Jasper Cillessen

Messi983

Senior Member
Those long balls were an effective way to break the good pressing Sociedad had in our side of the pitch. Short passes under pressing like that is always more risky and it shouldn't be the only way Barcelona goalkeepers play.

Yeah, it's a way to break their pressing but not always effective if those balls end up straight back in Sociedad's possession so they could continue to press our backline. Now I don't blame only Jasper for that because those long balls were most likely Lucho's instructions and of course you never know exactly in whose possesion a 40 or 50m pass will end. It would be interesting to see a comparision between MATS and Jasper in that aspect but we can probably all agree that MATS's long range passing is better. I'd say around 60-70% of his medium and long passes end in our possesion, while yesterday it was probably more along 20-30%.
 

Albo

New member
Yeah, it's a way to break their pressing but not always effective if those balls end up straight back in Sociedad's possession so they could continue to press our backline. Now I don't blame only Jasper for that because those long balls were most likely Lucho's instructions and of course you never know exactly in whose possesion a 40 or 50m pass will end. It would be interesting to see a comparision between MATS and Jasper in that aspect but we can probably all agree that MATS's long range passing is better. I'd say around 60-70% of his medium and long passes end in our possesion, while yesterday it was probably more along 20-30%.

It's always better to face an attack from the mid when your team is prepared for it than from a sloppy pass from the defense which leads to a counter-attack.
 

Vilarrubi

New member
I just like the variation. He was passing it out too and did it pretty well..

Passing it out constantly from the back puts unwanted pressure on us.
 

Messi983

Senior Member
It's always better to face an attack from the mid when your team is prepared for it than from a sloppy pass from the defense which leads to a counter-attack.

No doubt about that. But if you want to control the midfield, which is already hard enough without Busi and Iniesta, then giving possesion away to opponents at around midfield line also doesn't help you much. But I think Lucho didn't care about possesion battle yesterday so he was ok with Jasper just playing long balls whenever he felt he was under too much pressure and hoping some of them will end in our possesion and possibly lead us to a dangerous attack. His tactics worked out well so I won't complain. Defense was stable in first half (although we were under a constant pressure) and then when Sociedad expectedly opened up even more in second half we finished them off in counter attacks (with excellent execution, I must say that).

But in general I think if we want to play long ball tactics against better teams then MATS is of course a better GK to execute those passes better. On the other hand, his overconfidence in his passing abilities might put us in trouble after one of his "easier" short passes being intercepted by opponents closer to our goal.
 

xXKonan

Senior Member
How long until Pep comes calling for him. :mou:

But in seriousness I'm impressed with Cillessen, his passing is really good and I could see why we bought him. I do feel bad for him though as I feel he's just to good to be riding the bench here and only playing in the Copa.
 

Jallo

Member
I do feel bad for him though as I feel he's just to good to be riding the bench here and only playing in the Copa.

The guy hasn't saved a PK in a long time. He was about to lose his job to Onana before we got him. He is just a backup, a damn good backup. But it just a backup. If he was starting material he would be starting for one of the major teams. Do feel sorry for him in his dream job.
 

Horatio

You're welcome
The guy hasn't saved a PK in a long time. He was about to lose his job to Onana before we got him. He is just a backup, a damn good backup. But it just a backup. If he was starting material he would be starting for one of the major teams. Do feel sorry for him in his dream job.

PK's are his achilles heel, it's true. But a team like Barca shouldn't give away penalties...
 

serghei

Senior Member
Those long balls were an effective way to break the good pressing Sociedad had in our side of the pitch. Short passes under pressing like that is always more risky and it shouldn't be the only way Barcelona goalkeepers play.

100% true. Precise long passes when under pressure at the back can open up spaces in more advanced positions. Our passes should cover all areas. We should be able to pass where the spaces are.
 

snowy

New member
100% true. Precise long passes when under pressure at the back can open up spaces in more advanced positions. Our passes should cover all areas. We should be able to pass where the spaces are.

Also Real only had 3 in the back. Defo not parking the bus so the long passes made even more sense and kept the pace high.
 

evilhita666

Barçapocalypse NOW!
It's like he changed his mind at the very last moment in that throw... Some mistakes here and there, but overall decent game...
 

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