JamDav1982
Senior Member
Not for me. Agreed that he always ran, pressed and made tackles but that doesnt translate to always playing well ad as said he and Pedri as a pair were not great in that time when Barca in poor form.
Was sent off v Celta which led to dropped points, was bodied by Sociedad for goal that Barca lost, made error v Atletico etc.
No doubt he always tried hard and for most time made tackles but that doesnt mean always played well.
He ran his heart out v Benfica in CL for example and made tackles after xmas but he did very little to help Barca control that game and it was chaotic and far better once he was subbed out.
That side of his game is never in doubt. It is a given and to his credit but also he can be guilty of chasing anything that moves which results in a lot of tackles but also very chaotic for the team the most defensive player playing like that at times in midfield.
More and more mistakes had been happening and teams as said to me looked like were starting to target him more.. leaving him on ball at expense of Pedri and dropping more and more balls into the area he and Pedri took up.
Could see in one of Atletico games that Simeone was motioning to his GK and defenders to drop balls into that area.
Even in games like Bayern before form dipped he did play well but he and Pedri as a pair were not dominating posession of the ball in way Flick ultimately wants. Real away also took the Pedri/Casado pairing being split for Barca to gain greater control and go on to win.
A huge difference between the two is that teams can afford to leave Casado on the ball more than FDJ to detriment of Pedri at times as FDJ is much more likely to progress the ball forward with a pass and also even more so to drive on when left in space and team were starting to suffer for that before xmas and after it.
Was sent off v Celta which led to dropped points, was bodied by Sociedad for goal that Barca lost, made error v Atletico etc.
No doubt he always tried hard and for most time made tackles but that doesnt mean always played well.
He ran his heart out v Benfica in CL for example and made tackles after xmas but he did very little to help Barca control that game and it was chaotic and far better once he was subbed out.
That side of his game is never in doubt. It is a given and to his credit but also he can be guilty of chasing anything that moves which results in a lot of tackles but also very chaotic for the team the most defensive player playing like that at times in midfield.
More and more mistakes had been happening and teams as said to me looked like were starting to target him more.. leaving him on ball at expense of Pedri and dropping more and more balls into the area he and Pedri took up.
Could see in one of Atletico games that Simeone was motioning to his GK and defenders to drop balls into that area.
Even in games like Bayern before form dipped he did play well but he and Pedri as a pair were not dominating posession of the ball in way Flick ultimately wants. Real away also took the Pedri/Casado pairing being split for Barca to gain greater control and go on to win.
A huge difference between the two is that teams can afford to leave Casado on the ball more than FDJ to detriment of Pedri at times as FDJ is much more likely to progress the ball forward with a pass and also even more so to drive on when left in space and team were starting to suffer for that before xmas and after it.
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