Throwback bale performance but will get a goal towards the end.

He's been very poor today.

Modric scolding Isco for playing around with the ball

Someone has to tell him it ain't all about dribbles.

FalcaoPunch wrote:Throwback bale performance but will get a goal towards the end.

He's been very poor today.

Say what you want a bout Bale, but he's been absolutely dominant in the air and without him, I'm not so sure we would have created those big chances that he wasted. He's been firing blanks today. Hopefully, it's just a one off.

Thimmy wrote:

FalcaoPunch wrote:Throwback bale performance but will get a goal towards the end.

He's been very poor today.

Say what you want a bout Bale, but he's been absolutely dominant in the air and without him, I'm not so sure we would have created those big chances that he wasted. He's been firing blanks today. Hopefully, it's just a one off.

It was just today's match essentially most of the first half then slight part of the second. He seemed out of it and was playing poor.

But it was up til maybe 65-70 minute then he really turned it on.

Without him we would have been completely lost today for sure.

I want to make a bid of half a million Kenyan shilling for Danilo, on behalf of Strømsgodset football club

Actually... make that a loan deal instead.

Not a bad match. Bale saving us once more.

Mayoral was very poor and we definitely need a back up CF in the summer.

Bale was messing up so hard before that goal... glad he scored. He was our only danger... but he should have had a hat trick

Team has a lot heart and I mean a lot. Who would have thought.

Yeah, haven't seen the team so motivated since Mourinho's title winning season. It's like they are on a mission. Apparently Ramos told Perez that they will get a bonus only if they win both CL and LL. If we win only one they won't get anything. Great attitude

The big thing is that we're freakin organized so the individual flaws aren't exposed anymore as much... before, we were 11 guys doing their thing. Now, we're a team doing our thing.

bale damn near made me break my screen, but once again, glad he stepped up. nice from lucas, he's really earning his stripes. if mayoral plays like this, and is the backup or co-cf to benzema, guess what; he will get no chances at all unless benzema gets injured and it will be like having only one cf all over again. the tough thing is that he obviously needs chances, but when you're in a league where a draw is like a loss, and now you have atleti as well who are over achieving, there's little chance for mistakes and errors that may be caused by playing someone who is not ready. a better co-cf would use these opportunities wisely and it will in turn rub off positively on the cf situation as everyone knows they can't slow down because you've got someone looking to take any opportunity to stake a claim for the spot....and in the event of fatigue, u've got another forward just hungry to show what he can do

great fight from the team today. if this was last season or earlier on this season, or even when we won decima as well as mou's last year, we'd have lost or drawn this match. when the doors don't open we fold, but in the last couple of games, we've been showing some fight. the technical issues still remain though, and need to be addressed once the season ends

Casemiro has been good... but his performances are coming behind the awful experiment of Kroos as the deep playing mid. So I would suggest watching other teams with proper deep playing mids and comparing his play to those.

He really needs to improve on his transitions from defender to CM. He's trying but he really gets exposed against the better teams.

i don't think you're going to get that with casemiro anytime soon. what he needs more than anything is for someone like modric to carry him in games. he's doing his job right- stop passing lanes, and disrupt the opposition. he bundles when it comes to passing the ball out or picking out the right man, i think that's where modric or kroos have to step in, in regards to caps in madrid, casemiro's still young, the more experienced CM (not guys like james or isco, who aren't central mids), has to start pointing out or signalling him on the right passing outlets to take

ofcourse the problem with that is when he gets mauled or double teamed no manner of pointing or conversation are going to give you the skills to hold the ball or pass out from such scenario, that's something he'll have to learn as time goes on. but i prefer the defensive aspect of his game than having a dm version of marcelo....i think with time and confidence, casemiro can learn that trade better

You're actually praising Isco who's been shit all season and criticizing Modric, best CM in the world ?

Barca and City, the two teams that match us in terms of talent, really messed Casemiro up.  He was a turnover machine.  Fine defensively but really couldn't hold or move the ball worth a lick. These are the games that are going to define Real Madrid's seasons and we need a guy who can hold his own. That's why he either needs to really improve or we need to upgrade. All the other top deep playing mids (Lahm, Marchisio, Matic, Motta, etc.) are supremely confident with the ball once they recover it.

my take on modric much like casemiro is, he isn't necessarily an assist lynch-pin. his job is primarily to distribute the ball and mark his man. he isn't an attacking mid whose job is to play the final ball to the forwards to score. he's responsible for deep passes and a few long balls. i'm cool with casemiro's role; but sometimes when playing the ball out, i get a bit worried he may miss-pass or lose it, at times i even wished he just hoofed it out. but its not a major problem, as long as he defends well, then i'm good. i just feel at times he may need someone to say who he should pass to when moving the ball out of the area....but i agree, the defensive aspect is first priority

i don't want isco anywhere near the cm position, a cm who just strolls immediately after losing the ball should be on the bench. he doesn't do anything defensively to warrant that role, neither does he distribute the ball well. carlo put him there cos he wanted him to be like seedorf; clarence seedorf was a work horse, who would not make the mistake of holding unto the ball longer than he's supposed to. i'm not exactly sure how carlo (who i respect as a manager) came up with the idea

Neither are the guys i mention Tito... what i'm looking for is being able to hold the ball and move the ball around to the correct players quickly.  That's what a deep playing mid needs to do:  Get the ball forward quickly and in good conditions.  Also need to have range on his passing.

Nothing to do with assists.

@hala... Casemiro was horrible with the ball against Barca.  Turned it over every time.  No way he was MOTM or anything close to it. He was very good defensively though, which is 1/2 the battle at least.

we'll just agree to completely disagree... he's miles better than Kroos there so of course we're functioning better in the defensive center (as opposed to not functioning at all lol). But he is by no means a top player there. He's serviceable just like Lucas is serviceable. Very limited. We can do a lot better.