Post-Super Copa Leg 1 discussion thread

[Albiceleste]

2-2 goals from Villa and Messi, as well as from Xabi alonso and Ozil


BARCA GOALS:

Spoiler:

MADRID GOALS:

Spoiler:

Valdes brilliant save:

[windkick]

I think this match more than anything showed us all how badly we need help at CB.

[zarola]

More importantly how do you feel sanchez did? I think for the first time he did very good he definitely wasnt anonymous.

[Albiceleste]

I thought Sanchez was great, he showed great endeavor going and retrieving the ball and an excellent work rate, he had good dribbling skills and overall I think a great debut.

[free_cat]

We don't need a CB, Mascherano was fine, and Abidal was woeful because he is doing the Ramadan.

We got a great result, and all things considered, our performance was ok.

[Mr_Puyol]

2-2 is fine with me.We were so sloppy,but it was only the first game and it was expected.

[free_cat]

Valdes had a great match and proves again he is better than Casillas (who was quite bad in both goals) right now.

[JAY-Z]

We don't need a CB, Mascherano was fine, and Abidal was woeful because he is doing the Ramadan.

We got a great result, and all things considered, our performance was ok.

He is not doing Ramadan, he got a permission from his country's Mosque to not do this Ramadan because of the operation he had.So no excuse.

We were lacking motivation.

[ChollaVille]

Wthout 5 players from starting 11 (Puyol, Pique, Busquets, Xavi, Pedro) we had lead.
Biggest problem is this:

Shots
Real Madrid (9+5) : Barca (3+2)

We were not playing good, but it is good result. I hope that Pique, Xavi and Busi will start in second leg.

Sanchez and Mascherano were good.
Villa and Messi showed that they are world class.
Abidal had some problems, Alves made some mistakes.
Thiago needs more time.

Real Madrid played in full strenght, and they played together in pre season.
If this is the best from Real Madrid... Malaga is favourite for 2nd spot LOL

[Dnmac4]

Today highlights why I have been yelling and screaming about us getting Fab. I have never seen our midfield get bossed like that since Pep took over.

Thiago is a wonderful player but he is just not ready to control the midfield against premium competition.

I will say it again, I like Thiago but scoring some goals in pre-season and under 21 tournament's is not the same as playing Madrid away from Camp Nou. I just think Fab would have settled the midfield and we wouldn't have been outshot 20-5 or whatever it was.

Pray Xavi does not pick up a long term injury.

Please don't kill me, like I said I like Thiago, but Cesc is just a much better player right now.

[Albiceleste]

With our full strength squad, I don't see why we should have any problem brushing them aside, they played well but their finishing was woeful and Ronaldo, their talisman was absolutely awful, dominated by Mascherano tonight.

[Dnmac4]

With our full strength squad, I don't see why we should have any problem brushing them aside, they played well but their finishing was woeful and Ronaldo, their talisman was absolutely awful, dominated by Mascherano tonight.

We cannot count on being full strength all the time. Especially if we have to play those cheaters 4-5 times a year. I mean some of the tackling was shameful. Khedira, Pepe, and Marcelo were only in there to hurt people although Messi made Pepe look like his bitch.

On the main forum the Madrid posters were still saying the refs favored us, I mean how delusional can you get. The ref should have shown Red to Pepe and Khedira. Khedira almost took abidals face off.

[Yeezus]

[Albiceleste]

With our full strength squad, I don't see why we should have any problem brushing them aside, they played well but their finishing was woeful and Ronaldo, their talisman was absolutely awful, dominated by Mascherano tonight.

We cannot count on being full strength all the time. Especially if we have to play those cheaters 4-5 times a year. I mean some of the tackling was shameful. Khedira, Pepe, and Marcelo were only in there to hurt people although Messi made Pepe look like his bitch.

On the main forum the Madrid posters were still saying the refs favored us, I mean how delusional can you get. The ref should have shown Red to Pepe and Khedira. Khedira almost took abidals face off.

Agreed, and yes I know, I believe with this game it proves that Thiago is not ready for the big games right now so we have Cesc, which is excellent. This game made me excited for the season because it proves that with even a makeshift defense + midfield we can hold off one of the strongest attacks in the world.

[the xcx]

good game barca, valdez definetly deserves a credit from me.

[Dnmac4]

good game barca, valdez definetly deserves a credit from me.

Thanks, likewise. We were very lucky to get out of there 2-2. BTW, I'm not blaming anyone but do you know what was up with Mou and Pep not shaking hands at the end? It's kinda childish and needs to stop.

[Dnmac4]

With our full strength squad, I don't see why we should have any problem brushing them aside, they played well but their finishing was woeful and Ronaldo, their talisman was absolutely awful, dominated by Mascherano tonight.

Agreed I loved the fighting spirit tonight. We usually cruise in most of our games so you forget how much fight is in our team.

[free_cat]

We don't need a CB, Mascherano was fine, and Abidal was woeful because he is doing the Ramadan.

We got a great result, and all things considered, our performance was ok.

He is not doing Ramadan, he got a permission from his country's Mosque to not do this Ramadan because of the operation he had.So no excuse.

We were lacking motivation.

He is doing the ramadan, not as strict as usual, but he is doing it:

http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/20110731/abidal-empieza-ramadan/1099733.shtml

[free_cat]

Today highlights why I have been yelling and screaming about us getting Fab. I have never seen our midfield get bossed like that since Pep took over.

Thiago is a wonderful player but he is just not ready to control the midfield against premium competition.

I will say it again, I like Thiago but scoring some goals in pre-season and under 21 tournament's is not the same as playing Madrid away from Camp Nou. I just think Fab would have settled the midfield and we wouldn't have been outshot 20-5 or whatever it was.

Pray Xavi does not pick up a long term injury.

Please don't kill me, like I said I like Thiago, but Cesc is just a much better player right now.

I didn't like Thiago today, but your analysis is completely wrong.

Thiago barely touched the ball because we couldn't bring it forward from the defence. Why? Because Keita was playing in Busi's role.

Ps. Thiago was nervous today, he told it to the reporter right now. He was playing very good at the start of the second half.

[guest7]

Will Busquets miss the Camp Nou game? You clearly missed him and Xavi. (mostly Xavi becouse I felt like Thiago didn't do his role properly)

[JAY-Z]

We don't need a CB, Mascherano was fine, and Abidal was woeful because he is doing the Ramadan.

We got a great result, and all things considered, our performance was ok.

He is not doing Ramadan, he got a permission from his country's Mosque to not do this Ramadan because of the operation he had.So no excuse.

We were lacking motivation.

He is doing the ramadan, not as strict as usual, but he is doing it:

http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/20110731/abidal-empieza-ramadan/1099733.shtml

What does "not as strict as usual" means?

If he is eating/drinking during Ramadan time, he aint doing it at all.

[Dnmac4]

Today highlights why I have been yelling and screaming about us getting Fab. I have never seen our midfield get bossed like that since Pep took over.

Thiago is a wonderful player but he is just not ready to control the midfield against premium competition.

I will say it again, I like Thiago but scoring some goals in pre-season and under 21 tournament's is not the same as playing Madrid away from Camp Nou. I just think Fab would have settled the midfield and we wouldn't have been outshot 20-5 or whatever it was.

Pray Xavi does not pick up a long term injury.

Please don't kill me, like I said I like Thiago, but Cesc is just a much better player right now.

I didn't like Thiago today, but your analysis is completely wrong.

Thiago barely touched the ball because we couldn't bring it forward from the defence. Why? Because Keita was playing in Busi's role.

We can agree to disagree but we have played with tons of different makeshift back line's over the last two years and nothing has ever happened like tonight. Also, if you want to blame Keita thats fine too but again if Fab was there he could have controlled getting the ball out of the back and not Keita.

I'm just making a point that Fab has a place on this team and is needed. Also to be fair I don't think it was all on Thiago or Keita as it was a team effort to look that bad but when we did get it out of the back we had no clue what to do with it and couldn't hold posession. With Iniesta, Fab and Keita running the midfield I think we look a lot better then Thiago, Iniesta and Keita. Just my opinion.

[Dnmac4]

Will Busquets miss the Camp Nou game? You clearly missed him and Xavi. (mostly Xavi becouse I felt like Thiago didn't do his role properly)

Agreed. He is not ready for that type of game, but to be fair most kids his age are not. Plus you could tell he doesn't have the time playing with the first team and they didn't trust him 100% so that wasn't his fault either.

[shinigami99]

My thoughts..

Striking
I thought we could have had a better game overall. Sanchez showed that he can really give pedro a run for his money for the starter spot. He made some good dribbles and sometimes he was done in by Marcelo(it's his first game...nerves and he just needs to gel more...this should do the trick). Villa shows why just having him on the field can guarantee you at least a goal a game when he is on form. Pretty good today with the small amount of chances that he actually had going forward. Messi, well when the kid has a bad game, he scores one and assists one. My goodness, how much better will he get? Well, I can't wait to see. He got precious few touches of the ball, but EACH time he got it, Barca had a good attacking spell.

Our midfield was the problem. Thiago clearly was not ready at the beginning(nerves and jitters?) but he gradually grew into the game when the goals were scored. I wouldn't worry too much...espescially with Cesc here. Even so, I think Keita was the biggest problem. It's not Keita himself, but the fact that his role was ineffective this match. Most of the time Madrid had the ball and he wasn't pressing as he should. His passing and positioning also left a lot to be desired. If it were Busquets in there, I'm sure we would have had much more possession and midfield dominance. Iniesta had some good touches, but he still needs more time to get back into form.

Our defense was not horrible, but not good either. Abidal wasn't at his best(probably because of Ramadan) however Mascherano continues to prove his defensive qualities. Alves wasn't bad but he definitely didn't get forward as he usually does. This is his first game back however, and I'll give him more time to get back in. Adriano had a solid game however was at fault for the 1st goal(being out of position and not helping Abidal). It could also be argued that Masch. was out of position for the first goal(madrid) as well. The 2nd goal was a bit of a lucky shot for Alonso in that it somehow went through 4 of our defenders without hitting them but I think that our defenders should have pressed him a bit more. In other words, I don't think he should have been allowed to take that shot in the first place.

All in all, not a horrible game... and a good result for us. However there is a lot of room for improvement and I expect everything to come back together in time for the 2nd leg. Hoping for a big win in the camp nou

[free_cat]

Today highlights why I have been yelling and screaming about us getting Fab. I have never seen our midfield get bossed like that since Pep took over.

Thiago is a wonderful player but he is just not ready to control the midfield against premium competition.

I will say it again, I like Thiago but scoring some goals in pre-season and under 21 tournament's is not the same as playing Madrid away from Camp Nou. I just think Fab would have settled the midfield and we wouldn't have been outshot 20-5 or whatever it was.

Pray Xavi does not pick up a long term injury.

Please don't kill me, like I said I like Thiago, but Cesc is just a much better player right now.

I didn't like Thiago today, but your analysis is completely wrong.

Thiago barely touched the ball because we couldn't bring it forward from the defence. Why? Because Keita was playing in Busi's role.

We can agree to disagree but we have played with tons of different makeshift back line's over the last two years and nothing has ever happened like tonight. Also, if you want to blame Keita thats fine too but again if Fab was there he could have controlled getting the ball out of the back and not Keita.

I'm just making a point that Fab has a place on this team and is needed. Also to be fair I don't think it was all on Thiago or Keita as it was a team effort to look that bad but when we did get it out of the back we had no clue what to do with it and couldn't hold posession. With Iniesta, Fab and Keita running the midfield I think we look a lot better then Thiago, Iniesta and Keita. Just my opinion.

I couldn't count a single time Keita received the ball under pressure and move it forward to thiago.

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