El Clasico Post Match Analysis

Adit wrote:Oh no,Coentrao owned iniesta if first half,he had no effect what so ever in that half.He only turned God mod after we conceded the second goal .

Khedira imo is total useless for a high pressing game.He can never steal ball from agile midfielders hence Mou went for Lass and it was justified in first half.


60 minutes of intense game vs barca is certainly good enough to tire out Ozil from our past experience.

He was still in the game. Iniesta being useless was more down to Di Maria

babun1024 wrote:

Adit wrote:Oh no,Coentrao owned iniesta if first half,he had no effect what so ever in that half.He only turned God mod after we conceded the second goal .

Khedira imo is total useless for a high pressing game.He can never steal ball from agile midfielders hence Mou went for Lass and it was justified in first half.


60 minutes of intense game vs barca is certainly good enough to tire out Ozil from our past experience.

He was still in the game. Iniesta being useless was more down to Di Maria

I agree that a tired ozil would have done better than Kaka who never tracked back and always gave ball trying to dribble like his 2006 days..but ozil was still tired.

Iniesta was tightly marked out by coentrao in first half,second half pep changed tactics and moved iniesta alot close to midfield and put Alves as a RW.

Adit wrote:

babun1024 wrote:

Adit wrote:Oh no,Coentrao owned iniesta if first half,he had no effect what so ever in that half.He only turned God mod after we conceded the second goal .

Khedira imo is total useless for a high pressing game.He can never steal ball from agile midfielders hence Mou went for Lass and it was justified in first half.


60 minutes of intense game vs barca is certainly good enough to tire out Ozil from our past experience.

He was still in the game. Iniesta being useless was more down to Di Maria

I agree that a tired ozil would have done better than Kaka who never tracked back and always gave ball trying to dribble like his 2006 days..but ozil was still tired.

Iniesta was tightly marked out by coentrao in first half,second half pep changed tactics and moved iniesta alot close to midfield and put Alves as a RW.

Alves didn't even bother to defend with CR7 out there

babun1024 wrote:
Alves didn't even bother to defend with CR7 out there

To be fair all of our players were nervous and Barca players were super cool mentally.

Our first goal itself,Di maria tried to shoot

Then Ozil again tried to shoot

Instead of keeping their head cool they gets nervous in final third.

CR was super nervous and he lost confidence after their first goal completley.He then never tracked back,just gave ball away for fun and stood there.

Even benz was nervous in the box as showed by his bit poor decisions inside the box.


Barca players are so confidence because of their midfield+ Messi but what does our team have to become confident? Casillas then...hmm none

Actually Di Maria passed it. Ozil tried to shoot.

Adit wrote:

babun1024 wrote:
Alves didn't even bother to defend with CR7 out there

To be fair all of our players were nervous and Barca players were super cool mentally.

Our first goal itself,Di maria tried to shoot

Then Ozil again tried to shoot

Instead of keeping their head cool they gets nervous in final third.

CR was super nervous and he lost confidence after their first goal completley.He then never tracked back,just gave ball away for fun and stood there.

Even benz was nervous in the box as showed by his bit poor decisions inside the box.


Barca players are so confidence because of their midfield+ Messi but what does our team have to become confident? Casillas then...hmm none

Ozil doesn't shoot when he is nervous, he does when he sees an opportunity. Di Maria just passed like always... Benz had enough confidence for 2 men
Neither of them were nervous. I don't know what you're talking about. The only obviously nervous people were CR7 and Lass Di Maria , a little bit maybe...

babun1024 wrote:
Ozil doesn't shoot when he is nervous, he does when he sees an opportunity. Di Maria just passed like always... Benz had enough confidence for 2 men
Neither of them were nervous. I don't know what you're talking about. The only obviously nervous people were CR7 and Lass Di Maria , a little bit maybe...

lol would ozil shoot in any other games in such an opportunity ?

Instead of passing to benzema or running at them he decided to shoot

If it was any other game he will make it a sure goal.

Di maria was bit nervous showed by his nervous tackles and runs.

Benz was nervous in the box, he shot 3 straight to defenders ASS.. :lol!:

Interesting opinions here.

I've chosen not to criticise any of our players too much 'cause it wouldn't be fair to flame them based on one game (no matter how big it might have been). However Cristiano has to stop being Cristiano the Machine, and start feeling football. He's a perfect example of how a great football player can be completely usesless in a match. We all know he's a great player for us, and he shows it in every match - except against Barca.

He's got this tunnel vision forced on him by his high expectations, he's a fool in these games. Nothing, he had nothing to show against Barca, his stepovers were just that - stepovers, without vision or movement, he just got stuck in the moment.

Lass was ok imo, he earned that yellow against Iniesta, but guys, seriously - Iniesta was a beast in second half. I was amazed to see how fast he accelerates and his fast thinking is amazing - so to guard this guy... it's hard work, nevertheless Lass did good imho.

As for the game, there is one thing I cannot believe I'm hearing here, after I've also heared it from Mourinho, and that is "They were lucky to win". I agree, Barca had luck, especially with the second goal but how can someone be so BLIND and say that Barca won BECAUSE they had luck. They played very good, that is why they won.

Why we lost, because we didn't play good enough. Our chances were wasted, and that is not bad luck - that is our, internal, problem. We are guilty for not scoring more goals - but it is not bad luck it's lack of composure! And that, my friends is a skill our players have yet to obtain. Well, at least when they play against Barca.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - "Real Madrid is not behind Barca in terms of skill or quality, we haven't been since that 6-2 defeat. And even then, the difference was minimum. What we lack when we play them is clear mindedness. We've got this mental block that has to be wiped out. It's a matter of boys versus men. I thought Mou would be able to help with that, but somehow I find it difficult to trust a coach that watched the same game as me and said Barca won because of luck. That is denial. We lost because of OUR, internal, problems, and he cannot see to it that they are fixed if he doesn't see them.

Lol, you guys are delusional to think that madrid are not behind barca in term of skill and quality.

Adit wrote:

babun1024 wrote:
Ozil doesn't shoot when he is nervous, he does when he sees an opportunity. Di Maria just passed like always... Benz had enough confidence for 2 men
Neither of them were nervous. I don't know what you're talking about. The only obviously nervous people were CR7 and Lass Di Maria , a little bit maybe...

lol would ozil shoot in any other games in such an opportunity ?

Instead of passing to benzema or running at them he decided to shoot

If it was any other game he will make it a sure goal.

Di maria was bit nervous showed by his nervous tackles and runs.

Benz was nervous in the box, he shot 3 straight to defenders ASS.. :lol!:

Lool I watch the Inter vs Barca semi again recently, and Inter were composed and controlled. And Im sure in some of the classicos Real actually did better in some areas becos they were more composed after winning the ball...maybe they over did it this time, focusing too much and just press and wanted to rush to our goal and score too quickly.

Aensensen wrote:Interesting opinions here.

I've chosen not to criticise any of our players too much 'cause it wouldn't be fair to flame them based on one game (no matter how big it might have been). However Cristiano has to stop being Cristiano the Machine, and start feeling football. He's a perfect example of how a great football player can be completely usesless in a match. We all know he's a great player for us, and he shows it in every match - except against Barca.

He's got this tunnel vision forced on him by his high expectations, he's a fool in these games. Nothing, he had nothing to show against Barca, his stepovers were just that - stepovers, without vision or movement, he just got stuck in the moment.

Lass was ok imo, he earned that yellow against Iniesta, but guys, seriously - Iniesta was a beast in second half. I was amazed to see how fast he accelerates and his fast thinking is amazing - so to guard this guy... it's hard work, nevertheless Lass did good imho.

As for the game, there is one thing I cannot believe I'm hearing here, after I've also heared it from Mourinho, and that is "They were lucky to win". I agree, Barca had luck, especially with the second goal but how can someone be so BLIND and say that Barca won BECAUSE they had luck. They played very good, that is why they won.

Why we lost, because we didn't play good enough. Our chances were wasted, and that is not bad luck - that is our, internal, problem. We are guilty for not scoring more goals - but it is not bad luck it's lack of composure! And that, my friends is a skill our players have yet to obtain. Well, at least when they play against Barca.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - "Real Madrid is not behind Barca in terms of skill or quality, we haven't been since that 6-2 defeat. And even then, the difference was minimum. What we lack when we play them is clear mindedness. We've got this mental block that has to be wiped out. It's a matter of boys versus men. I thought Mou would be able to help with that, but somehow I find it difficult to trust a coach that watched the same game as me and said Barca won because of luck. That is denial. We lost because of OUR, internal, problems, and he cannot see to it that they are fixed if he doesn't see them.

Didnt like what Mourinho said but he probably doesnt believe that, its just something he says to take the blame and pressure off his side. But im sure he knows its not luck and that Real will need to work something out....maybe he can try buy Cambiasso from Inter, and have him alongside Alonso and Lass in the next classico, that may work

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/12/11/real-madrid-1-3-barcelona-tactics/

Aensensen wrote:Interesting opinions here.

I've chosen not to criticise any of our players too much 'cause it wouldn't be fair to flame them based on one game (no matter how big it might have been). However Cristiano has to stop being Cristiano the Machine, and start feeling football. He's a perfect example of how a great football player can be completely usesless in a match. We all know he's a great player for us, and he shows it in every match - except against Barca.

He's got this tunnel vision forced on him by his high expectations, he's a fool in these games. Nothing, he had nothing to show against Barca, his stepovers were just that - stepovers, without vision or movement, he just got stuck in the moment.

Lass was ok imo, he earned that yellow against Iniesta, but guys, seriously - Iniesta was a beast in second half. I was amazed to see how fast he accelerates and his fast thinking is amazing - so to guard this guy... it's hard work, nevertheless Lass did good imho.

As for the game, there is one thing I cannot believe I'm hearing here, after I've also heared it from Mourinho, and that is "They were lucky to win". I agree, Barca had luck, especially with the second goal but how can someone be so BLIND and say that Barca won BECAUSE they had luck. They played very good, that is why they won.

Why we lost, because we didn't play good enough. Our chances were wasted, and that is not bad luck - that is our, internal, problem. We are guilty for not scoring more goals - but it is not bad luck it's lack of composure! And that, my friends is a skill our players have yet to obtain. Well, at least when they play against Barca.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - "Real Madrid is not behind Barca in terms of skill or quality, we haven't been since that 6-2 defeat. And even then, the difference was minimum. What we lack when we play them is clear mindedness. We've got this mental block that has to be wiped out. It's a matter of boys versus men. I thought Mou would be able to help with that, but somehow I find it difficult to trust a coach that watched the same game as me and said Barca won because of luck. That is denial. We lost because of OUR, internal, problems, and he cannot see to it that they are fixed if he doesn't see them.

I agree with almost all of your post. The wording about Barca having luck (I used the same as well) is taken a little out of context by you. What I said and I'm sure Mou intented the same was they had a lucky bounce on that 2nd goal. It was that goal that kind of sealed the victory for them. On the contrary, if Ronaldo hadn't been so useless, we would have had the lead by then, perhaps even by more than one goal. That's it (in terms of luck), one lucky shot and a useless Ronaldo make Barcelona the winner.

I agree about what you say about Madrid's finishing. It's interesting when we were having a good preseason and met them in the supercup, the comment made back then was we needed to improve our finishing. that was the one area that needed improvement. So 3 months later, everyone including myself was saying how much improvement we have made especially in team chemistry, but that basic weakness is still there. Yes it was primarily Ronaldo but we have talented scorers in the line-up and they also were not finding the back of the net. So, we have to give it to Barcelona knowing we have to be better to beat Barcelona. Someone else, I think Nick summed it up best. We lack the experience of Barcelona and that is the basic difference. In conclusion yes Barcelona was the better team on Saturday overall, but I don't think there is a lot of difference between the two teams. We will get 4 or 5 more opportunties this season to play play them (with much more on the line) so I'm still saying we will come out on top for 2 championships this season. We won't destroy them, but we are out to establish we can split games with them and not all the prizes belong to them.

Oh yeh, and we certainly play them tougher than Man U.

I've just rewatched the match and I hope every Madridista does same, we surely didn't deserve to loose the match.

I liked the way we pressed very high, Valdes misplaced three key passes as a result, one of which ended up at the back of the net, the second one saw an Alonso goal attempt from the half way line and the third was uncharacteristically miscontrolled by Benzema in the second half when the score was 1-1, he could have easily put Di Maria clean on goal.

Most of the Barcelona goals were largely against the run of play, and as such each of their goals drained the players psychologically.

I reserve special mentions for Di Maria, Coentrao, Lass and Marcelo. They were superb on the night, they had Messi, Iniesta and Fabregas in their pockets when the match was still competitive, Lass and Marcelo almost won all their tackles on Messi in the first half and up to the point of the third goal.

It was after another clean tackle by Marcelo, that Messi rushed into Alonso, Messi would have been off, had the referee not been a bit lenient.

For me the game changing moment besides the Ronaldo misses, was Lass received his booking, it forced his substitution and the performance of Khedira only affirmed my previous comment, Iniesta suddenly came to life and looked threatening for the remainder of the match.

Ronaldo was just not himself, everything was off today, I think his issue was more psychological than any other thing, he had glaring chances to put Madrid 2-0 up on one occasion and 2-2 on another occasion, and on each of these occasions he failed horribly.

Alonso's passing was off on the nights except the cross for Ronaldo which could have resulted in a goal.

I thought Kaka was in inspired form when he came on , his corner and subsequent pass to Alonso almost set up Madrid's second goal, he also forced a great(lucky) save from Valdes getting to end of the match.

In summary we created enough chances to have scored 5 or more goals in this match, we lost but in no way should we bow our heads, it's three points lost, but with a similar performance to what transpired on Saturday, we should easily beat Sevilla.

buddytaller wrote:I've just rewatched the match and I hope every Madridista does same, we surely didn't deserve to loose the match.

I liked the way we pressed very high, Valdes misplaced three key passes as a result, one of which ended up at the back of the net, the second one saw an Alonso goal attempt from the half way line and the third was uncharacteristically miscontrolled by Benzema in the second half when the score was 1-1, he could have easily put Di Maria clean on goal.

Most of the Barcelona goals were largely against the run of play, and as such each of their goals drained the players psychologically.

I reserve special mentions for Di Maria, Coentrao, Lass and Marcelo. They were superb on the night, they had Messi, Iniesta and Fabregas in their pockets when the match was still competitive, Lass and Marcelo almost won all their tackles on Messi in the first half and up to the point of the third goal.

It was after another clean tackle by Marcelo, that Messi rushed into Alonso, Messi would have been off, had the referee not been a bit lenient.

For me the game changing moment besides the Ronaldo misses, was Lass received his booking, it forced his substitution and the performance of Khedira only affirmed my previous comment, Iniesta suddenly came to life and looked threatening for the remainder of the match.

Ronaldo was just not himself, everything was off today, I think his issue was more psychological than any other thing, he had glaring chances to put Madrid 2-0 up on one occasion and 2-2 on another occasion, and on each of these occasions he failed horribly.

Alonso's passing was off on the nights except the cross for Ronaldo which could have resulted in a goal.

I thought Kaka was in inspired form when he came on , his corner and subsequent pass to Alonso almost set up Madrid's second goal, he also forced a great(lucky) save from Valdes getting to end of the match.

In summary we created enough chances to have scored 5 or more goals in this match, we lost but in no way should we bow our heads, it's three points lost, but with a similar performance to what transpired on Saturday, we should easily beat Sevilla.

BarcaLearning wrote:

buddytaller wrote:I've just rewatched the match and I hope every Madridista does same, we surely didn't deserve to loose the match.

I liked the way we pressed very high, Valdes misplaced three key passes as a result, one of which ended up at the back of the net, the second one saw an Alonso goal attempt from the half way line and the third was uncharacteristically miscontrolled by Benzema in the second half when the score was 1-1, he could have easily put Di Maria clean on goal.

Most of the Barcelona goals were largely against the run of play, and as such each of their goals drained the players psychologically.

I reserve special mentions for Di Maria, Coentrao, Lass and Marcelo. They were superb on the night, they had Messi, Iniesta and Fabregas in their pockets when the match was still competitive, Lass and Marcelo almost won all their tackles on Messi in the first half and up to the point of the third goal.

It was after another clean tackle by Marcelo, that Messi rushed into Alonso, Messi would have been off, had the referee not been a bit lenient.

For me the game changing moment besides the Ronaldo misses, was Lass received his booking, it forced his substitution and the performance of Khedira only affirmed my previous comment, Iniesta suddenly came to life and looked threatening for the remainder of the match.

Ronaldo was just not himself, everything was off today, I think his issue was more psychological than any other thing, he had glaring chances to put Madrid 2-0 up on one occasion and 2-2 on another occasion, and on each of these occasions he failed horribly.

Alonso's passing was off on the nights except the cross for Ronaldo which could have resulted in a goal.

I thought Kaka was in inspired form when he came on , his corner and subsequent pass to Alonso almost set up Madrid's second goal, he also forced a great(lucky) save from Valdes getting to end of the match.

In summary we created enough chances to have scored 5 or more goals in this match, we lost but in no way should we bow our heads, it's three points lost, but with a similar performance to what transpired on Saturday, we should easily beat Sevilla.

What's your problem with his post ?

BarcaLearning wrote:

buddytaller wrote:I've just rewatched the match and I hope every Madridista does same, we surely didn't deserve to loose the match.

I liked the way we pressed very high, Valdes misplaced three key passes as a result, one of which ended up at the back of the net, the second one saw an Alonso goal attempt from the half way line and the third was uncharacteristically miscontrolled by Benzema in the second half when the score was 1-1, he could have easily put Di Maria clean on goal.

Most of the Barcelona goals were largely against the run of play, and as such each of their goals drained the players psychologically.

I reserve special mentions for Di Maria, Coentrao, Lass and Marcelo. They were superb on the night, they had Messi, Iniesta and Fabregas in their pockets when the match was still competitive, Lass and Marcelo almost won all their tackles on Messi in the first half and up to the point of the third goal.

It was after another clean tackle by Marcelo, that Messi rushed into Alonso, Messi would have been off, had the referee not been a bit lenient.

For me the game changing moment besides the Ronaldo misses, was Lass received his booking, it forced his substitution and the performance of Khedira only affirmed my previous comment, Iniesta suddenly came to life and looked threatening for the remainder of the match.

Ronaldo was just not himself, everything was off today, I think his issue was more psychological than any other thing, he had glaring chances to put Madrid 2-0 up on one occasion and 2-2 on another occasion, and on each of these occasions he failed horribly.

Alonso's passing was off on the nights except the cross for Ronaldo which could have resulted in a goal.

I thought Kaka was in inspired form when he came on , his corner and subsequent pass to Alonso almost set up Madrid's second goal, he also forced a great(lucky) save from Valdes getting to end of the match.

In summary we created enough chances to have scored 5 or more goals in this match, we lost but in no way should we bow our heads, it's three points lost, but with a similar performance to what transpired on Saturday, we should easily beat Sevilla.

Buddy made great points!

better than most of ur comments or posts... tbh

Okay I have a question... and hear me out on this one

Did we really mess up against Barca?
Did we really do that badly?
Honestly I am a bit proud of our team
We went for it...
We took the game to them, there were chances, alas chances we just couldnt take
it will come, we were solid in the first half and a lucky break just broke us, we still kept going though
I was pretty damn proud of our boys out there
they were not afraid of Barca and we showed that if there is a team to challenge them, it is us
not even United were able to put up that sort of fight, we pressured and we are getting there, cmon Madridistas, we showed class out there till the end and we earned our respect from all sides
we conducted ourselves really well
HASTA EL FINAL!

Something just occurred to me...

If Barca is able to play both Fabregas and Iniesta (natural AMs) at the same time, Why can't we play Kaka and Ozil at the same time?

Ok I understand that as far as defending and ball recuperation goes, Fabregas and Iniesta are better than the duo of Kaka and Ozil, but surely that can't be the only thing stopping us from playing them at the same time?

When they have played together in the past it has been kind of hit and miss but that is because Kaka takes the central role and Ozil is pushed wide-right-ish. If that is reversed, I'm sure it will be amazing. If you imagine Kaka playing RAM and Ozil a CM-come-CAM, that would be pure sex!

Ok ok, I know what you're going to say, that the right hand side becomes weak defensively... BUT it doe not have to be the case.. because Kaka will offer that extra bit of creativity, whether lass or Khedira play defensive midfield on the right side, neither will have to push up the pitch.

For me, a fully fit Kaka must have a place in the first team... I know his work-rate off the ball is not as great as Di Maria but I feel we (and Mou) have become obsessed with that... it is not the be all and end all of football. I've always been old-school in my approach that Defending is for defenders and attacking for attackers and maybe attacking players can help out here and there.

Play beautifully! Play Kaka! Lose possession less! Less headless chicken mentality to win the ball back! More swagger! More traditional luxurious Real Madrid side.

La Decima

The End

Giovanni10 wrote:
. I've always been old-school in my approach that Defending is for defenders and attacking for attackers

LoOoOoOOoOOOOoL


/Thread

When Cesc has played with Iniesta it has been as a false 9 or a a winger. Iniesta has also played some times as a striker / winger. In fact his debut with national team was as a winger. They have always played with one deep back (Busquets, Mascherano or Youre), one CB (Xavi or Thiago) and one CAM.

So your comparison doesn't make sense. We have played Ozil and Kaka together a few times, mostly Ozil as winger, but the way they interchange positions we have seen what you suggested and it wasn't sexy at all, and of course as you suggest our defense takes a hit.


Just a bad idea. Face it Kaka will never regain his Milan form and even if has good form for a few games, he is so brittle we can't count on him as a starter. We do have a good sub in him (and it is enhancing his resale value), so take it for what it is, in his final year with Madrid.

Ronaldo and Di Maria should switch wings.

Ronaldo can push and run on the right and Di Maria is much better on the left....has more options more space.

On our team we have alot of work horses; what we need is players who are creative. That's what we lack at Madrid.

Kaka is one of those creative players who can deliver when he's fit. Ozil has the ambition to be creative but right now he's like the student who studies really very very hard only to score 83% or 85% on his exam (more like a B student). He's still decent, and he is creative, but his talents are either not developed or limited and i am more leaning towards the second option.

Just my personal interpretations and readings. I know you disagree with all of them.

huntsman wrote:On our team we have alot of work horses; what we need is players who are creative. That's what we lack at Madrid.

Kaka is one of those creative players who can deliver when he's fit. Ozil has the ambition to be creative but right now he's like the student who studies really very very hard only to score 83% or 85% on his exam (more like a B student). He's still decent, and he is creative, but his talents are either not developed or limited and i am more leaning towards the second option.

Just my personal interpretations and readings. I know you disagree with all of them.

I don't.
Indeed, Milan Kaka is gone, is dead.

estrella bernabeu wrote:

huntsman wrote:On our team we have alot of work horses; what we need is players who are creative. That's what we lack at Madrid.

Kaka is one of those creative players who can deliver when he's fit. Ozil has the ambition to be creative but right now he's like the student who studies really very very hard only to score 83% or 85% on his exam (more like a B student). He's still decent, and he is creative, but his talents are either not developed or limited and i am more leaning towards the second option.

Just my personal interpretations and readings. I know you disagree with all of them.

I don't.
Indeed, Milan Kaka is gone, is dead.

What you must understand is that, even if Milan Kaka is gone, the present Kaka is still WC. Sure back in Milan he was Godly, but now he's one of the best AM in the world and can be the undisputable best given the chance. Just think about it.

We gave him a lot of chances and i believe he took them and tried to lead our Midfield but everytime he reached his best fit he's injured, so we went back to the start case.
Mentally, Mou get him fixed, but physically he's like vanished. He can't hold few games without injury. Hope he will be ready for March battle.

Should have been CR sub in the last Clasico, but Mr Handsome is intouchable.