CL | Round 4: Inter - Barca 1-1

serghei

Senior Member
The entire team and management deserve huge credit for the way they stepped up after Messi's injury.

We've had some very tough matches but have been brilliant in nearly all of them.

Yep, if we keep playing like this and don't get burnt out by the time CL quarters come due to playing almost the same 11 every game, I think we are among the top 3 favorites for the title with Manchester City and Juventus.
 

LMTR14

New member
So you guys think Valverde subbed on Malcom and hoped he would not score a goal when the score was 0-0? Thats ridiculous :lol:
his face revealed his feelings there, the broadcast I was watching had a 5 sec shot of him right after the goal. he looked like he just saw an employee spit in his coffee at mcd's before handing it to him

"why did it have to be THAT guy"
 
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vinni

Member
What's ridiculous is how he's handled incorporating Malcolm into the group so far. That and overplaying of certain players. We'll see how things go when March comes around.

You might have a point, but maybe not. We don't know how Malcom has performed in training. For all we know he has been terrible compared to our other forwards. Our other forwards are Messi, Suarez, Coutinho, Dembele, Rafinha, (D. Suarez) and (Roberto).
That's quite the competition for a 21 year old. If Malcom is performing worse then Rafinha in training, we should he start over him? What kind of message would that send to Rafinha?
Maybe Malcom's playing time has been spot on so far. Anyway, it seems impossible to say from our perspective.

About the facial expression of Valverde. It's true he looked upset. But maybe he worried about how to keep Inter from scoring. Maybe he thought that goal should have came earlier, or maybe he had to take a shit.. We can't know that. All we know is what he said after the match.
 

Alik

Moderator
You might have a point, but maybe not. We don't know how Malcom has performed in training. For all we know he has been terrible compared to our other forwards. Our other forwards are Messi, Suarez, Coutinho, Dembele, Rafinha, (D. Suarez) and (Roberto).
That's quite the competition for a 21 year old. If Malcom is performing worse then Rafinha in training, we should he start over him? What kind of message would that send to Rafinha?
Maybe Malcom's playing time has been spot on so far. Anyway, it seems impossible to say from our perspective.

About the facial expression of Valverde. It's true he looked upset. But maybe he worried about how to keep Inter from scoring. Maybe he thought that goal should have came earlier, or maybe he had to take a shit.. We can't know that. All we know is what he said after the match.

DrZ0ZhJXgAA7KH1.jpg
 

Porque

Senior Member
To be honest I think its mostly from embarassment. The response of the players towards Malcom after the goal was not normal. It was like they were standing up against what they felt was a unnormal situation and a sense of injustice.

Messi had also done one of his little subtle moves to voice his displeasure by publically talking positively of Malcom, now after the goal the players spoke with their public support of Malcom with his goal celebration.

Malcom was classy as always, no vent of frustration, just an emotional burst showing that he is going to prove his class and that he really wants to succeed at his dream club.

Valverde must of been overjoyed at the goal and the instant impact, but with the players reaction it instantly reflected poorly on him and he had egg on his face.

How could a player like Malcom be ghosted out of sporting reasons? He come on and showed acceleration, first touch, intelligence, hustle, hold-up, awareness, finishing, timing all in 10 minutes. He got one goal and almost assisted a second.

This wasn't a case of a player being in the right place at the right time to turn the match but not necessarily having the talent to consistently perform here like Maxi Lopez versus Chelsea or Sandro Ramirez versus Villarreal. This was a show of genuine talent waiting to explode that for some reason oblivious to many, had been subdued.

Now the tables turn in Malcoms favour. The timing of the injuries (Coutinho, Messi and Dembele less than 100%) should guarantee him a start this weekend. The Camp Nou will be fully behind him and thanks to the way his start has been conducted he could turn into a cult crowd hero. Lets hope Valverde gives him all the chances to succeed, and by that I mean starting on the right and not being the first sub off the pitch
 
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