BarcaKizz wrote:Since pessimism and complaining about our problems seems the order of the day... Have a read of my latest article discussing our key problems right now. I think you'll enjoy it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1563264-4-biggest-reasons-for-barcelonas-slip-in-form

Width is the main to be be addressed tonight... I've got a horrid feeling Alexis or Cesc will play.

Nice read Kizz, good points in there for sure. I would point out the "quality of opponant" thing though because we beat Benfica and Atletico, two teams much much stronger than Celtic and having a better season (while maybe too having more quality) than Milan.


I would also say, the biggest reason which tops it all is we are having a crisis of style. We dont play on our style of football with consistency, and during the Milan-Madrid games hardly at all.

Watch those games and compare them to our other games, especially other seasons, its horrific in comparison. The speed of decisions, the amount of touches used, the weight of pass, the amount of dribbling...

We play games from the start of them, like we are winning 4-0.

BarcaKizz wrote:Since pessimism and complaining about our problems seems the order of the day... Have a read of my latest article discussing our key problems right now. I think you'll enjoy it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1563264-4-biggest-reasons-for-barcelonas-slip-in-form

Width is the main to be be addressed tonight... I've got a horrid feeling Alexis or Cesc will play.

kizz, nice points. I actually made a six pointer myself. Some of our points are same but expressed differently.

1. Villa aging, injured, out of form and above all replaced by Fabregas

2. Pedro way below his levels of 2009-11

3. Xavi's age and injuries catching up

4. Abidal replaced by Alba

5. Puyol on his last legs

6. We have no coach.

BarcaKizz wrote:Since pessimism and complaining about our problems seems the order of the day... Have a read of my latest article discussing our key problems right now. I think you'll enjoy it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1563264-4-biggest-reasons-for-barcelonas-slip-in-form

Width is the main to be be addressed tonight... I've got a horrid feeling Alexis or Cesc will play.

Call me crazy but i feel Alexis would thrive in the system you posted on the first page.

Its basically a carbon copy of the system at Udinese and Chile under Bielsa.

I have no problem with Alexis starting, depending on who isnt of course.

If Villa is in, then im fine with it.

If they choose Alexis over Pedro (they wont) I wouldnt complain, he has been better than him for about a month. And thats not really praise for Alexis, thats just an indication of how poor Pedro has been. He is literally uninvolved the majority of the game, and I dont mean with the ball, I mean movement and runs, defensively, everything.

And I would play anyone who even remotely resembles a forward over Cesc so yeah.

I don't know about Xavi starting, last game he just came back from an injury and it is the same case now, rumor is he has taken pain killers to play as-well.
rather us play Thiago if that is the case a healthier younger and in 100% form player.
Like Franchise said I rather have Tello / Gerard / Kiko start over Cesc on the wing.

Kiko

Seriously, I would rather play Pique up front than Cesc.

This performance However the defense is a real problem. Lucky that Niang didn't finish. Luck has been on our side. We are creating problems and constantly creating chances and getting shots on goal. Busquests Iniesta Messi Great that Roura picked Villa even thoguh he has been a shadow in the game tbh...

I had mentioned Alves' interview but I had forgotten to mention his best comment. He had said that he would like to see how his team respond and whether we are capable of facing such a challenge. Well win or lose from here onwards the team has proved that they sure are.

Was Xavi really injured or was that false propaganda in the media? I mean how can a player come back from a hamstring injury and play like that.

I almost broke my spects when the second goal went it.

The holy trinity has been absolutely brilliant as have been some other players.

Messi is beyond words. For a long time I thought we hadn't seen a big match performance from him until now that is.

P.S. - If Roura puts Fabregas on and moves Iniesta on the wing, I might murder him tonight.

we need to get rid of mascherano, he is Milan's best player..

Messi.. my god fap worthy first goal went 66 miles per hour according to Fox Soccer

Mascherano was completely at fault. Can't believe this is the second time this season he's missed an easy header like that. I'm actually done defending him.

Messi on the other hand

As a neutral I have to say though, Milan are absolutely choking. Terrible tactics employed by Allegri. What happened to pressing Barcelona and disrupting their rhythm? Did they not learn from the first match?

You can't sit back like that. They are giving Barcelona all the time in the world to pick their passes at ease.

Messi's goal was offside.
However Abate should have given a penalty and possibly a red card for the challenge on Pedro.

hey guys. its half time. my first post. you lot are awesome. been reading this forum for a while.

im so proud of our team. i think whether we go through or not from here -- the world is our witness -- this team IS the best in the world. for the sheer beauty of our game, the mastery and the spirit of these players. but.. i get the feeling we will go through. the gods are smiling down on us.

i have never been more proud and amazed by this team. this 1st half performance says everything about barca. we cules can hold our heads high whatever the score in 40 min time.

oh *bleep*. viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilla!

O come all ye faithless - led by yours truly with his head hung.

messixaviesta wrote:O come all ye faithless - led by yours truly with his head hung.

I've never been happier to be absolutely completely wrong.

To be fair, it was quite nice not to see Fàbregas destroying the flow of play.

oh my god this match was so ****ing good just wow..
every barcelona fan better download that match and store it for whenever your having a bad day.

Donuts wrote:well anything is possible and we shall wait and see how it goes.
If Messi and company have a good day then maybe we can outscore the tie lol

I had faith!

Congrats guys, you did an amazing job.

Messi was beyond words brilliant. Xavi was masterly. Yet pardon my bias because I will first talk about Iniesta.

If I have not said this before then let me say today that were there no Iniesta I may as well have not been a football fan.

Vicente Del Bosque once said that Iniesta is the best midfielder in the world because he is just as great whether the team is attacking or defending. Just rewatch tonight's match and see the positions Iniesta takes up on the pitch so that he can quickly win the ball back and start a counter-attack. A great player is not just about what he does on the ball but also what he does off the ball. I had once said that without Iniesta our game lacks the ball carrier, the dynamism, the rhythm never gets established. Tonight proved me right. Only Messi could have done what he did tonight but I tell you what I believe that if you replace Iniesta tonight with any other player in the world, Barca don't win this tie. He was the spirit of the team and the game as a whole.

Fabregas must learn to sit on the bench because tonight made it blatantly obvious, if it wasn't already, that width is key to our game.

Defense is still a big concern but you know what guys there will now be fire in our eyes. Remember Chelsea last time after their comeback against Napoli. The sky is the limit now.

Donuts wrote:
I had faith!

Kudos to you mate. Not for nothing do they say a wounded tiger is still a tiger after all.

Iniesta did decent, poor to his standards but still decent if you compare him to everyone else.
He did poorly in the beginning with some bad passes but he does a hell of a job keeping the ball and waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger, if he scored that goal he would be mentioned more but needless to say Xavi, Dani Alves and Buscuit preformed very well along with the god Messi who gave us that very early goal which we needed so badly.

Barca shut me up.
Thank you Barca

"We are all going to lose"

Whattt a great day !!!!

Awesome, haven't been so happy for a long time . What a game !!!