El Clasico thread

[Mamad]

We will face Barca 3 times in 1 month. I think we are way better than when we lost in Camp Nou but still they are the better team.

I don't expect to go through in Copa but i expect us to put on a good fight.

Based on recent games i think we should play this :

Vini - Benzema - Lucas

Kroos - Llorente/Casemiro - Modric

Reguilon - Ramos - Varane - Carvajal

Navas

I really don't like Lucas but Bale vs Alba was lose-lose in last game. Bale can't defend and is out of the game most of the time. and he can't really beat a fast LB or RB one on one. i think Lucas should start to stop Alba from breaking our defence down the flank. once we do that the game gets easier.

And as good as Marcelo is with the ball i 100% think we should start Reguilon. Can't decide about Llorente or Case though.

If we don't concede early, we can win. but if we do, god help us.

[Doc]

Bale can't beat anyone, not this edition of him. He just traps, cuts to his left foot, pass and runs into a non threatening space. Rinse and repeat.

Other than that, Madrid is better equipped mentally for a Clasico, not sure if they'll manage a positive result but one can hope.

[halamadrid2]

This is one game id like Marcelo to start in. He doesn't even need to play defence. Just make sure to pin their RB back and drag Rakitic from CM to RM. If there is one game Marcelo strives in it's the Clasico. He can go back to the bench against Atleti and Ajax

[Mamad]

That's Vini's job not our LB.

[Doc]

The LB also helps in pinning the opposition RB back as he (Marcelo) can help curtail the RB's forward runs as he'll be too focused on defending his wing.

I cannot stress enough how having Vini helps in this. Only if we had a left sided equivalent since Alba is gonna be a real issue.

[Mamad]

Yeah But Marcelo can't defend. he gets beaten one on one easily. we have to worry about the space behind him way more than anything else.

[Doc]

It's not so much about defending but adding pressure to the lane which helps a lot. Doesn't matter though as the Messi to Alba pass is gonna be more of a thing than Roberto/Semedo.

And fking Suarez. And Dembele. Ugh.

[halamadrid2]

Alba out of our tie. Damn, I was looking forward to seeing Lucas against him instead of Bale. You know the one time Bale won't play on the RW Alba doesn't play they'll put someone who can defend there now

[Doc]

That's excellent though, Alba has actually been good this season and his link up with Messi is ridiculous.

[halamadrid2]

Might be but unlike Marcelo who trots back watching the play as if he was in a cinema, teams target Alba despite him busting a gut to defend. He is rubbish, his only purpose is to run for crossfield ott balls and squaring it back randomly hoping Messi will be there

[FennecFox7]

Alba has improved a lot, especially defensively. He is the better player between marcelo and him at the moment.

[Mr Nick09]

messi is still gonna whoop that ass, stay safe madridistas

[halamadrid2]

Alba has improved a lot, especially defensively. He is the better player between marcelo and him at the moment.

You are joking right????

[Doc]

He's the better performing player, think that was Giggity meant to say. Hopefully.

[Mr Nick09]

Alba is an excellent fullback, he doesnt have the kind of fitness issues marcelo has. So it's entirely reasonable to think he is a better player at the moment. Career wise marcelo is always going to be a more special player but does it matter when you look at today? nope

[FennecFox7]

Alba has improved a lot, especially defensively. He is the better player between marcelo and him at the moment.

You are joking right????

Marcelo speed and stamina has been incredibly poor. Those are two areas alba destroys him in. The #1 most important thing as a fullback is your speed and athleticism

[VanDeezNuts]

There’s more to being a fullback than that. Marcelo is an elite dribbler and one of the most creative fullbacks of all time.

Edit: autocorrect on phone

[halamadrid2]

Marcelo just needs to get his motivation back. We all know he wanted to join Juve when Ronaldo did and he's played this season like someone who's checked out mentally. I mean imagine being benched and then coming on to lazily put someone onside. Marcelo before this season would never do that.

He still has it but just like how Modric managed to get it together finally after putting in Marcelo esque performances for 5 months, Marcelo needs to do that too. I just hope he hasn't lost his place for good by then. I love Reguillon and he's solid both way but Marcelo is the best LB of all time imo and even in his current state is head and shoulders above most LBs out there

That said we have to move forward delicately, we have just gotten going and Reguillon playing is a big part of the reason why. If we change too much from this winning XI we might break down and we've entered the most important part of the season

[VanDeezNuts]

I have a hard time criticizing players who are underperforming under Solari, and have performed well under all other managers. Especially given Solari's "tactical" setup, if you can even call it that.

[Mamad]

Marcelo didn't perform under Lope either. in fact he was the one who threw away the only cup Lope could have won. with his mistakes.

[Mamad]

I have supported Marcelo from the start. there was a time people wanted Coentrao to start over him and didn't believe in him but i knew how good he was even then.

but this season is his worst in terms of defending. until he get's it together, he is no longer the better option to start for us. considering we are awful at defending overall.

[VanDeezNuts]

Well no one was playing well under Lopetegui.

Also Marcelo has never been good at defending, he looks a lot worse now because Solari (unlike Zidane and many other managers) doesn't understand how tactically you need to cover player weaknesses. Under Zidane we had Casemiro cover for Marcelo. Previously we have had Xabi cover for Marcelo etc. Not having the tactical awareness to cover Marcelo's defensive weakness is a huge loss because we all know what Marcelo is capable of offensively.

[Mr Nick09]

I don't recall this mechanism of Casemiro going from the middle to the left to cover for Marcelo. What was more frequent was Casemiro dropping back and Ramos playing left back and center back at the same time with limited support from Kroos and Casemiro.

Although that's not natural and after years of doing unnatural shit, it gets tiring and sometimes making that extra run while Marcelo is jogging is not fun. You will do it in CL but not in all la Liga games week to week.

It's that consistency that is gone for the most part

[Thimmy]

Marcelo just needs to get his motivation back. We all know he wanted to join Juve when Ronaldo did and he's played this season like someone who's checked out mentally. I mean imagine being benched and then coming on to lazily put someone onside. Marcelo before this season would never do that.

He still has it but just like how Modric managed to get it together finally after putting in Marcelo esque performances for 5 months, Marcelo needs to do that too. I just hope he hasn't lost his place for good by then. I love Reguillon and he's solid both way but Marcelo is the best LB of all time imo and even in his current state is head and shoulders above most LBs out there

That said we have to move forward delicately, we have just gotten going and Reguillon playing is a big part of the reason why. If we change too much from this winning XI we might break down and we've entered the most important part of the season

I have no clue whether or not motivation is an issue for Marcelo. It wouldn't surprise me, considering he's pretty much achieved everything he can, at this point in his career. I think his drop in speed and stamina are more likely explanations for his poor performances, though. We all know how he likes to play, and his actual strength lies in going forward, but he no longer seems to have the legs to compensate for leaving so much space behind him. Roberto Carlos had the same issue, as he was growing older. Not that any of them were particularly good at tracking back, to begin with.

Modric is the same. He's always been an explosive player in his movement, and his decline in stamina, and to a lesser extent pace, don't seem to allow him to "hustle" as consistently as he used to. That's just how the cookie crumbles. Athleticism matters in this game. Talent, alone, doesn't trump aging. I'm very sceptical as to whether or not Modric has bounced back, for that matter. He been rather poor for half a season already. A couple of good games might change the opinions of some on here, but it doesn't make up for our struggles earlier in the season. Neither Marcelo, nor Modric are season-long starter material anymore, in my opinion. A few great performances here and there isn't going to change that. They may have a level of talent that we have no hope of replacing, but we need consistency.

[halamadrid2]

I agree completely. Modric and Marcelo are two of the first players we need to start phasing out (we've already started with Marcelo). Ramos too but he could still give us WC consistently as he strives to win the Balon d'or. He is the new face of Madrid now that Ronaldo has left. If we win CL he'll win Balon d'or 100%.

They are Madrid legends but we can't have 3 Rauls in one team or we'll struggle to finish top 4

[Sponsored content]