20 - Sergi Roberto
- Thread starter maz
- Start date
ZenI
Professor Balthazar
I like Roberto, he is a decent player - he would even be a decent player to have if prime Xavi and Alves would be here theoretically. But we need another RB, Roberto should be our AM, CM, DM rotation/impact/sub/starter and sometime RB if needed. He's not bad at RB, but more needed in midfield with the scrubs we have there.
One mishap and he gets the axe. He was bad today, but how many times did he play bad ?
He's always defended despite all his mistakes .
Last night his positional play was unacceptable.
Nothing to do with facing Hazard as he never got close to him anyways.
He was caught out of position endlessly throughout the whole game .
Alonso and a few others were all getting clear shots on goal or crossing dangerous balls from the RB area .
Sorin
Well-known member
I feel that he was our worst player last night, and it's not because he was beaten multiple times 1 on 1 or 2 on 1, since he was left alone most of the time. So much a player can do against the likes of Hazard, Alonso and Willian coming in waves. On the other hand some of that was his own doing(+ Dembele defensive weakness granted). But he was caught out of position so many times that i don't have fingers on my hands to count them. He was so tucked in near Pique that not only one Chelsea player was left alone, but 2 with acres of spaces ahead of them. Maybe it was Valverde's instruction to keep it tight in the middle but for the life of me I do not understand this fear when only Giroud was occupying Pique while all the other Chelsea players were attacking our flanks. Am i supposed to believe that Pique can't even mark fecking Giroud out of the game on his own?
Anyway, Roberto is what he is at this point. His ceiling as a full back is not that high. At least not for a club of our size and demands. He has done ok, many times great, but we shouldn't really continue with him as fist choice RB imo. This year I understand it, but from the next year he should only be a back-up. If Semedo is the one to start or someone else, we should absolutely get more from our right sided fullback than this.
Anyway, Roberto is what he is at this point. His ceiling as a full back is not that high. At least not for a club of our size and demands. He has done ok, many times great, but we shouldn't really continue with him as fist choice RB imo. This year I understand it, but from the next year he should only be a back-up. If Semedo is the one to start or someone else, we should absolutely get more from our right sided fullback than this.
henias
New member
He just cannot play against physical and faster teams and if EV wants to emphasize on defence then he isn't quite fit for a RB. Even when Dembele came off, Vidal was still doing most of the defensive work, Roberto just looks too vulnerable to fast wingers. Alonso and Willian were just dribbling past him like he weren't even there. I remember Semedo got blamed for a 2v1 situation against Valencia that resulted in a goal except Roberto was lucky not to have a goal conceded. Roberto was easily beaten in a 1v1, 2v1 and was way too short and slow to cause any physical presence for the wingers. Rakitic was another one who is also very slow.
That being said Umtiti and Pique needs to not both press too high up at the same time because at one point Busquets was left to mark Alonso and resulted in the alleged dive when Pique rushed back too late. They need to hold their positions and mark Giroud or Alonso, not both rushing up because of Willian. Understandably tho, they all were very afraid of Willians every movement.
I think in big games, Semedo still eventually needs to help out Roberto defensively. Both will have their strengths and EV needs to use them wisely. Roberto in midfield doesnt seem too bad either.
That being said Umtiti and Pique needs to not both press too high up at the same time because at one point Busquets was left to mark Alonso and resulted in the alleged dive when Pique rushed back too late. They need to hold their positions and mark Giroud or Alonso, not both rushing up because of Willian. Understandably tho, they all were very afraid of Willians every movement.
I think in big games, Semedo still eventually needs to help out Roberto defensively. Both will have their strengths and EV needs to use them wisely. Roberto in midfield doesnt seem too bad either.
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ASordidGod
New member
Wasn't anywhere near good enough, but if that surprises anyone well then I don't know what to say. Semedo when he recovers has to be a consideration in the big away games surely, if only for his pace/recovery.
ATLBarcaFan
Senior Member
I like Roberto and he would be an excellent option in midfield. He's a bit of a fish out of water at RB, hope Semedo will eventually wrest that job away from him.
xXKonan
Senior Member
Nah I like Roberto but he was by far the worst player on the pitch yesterday for us.
Dembele's defending? Dembele was constantly out of position covering for Sergi throughout the match. He's a WINGER, not a defensive midfielder.
footyfan
Calma, calma
Roberto was left exposed because Chelsea outclassed Barca tactically. Barca were completely outnumbered in the centre of the park because Hazard and Willian went so narrow, it was basically Hazard-Giroud-Willian-Kante-Cesc in the middle vs Busquets-Rakitic and Iniesta. Roberto was very likely instructed to follow Hazard wherever he went. Unfortunately, Roberto is not a good enough defender to deal with a player with Hazard's dribbling and quality on the ball. Him following Hazard left oodles of space for Marcos Alonso to move into and attack. It's not as if on the other side things were totally different. Alba was busy with Moses and consequently Willian did as he pleased, waltzing through the Barca midfield. And at the same time, Giroud was pulling Umtiti out of position with quick one touch passing. Actually all 3 Chelsea forwards made a concerted attempt to play one touch and pull Barca players off position.
Yeah, Roberto had probably the worst defensive performance since the season started, and he's not a great 1v1 defender, but Chelsea's formation and ability to create numerical superiority left him completely exposed. Dembele had a great defensive effort to make that one tackle, but beyond that he really was not great defensively. It's not like he's a winger in a 4-3-3 who can chill upfront, a 4-4-2 while Chelsea are overwhelming Barca's midfield area demands more defensive work than he was able to provide or was interested in providing. Also I believe that Roberto was instructed to follow Hazard wherever he went, because Roberto does not end up to Umtiti's left normally in any game of his own accord.
It might be expecting too much of Roberto, a central midfielder, to be a tactically astute right back with elite defensive instincts, which is what was required yesterday.
Willian was dribbling past pretty much every Barca player he came across yesterday. I may be misremembering, but it seemed like Roberto was actually the only player who managed to put in a successful tackle on Willian.
Edit: Actually I think Paulinho managed to put in a couple of tackles on Willian. Paulinho was not bad yesterday.
Yeah, Roberto had probably the worst defensive performance since the season started, and he's not a great 1v1 defender, but Chelsea's formation and ability to create numerical superiority left him completely exposed. Dembele had a great defensive effort to make that one tackle, but beyond that he really was not great defensively. It's not like he's a winger in a 4-3-3 who can chill upfront, a 4-4-2 while Chelsea are overwhelming Barca's midfield area demands more defensive work than he was able to provide or was interested in providing. Also I believe that Roberto was instructed to follow Hazard wherever he went, because Roberto does not end up to Umtiti's left normally in any game of his own accord.
It might be expecting too much of Roberto, a central midfielder, to be a tactically astute right back with elite defensive instincts, which is what was required yesterday.
Willian was dribbling past pretty much every Barca player he came across yesterday. I may be misremembering, but it seemed like Roberto was actually the only player who managed to put in a successful tackle on Willian.
Edit: Actually I think Paulinho managed to put in a couple of tackles on Willian. Paulinho was not bad yesterday.
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henias
New member
Yeah but he looks too easy to get past and didnt had the speed to even chase the ball or put even some kind of pressure compared to Alba. He is just too physically disadvantaged to be in that position.
xXKonan
Senior Member
The reason Sergi Roberto has not been called up by Spain
-Lopetegui and his staff preferred to pick a "specific right-back"
https://www.sport-english.com/en/ne...berto-has-not-been-called-up-by-spain-6695382
-Lopetegui and his staff preferred to pick a "specific right-back"
https://www.sport-english.com/en/ne...berto-has-not-been-called-up-by-spain-6695382
serghei
Senior Member
Roberto is not good in 1 vs 1. This is not just any flaw, this is one of the main strong points a fullback has to possess. We're not talking about situations where he is outnumbered. We're talking about skilled players taking him on and beating him. Wingers know this about him, and they force 1 vs 1s on his side more than against Alba, who is a lot harder to beat in these duels.
If we play City for example in the semifinal, there's no way we should trust Roberto vs a quick and technical player like Sane. Sane could take him on all night and beat him consistently if he has him isolated. And it will happen because teams leave space wide when they defend in order to block central areas better.
If we play City for example in the semifinal, there's no way we should trust Roberto vs a quick and technical player like Sane. Sane could take him on all night and beat him consistently if he has him isolated. And it will happen because teams leave space wide when they defend in order to block central areas better.
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