CL Semi Final: Inter - Barca 4-3
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Messi983
Senior Member
Who gives a feck about PSG fans, they have a great manager (wish we could get him back) and most of their players are very likeable.
Alik
Moderator
I don't think this second dip was a matter of buying into own hype.
Rather, it was fatigue and the fact that it is simply difficult to keep a high level throughout an entire season - hence why we always discuss aiming to peak towards the business end of the season (if that's possible).
Being the best team in the world during the first part of the league and CL, is rather useless overall, if it means burnout towards the end. Having a small squad contributed to this, but also Flick's intensity and lack of rotation.
Other teams also gradually adapt their tactics against us.
I don't know what will happen next season. I feel like it is too simplistic to assume we will learn and do better. The opposite could happen. We might not be able to repeat this level of football next season and the drop in form could continue. That's why this loss is painful. We have been trying to get into a final for 10 years, and always something happens.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
We have played 8 finals in our history. 4 were in the span of a decade between 05/06 to 14/15 season. Another 3 were between 85/86 to 93/94 seasons.
In other words, two purple patches have lead to 87.5% of our final appearances.
This is why European success shouldn't define our season tbh. You win it, it is amazing feeling, you lose it, move on.
Next year should be the same, Liga is the number one priority.
Our goal should be maintaining same level and even improve domestically. They is achievable
Kubala
Active member
True. It takes a perfect storm really to win the CL, everything needs to work out just right it is so difficult to win. We have won it 5 times in 70 years so it always puzzles me when fans seem to expect us to win it.
It was a heroic effort though, the team gave everything. Lots of what if's and why's but it was a great effort. No one, exactly no one thought we were going to win a treble at the start of the year so if we can close out La Liga it will have been a miraculous season.
Among defensive shortcomings, what I think we really lack is a proper leader. It made me think back to Puyol. No way last night went down that way if he was playing. He'd have been screaming at people to cover, drop back, pulling them physically in to place.
We need to look at this trait when it comes to transfers as I don't think we have anyone who can grow in to this role.
-_- RandomUser -_-
Active member
Proud of this team. Incredible fighting spirit, they didn’t crumble under the pressure of one of the toughest stadiums to play in and gave everything they had. This will be remembered as one of the UCL classics. We’ll come back stronger next year, I’m sure of it."
BBZ8800
Senior Member
Yes
It is hard to win a CL and a season shouldn't rely on a CL.
But also, since it is so hard to win a CL, you need to give 120% once you have a chance.
When will a chance like this repeat?
City was out
Liverpool was out
Bayern was out
Real was out
I have wrote a few times, I had a gut feeling since the last Monday and a quote from Yamal after CDR win "no one can beat us this season, we can turn every match around", that we are done.
When you are overconfident, you lose focus.
Something similar to that famous 1994' final and 0:4 defeat vs Milan even though 99% of media and fans thought that we are absolute favorites.
But even in 1994, we had this bad approach.
And in my country there is a saying, something like: we expected that they will just pull their pants down and bend over, once when we step on a field.
Something similar happened in a tie vs Inter.
in the first match, we were 0:1 down after 30 seconds.
In both matches we were 0:2 down after 30 minutes.
Can we be honest and ask ourselves:
Was the approach in two first halfs against Inter AS GOOD as the approach vs Real in CDR 10 days ago?
No way
Hate towards Real Madrid impacts our motivation in the next matches way too much.
serghei
Senior Member
We didn't lose the tie because we were overconfident though. We lost the tie because we played true to our style even when every other team would have closed shop and defended the lead. And some players in defense weren't good or experienced enough to take on that challenge.
Barca is a romantic club. Not a pragmatic one.
Barca is a romantic club. Not a pragmatic one.
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
At this stage last year, top 4 were BVB, poor Bayern, average PSG and RM. If anything, this CL is actually one of the rare occasions in the 2020's that all teams are actually really strong in the SF.
We weren't overconfident. Lamine is the type of guy who likes controversy and likely see it ss good PR. It isn't a likeable thing, but as you loved to argue for a decade long in this forum, assholes actually wins.
Last night we had a rightful penalty not called, a rightful second yellow not called, a rightful foul before equaliser not called, we lead in xG in both games, which is something considering a penalty should have inflated it the other way around.
Overconfidence has nothing to do with it, the team faught and had strong mentality, but it wasn't meant to be. We had awful defense and lost due to it. It was that simple
Inter was outplayed in their last 4 games in CL, and yet they are in the finals. They are on their Chelsea 2012 journey.
Well, football is like that - it's unfair. The same Man City couldn't win the Champions League for a long time with Pep, although almost every year they were top 1 in terms of quality of play. Did we deserve to reach the final more than Inter? Yes. Can I say that we played very high-quality football in this confrontation? No. To miss 7 from Inter in two matches + 30 minutes, come on, guys, it's just a nightmare..
From the Martin thread.
First action looks clear. Martin's attempt at second contact when he could have gone straight down is pretty embarrassing though.
But if VAR re-plays that first touch point then a pretty obvious foul and yellow for dangerous play all day long imo.
Alik
Moderator
Especially considering he would have gotten to the ball first.
Even going down on the first contact would make no sense.
Probably done it because of the obvious first contact. Should of just gone down straight like a pro.
Made him look a pleb instead, and cost us the goal.
If that camera angle goes to VAR for that first contact action then there is no way VAR can disallow it.
This is the problem with VAR.
In this exact match we had two precedents for how incident should have been called.
1st the Cubarsi penalty where VAR decided to look back and found that one angle that showed first contact being Cubarsi on Lautaro and thus a penalty.
Then on the Lamine non penalty where VAR decided to look in and found that one angle which showed first touch point (and thus point of foul) was out of the box.
Yet here, you have a guy on the ground with an important goal and VAR does not review nothing, when by their previous interpretations of first touch point it shows clearly a foul.
And this isn't even getting into the Cubarsi push prior which the referee should have called before any of the controversies took place.
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