.
best player on the pitch after Messi.
Apart from Messi the only other brilliant Barca player in the first half and played a sweeper in the second half again briliantly.
Basically he played the Beckenbauer role in a 4 man backline in the Clasico of all matches and he did it brilliantly.
There is no other player in the world who could have done that.
Great great player and one of my favorites now.

Alves too was senastional.Our third best player.Excellent game from him and put in some wonderful crosses.

Lastly I had written that I was supremely confident we would win and we did.
Madrid may beat whoever they want but we are still the team to beat

[alexjanosik]

Anyone know if Xavi's goal will count for him or an own goal?? Barca website has Xavi, but Goal.com and others have Marcelo (OG)

Can someone clarify the rule for me?
I thought that if the ball was already going in before the deflection then it counts as a legitimate goal and not an own goal.
Had there been no deflection Casillas would have had to make a save.
So shouldnt it count as a goal for xavi?

[kiranr]

It is Xavi's goal as it was headed to the goal before the deflection.

[alexjanosik]

It is Xavi's goal as it was headed to the goal before the deflection.

But on the TV they showed it as Marcelo own goal.
So how was it officially recorded?
Did they record it as OG or a Xavi goal?Can you confirm?
Excellent technique on the volley btw.

[kiranr]

It is Xavi's goal as it was headed to the goal before the deflection.

But on the TV they showed it as Marcelo own goal.
So how was it officially recorded?
Did they record it as OG or a Xavi goal?Can you confirm?
Excellent technique on the volley btw.

Hmm.. we can ask Khaled to confirm this for us, but as far as the laws of the game go, by my understanding, it should be Xavi's goal.

[El Chelsea Fuerte]

[Deathrow898]

:shisha: :dance:

[Mr_Puyol]

[messixaviesta]

People often see that Abidal isnt very aggressive in attack, Dani Alves is, Cesc is playing at the same time as the usual 3 mids and mix that all together and say "343".

Truth is, we just played. Everyone who was on the pitch played the role they play best.

Messi was coming deep, appeared in the midfield, in between the lines. Was rarely wide.

Cesc was in that strange position where he can link with Messi and make runs in behind and into the box.

Dani Alves was bombing on, because Puyol was always quick to rotate down into the space. When he got back, he went into his usual position. But you must remember Madrid counter very fast so of course Puyol was often rotating out wide.

It was the usual, guys just played their position.

Yes dani. It's so interchangeable and close to total football that it's hard to pigeonhole it into a formation. However I do see a distinct change in the way D.Alves plays now. Earlier no matter how adventurous he was he played the role of a full back bringing the ball out from the back and taking all the throw ins. Now he is already too far forward when Valdes has the ball. It was Puyol most of the times playing the auxiliary right back. So I can understand why people are saying we were playing three at the back.

[messixaviesta]

At half time, I felt it was a even game to be honest. I felt you played your style as well as we played ours. Which was, no perfect but some positive things.

I felt you were as I expected, strong on the counter because you are the very athletic. You also kept possession better than previous seasons against us.

The issue I think you have which always make me confident is your midfields defensive ability.

I think Xabi Alonso needs the protection of two players, otherwise we (especially Messi and Iniesta) get at your back 4 too often. You fouled over 20 times to our 10, many in midfield because Lass was the only guy who I would say is defensively above average. But he fouls too much himself.

Against us, either you play 4231 with Ozil, Lass/Sami K and Alonso and suffer defensively in the midfield....or you sacrifice Ozil, play both Lass and Sami and give defensive strength. If you play like that, you protect the back 4 much better. Problem with that is, you equally hinder your attack because the gap between the passer (Alonso) and the 3 forwards is far too big (especially when pressed) and we can intercept passes much too often.

So you understand, I think you have a problem there.

But as I said, for the first half and I think the first 10 minutes of 2nd, you played your style as good as we played ours..not perfectly, but very high.

Excellent comments dani - a great read.

[messixaviesta]

>Ronaldo? - Big game flop- Yes

Why?- Mental or is his skillset just not suited, or a combination of both.

I have said it before and been lambasted for it but will say it again. I think C.Ronaldo is not too less of a big match flop than Ibrahimovic. It's due to his amazing goal scoring record and his habit of dismantling the so called weaker teams in the so called smaller matches that he manages to get away with it and is rarely pointed out. He gets compared to Messi because he is the only player today who can match the little genius on a statistical level. However this one point I think is enough of a reason not to consider him among the true greats. At the moment he is winning praise from all and sundry all the time but it remains to be seen that when the next generation of stars take over how reverentially he will be remembered and how highly he will be rated in football history.

[messixaviesta]

Also know that both Cesc and Sanchez scored but imo his decision to play the both of them almost cost us the match.Both did absolutely nothing apart from the goals.

alex, I agree with the part on Fabregas but must thank him for getting the vital goal and thus don't want to criticize him. However I thought Alexis did well. He worked hard and went on some great moves although I agree he cannot behave like that on the pitch. The moment that stood out for me apart from the goal was when he did two consecutive full turns in one move. Maybe he did fade in the second half but in the first half when we were nowhere near our best I think he was one of our better players.

[JAY-Z]

YESS YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!


You did it guys, i have great sympathy for this team. It made my night when you WON.

Just keep it like this <3 <3

[messixaviesta]

Now time for my straight from the heart thoughts.

Before the game Real Madrid were by all accounts at the best level at which they have been in more than three years. Of all people Goal.com's Carlo Garganese, a self confessed Barcelona fan, predicted 3-1 to Real Madrid and that made me think perhaps the balance of power might indeed start shifting now.

The game couldn't have had a worse beginning. Valdes makes an error of the kind that is so completely unexpected of him. Our defense fails to clear the danger. They are 1-0 up. After that the game moves on and we seem way below our best. Perhaps our time of domination is indeed coming to an end.

Then the moment to level things. Messi shows why he is one of the most astounding players we will ever get to see. When everything is going against his team and most of the other stalwarts are well below their levels he levels the game with what can only be called a piece of Messi magic. Alexis takes the crucial chance very well. At this point the world has realized that it was nonsensical to write off Barcelona. However who knows what can happen now. The game is on an even keel.

Then starts the second half and something has now changed. Something that is a little difficult to explain what it is but it is indeed something. We are no longer looking at the two best teams in the world. We are now looking at the best team in the world and the second best team in the world and it's clear even to the most amateur football observer that we are talking about two completely different levels here.

In a nutshell I would like to say that amidst all those comments of Real Madrid and in particular C.Ronaldo missing easy chances and us being a little lucky the truth is that we were playing against a Madrid side that was in outstanding form and laying claim to being the best in the world on their ground and still won 3-1 with them managing only one goal in the entire game and that too was basically a gift from us.

[The Franchise]

@ Franchise.

Personally the big hole I saw was the lack of intelligent posession play, which I suppose comes naturally with a counter attacking style.

IMO we weren't half Bad defensively until the third goal....in the sense that our midfield wasn't exactly run over and suppressed but was in some ways allowed to express themselves.Lass was excetllent...(have no idea why he was taken off ) but overall, the class showed and you knicked a fortuitious goal and then ran us completely over.

Ozil and Benz had nice games.....but one thing that stood out to me was Di Maria's lacking final ball.I'm not copletely sure about this....but I actually wouldn't mind Mou using him in the same position maradona ussed him in the WC....as a hard pressing midfielder.......he can offer the coverage you talked about without sacrificing nearly as much as we would playing both Lass and Khedira.

Both fullbacks were as good or even better than I expected them to be.I think that our styles compliment each other's very well as far as ideal type games go....but our's still needs to be tweaked.

What really bother's me is that you have your style and it's there and we always have to worry about tactics and what we're going to do.But I suppose that's neccessay for the while.

I was glad to see that it wasn't Messi who beat us.......take it step by step.....we'll get there.Now on to the question of the day

>Ronaldo? - Big game flop- Yes

Why?- Mental or is his skillset just not suited, or a combination of both.

If we could just get over this Ronaldo thing....I mean the team looking at Ronaldo life if he's Jesus even when he's playing piss poor.......we can really drastically improve the flow of our offence.

There were at least 4 times today when Benz or Higz when he came on were completely unmarked in a dagerous position and Di maria as well as others chose to outlet to Ronaldo on the wing......or drive it into him while he's in a tight space.

He's an elephant on the field.......he runs the same channels as Benz and Higuain and guys feel obligated to pass it to him.We need to get over that.

I think Lass was taken off because he was another tackle away from a second yellow. He didnt slow down his foul rate even when shown a yellow. It was either sub him or lose him.

I dont think you was bad defensively, but the room given to Messi when he dropped deep was far too much. He had too much time to get it, turn and ran. Lass did well to stop him a few times but he was alone and it just wasnt going to be often enough. This showed in the first and third goals.

Benz and Ozil did well and I agree about Di Maria. I thought his final ball was horrible, but the rest of his play very good. Benz is an imposing presence, he is much bigger and stronger than people realise. Add his ability on the ball..he is fast becoming a force.

Cristiano´s problem is skillset, thats always been my opinion. He is great at running over, past and trough weak defenders but when he has to do it against guys with comparable ability it isnt as easy and he struggles. The missed chances, that can happen to anyone really but its his overall impact which obviously is the issue here.

[The Franchise]

People often see that Abidal isnt very aggressive in attack, Dani Alves is, Cesc is playing at the same time as the usual 3 mids and mix that all together and say "343".

Truth is, we just played. Everyone who was on the pitch played the role they play best.

Messi was coming deep, appeared in the midfield, in between the lines. Was rarely wide.

Cesc was in that strange position where he can link with Messi and make runs in behind and into the box.

Dani Alves was bombing on, because Puyol was always quick to rotate down into the space. When he got back, he went into his usual position. But you must remember Madrid counter very fast so of course Puyol was often rotating out wide.

It was the usual, guys just played their position.

Yes dani. It's so interchangeable and close to total football that it's hard to pigeonhole it into a formation. However I do see a distinct change in the way D.Alves plays now. Earlier no matter how adventurous he was he played the role of a full back bringing the ball out from the back and taking all the throw ins. Now he is already too far forward when Valdes has the ball. It was Puyol most of the times playing the auxiliary right back. So I can understand why people are saying we were playing three at the back.

I got to watch the game over again, just from a tactical view. When I watched the game the first time, the event of the game distracts me too much to really look at the tactics of the game. I notice things of course, but to pinpoint everything in that state isnt easy unless that is the point of what im trying to do.

Anyway. I felt it was the usual defence and midfield to start, with Messi and Cesc much closer to the midfield than usual. With this, Iniesta was much wider than usual. Often overloading the rightback zone when Sanchez went that side too. Sanchez did an important job, he occupied as much of the backline as possible with his movement laterally. He was on the right, on the left and down the center. His basic position was in between Coentrao and Pepe but often making runs laterally left (which he drew 2 or 3 fouls in wide positions) and right (when he got his goal). Cesc didnt have a role to play, which is why he did nothing for most of the game. I expect his job was to get in the box and on the end of things late, which he did for his goal. Aside from that, he didnt do anything other than get himself marked which opened up Messi. Messi dropped deep, and because we had so many players centerally who had to be picked up he often had time to gather it, turn and run. The amount of space he got was key to the game.

After maybe 20 minutes, Dani Alves got forward more. Puyol rotated out to rightback when the ball went there. Busquets who I thought was as good as anyone on the pitch did a duel role, "false centerback". He dropped in to keep the numerical advantage at the back when constructing play and often brought it out from the back. But defensively, he understood he still to ensure Ozil couldnt turn and face the back 4 and he instantly got to him and keep his back to goal when we pressed. I thought he was superb.

[BarrileteCosmico]

I agree with Dani, 343 or 433 it makes little difference, the game is set up to be so fluid that it doesn't really matter.

[BarcaLearning]

Can I say this? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FKING HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are still better than Real! We are the best! WE are teh best We are the best! YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAA~!!!

Well done to the boys and bow down to Guardiola!

It really should be highlighted again that he has brought in Sanchez and Cesc for the season and in their first classicos, they scored and performed well, top marks!

[BarcaLearning]

:dance: Game in Hand :dance:

@Franchise...

I'm interested as to what you thought of our performance today pre 3rd goal.

Personally I don't think it was half bad....a few tweaks here and there and we're set......other than Ronaldo who needs a psychological makeveover.......I think everyone did themselves proud or at least did their job.Anyone else can jum pin on the question.

Alexis was great BTW.

I like how it's shaping up........defo a better ebb and flow to the game....than the ones last season......

Edit: I'm seriously not even trolling here.....it's just everyone else is Kneejerking and blaming Ronaldo....jus wanna know if you saw any other problems

@ Franchise.

Personally the big hole I saw was the lack of intelligent posession play, which I suppose comes naturally with a counter attacking style.

IMO we weren't half Bad defensively until the third goal....in the sense that our midfield wasn't exactly run over and suppressed but was in some ways allowed to express themselves.Lass was excetllent...(have no idea why he was taken off ) but overall, the class showed and you knicked a fortuitious goal and then ran us completely over.

Ozil and Benz had nice games.....but one thing that stood out to me was Di Maria's lacking final ball.I'm not copletely sure about this....but I actually wouldn't mind Mou using him in the same position maradona ussed him in the WC....as a hard pressing midfielder.......he can offer the coverage you talked about without sacrificing nearly as much as we would playing both Lass and Khedira.

Both fullbacks were as good or even better than I expected them to be.I think that our styles compliment each other's very well as far as ideal type games go....but our's still needs to be tweaked.

What really bother's me is that you have your style and it's there and we always have to worry about tactics and what we're going to do.But I suppose that's neccessay for the while.

I was glad to see that it wasn't Messi who beat us.......take it step by step.....we'll get there.Now on to the question of the day

>Ronaldo? - Big game flop- Yes

Why?- Mental or is his skillset just not suited, or a combination of both.

If we could just get over this Ronaldo thing....I mean the team looking at Ronaldo life if he's Jesus even when he's playing piss poor.......we can really drastically improve the flow of our offence.

There were at least 4 times today when Benz or Higz when he came on were completely unmarked in a dagerous position and Di maria as well as others chose to outlet to Ronaldo on the wing......or drive it into him while he's in a tight space.

He's an elephant on the field.......he runs the same channels as Benz and Higuain and guys feel obligated to pass it to him.We need to get over that.

Loool Im not sure what Real can do about it....Ronaldo is so important in their other games, but he just flops vs us, and unless he can overcome there himself, perhaps with a goal or 2 in the future vs us, its going to be hard for Real , although I would wanna keep it that way Many players are like that though vs us. But also dont forget how good our defense is, and Puyol & Pique were all over him everytime he got the ball, no easy vs the 2 of the best defenders in the world!

Tbh, I'm loving the butthurt in the Madrid forum. They're all in panic mode for some reason

Tbh, I'm loving the butthurt in the Madrid forum. They're all in panic mode for some reason

'For some reason' lol. Clearly because they were convinced their team had become a lot better and then we just go back and do the same thing to them as always. Its gotta hurt. I know that feel... oh wait... seem to have forgotten it

But yeah... Madridstas would be hating life right now, especially Crim, he's the most passionate I know.

Loool, Kizz u said there that Barca fans were once like this too but long forgetten now? Can u explain?

This Pic is :dance:

great pics as usual!

Now time for my straight from the heart thoughts.

Before the game Real Madrid were by all accounts at the best level at which they have been in more than three years. Of all people Goal.com's Carlo Garganese, a self confessed Barcelona fan, predicted 3-1 to Real Madrid and that made me think perhaps the balance of power might indeed start shifting now.

The game couldn't have had a worse beginning. Valdes makes an error of the kind that is so completely unexpected of him. Our defense fails to clear the danger. They are 1-0 up. After that the game moves on and we seem way below our best. Perhaps our time of domination is indeed coming to an end.

Then the moment to level things. Messi shows why he is one of the most astounding players we will ever get to see. When everything is going against his team and most of the other stalwarts are well below their levels he levels the game with what can only be called a piece of Messi magic. Alexis takes the crucial chance very well. At this point the world has realized that it was nonsensical to write off Barcelona. However who knows what can happen now. The game is on an even keel.

Then starts the second half and something has now changed. Something that is a little difficult to explain what it is but it is indeed something. We are no longer looking at the two best teams in the world. We are now looking at the best team in the world and the second best team in the world and it's clear even to the most amateur football observer that we are talking about two completely different levels here.

In a nutshell I would like to say that amidst all those comments of Real Madrid and in particular C.Ronaldo missing easy chances and us being a little lucky the truth is that we were playing against a Madrid side that was in outstanding form and laying claim to being the best in the world on their ground and still won 3-1 with them managing only one goal in the entire game and that too was basically a gift from us.

Agreed, especially that last bit, we actually gifted them a goal for head start!

People often see that Abidal isnt very aggressive in attack, Dani Alves is, Cesc is playing at the same time as the usual 3 mids and mix that all together and say "343".

Truth is, we just played. Everyone who was on the pitch played the role they play best.

Messi was coming deep, appeared in the midfield, in between the lines. Was rarely wide.

Cesc was in that strange position where he can link with Messi and make runs in behind and into the box.

Dani Alves was bombing on, because Puyol was always quick to rotate down into the space. When he got back, he went into his usual position. But you must remember Madrid counter very fast so of course Puyol was often rotating out wide.

It was the usual, guys just played their position.

Yes dani. It's so interchangeable and close to total football that it's hard to pigeonhole it into a formation. However I do see a distinct change in the way D.Alves plays now. Earlier no matter how adventurous he was he played the role of a full back bringing the ball out from the back and taking all the throw ins. Now he is already too far forward when Valdes has the ball. It was Puyol most of the times playing the auxiliary right back. So I can understand why people are saying we were playing three at the back.

I got to watch the game over again, just from a tactical view. When I watched the game the first time, the event of the game distracts me too much to really look at the tactics of the game. I notice things of course, but to pinpoint everything in that state isnt easy unless that is the point of what im trying to do.

Anyway. I felt it was the usual defence and midfield to start, with Messi and Cesc much closer to the midfield than usual. With this, Iniesta was much wider than usual. Often overloading the rightback zone when Sanchez went that side too. Sanchez did an important job, he occupied as much of the backline as possible with his movement laterally. He was on the right, on the left and down the center. His basic position was in between Coentrao and Pepe but often making runs laterally left (which he drew 2 or 3 fouls in wide positions) and right (when he got his goal). Cesc didnt have a role to play, which is why he did nothing for most of the game. I expect his job was to get in the box and on the end of things late, which he did for his goal. Aside from that, he didnt do anything other than get himself marked which opened up Messi. Messi dropped deep, and because we had so many players centerally who had to be picked up he often had time to gather it, turn and run. The amount of space he got was key to the game.

After maybe 20 minutes, Dani Alves got forward more. Puyol rotated out to rightback when the ball went there. Busquets who I thought was as good as anyone on the pitch did a duel role, "false centerback". He dropped in to keep the numerical advantage at the back when constructing play and often brought it out from the back. But defensively, he understood he still to ensure Ozil couldnt turn and face the back 4 and he instantly got to him and keep his back to goal when we pressed. I thought he was superb.

Great discussions and observations~

[kiranr]

If you guys want to laugh, just go to the Madrid section and read some of the comments.

The variety is impressive too. Someone said Madrid have better individual players than Barcelona. Another said that we were playing at our peak and that this is our best and we cannot get any better.

Enjoy as i had fun reading some of it.

[CR7-Torres]

Now don't tell me yo don't like My DP ....

[shinigami99]

If you guys want to laugh, just go to the Madrid section and read some of the comments.

The variety is impressive too. Someone said Madrid have better individual players than Barcelona. Another said that we were playing at our peak and that this is our best and we cannot get any better.

Enjoy as i had fun reading some of it.

Yea I lurk there for the lulz right now(I almost never do). I don't post obviously but it's fun hearing what they have to say after we beat them fair and square(all the times before they thought that there were other factors-won't go into it lol). As for the better individual players, major LOL there. Di Maria? pshh, Crynaldo? big game flop. Who is Kaka? Where is this Nuri Sahin?(injured for a long time but I would have thrown him on at 3-1 instead of Khedira) Ozil got owned by Busquets.
Messi had a great game(considering the role he played-see zonalmarking for more details) and Sanchez owned madrid's CBs all night. Fabregas had a terrible game but he put away a much more difficult header than Ronaldo had. Sad lol. Once Fab becomes more integrated with the system, I shudder to think how much we'll beat Madrid by.

Playing at our peak? Maybe, but we were changing systems all over the place(which we still haven't gotten used to yet). Madrid started with an established system that won them 15 games on the run.

Can't Improve? They can't be more wrong. I think it's the beginning of something special(Yes-more special than the brilliant 3 years that the Pep team has given us so far)

[Albiceleste]

If you guys want to laugh, just go to the Madrid section and read some of the comments.

The variety is impressive too. Someone said Madrid have better individual players than Barcelona. Another said that we were playing at our peak and that this is our best and we cannot get any better.

Enjoy as i had fun reading some of it.

This idiot in there said Di Maria and Ronaldo were "technically" better than Barcelona's players :lol!:

[BarcaLearning]

If you guys want to laugh, just go to the Madrid section and read some of the comments.

The variety is impressive too. Someone said Madrid have better individual players than Barcelona. Another said that we were playing at our peak and that this is our best and we cannot get any better.

Enjoy as i had fun reading some of it.

Yea I lurk there for the lulz right now(I almost never do). I don't post obviously but it's fun hearing what they have to say after we beat them fair and square(all the times before they thought that there were other factors-won't go into it lol). As for the better individual players, major LOL there. Di Maria? pshh, Crynaldo? big game flop. Who is Kaka? Where is this Nuri Sahin?(injured for a long time but I would have thrown him on at 3-1 instead of Khedira) Ozil got owned by Busquets.
Messi had a great game(considering the role he played-see zonalmarking for more details) and Sanchez owned madrid's CBs all night. Fabregas had a terrible game but he put away a much more difficult header than Ronaldo had. Sad lol. Once Fab becomes more integrated with the system, I shudder to think how much we'll beat Madrid by.

Playing at our peak? Maybe, but we were changing systems all over the place(which we still haven't gotten used to yet). Madrid started with an established system that won them 15 games on the run.

Can't Improve? They can't be more wrong. I think it's the beginning of something special(Yes-more special than the brilliant 3 years that the Pep team has given us so far)

This goes to show that not are do we have better players, we have the smarter and better fans too

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