UCL | QF 2nd Leg | Atletico Madrid V Barcelona

Cesc will play false 9. Messi and Neymar on the wings.

Good idea for this particular game IMO. With 11 Atleti players behind the ball crowding the middle we need to stretch them. Messi and Neymar driving into the box from wide is the way to go IMO.

Well. Actually I wouldn't be too upset if we get knocked out. With the injuries we have and all the scandal going on, it might be best to focus on the league which is very winnable and trying to get the CDR. We seem to be wasting our time with the UCL as we aren't going to get past any of the big boys with Pinto in the back and no Pique (love him or hate him, he shows up the big matches)

That said, I would love for to reach the semi's and hopefully Real and Bayern get paired up against each other. Or if the gods are kind, Utd get lucky vs Bayern and then we get Utd in the semis lol

Pique could apparently be back for the CdR already.

Pinto > Valdes.

Treble is still on.

Pique is only out for about 4 weeks, so if we get by Atleti, he'll be back, United could possibly get lucky against Bayern, as PSG can progress through, with RM and I would say we'd stand a good chance to reach final or possibly win it. Even if we run into Bayern, Pep will try to battle us with possession football, so who knows we can most likely take them as well, considering they will push up forward against us leaving space in the back.

According to the press, our lineup will be with Cesc as false 9. I think it's a good idea to play messi at the right when the middle is so packed, but it should be Alexis who plays as 9. He has good aerial ability, can press very hard, make a lot of runs, etc.

Fußball wrote:

Pinto > Valdes.

Yeah, and pigs fly.
How can you still insist that pinto is a better gk after his pathetic performance vs Atletico is beyond me. :facepalm

windkick wrote:Well. Actually I wouldn't be too upset if we get knocked out. With the injuries we have and all the scandal going on, it might be best to focus on the league which is very winnable and trying to get the CDR. We seem to be wasting our time with the UCL as we aren't going to get past any of the big boys with Pinto in the back and no Pique (love him or hate him, he shows up the big matches)

That said, I would love for to reach the semi's and hopefully Real and Bayern get paired up against each other. Or if the gods are kind, Utd get lucky vs Bayern and then we get Utd in the semis lol

Agree with your first para.....
2nd para has too much dream.....to utilize my brain at the moment  

Fußball wrote:Pique could apparently be back for the CdR already.

Pinto > Valdes.

Treble is still on.

he has the chance to make it through passing in the most crucial few games of the season. win only 10 games and he will be on par with valdes even being a bench player most of barca career 

We have more chance of getting through with song as 9 than with cesc in that starting 11.

Problem is Messi is so lazy that Tata cannot afford to put him on the wing. Filipe Luis will have so much space if that happens. Even though we will have a lot of possession, Atletico we'll still be comfortable enough to pass in their half and pick out decent passes.

My line up:


Neymar--------PUYOL----------Alexis

---------------messi-----------------

iniesta------------------------xavi--

-------------busquets----------------


adriano------mascherano---------batra


just instruct neymar and alexis to cross like hell, whilst messi and co should NEVER give possession away in the middle. Atletico wont know what hit them  

I would so go with 3 proper forwards.
Let's just hope that Cesc remembers his pre January dates

Messi on the wing and Cesc as false 9   

Dat pressing is gonna kill Atlético

Turan is out - not included in Atletico's squad

Well, if there was ever a time for Bartra to prove himself, this is it! With Messi on the wing never tracking back and Alves behind him, never back on time either, Bartra is gonna have a very fun evening I reckon.

As for Cesc as false 9, I guess it's fine. Realizing ofc that it's not really gonna be a false 9, but rather a 442 diamond with Cesc playing as #10. He got the passing skills for the position and speed is not required, so why not. Alexis would be equally useless as false 9 and his speed would be pointless against Atletico's parked bus. He's way better off as an impact sub if we happen to score before them and the game opens up. Pedro is out of the question as false 9 and Neymar is way more suitable for the left wing, so yeh. Tata's lineup this time almost makes sense.

free_cat wrote:According to the press, our lineup will be with Cesc as false 9. I think it's a good idea to play messi at the right when the middle is so packed, but it should be Alexis who plays as 9. He has good aerial ability, can press very hard, make a lot of runs, etc.

Agreed. On the plus side we dont play Nerman on the fright side and the decision to sub in Alexis for Cesc is very obvious.

By the way almost all of Nerman's and Alexis' goals came at home and almost all of Cesc's came away.

Stejo wrote:Well, if there was ever a time for Bartra to prove himself, this is it! With Messi on the wing never tracking back and Alves behind him, never back on time either, Bartra is gonna have a very fun evening I reckon.

As for Cesc as false 9, I guess it's fine. Realizing ofc that it's not really gonna be a false 9, but rather a 442 diamond with Cesc playing as #10. He got the passing skills for the position and speed is not required, so why not. Alexis would be equally useless as false 9 and his speed would be pointless against Atletico's parked bus. He's way better off as an impact sub if we happen to score before them and the game opens up. Pedro is out of the question as false 9 and Neymar is way more suitable for the left wing, so yeh. Tata's lineup this time almost makes sense.

Because he is not good at possession,specially in tight spaces, passes way too quickly all of which will be going against the tactics At. Madrid. They will be forcing the one playing no.9 for a quick decision making. I am not convinced he is good in such situation. Yes, he can make brilliant through balls over the walls but dont forget he needs spaces for those passes. I am not sure how much space he would get in this game. On the other hand loosing possession through him in the middle of the park will simply encourage madrid to do numerous counters which they will be playing for.

Alexis on the other hand is strong and use his physicallity before passing. I am sure he can keep it as long as he wants. And then he has the dribbling ability. We saw him able to use his body in such case. But surely he can not make the through balls as good as Cesc.

I think we will go through win 2-1 win after Extra Time. ATM will be tough, but we will have too much for them in the end.

They are weakened without Costa, Turan, and no Diego freak goal

We should win this, otherwise we just dont deserve to be in the next round ffs, COME ON BARCA!!!!!

halftime...
I don't wanna watch this anymore so depressing watching out defence, Messi and Neymar on the wing, neither are tracking back.
we need some sort of a miracle or substitute to change this game around.

1-0 FT.

Atletico Madrid advances.

What a tactical disaster

Pathetic display all around. Reminds me of the end of the Rijkaard era. Time for a complete overhaul.

Simeone has been outclassing Martino for the entire season. Messi has been non-existent in recent games. Alves crossing into the box when we don't have anyone to aim at. Mascherano-full stop. Fabregas-full stop.

What a pile of BS, I've never seen anything worse. Honestly something needs to be done about Messi. He just seems unmotivated.

F*** I guess this probably shows that it is end of an era. Im just shocked at how poor we were.

I am hoping that this is only vs top physical sides like Bayern and Atletico, I think vs these teams where they press us so well, absolutely nullify our attack, and trouble our defense with ease, we struggle so badly and just cant handle it, no ideas

Whether thats Tata's fault I dont know. Im not sure if a manager change is warranted it seems a difficult choice, should we give Tata another season, lets see how the rest of the season shows.

One thing for sure though, For the first time since Pep I truly feel we have no chance in CL next season. Overall we have declined in the tempo and physical department especially and other teams have improved.

Messi has regressed . Somebody has to tell the truth