CL R16: Real Madrid - Paris Saint Germain

I am worried tbh. We have no Modric or Kroos

Kovacic has been pretty bad imo. Doesn't give me the calmity on the ball that Modric and Kroos provides

Well, Kovacic isn't Modric or Kroos to be fair. I felt he did well considering. It's a chaotic match, but holding them scoreless at half is a win on it's own.

Plus we should have scored to put it beyond reach. Again, if we had a capable striker this tie would be over.

Kovacic has been exceptional defensively. Psg hasn't done shit this half. We're playing a 2 man midfield against psgs onslaught this half.. they're gonna tire out 2nd half. This was it for psg

Yeah you are right he isn't Kroos or Modric. I've been spoilt tbh because when I look at him that's my criticism, otherwise he has done well I guess

Zidane got this game 100% right. Credit where credit is due.

Lucas and Asensio changes to the regular line-up really moderated the match and made it easy to control PSG to capitalize on their mistakes, which we did. Kovacic also putting in a shift in the midfield. Varane, Ramos, and Carvajal completely nullifying their attack with help from Casemiro.

This was a well managed game, the players knew what they had to do and executed well, apart from Benzema who should have scored twice.

Imagine what this team would look like with a competent striker. Absolutely insane.

While Casemiro was great, I feel that he's similar to vintage Pepe in his lack of discipline. Like Hans mentioned in the general section, it's a miracle that he doesn't get sent off more often. I can't even explain how he manages to dodge yellow cards so often.

This tie has exceeded my expectations on so many levels. I think PSG's lack of key players that were absent in the first leg ,had a substantial impact on how things turned out. Then again, some of their best players were really sub-par anyway. Mbappe, in particular. I was a bit worried that Di Maria would cause us some troubles tonight, but he didn't deliver the goods, either.

Neymar would have definitely made it harder. We couldn't control the game like we usually do, obviously because we didn't have Kroos or Modric

Casemiro is very smart with tackles. When was the last time he got sent off? I trust him with tackles. It is Kovacic I don't trust defensively.

Our defense except for carvajal was pretty damn good this game. Offside line was on point and stopping game by CBS were top notch.

Wish we had a competent striker. Is it too much to ask? I think so under current scenario

Adit wrote:Casemiro is very smart with tackles. When was the last time he got sent off? I trust him with tackles. It is Kovacic I don't trust defensively.

Casemiro should have been booked after like 10 minutes when he shot the ball away 5 seconds after the ref had whistled.
1 minute later, he makes a last ditch foul out of the box.

He might actually have been off after 15 minutes, instead he still wasn't booked.

It's absolutely amazing. Scientists should study this. I can only speculate that maybe his hamster-like facial features subconsciously soothe refs to the point they don't feel the need for sanctioning?

Yeah, like Pepe, he looks great when he gets away with doing what he does best. Pepe really changed for the better towards the end of his Real Madrid career, but his lack of discipline was never a secret to anyone and his aggressive playing style was a doubled-edged sword for the most part.

Casemiro as well does, by no means, have a clean and tidy approach to his defending. He's such a valuable player to have on your team when he's allowed to hustle opposing players and approach duels aggresively without consequences, but his shortcomings become very apparent when referees actually keep him in check. I suppose we can't really complain, as long as he does get away with it. I generally don't find him very reliable, though.

Well well well, what a pleasant surprise! Where has THIS team been. Other than Benzema, everyone played extremely well. And where has this tactical genius on the bench been? @Nick, I think we have to reexamine what we have been saying about a ‘man manager only’

he is still a primo man manager who is learning on the job.

this is no different from what we saw vs Bayern last year, 442 has consistently been his calling card when he is playing against a team that is better with possession.

This team again proves when they play the CL, they are a 100%. they have been that way since Carlo won the CL, they did not learn it from Zidane, so sorry if i dont credit him him for this

just to clarify things, i dont mean that Zidane deserves no credit, that would be stupid. the man has maintained a rare level of unity and trust in this group. and he is making choices, lining up the team, benching Bale and Isco, etc... he is making choices that are paying off. It's part of being a manager, and he is doing things very well

I feel Varane and Kovacic aren't getting much love... both were so amazing. Varane's rise has been spectacular and i personally believe Kovacic will replace Modric in the future. Great game but I wish we were more ruthless and destroyed them... But oh well

Perucho21 wrote:I feel Varane and Kovacic aren't getting much love... both were so amazing. Varane's rise has been spectacular and i personally believe Kovacic will replace Modric in the future. Great game but I wish we were more ruthless and destroyed them... But oh well

We would have but Benzema and those misses made the scoreline look close. A better forward and PSG would have been given a proper shelling.

You’ve got to give Zidane a lot if credit for this.

Despite playing Benz, I think that is the only thing he got wrong. He gave them the formation and instructed the players what to do and they followed his game plan to the letter.

The keeper and defense were very strong other than Marcelo got up front a couple of times. Carvajal was fantastic. Ramos and Varane played it tight entire game.

The pairing of Casemiro and Kova was great. Both have been mentioned as MoM. They both were a little rough, but that actually helps intiminate. Lucas and Asensio were instructed to play wide and that made a huge difference, both offensively and defensively.

I felt Ronaldo played well enough, but he did give ball away a lot. Benz on the other hand, as Doc said, could have had 2 or 3 and made the game a runaway. His break with Ronaldo was pathetic.

And Zidane got the subs right as well!

We’ve been very critical of Zidane this year especially tactical. But he deserves full praise for yesterday. He may well have earned his job for next season! If they can keep playing this way, we may well end up with CL again! I fear only City and Barca with what’s left.

And given what we saw last weekend with Theo and llorente, I say the only changes we need on this team are Benz, Bale, Majoral and Achraf!

It's a tough call Bill because you have a lot of players on the wrong side of 30... they're great players so they can play great for the big occasions... but that kills you in the long grind of a league season.

We're going to have to transition into younger players quick here and the signs of decline of many of our top guys is very apparent.

It sounds strange... but do yo want to keep a core together than can compete together for comps like CL? Or do you want to revamp so that you're more competitive for a marathon like La Liga while putting yourself more at risk in CL?

I think we need to start renovating the club in a big way.

Well done guys, Real are really good when they play, agree this was a really ballsy line up from Zidane and its worked so well, Asensio and Lucas for the first goal, and general play all good.

Curious about Kovavic, always thought he was much more of an attacker back at Inter, and hes developed into a much more rounded midfielder with ability to defend as well, or was he always like this?

sportsczy wrote:It's a tough call Bill because you have a lot of players on the wrong side of 30... they're great players so they can play great for the big occasions... but that kills you in the long grind of a league season.

We're going to have to transition into younger players quick here and the signs of decline of many of our top guys is very apparent.

It sounds strange... but do yo want to keep a core together than can compete together for comps like CL? Or do you want to revamp so that you're more competitive for a marathon like La Liga while putting yourself more at risk in CL?

I think we need to start renovating the club in a big way.

Sports, we already have talented younger guys on squad with the exception of the forwards and GK.

The guys you keep dishing are the renovations the club has been doing for past 2 or 3 years. I would be surprised if these remaining areas to be dealt with are not done this summer with the exception of Ronaldo.

Kova is the only proper young replacement I see in the midfield. He's got the talent. The other guys are unproven kids.

I don't consider unproven kids as the younger guys I'm talking about I'm referring to young and WC or WC talent players out there.

Well that’s an opinion. They were signed as potential next generation. All but the two kids promoted (Majoral and Achraf) have demonstrated that talent a few times, but the reality is they have not had sufficient opportunities to properly develop. I highly doubt if the club will give up on them after just one season. So we are back to who is on the wrong side of 30 and who needs replacements. That’s Benz, Ronaldo and Navas. All the others have potential replacements already on the squad. Then you throw Bale into the mix and probably delay Ronaldo another year. If they don’t work out in another year or two, then the club might listen to your opinion!

There is literally no way that Madrid is going to let kids with no big club experience at all take over and become the core of the team. None. Makes no sense. If you think being 3rd is bad... play kids like that and you can easily end up 6th or 7th.

This isn't the club to develop unknown players and prospects without any hint of top level ability.

Modric and Kroos are going to be replaced by Kova (maybe) and a high priced transfer. The BBC is going to be replaced by 2 if not 3 high priced transfers. Once Ramos is done, we're going to go buy the best CB we can buy to replace him. Etc.

The only one I can see us taking a chance on is Lucas Hernandez because he's really talented. I don't see any great talent with the others.