Re: Sevilla - FC Barcelona | La Liga Matchday 23 | Feb 9th, 2013

by free_cat Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:26 am

I disagree that messi didn't run enough, IMO in this game and last one he found the healthy middle ground. Running much more would mean to be like the beginning of the season and he would get injured.

Man of the match: Alexis hump.

Xavi was quite poor too, as well as pique and Montoya.

by BarcaLearning Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:38 am

REALLY happy with Messi and Iniesta in this game, they were AMAZING! Back to their best self I think this clearly shows. The nonense lately and a bit overreaction as usual Smile

Messi in the first half was under the standard surrounded by defenders and thats while he appears to be lazy and in effective, cos it is the norm these days that oppositions gang up defending him. But he still scored that goal to lead and in the second half, Sevilla was much more open and he had space and looked a total different player straight away. So we all know and shown again if Messi is given any space he just is so amazing. Those 2 shots by Messi was unbelievable! Just perfect shots and few can do in world football. Sanchez and Pedro and Cesc did their share. Also happy with Song and Xavi.

Defense remains our big problem. Pique Im starting think he just tackles non stop, I hope there is more to his overall game, especially when facing counters he gets dribbled past too easily. Maybe Bartra keeps improving, but there just isnt a very commanding defender in our team it feels.

We were lucky Sevilla didnt take their chances, and other teams with better strikers would have scored more.

by BarcaLearning Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:09 am

I really surprised by most people's comments in this thread. I think Barca fans are just being too demanding and wants perfect performances every game? Dont forget opposition teams are all competitive and know how to counter us, lets not forget each victory isnt easy, maybe we just got too used to seeing our team win easily every time in the past 5 years.

by Harmonica Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:32 am

Wonderful game from Messi, Iniesta and Valdes also great.

Sevilla - FC Barcelona | La Liga Matchday 23 | Feb 9th, 2013 - Page 3 Messi%20rain

Messi's lost passion. Laughing

Also, hopefully some posters read this quote and understand what it truly means.

Gerardo Martino - "I would never risk speaking ill of Messi. Unconsciously, people who talk about him are in fact playing with his pride, and if you touch the pride of the best player in the world... the rival pays for that, and that's what happened today. He is always decisive, even if it's just to draw rivals defenders inside. He becomes the focus of the other team's attention to such an extent that he creates space for others, so his involvement is always positive."

This game was also great example why Messi actually should be more selfish. Or better yet, lets leave it to the greatest assessors of all time to decide if it's correct time to try yourself or give it more open but worse finisher. Could have again had 4 assists, or 5 goals.

by The Franchise Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:58 am

Fußball wrote:

All Sevilla chances were down to individual mistakes from the backline. And amateurish ones at that. For the first goal Barca had what? 9 players around their own box? Yet Pique manages to suck in a nutmeg and a deflected shot goes in. I don't see how this can be blamed on tactics / lack of tactical changes or the midfield not defending enough. If Barca were getting raped on the counter leaving spaces behind - okay, blame the tactics. But that didn't happen. It was simply Pique being a scrub, something that isn't getting highlighted often enough.

Pique alone (and no one else, not the tactics, not the midfield) conceded 3 golden opportunities. Add to that Montoya's f*ckup and it's 4, almost all of Sevilla's best chances.

Xaviesta is the savest midfield in the world. They rarely lose the ball, they stay with their markers 99 out of 100 times, they are tactically beyond intelligent how to close passing angles etc. and they put in a shift (as much as possible given their physical deficiencies). You can't ask for more cover from a midfield unless you play a double pivot consisting of physical defensive midfielders like Schweini and Martinez.

My hope is that Tata somehow flukes the treble with Messi, Iniesta and Neymar playing in godmode to win games 3-2, 4-2 etc. So he gains enough respect to buy his own players AND bench (better sell) idiots like Pique. The Oleguer of the Pep era who is here because he is Catalan and nothing else. No wonder Pep wanted him sold.

Those are Sevilla's best chances, but I am not talking about just chances. The whole aura of the game was us having huge difficulty.

Song was being moved all over the place, out of position and looking confused as to where he should be. Many times I saw him higher up the pitch than Xavi trying to win the ball.

And as the game wore on, we still didnt have control, even 3-1 up. The pattern of the game and the struggle continued untill some place between the 3rd and 4th goal. Then Sevilla was out of it. During this time, nothing had been changed. Even moving Iniesta wide was incredibly strange...we wasnt passing the ball well for various reason and couldnt control the game because of it, most of our good work was being done on the counter attack. So removing speed was a strange decision.

I didnt say the midfield didnt attempt to defend enough either, I said the wingers are better defensive players and that is very strange to see. No other team has this.

Yes, obviously Pique was terrible. But coming into this game he had 2-4 pretty good games in a row and generally this season he had some surprising performances. So let's put that into some perspective also.

Obviously we need a new defender, but that has been beaten to death.

by futbol Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:26 pm

Well, if we had better defenders to snuff out those afromentioned chances, this would have been an epic performance considering the stadium and weather conditions (we play football on the ground and suffer badly when the ball doesn't move fast enough). Not many teams in Europe score 4 goals away from home against sides that aren't relegation fodder. Manchester City against Spurs and Bayern against Schalke are the only games I can think of all across Europe and Spurs were in crisis. Sevilla fought and pressed very hard (flying into tackles like mad). We had enough control of the game IMO. Not 10/11 "pin them into their own box for 90 minutes" level control obviously (I doubt this is even possible anymore) but enough that this could have been clasified an epic performance without giving away those amateurish chances.

by The Franchise Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:28 pm

Well the reality is we dont. And we had the chance to improve on it, but chose not to. And a coach who also said we dont need to.

So you will excuse my lack of sympathy there.

I am sorry, this was not a great performance at all. We finished the chances we got on the break and survived very luckily on the other end.

If Rakitic finishes that clear chance to make it 2-0...its a different story.

If the linesman doesnt miss an offside and we dont get back in the game at that time, perhaps it to is a different story.

We cant rely on great players (Rakitic is one) missing sitters and refs making errors to win games and then talk about rain and other such things like those are legit excuses for the performance.

We have to do better, not just the defence either. I can find fault with midfield and attack.

by Khaled Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:54 pm

The Franchise wrote:Well the reality is we dont. And we had the chance to improve on it, but chose not to. And a coach who also said we dont need to.

So you will excuse my lack of sympathy there.

I am sorry, this was not a great performance at all. We finished the chances we got on the break and survived very luckily on the other end.

If Rakitic finishes that clear chance to make it 2-0...its a different story.

If the linesman doesnt miss an offside and we dont get back in the game at that time, perhaps it to is a different story.

We cant rely on great players (Rakitic is one) missing sitters and refs making errors to win games and then talk about rain and other such things like those are legit excuses for the performance.

We have to do better, not just the defence either. I can find fault with midfield and attack.

IF IF IF IF IF!!!
If Diego Alves didn't save Alexis header we could have been 2-0 up vs Valencia. But, football doesn't work like this!

And by the way, didn't Barcelona make an comeback against Sevilla last season after being 0-2 down?
Didn't we win 2-5 vs Getafe after being 0-2 down this season?

Stop discrediting the players, Sevilla has 3 very good chance in the 1st 30-35 minutes, scored 1. We also missed chances, if Adriano Iniesta Xavi Alexis were more clinical the score could have been 1-6 or 1-7! That's football, you can't score every single chance! We deserved the win, and yes the in the 2nd half we played great football!

Messi in this game was to unselfish, he could have scored even more goals yet preferred to pass the ball.
Also, why didn't you mention the CLEAR foul on Messi in the penalty box (that should be added to your list of IFs).

Cules are insane nowadays.
We shouldn't concede a single chance in the whole 90 minutes to consider our selves having played a good game? I'm talking about this season in general not this game. I'm sick of all this complains and negatively.

A small note: We're conceding the same number of chances and goals this seaosn like we used under Pep Guardiola. A very good average!

by eelir Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:04 pm

Sure we deserved the win. The result shows it, but did we deserve the result? And do we deserve the praise for a well played game? That is a completely different question! It is ok to reflect and be aware of the problems we have.

by Khaled Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:16 pm

Sure its okay to reflect and be aware of the problems we have. But there's big difference between "pointing at our problems" and "bashing the players/coach" after every single game. Even after crucial wins against difficult opponents.

The players deserve much more respect especially for what they've done in last seasons and are STILL doing for Barcelona.

They can win it all, and they might this season not but IMO they deserve to have faith in them! Sadly, 2 games vs Bayern last season in a very difficult circumstances have changed the opinions of many, which is Wrong!

So much negativity and pessimism between Barcelona fans.
I'm out, sick of reading these negative views, I'll be back at the end of the season... Bye...

by futbol Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:29 pm

Khaled wrote:

So much negativity and pessimism between Barcelona fans.
I'm out, sick of reading these negative views, I'll be back at the end of the season... Bye...

You're going nowhere you pos. I have a Barca badge now. U happy?

Barca. :bow:

by eelir Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:38 pm

I agree Khaled, there is much negativism, but is it undeserved? Isn't a defense (CB + fullback) an ancient need? We are talking about a CB for 3 years now! The most intriguing fact is that this need hasn't been addressed at all. I guess fans would be more forgiving if we got something in CB department and it turned into a bad signing than do nothing and pretend everything is all right. It is just frustrating to see that our management does not see something as simple as that.

To add to insult, during 3 years some new needs have risen and some bad decisions (let Thiago go) have been made, and still none have been addressed bar the attack. We are turning into RM. Just sign flashy attacking players at any cost. And i guess this has made the rest of the team complacent. Isn't it funny how someone mentioned that our wingers are best defenders? Do you guys wonder why? It is because they have to put 110% otherwise Nemran takes their place when he is fit. Who else in our team has such competition? I guess Pique and Masche should be afraid of Bartra, but does our management/coach use this to get the best of them? Noooooo.

Now you see the frustration with the team is not new. It is at least 3 years old. It is just that most people get reminded by this mess when things don't go well.

@futbal - sure dude you putting a Barca badge back will make everyone happy! I bet Khaled was so depressed you removed Barca's badge that he wants a brake.

by futbol Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:55 pm

DAT Cruyffian domination. Proud

by Donuts Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:12 pm

Khaled wrote:Sure its okay to reflect and be aware of the problems we have. But there's big difference between "pointing at our problems" and "bashing the players/coach" after every single game. Even after crucial wins against difficult opponents.

The players deserve much more respect especially for what they've done in last seasons and are STILL doing for Barcelona.

They can win it all, and they might this season not but IMO they deserve to have faith in them! Sadly, 2 games vs Bayern last season in a very difficult circumstances have changed the opinions of many, which is Wrong!

So much negativity and pessimism between Barcelona fans.
I'm out, sick of reading these negative views, I'll be back at the end of the season... Bye...

I agree with you 100%, and many still play favoritism with who they criticize it's rather annoying sometimes to read these forums.. but i wont leave what else will i do in between classes.
hope you don't leave the forums though until May, could use more real fans in these boards.

by BarrileteCosmico Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:56 pm

Can we please stop with the "real fan" nonsense?

People are negative because in spite of being 1st again the defense was atrocious again. There is a clear trend. Matches like this don't win you big games.

by Casciavit Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:37 pm

I watched the game and I thought Barca weren't that impressive, especially early on. They were very, very, lucky. Honestly had Sevilla been more efficient with there chances, the score could have been 3-0 after the the first 35 minutes. Luckily for Barca, it wasn't that and you managed to win.

However, will the top opposition really give you that many life lines? The defence is a mess and that has been thoroughly discussed in this section.

As for Messi, well I thought he was more active than usual. Before his first goal he was horrible, kept getting dispossessed. And looked slow on the ball was quite unusual.

But, after the first goal he played much better IMO. Especially in the 2nd half, where he had 2-3 opportunities where he could have scored a hatrick, but rather passed it to his teammates. Especially one chance where he passed it to Adriano which reminded me of Pele's pass in the 1970 WC against Italy.

Barca were awfully lucky that Sevilla only converted 1 of the many chances they had in the game. As well as scoring an offside goal which started the comeback. I wouldn't be happy about this performance tbh, lots of glaring issues that need fixing.

by The Franchise Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:07 pm

Khaled wrote:

IF IF IF IF IF!!!
If Diego Alves didn't save Alexis header we could have been 2-0 up vs Valencia. But, football doesn't work like this!

And by the way, didn't Barcelona make an comeback against Sevilla last season after being 0-2 down?
Didn't we win 2-5 vs Getafe after being 0-2 down this season?

Stop discrediting the players, Sevilla has 3 very good chance in the 1st 30-35 minutes, scored 1. We also missed chances, if Adriano Iniesta Xavi Alexis were more clinical the score could have been 1-6 or 1-7! That's football, you can't score every single chance! We deserved the win, and yes the in the 2nd half we played great football!

Messi in this game was to unselfish, he could have scored even more goals yet preferred to pass the ball.
Also, why didn't you mention the CLEAR foul on Messi in the penalty box (that should be added to your list of IFs).

Cules are insane nowadays.
We shouldn't concede a single chance in the whole 90 minutes to consider our selves having played a good game? I'm talking about this season in general not this game. I'm sick of all this complains and negatively.

A small note: We're conceding the same number of chances and goals this seaosn like we used under Pep Guardiola. A very good average!

And I mentioned it at the time, Barca had many chances to make it 2-0 vs Valencia and didnt...and that was a big reason why we lost.

So what's your point?

Messi was unselfish? He also lost the ball half a dozen times faffing around in midfield taking 4, 5 touches of the ball.

Or do you only mention the good things he and the team does?

by The Franchise Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:12 pm

And to anyone who is annoyed by negativity.

I am equally annoyed by fans who speak only good things and brush problems under the carpet.

You display the exact same ignorant and stubborn attitude as people at the club who refuse to see blatant problems in the squad and dont fix them.

And the nerve of you to talk about favouritism Laughing

by CBarca Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:59 am

What's wrong with being negative?

I think anyone watching could have seen that we should have lost this game. No, we should have gotten destroyed this game by Sevilla. Fact of the matter is we have Messi who is decisive as hell even when he's playing like crap, we scored an offside goal, and then we scored a goal when the other team was demoralized and the game was done.

They scored one but easily could have scored 4 or 5 off of really good chances, and then 1 or 2 more from half chances.

I'm ecstatic about the fact that we got three points away at Sevilla, don't get me wrong. I can't be happy or even positive about the display of Barca in the game.

by BarrileteCosmico Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:38 am

This is very, very cool

by BarcaLearning Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:33 am

Khaled wrote:Sure its okay to reflect and be aware of the problems we have. But there's big difference between "pointing at our problems" and "bashing the players/coach" after every single game. Even after crucial wins against difficult opponents.

The players deserve much more respect especially for what they've done in last seasons and are STILL doing for Barcelona.

They can win it all, and they might this season not but IMO they deserve to have faith in them! Sadly, 2 games vs Bayern last season in a very difficult circumstances have changed the opinions of many, which is Wrong!

So much negativity and pessimism between Barcelona fans.
I'm out, sick of reading these negative views, I'll be back at the end of the season... Bye...

That is sad to hear. Like I said above, I think a lot of Barca fans are just expecting too much all the time. Afterall, as good as the team and the players are , they cant be expected to be impressive and win all the time. I think our past 5 years have lifted our expectation levels to very lofty heights and we need to know what to expect and realize that. I also feel that a lot of ppl here criticize the team too easily, kneejerk is one thing, but it does get out of hand. Forum is a forum and ppl vent their frustration and opinions, thats normal....

Anyway, We arent perfect overall as a team, our defense needs improvement, but there so many positives and strengths, the players still try to give it their best I feel. Let's continue to enjoy this amazing team we have Smile

And obivously to Khaled, stay pls, we need u Smile

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