UCL | 1/2 (1st Leg) | FC Barcelona vs FC Bayern Munich

My prediction for this game :-


Barcelona(4) - Bayern(2)

I'm not sure it's going to be that open tbh I'd love to be wrong though, the more goals the better as far as i'm concerned.

Argh. I'm a bit worried about the game. Pep haunts me, so does Thiago.
I'm not entirely sure it'll be a thriller. It can very well be a snoozefest, a war for posession.

messixaviesta wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:Even Real is now a better possession team than you tbh

Are you sure you'll beat us on the possession statistics at the end of the game?

I'm not sure of anything.

windkick wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:https://twitter.com/FCBayernEN/status/595158978784407553

Oh f them. Trying to rub it in our face that they have Thiago by showing him doing some tricks most guys on our team can also do? Stupid shit
This really annoys me. I was just happy to be at this stage after the way we've played at times this season and the fact we won nothing last season. But now I want us to beat them.

Chill

It's just a bit of "banter".

Hopefully whoever wins between you two goes on to win the CL.

The thought of Allegri winning CL and Madrid retaining makes me sick to my stomach.

Hapless_Hans wrote:

messixaviesta wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:Even Real is now a better possession team than you tbh

Are you sure you'll beat us on the possession statistics at the end of the game?

I'm not sure of anything.

Neither am I. It's one of those 'once in a lifetime' ties. You wait for it with bated breath not knowing what can possibly happen.

Casciavit wrote:The thought of Allegri winning CL makes me sick to my stomach.

When Allegri was appointed by Juventus I wasn't thrilled to bits but he has already performed beyond my best expectations.

I do feel though that Milan (or shall I say specifically Berlusconi) were very unfair to Allegri. When he had a good team in his first season he delivered the title. Then his team was weakened but he still didn't do too badly. Very few coaches could have gotten more out of that team than he did. Still he was never appreciated and lamentably criticized. He's a coach who has to work with the players he gets, not the re-incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Regarding "why did Thiago leave Barca", he gave an interview:

Would he be alongside Messi tonight if Guardiola had still been in charge at the Nou Camp? “Pep has always had a lot of faith in me, and me in him, so if he was still the coach then yes, probably,” the midfielder says. “But going over the past doesn’t help you with the future and I’m just lucky enough to be here now with him at Bayern.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/thiago-alcantara-interview-where-pep-guardiola-goes-i-follow-10227211.html

Save to say he doesn't give a f about Bayern either and will be gone the moment Pep leaves.

What's wrong with that? he's a professional, he should do what he thinks is best for his career.

Where did I say anything is wrong with that? At best it's strange that a player would be so attached to a single coach. But "wrong"? No.

Fair enough, i misinterpreted the wording of the post.

My bad.

Casciavit wrote:Hopefully whoever wins between you two goes on to win the CL.

The thought of Allegri winning CL and Madrid retaining makes me sick to my stomach.

Casc ffs

It would be a shame if the most mythical achievement in clu football is achieved by a team that isn't even one of the best in the last 5 years let alone of all time. Saying that, it would be fitting as Madrid are Madrid, the Biggest club in the world achieving it would fit the Madrid historical narrative.

I expect a similar game to that of Barcelona vs Madrid a few weeks ago with Bayern dominating in possession and having most of the chances. The Germans will make sure MSN don't see much of the ball.

Rakitić needs to be dropped for this game. He just doesn't have the ability or confidence to play possession football under pressure. He'll be exposed today, as he was against Madrid. While a great player he is not fit to play these kind of games in this team.

danyjr wrote:I expect a similar game to that of Barcelona vs Madrid a few weeks ago with Bayern dominating in possession and having most of the chances. The Germans will make sure MSN don't see much of the ball.

Rakitić needs to be dropped for this game. He just doesn't have the ability or confidence to play possession football under pressure. He'll be exposed today, as he was against Madrid. While a great player he is not fit to play these kind of games in this team.

So nothing like the Madrid game then?

Barcelona line-up (official): TerStegen - Alves Pique Mascherano Alba - Rakitic Busquets Iniesta - Messi Suarez Neymar

As expected.

messixaviesta wrote:

Casciavit wrote:The thought of Allegri winning CL makes me sick to my stomach.

When Allegri was appointed by Juventus I wasn't thrilled to bits but he has already performed beyond my best expectations.

I do feel though that Milan (or shall I say specifically Berlusconi) were very unfair to Allegri. When he had a good team in his first season he delivered the title. Then his team was weakened but he still didn't do too badly. Very few coaches could have gotten more out of that team than he did. Still he was never appreciated and lamentably criticized. He's a coach who has to work with the players he gets, not the re-incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Since I don't want to derail the thread all I'll say is that Allegri many made many mistakes at Milan, and his mistakes should not be negated just because Juve have one foot in the finals.

Credit to him and Juve, but he made many questionable decisions at Milan even with our crappy board and poor players (2013-2014).

Wtf at our bench

1. Bravo
2. Adriano
3. Vermaelen
4 Bartra
5. Xavi
6. Rafinha
7. Pedro

What in world do we need 3 defenders on the bench for...and how did Vermelean, who hasn't even played a second with us, drop Matthieu?

I think Mathieu is injured.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:So nothing like the Madrid game then?

On the contrary, watch the match until the 60th minute. It was all Madrid and then a goal from Suárez which came out of nowhere changed the match.

Alba

alexjanosik wrote:Alba

Out of all people?

Well he has been the most useless.

I get playing direct to exploit them but we have messed up a lot of chances by rushing plays.Patient play would have led to better openings.

messixaviesta wrote:I read an article by 'Sid Lowe' about how there are fragments within Barcelona who hate Pep Guardiola and will not welcome him warmly. Maybe I'll share the link some time as I don't have it now.

Link? While Sid is generally reliable he sometimes takes what the Spanish press reports as face value, even if there are no quotes or named sources.

MEEESSIIIIII!!!

Alves just got his renewal