La Liga | Round 5: FC Barcelona - Sevilla 1-1

Messi983

Senior Member
So much overreactions, lol. We were not as "great" as people said in first two games and we were not as "shit" as now said yesterday.

Some strange things are happening lately. United conceded 6 and Liverpool 7 goals yesterday while City conceded 5 a week ago and even Hoffenheim puts 4 past Bayern. Teams had basically no preseason, there will be more tiredness and injuries so I expect this trend of "unexpected and strange" results to continue. But this doesn't mean Liverpool, City, Bayern or even United (though not on their level) are now suddenly bad teams. They've just had a bad day which can happen to anyone.

We also didn't have our best day but still managed to get a draw. Sure, our goal is always to win, especially at home but I would say Sevilla is one of the top 3/5 teams in the world right now. Not by their status or quality of individual players but by the form they've been playing in recent months together as a TEAM. That team (besides Raki and Acuna) has been playing together for a year now. No great stars but everyone knows exactly what he's doing. A lot of credit to Monchi to build that team from basically the scratch (of last night's starters only Navas was there 14-15 months ago) and also to Lopetegui to make them play so well.

So getting a point against a team like that is not the end of the world. Yes, we looked poor and besides giving a deserved credit to Sevilla for that I think this was up to two main reasons.

1. Tiredness of the team after playing in tough conditions with a man down for a half just three days ago. We were just not physically on Sevilla's level which is what Koeman also pointed out. And which is not a surprise in itself as we've been a physically poorly prepared side for years and OTOH I'd say Sevilla is one of the most fit teams in football nowadays.

Now obviously Koeman could prevent some of that tiredness by making a change or two more in the starting lineup to have more fresh legs from the start but Sevilla is also not a team to experiment against too much and we could've looked even worse. Which leads us to my 2nd point.

2. No team chemistry after subs were made in 2nd half which again is not surprising at all (though we actually looked a bit better in the last 10 minutes just for having more fresh legs on the pitch). We've finished the game with 6 players who were not here or had limited role in the team last year. It will take time for newcomers to settle into the team and for the other players to adapt to their new roles, this can't happen over night.

This team is still a work in progress and there will be bumps in the road. We'll struggle against better teams (and Sevilla clearly is one of those) and sometimes even against supposedly bad ones (I do believe a lot of La Liga teams are underrated or not considered serious enough here and then people are surprised when we struggle against them; in other words there are teams who might not play well but they do know how to get results by defending as a team). And we'll look good in other games. I'll try to stay level-headed and not overreact to either good or bad performances for a few more months. Coming January/February we'll be able to evaluate things better and more fairly both from a team and indivudial players's performance standpoint. And also let Koeman have enough time we could actually consider this to be his team. If we'll consistently look as poor as we did yesterday in 3-4 months and against worse teams than Sevilla then it will be time to be concerned. Now it's not. Surely would be great to go on international break with another good performance and a win but yesterday's game will also give Koeman some home work to do over the next two weeks.
 

behindbrowneyes

Well-known member
So much overreactions, lol. We were not as "great" as people said in first two games and we were not as "shit" as now said yesterday.

Some strange things are happening lately. United conceded 6 and Liverpool 7 goals yesterday while City conceded 5 a week ago and even Hoffenheim puts 4 past Bayern. Teams had basically no preseason, there will be more tiredness and injuries so I expect this trend of "unexpected and strange" results to continue. But this doesn't mean Liverpool, City, Bayern or even United (though not on their level) are now suddenly bad teams. They've just had a bad day which can happen to anyone.

We also didn't have our best day but still managed to get a draw. Sure, our goal is always to win, especially at home but I would say Sevilla is one of the top 3/5 teams in the world right now. Not by their status or quality of individual players but by the form they've been playing in recent months together as a TEAM. That team (besides Raki and Acuna) has been playing together for a year now. No great stars but everyone knows exactly what he's doing. A lot of credit to Monchi to build that team from basically the scratch (of last night's starters only Navas was there 14-15 months ago) and also to Lopetegui to make them play so well.

So getting a point against a team like that is not the end of the world. Yes, we looked poor and besides giving a deserved credit to Sevilla for that I think this was up to two main reasons.

1. Tiredness of the team after playing in tough conditions with a man down for a half just three days ago. We were just not physically on Sevilla's level which is what Koeman also pointed out. And which is not a surprise in itself as we've been a physically poorly prepared side for years and OTOH I'd say Sevilla is one of the most fit teams in football nowadays.

Now obviously Koeman could prevent some of that tiredness by making a change or two more in the starting lineup to have more fresh legs from the start but Sevilla is also not a team to experiment against too much and we could've looked even worse. Which leads us to my 2nd point.

2. No team chemistry after subs were made in 2nd half which again is not surprising at all (though we actually looked a bit better in the last 10 minutes just for having more fresh legs on the pitch). We've finished the game with 6 players who were not here or had limited role in the team last year. It will take time for newcomers to settle into the team and for the other players to adapt to their new roles, this can't happen over night.

This team is still a work in progress and there will be bumps in the road. We'll struggle against better teams (and Sevilla clearly is one of those) and sometimes even against supposedly bad ones (I do believe a lot of La Liga teams are underrated or not considered serious enough here and then people are surprised when we struggle against them; in other words there are teams who might not play well but they do know how to get results by defending as a team). And we'll look good in other games. I'll try to stay level-headed and not overreact to either good or bad performances for a few more months. Coming January/February we'll be able to evaluate things better and more fairly both from a team and indivudial players's performance standpoint. And also let Koeman have enough time we could actually consider this to be his team. If we'll consistently look as poor as we did yesterday in 3-4 months and against worse teams than Sevilla then it will be time to be concerned. Now it's not. Surely would be great to go on international break with another good performance and a win but yesterday's game will also give Koeman some home work to do over the next two weeks.

I have to quote and praise you for this post since there is no like-button anymore.

Very nice to read such a sophisticated post in a forum that very often only knows black or white instead of the many shades in between.
 

ranjix

Jefecito
I like everything else that is going on right now, but our right side is very weak.

Busquets was good against Celta, he looked tired against Sevilla. Should rest him more.
 

cro-man

Active member
New Season same shit. Its so predictable and boring to watch us play. Everytime we had the ball we gave sevilla all the time they needed to mobilize their whole team to defend because we are so slow in transition. Are we not good enough for playing attacking football or whats the matter.

This season is lost anyway so why playing like some scary cats. Try something. Dont hold the ball constantly and play it safe side and backwards.
 

Gaudi

Senior Member
New Season same shit. Its so predictable and boring to watch us play. Everytime we had the ball we gave sevilla all the time they needed to mobilize their whole team to defend because we are so slow in transition. Are we not good enough for playing attacking football or whats the matter.

This season is lost anyway so why playing like some scary cats. Try something. Dont hold the ball constantly and play it safe side and backwards.

I didn't think we played that slow, just very sloppy in attack, a lot of misplaced passes and wrong decisions.
 

serghei

Senior Member
I didn't think we played that slow, just very sloppy in attack, a lot of misplaced passes and wrong decisions.

That was the problem for me. We tried to play fast while moving slow. And things just don't click when the movement and the intensity aren't in synch with the passes you are trying to make. People focus too much on the individuality of players.

We were crap because the team was tired and couldn't move well. Hence the multitude of errors. On a collective level.
 

soul24rage

Senior Member
That was the problem for me. We tried to play fast while moving slow. And things just don't click when the movement and the intensity aren't in synch with the passes you are trying to make. People focus too much on the individuality of players.

We were crap because the team was tired and couldn't move well. Hence the multitude of errors. On a collective level.

On the bright side, I think it's good we had a performance and result like this very early in the season if and only if Koeman learned not to play the same XI over and over again.

Because of the schedule, we have a game every 3-4 days so Koeman has to implement some rotation to not burn out the players.

I'm hoping that when the transfer window closes and they have not been moved on, the likes of Dembele and Puig play more frequently.
 

serghei

Senior Member
On the bright side, I think it's good we had a performance and result like this very early in the season if and only if Koeman learned not to play the same XI over and over again.

Because of the schedule, we have a game every 3-4 days so Koeman has to implement some rotation to not burn out the players.

I'm hoping that when the transfer window closes and they have not been moved on, the likes of Dembele and Puig play more frequently.

Yea, not the end of the world, but Koeman needs to show self-criticism and realize the mistakes he made, and more importantly not repeat them. For his sake. Because even if the fans expect a trophy-less season, that would get him sacked no doubt.

I reckon he'll need about 90 points to win the league. Can't afford too many lost points at home.
 

JohnN

Senior Member
To be fair to Koeman, we looked disconnected after the subs, so that is the reason he started with that 11. But, one of those 11, perhaps Busi, could be on the bench.
Too early to tell, let's wait.
 

Giginho75

New member
Slow Barca, few attempts, mostly in second time, at least until 80min.
A lot of useless ball possession.
I'm disappointed after first two matches.
Obviously Sevilla is a real good opponent.

Ansu bad game, but I want understand better FDJ.
Until now he doesn't convince me at all.
This is his second season.
 

FC B

Senior Member
The slugfest against Celta in a horrible weather has certainly taken its toll and the players are tired. Celta lost to Osasuna as well.

Exactly my thoughts when saw their low movement rate, low energy and low intensity display.
 

huskerdu

New member
We did well. 90 minutes of football instead of gassed final 25 min.
Created ample chances and didnt give Sevilla too much opportunities.
1-1 against this Sevilla at their home is nothing to feel bad about.

We are definitely faster in attack as we got the ball behind final line of defense more than a few times. Just a bit of tough luck nobody converted.

We were at home, not Sevilla
 

Home of Barca Fans

Top