16 - Rodri

Before we think about PSG and Arsenal, we need to see how we do vs teams like Bayern, Liverpool, Atletico and City, which are from the 2nd echelon in Europe. We match up extremely well vs Madrid because they are tailor made for our current style, since they are slacking off in terms of intensity, with many lazy stars who don't work hard enough off the ball. But big EPL sides, Atletico, Bayern, those have intensity and speed and think they can all hurt our backline a lot.

The opponents I wanna see how we match up to are exactly these, City, AM, Liverpool, Bayern, Arsenal, PSG. The rest I'm fairly confident we can outclass on pure offensive power, including with some ugly scorelines like vs Newcastle.
 
Last edited:
serghei said:
But that's the current approach. And we failed with it twice vs weaker sides. Not pressing the keeper instantly is not the same thing with sitting back, it just means the pressing gets triggered a bit lower, still 70-80m away from our goal. It gives you better coverage of the key zones that most opponents use to create attacks.

Keeper has to be left unpressed in most cases, Raphinha handles the CBs and the wingers block the fullbacks advancements on the ball. This is the Pep blueprint and has set the standard for efficient pressing for 20 years nearly.
Click to expand...

If you paid attention our full backs don't press as high this season as year before. There was also a video about that I posted few weeks ago.
Also, most obvious is Pedri who is pressing less than previous seasons.

Flick already did adapt. Otherwise he would force the double pivot and not allow Rodri to basically change our formation. Or play Rapha as a #9. Or Espart as inverted full-back.
 
serghei said:
We match up extremely well vs Madrid because they are tailor made for our current style, since they are slacking off in terms of intensity, with many lazy stars who don't work hard enough off the ball.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying I disagree, but this made me reflect on how spoiled we are.

We had 4 losses in a row under Xavi. After that it's 6W - 1D (ET win) - 1L under Flick

The confidence is sky high. We almost take for granted that we will beat RM these days.
 
When deciding on his exit he said Madrid treated him in exemplary way. Said he called Mourinho to thank him for his interest.

One of the things he most liked when talked to Flick and first things Flick said was the desire to improve day by day and to be non-conformist. That's what alligned with his belief.

Full interview (there is auto translate):

 
thestig said:
famously the last attacks against Inter are the best example. In that case keep the ball and wait for the clock to run out.
Click to expand...
I attribute that to us being very inexperienced.

Just a week later in the Classico, the same sequence happened, and we ie; Yamal kept possession and didnt try to score or attack. He learnt from that, the whole team learned.
 
"I think the Champions League is not a tournament about who is the best, it is a tournament of moments and understanding those moments. I think that is perhaps the area where this team still has room to improve

He 100% gets it. When some are making excuses about us not being the best team we can't be expected to win the CL.

It's about moments, about situational awareness as many of us said the last two seasons.

We've failed at that at all levels the last 3 CL runs (xavi and flick) when we had pretty straightforward paths to the finals, actually 5 CL runs we've failed at managing the moments.( Add Valverde to the mix )

He's been brought in to add leadership to the team, let's hope it can help. Because clearly the CL is objective #1 this season from all parties at the club. As it should be it's been entirely too long since we've made a final.
 
Last edited:
Andresito said:
I'm not saying I disagree, but this made me reflect on how spoiled we are.

We had 4 losses in a row under Xavi. After that it's 6W - 1D (ET win) - 1L under Flick

The confidence is sky high. We almost take for granted that we will beat RM these days.
Click to expand...

True, but 2023-24 Madrid were CL winners and finished La Liga with 95 pts. This version tanked twice in quarters and look set for a 3rd time.

This is the weakest Madrid since mid 00s.
 
Without him, we'd at least concede a goal more in the first half. This transfer was so much needed.
 
You could see very well today how he gives that extra stability to the defense with his wise positioning. Will help a lot in big games.

His long legs win many balls that you think are gone. He is always in movement in low tempo, but is pretty quick for his height when necessary. Definitely quicker than Busi.
 
Best player for us in the first half while everyone else was still finding their form. Does the little things right in otherwise hectic situtations.
 
I could see a little bit (well, a fair bit) of frustration in every player except Rodri and Raphinha in that first half

They had just gone through this so many times, that it means nothing to them. In the hostile PL crowds vs super intense teams, in international games, in other La Liga seasons ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top