Re: UCL SF 2020/21 | Real Madrid Vs Chelsea

by CBarca Wed May 05, 2021 10:02 pm

Yesterday wasn't so bad for me as a Pepophile and seeing the AMERICAN FLAG put Madrid to the sword today felt pretty good too.

The all english final is boring but I'd rather see that than Madrid somehow winning this tie after they should have been dead and in the ground 5 or 6 times. The better team won both ties, and I have to give a lot of credit to Tuchel. I completely backed the firing of Lampard and bringing Tuchel in and he's done better than I would have imagined. It hasn't been the toughest of matchups to get to the final, but he's still managed to do it after coming in to the squad in December, and that's impressive no matter what.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Wed May 05, 2021 10:06 pm

S wrote:Game over

Another all English final. So boring.

UCL SF 2020/21 | Real Madrid Vs Chelsea - Page 6 Giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952f59b00d9e3ed3755eee36b8cebcae823e3b27928&rid=giphy

by Doc Wed May 05, 2021 10:07 pm

Are you actually gonna actually watch the final Mole?

by Hapless_Hans Wed May 05, 2021 10:07 pm

"tactical banana" rofl

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Wed May 05, 2021 10:08 pm

Doc wrote:Are you actually gonna actually watch the final Mole?

Not a chance lol.

by titosantill Wed May 05, 2021 10:17 pm

congrats to chelsea, they surprised me over both legs. i was actually super confident we would beat them, by a slim goal difference. all english final it is

by FennecFox7 Wed May 05, 2021 10:22 pm

Nah man. We would never beat that defense.

Props to Zidane for carrying a poverty team with so many average players to a UCL semi. He deserves credit

by Doc Wed May 05, 2021 10:29 pm

The poverty team that he chose to either not add any meaningful recruits or the ones he did chose did not work out. And of course, the famous French manager favouritism was in full effect.

And yes, Zidane came back with way more say in transfers than all but one Madrid manager ever had.

by BarcaLearning Wed May 05, 2021 10:35 pm

Zidane's gamble on his faith on Hazard, together with the fact that he stuck with many youngsters and old guards without signing another big name, was pretty big and its so far failed miserably. Good counter balance for our Coutinho signing I guess Very Happy

by Myesyats Wed May 05, 2021 10:47 pm

Hazard's performance tonight was so abysmal idk what the hell he was doing, maybe picking boogers all game?

by Turok_TTZ Wed May 05, 2021 10:58 pm

Congratulations to Chelsea. they have done well to defeat us.

Hopefully they can defeat City. Between the two, I much rather see Chelsea win than City.

by Clutch Wed May 05, 2021 11:23 pm

We got played out the fucking park Laughing

by Perucho21 Wed May 05, 2021 11:27 pm

Chelsea played this game very well and I dare say they have a more complete squad. We have our former Champs in our starting 11 but outside of that everyone sucks except Nacho and Militao. Lucas too.

by M99 Wed May 05, 2021 11:41 pm

CBarca wrote:Yesterday wasn't so bad for me as a Pepophile and seeing the AMERICAN FLAG put Madrid to the sword today felt pretty good too.

The all english final is boring but I'd rather see that than Madrid somehow winning this tie after they should have been dead and in the ground 5 or 6 times. The better team won both ties, and I have to give a lot of credit to Tuchel. I completely backed the firing of Lampard and bringing Tuchel in and he's done better than I would have imagined. It hasn't been the toughest of matchups to get to the final, but he's still managed to do it after coming in to the squad in December, and that's impressive no matter what.

Nearly had a heart attack reading the first line.

Kante, Mendy and Hazard were immense for Chelsea.

by Casciavit Thu May 06, 2021 4:31 am

Kaladin wrote:
Casciavit wrote:Has Zidane ever won a big game when he goes big brain tactics mode?

Vinicius can't attack the byline. Hazard is ghosting. Benz is isolated 1v3. No one is making runs into the box but him.

Chelsea look way better. You'd think Madrid has the experience to overcome this, but they just look worse. Sloppy build up and the moment they lose it they have 3 pace merchants attacking them centrally on the counter. Chilwell is also making unmarked runs from deep which constantly gives them numeric advantages approaching the box.I get why Zidane went 3 at the back because of that, but Madrid really hasn't looked good at all.

Their attack really is atrocious if you think about it, apart from Benz. Genuinely, wonder how they made it this far and still in contention in the league, i suppose if you have a good spine, even a lackluster attack can be glossed over. Now how long that spine lasts is another matter.

The top La Liga teams have been embarrassing in the CL for the last few years. They look like the stereotypical retirement home Serie A teams in Europe. No athleticism. Their spine is comprised of players in their mid-30s. Then the other players are unproven youngsters.

by El Gunner Thu May 06, 2021 7:46 am

Myesyats wrote:Hazard's performance tonight was so abysmal idk what the hell he was doing, maybe picking boogers all game?

the new Bale. Milking that Flo money for fun

This is not a reaction you should have after losing a UCL semi-final... pic.twitter.com/FUzJqF5z2M
— TC. (@totalcristiano) May 5, 2021

by The Franchise Thu May 06, 2021 9:08 am

Struggling to figure out who is more finished, Ramos or Hazard.

I think Zidane was wrong to rely on a magical Hazard performance, he hasnt given any real hope for that and I felt like shoe-horning him into the team made things easier for Chelsea.

Chelsea defensively solid and very dangerous in transitions. Some better decision making and it would have been 3 or 4 zero.

by Casciavit Thu May 06, 2021 10:44 am

Zidane did the same thing last year. Hazard was injured all season, but then started the City game just because he was fit for the last 2-3 matches. He lacked the rhythm to be effective in a game of this magnitude.

You know, I was never in the camp that Hazard could become a serial goal scorer like Ronaldo or Messi. He reminded me more of Ribery, but he hasn't been able to even reach that level. He never had that goalscorer mentality, and as time went on he didn't have the professionalism either. His former teammates say he's lazy in training, and he shows up fat for preseason every year.

Another thing that I never liked about him and this extends back to his Chelsea days is that when he has a poor game, he's completely invisible. At least when Neymar has an off day he still tries to take the initiative to force something. On the other hand, Hazard does his best Casper the ghost impression.

The move to Madrid was supposed to give him those big CL moments he lacked at Chelsea. Instead, he's been putting on embarrassing showings. He and Coutinho have to be the biggest +100M transfer flops. At least Coutinho helped Barca win the CDR in his first season, all Hazard has done is get injured and underwhelm when he has played. Laughing

by Casciavit Thu May 06, 2021 10:47 am

El Gunner wrote:
Myesyats wrote:Hazard's performance tonight was so abysmal idk what the hell he was doing, maybe picking boogers all game?

the new Bale. Milking that Flo money for fun

This is not a reaction you should have after losing a UCL semi-final... pic.twitter.com/FUzJqF5z2M
— TC. (@totalcristiano) May 5, 2021

Spanish media is coming for his neck. rofl

by Nivash Thu May 06, 2021 11:57 am

El Gunner wrote:
Myesyats wrote:Hazard's performance tonight was so abysmal idk what the hell he was doing, maybe picking boogers all game?

the new Bale. Milking that Flo money for fun

This is not a reaction you should have after losing a UCL semi-final... pic.twitter.com/FUzJqF5z2M
— TC. (@totalcristiano) May 5, 2021

https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/1390207657609465859?s=20

by The Franchise Thu May 06, 2021 12:53 pm

Casciavit wrote:Zidane did the same thing last year. Hazard was injured all season, but then started the City game just because he was fit for the last 2-3 matches. He lacked the rhythm to be effective in a game of this magnitude.

You know, I was never in the camp that Hazard could become a serial goal scorer like Ronaldo or Messi. He reminded me more of Ribery, but he hasn't been able to even reach that level. He never had that goalscorer mentality, and as time went on he didn't have the professionalism either. His former teammates say he's lazy in training, and he shows up fat for preseason every year.

Another thing that I never liked about him and this extends back to his Chelsea days is that when he has a poor game, he's completely invisible. At least when Neymar has an off day he still tries to take the initiative to force something. On the other hand, Hazard does his best Casper the ghost impression.

The move to Madrid was supposed to give him those big CL moments he lacked at Chelsea. Instead, he's been putting on embarrassing showings. He and Coutinho have to be the biggest +100M transfer flops. At least Coutinho helped Barca win the CDR in his first season, all Hazard has done is get injured and underwhelm when he has played.

Agreed. That lack of professionalism is a funny story about how talented he is to get away with it at 24 years old. But at 30 its pathetic and not funny if you invest the kind of money Madrid have into him.

Zidane isnt the first coach to make this error of banking on returning players (Simeone with Costa will always stand out to me) nor the last and overall they were inferior anyway but the way Hazard played was not only bad for himself, he also took away from Benzema who was not comfortable all night.

by FennecFox7 Thu May 06, 2021 6:29 pm

Another big thing with hazard is his lack of passing range. It’s a huge weakness. He can slip a through ball here and there or a quick flick on but his range of passing is really poor for such a technical player. So, he has to rely on dribbling and agility/speed which are now gone. Also, he’s not a proficient goal scorer so unlike a Ronaldo or Messi he can’t pull goals out of his ass when he’s having a bad game on the ball.

I always thought his game was very limited and some of the conte and mourinho games really showed that.

Agreed with Dani; Zidane is a great coach but shoe horning Ramos and hazard was the pinnacle of favoritism. That’s his fatal flaw as a coach. That being said, Zidane has done wonderfully this season. But next season I really hope he makes the necessary changes to the squad.

by CBarca Fri May 07, 2021 12:14 am

Hazard's performance was nothing short of disgusting. I forgot he was even playing in the game multiple times. For someone of his ability and his playstyle, that's unforgivable.

by Katy Perry Fri May 07, 2021 1:29 am

Hazard didn't play well but it's ridiculous how much he's being made the scapegoat. He was playing with his back on goal for the majority of the game (definitely how you should use him), and every time he was facing towards the goal he was getting double teammated and heckled by two of azpi christensen and kante with no teammates in sight to offer some relief. Mendy no where to be seen. Kroos and Modric just trotting around the midfield. Casemiro was the midfielder who attempted the most runs forward and tried to progress with the ball the most Laughing

Benzema scored a jammy goal with the ball ricocheting 40 times off a set piece, had a couple long shots that looked threatening and that's it in 180 minutes. Zidane played with 3ATB and yet real's defence was getting carved left and right. But all I hear about is Hazard this Hazard that.

A fair aggregate of this tie would have been Real Madrid losing by 7-8 goals. Nobody could have said that it would have been undeserved or that it would have flattered Chelsea. Surely you can pin that down to 1 player who didn't even start the first leg Sleep

by The Franchise Fri May 07, 2021 1:12 pm

Katy Perry wrote:Hazard didn't play well but it's ridiculous how much he's being made the scapegoat. He was playing with his back on goal for the majority of the game (definitely how you should use him), and every time he was facing towards the goal he was getting double teammated and heckled by two of azpi christensen and kante with no teammates in sight to offer some relief. Mendy no where to be seen. Kroos and Modric just trotting around the midfield. Casemiro was the midfielder who attempted the most runs forward and tried to progress with the ball the most Benzema scored a jammy goal with the ball ricocheting 40 times off a set piece, had a couple long shots that looked threatening and that's it in 180 minutes. Zidane played with 3ATB and yet real's defence was getting carved left and right. But all I hear about is Hazard this Hazard that.

A fair aggregate of this tie would have been Real Madrid losing by 7-8 goals. Nobody could have said that it would have been undeserved or that it would have flattered Chelsea. Surely you can pin that down to 1 player who didn't even start the first leg

That is mostly true, but with Hazard in there it threw off so much of what Madrid are strong at.

In previous games, Madrid have done well in my opinion because they have players in Modric and Kroos who can find Benzema's feet consistently. He can drop in deep and consistently get on the ball and move it wide, or back to a 3rd player who can play wide or behind. But this works well when you have Valverde or Vini who offer those runs behind. This is when Benz becomes a nightmare to defend against because its so unclear if you should commit to pressing him with your defence and risk the pass behind or let him dictate the game and set up transition attacks anyway.

But with Hazard playing this strange 10 role, it made Benz ineffective and without Valverde and with Vini deeper to accommodate Hazard there was not threat of getting behind the defence. The entire set up lead to Madrid playing passes to the feet the entire game and never into dangerous areas.

by FennecFox7 Fri May 07, 2021 2:11 pm

Katy Perry wrote:Hazard didn't play well but it's ridiculous how much he's being made the scapegoat. He was playing with his back on goal for the majority of the game (definitely how you should use him), and every time he was facing towards the goal he was getting double teammated and heckled by two of azpi christensen and kante with no teammates in sight to offer some relief. Mendy no where to be seen. Kroos and Modric just trotting around the midfield. Casemiro was the midfielder who attempted the most runs forward and tried to progress with the ball the most Benzema scored a jammy goal with the ball ricocheting 40 times off a set piece, had a couple long shots that looked threatening and that's it in 180 minutes. Zidane played with 3ATB and yet real's defence was getting carved left and right. But all I hear about is Hazard this Hazard that.

A fair aggregate of this tie would have been Real Madrid losing by 7-8 goals. Nobody could have said that it would have been undeserved or that it would have flattered Chelsea. Surely you can pin that down to 1 player who didn't even start the first leg

Completely disagree but I’ll break it down as to why.

1. Hazard played his back to goal everytime he received the ball because his off the ball movement was extremely poor. This comes from not being fit. It’s that simple. Messi is the greatest of all time and he beats two players everytime he gets the ball, yet he’s static and he gets shit on by Barca fans. What makes you think a past it hazard can have the same luxury?

2. We played with 3 ATB due to injuries and the fact that we needed to play defensively. It would’ve been even worse with 4 ATB. That being said the defense shit the bed and not enough attention is being put on Ramos ‘s disaster class. He completely unbalanced the defense. He played on name only and if it were up to me he’d ride the bench until he sorted his contract out. And hazard also played on name only, he can’t even do anything against village teams in la liga.

3. Casemiro is one of our top goal scorers. He actually makes forward runs effectively. In the youth teams as a teenager he played as a striker and for good reason. He is the only one who can finish on the team besides benzema.

4. It’s outrageous to blame our best player this season. Benzema was the one double teamed, and fat Hazard walking his ass around just gave Benzema even less space to work with. Even vini and asensio would at least make runs and play defense. Hazard did neither, he walked around, got the ball, passed it back after making a shit turn. Benzema is a RM legend and he has saved our asses almost every game. Your fanboyism is evident. Here’s the thing. The old Chelsea hazard is gone. He’s never coming back. It’s time to wave the white flag for hazard. He’s going to be sold to some mid table team and that’ll be the end of the nightmare.

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