Champions League 23/24

Who will win CL this season?


  • Total voters
    57

KingLeo10

Senior Member
Honestly, as a Barca fan, it’s quite disheartening to watch RM’s reaction to the quick 2 goals by Bayern. We would have folded - there is something fundamentally missing when it comes to this club and CL/ KO approach - either we have an all time great team and just demolish teams or can’t do anything.

I’m starting to think this may have a lot to do with management - historically, we haven’t had the same level of managers as other top clubs. Barely any top Italian, German etc managers. Managers from these schools of football have 8 WCs and 5 Euros of history/ KO approach behind them.
 

Birdy

Senior Member
Too much is being made out of talent imo. Ancelotti has them organized at all times during the match. They can absorb pressure very effectively and hit on the counter with precision passing from midfield and clutch offensive actions.

Madrid and City have been by far the best teams in the last 3-4 years. The rest aren't that close to them.

It takes a special performance to have such a robust Madrid side in trouble from positional play situations. That type of team is not around at the moment if City has a subpar season like this one.

Positional football doesn't have any inherent nobility or quality, and is also subject to evaluation. The sensation of domination can often be false and misleading, built on thin arguments. It is true that positional football if done amazingly well is second to none in terms of being the total package of success, but very few teams manage to do that.

Another rhapsody of fantasies by pro-Madrid supposedly Barca fans

Dude, there is nothing Madrid 'do' to absorb pressure.
When the ball goes in, like in Sane's goal, it goes in...
When Sane misses two sitters (early in the game), or Dier an easy header, it doesn't...
Simple as that.
There is no merit to Madrid for that, because they simply didn't do anything that has causal link to the result of the action

Ancelotti himself said in the pre-match presser that he doesn't instruct his players what to do, but 'trust their instincts'. There is no 'Ancelotti masterclass'
If there was one, you could pinpoint it to specific tactics and instructions.
All the rest is post-match rationalization of intangibles to make a narrative in your head that helps you stay sane.

Spare me the nonsense, which is page out of Madritista book
 

NKMaribor

Active member
A bit sneaky to go out of way and look up a statistical overview that replaces shots on target(was in bayern favour) with big chances cause its more convenient for narrative but then will do vice versa next time

This is the usual cule modus operandi. But okay:

Bayern having 14 total shots and 5 on target, while Madrid 10 / 4, with Madrid having higher eg. Possession wise, basically equal. Bayern dominance!
 

Horatio

You're welcome
It's quite normal for a team that plays counter attack predominantly to have fewer shots on target.

It's the usual quality vs quantity discussion. A top attacking team that dominates the game should have both more quality and more quantity in terms of chances being created. If they concede more clear chances than they create... that's a big issue. The 1st goal Madrid scored for example was by far the biggest chance of the game.
They didn't play predominantly counter football against Bayern. They tried it until around 20 minute mark when Bayern dropped intensity then Real tried play football. But Bayern mf outperformed Reals by a margin rather consistently over remainder of game and kept winning ball back rather easily. Where was Jude? Reals last line did well enough defensively. Better than Bayern. Vasquez did gift a penalty though.
 
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Messigician

Senior Member
Did you bet on it?
Of course not
Honestly, as a Barca fan, it’s quite disheartening to watch RM’s reaction to the quick 2 goals by Bayern. We would have folded - there is something fundamentally missing when it comes to this club and CL/ KO approach - either we have an all time great team and just demolish teams or can’t do anything.

I’m starting to think this may have a lot to do with management - historically, we haven’t had the same level of managers as other top clubs. Barely any top Italian, German etc managers. Managers from these schools of football have 8 WCs and 5 Euros of history/ KO approach behind them.
Sports science says coaches only impact performance by 5% it is what it is
 

serghei

Senior Member
They didn't play predominantly counter football against Bayern. They tried it until around 20 minute mark when Bayern dropped intensity then Real tried play football. But Bayern mf outperformed Reals by a margin rather consistently over remainder of game and kept winning ball back rather easily. Where was Jude? Reals last line did well enough defensively. Better than Bayern. Vasquez did gift a penalty though.

They did for the majority of the game except for the start of the 2nd half, when they dominated Bayern. Funny enough that's when they conceded the two goals.
 

serghei

Senior Member
Honestly, as a Barca fan, it’s quite disheartening to watch RM’s reaction to the quick 2 goals by Bayern. We would have folded - there is something fundamentally missing when it comes to this club and CL/ KO approach - either we have an all time great team and just demolish teams or can’t do anything.

I’m starting to think this may have a lot to do with management - historically, we haven’t had the same level of managers as other top clubs. Barely any top Italian, German etc managers. Managers from these schools of football have 8 WCs and 5 Euros of history/ KO approach behind them.

That's true. Barca didn't hire a big name in ages as a manager. But mostly it's down to recruitment. Barca undervalue athleticism and defensive ability too much. And guess what, the athletic players that clubs like Madrid, Bayern, Liverpool etc. sign, are underrated technically, on top of being fit, fast, and professional as hell.

Germany and France are probably the best, most consistent European nations in football, and since Henry and Abidal, the club managed to pick and choose from all that pool of talent, Umtiti, Lenglet, Dumbele and Stegen. I mean what the fuck? :lol:
 
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fergus90

Senior Member
Too much is being made out of talent imo. Ancelotti has them organized at all times during the match. They can absorb pressure very effectively and hit on the counter with precision passing from midfield and clutch offensive actions.

Madrid and City have been by far the best teams in the last 3-4 years. The rest aren't that close to them.

It takes a special performance to have such a robust Madrid side in trouble from positional play situations. That type of team is not around at the moment if City has a subpar season like this one.

Positional football doesn't have any inherent nobility or quality, and is also subject to evaluation. The sensation of domination can often be false and misleading, built on thin arguments. It is true that positional football if done amazingly well is second to none in terms of being the total package of success, but very few teams manage to do that.
I personally think a more proactive manager would have this Madrid team on the front foot much more. I'm not completely dismissing Ancelotti's approach because ultimately they survived at the Etihad and got a 2-2 draw at the Allianz. But even home vs Leipzig they sat back a lot and on another day could've been punished for it.

Some of Madrid's success is down to Ancelotti's game plan especially at the Etihad, some of it was down to the opposition spurning golden opportunities.
 

serghei

Senior Member
I personally think a more proactive manager would have this Madrid team on the front foot much more. I'm not completely dismissing Ancelotti's approach because ultimately they survived at the Etihad and got a 2-2 draw at the Allianz. But even home vs Leipzig they sat back a lot and on another day could've been punished for it.

Some of that was down to Ancelotti's game plan, some of it was down to the opposition spurning golden opportunities.

Even the City away match was not that much "surviving", as a controlled and composed defensive performance. The moments over 120 mins where Madrid were really on the ropes where few and in-between.

You have a point in the Leipzig match, but every big team occasionally underestimates an opponent.
 

Loki

Well-known member
Germany and France are probably the best, most consistent European nations in football, and since Henry and Abidal, the club managed to pick and choose from all that pool of talent, Umtiti, Lenglet, Dumbele and Stegen. I mean what the fuck? :lol:
This hits hard :(
 

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