he's already cutting it after 3 games. one motm performance, one trophy and a gritty match won from his goals... he's starting to connect and read the movement of suarez, messi, and coutinho as well. he's doing very well.
had luisito finished that chance that coutinho delivered on a silver plate with the outside of his foot, you'd be singing a different tune. no one looked sharp on that field. he still had 2nd highest pa%, advanced ball, had a shot saved, most key passes all on a terrible pitch. what more do you...
Rakitic provides way more defensively than Rafinha, even though the latter provides some fancy dribbles and agility & quickness during buildup.
Rakitic is better overall, proven, and more consistent.
Messi is miles better of a complete footballer than CR... let's not distract from that reality, which the website/graphs clearly show. CR can keep the accolades, six pack, and popularity contests but to people who clearly know football, Messi is the stand alone G.O.A.T.
I think EV is doing a great job. He has brought balance. In Europe he needs to adjust to faster, more counter friendly tactics but we haven't started our CL campaign so it's not fair to say whether or not he will make those changes. I'm fine with his liga/copa tactics and with this new team and...
Paco just has a second-tier stench about him. I have nothing against him and he stays professional as far as I know, but I've never liked him for our squad.
This stat absolutely staggered me... from the weakest most frail aerial team to a powerhouse. AND we are leading in possession which means we protected the ball. This is astounding. ofc it's very early to bring out stats, but after one-two matches in Europe, this looks promising. Props to EV.
Pogba would be a better option going forward, but defensively, he is volatile. I don't see why people want him aside from star power. I'll admit it's a sexy option, but we'd be unbalanced in midfield. Keep the Raki for one more season.
Messi, Salah, CR, Coutinho, Modric, Griezmann, De Bruyne, even Bale and Ney on form all better than Mpabbe currently. He will have his time and will be best in the world maybe soon as this season. He is that freakishly good.
A rested and motivated Busquets is nothing to be underestimated.
Nonetheless, very happy to see Vidal get his debut. He looked happy and put in a good shift.
The way I see it, Dembele is being tried out wide on the left to allow for a:
OD - Messi - Malcom
This will be a backup for the current set up with Suarez as striker in case he doesn't regain form.
He has proven his mental strength by coming to play. Last two performances were really solid. He did so many great things on the ball. His confidence is rising. As I said before season started, he will be breaking ankles for fun this season. Just watch.
I prefer the defensive shape with Semedo in there, prefer the offensive shape with Roberto by a hair. Semedo is improving on offense though, and has contributed a lot in pre-season in that respect. Even his staunchest critiques have to concede that.
He dribbled 3 Boca players storming in the box and almost finished but the ball was deflected and he tripped a bit. He would've tucked that away no doubt. That was today.
His top end speed seems to have declined naturally through wear and tear, but he's still quick and very agile, can turn on a...