Liga l Round 10: FC Barcelona - Granada 1-0

[te amo barca]

No. Instead he should have dropped Gomes deeper, and played Rakitic close to him to try to control the midfield. That's what should have been done. Dropping Rakitic at LCB is a clear testament that we do not plan to control the midfield, and if a team blocks us there, we'll just skip that phase and play from defence to MSN. That is a fucking shit tactic. Mourinho style.

Gomes was subbed on only on the 70th minute. Granada placed all the players in defense, parking an elite bus really. In the first half, there almost was not any space, as a result Barca circulated the ball for long periods of time with no real penetration, that looked like a handball game. In the second half, due to the tactical change, Mascherano and Rakitic sprayed quality long balls on the wings where numerical advantage was created. That was the trend of the second half. Consequently, the team created some very good chances, but because of MSN's awfulness this night, we failed to convert these clear-cut chances. It is not Lucho's fault that Suarez keeps missing one sitter after another, or that Neymar and Messi lose the ball on every occasion.

 

[Albo]

I think it has more to do with the fact that the squad looks fatigued, Lucho has made them work too hard in training. Now he just has to drop the pace in training and players will be fine in 1-3 weeks.

 

[snowy]

Not a single player was able to find a key passing lane. We created half baked chances based on individual ability. No need to sugar coat it. Either it was MSN individual brilliance or full backs burst of pace. Midfield performed very badly, Granada did not press. If it was Celta or Athletic it would have been another thrashing. But i expect better performance against city with more space for our players to operate. But still problems exist with our style. It is very clear.

Well to put things in perspective, we did suffer many off-sides that could have translated into goals. Also Ney had a nice bit of 1st touch on Sergi's amazing cross and his attempt was good. Keeper though made a great stop. A bit of luck our way and it could have been 3 nil. We dominated on possession and opportunities. In the end, we got the 3 points so akuna matata.

 

[serghei]

Not a single player was able to find a key passing lane. We created half baked chances based on individual ability. No need to sugar coat it. Either it was MSN individual brilliance or full backs burst of pace. Midfield performed very badly, Granada did not press. If it was Celta or Athletic it would have been another thrashing. But i expect better performance against city with more space for our players to operate. But still problems exist with our style. It is very clear.

Totally. To me, if we can't just out-maneuvre Granada in midfield, and we start looking to play direct balls from Mascherano to MSN, then this season is not going to end well. This was not fucking Atletico Madrid air-tight midfield to look for options to skip through it. We could have taken control of that midfield, there were spaces to exploit and pass through that zone, 1-2s and such, and win this game by 3-4 goals with ease. But we didn't, because we didn't plan to, that's the worse part. We put in Gomes for example, and I though he was going to play midfield, to try to control that zone, but instead, I saw him much more advanced. To do what, exactly? Our tactic atm is "just give the ball to Messi, Neymar and Suarez" and they'll make something happen. If MSN is in an off day, Lucho is done. People say this was the case before as well, but not so much. Right now we are at our worst in midfield, and this is with more options than the past seasons. It's a big problem, and the tactics indicate that we're trying to by-pass it by not playing there, rather than fix it and get a hold on games like we used to about a year ago.

 

[Barcaman]

Granada are the the worst team in La Liga. Everyone who is happy with Barca's tonight display need a reality check.

And it's not like it's just a blip. Barca have been playing poor football this season. Something happened since March really when we almost imploded entirely.

New guys Gomes, Denis, Paco have contributed little to nothing but I am more worried with Neymar, Busquets and few other starters who aren't playing on their level.

 

[El Flaco]

Granada played very well defensively and looked extra motivated. They had good offside-traps also they were scared to send more than 3 players to attack. Not sure what you expect when 10 players are playing very well defensively.

To be honest, I think we actually made them look waaaay better than Granada actually are.

I wouldn't really say they "played very well defensively" considering how many chances we created and didn't really go all in...

 

[Icarium]

Even suarez is not banging goals like he used to. Only positives about the season so far are Rafinha and Roberto. That too Rafinha still needs to get better in that midfield role, doing good only on the wings. He may never become that good in midfield, time will tell. Umtiti also a positive. Got adjusted to barca style real quick.

 

[barcafan161]

Granada are the the worst team in La Liga. Everyone who is happy with Barca's tonight display need a reality check.

And it's not like it's just a blip. Barca have been playing poor football this season. Something happened since March really when we almost imploded entirely.

New guys Gomes, Denis, Paco have contributed little to nothing but I am more worried with Neymar, Busquets and few other starters who aren't playing on their level.

It's a win

thats all people need to be happy with.

Wether you win 5-0 and dominate or win 1-0..it doesn't mean any less. In a long season how you win every now and then doesn't matter at all.

 

[serghei]

Gomes was subbed on only on the 70th minute. Granada placed all the players in defense, parking an elite bus really. In the first half, there almost was not any space, as a result Barca circulated the ball for long periods of time with no real penetration, that looked like a handball game. In the second half, due to the tactical change, Mascherano and Rakitic sprayed quality long balls on the wings where numerical advantage was created. That was the trend of the second half. Consequently, the team created some very good chances, but because of MSN's awfulness this night, we failed to convert these clear-cut chances. It is not Lucho's fault that Suarez keeps missing one sitter after another, or that Neymar and Messi lose the ball on every occasion.

There was nothing elite about Granada tonight. So, the trend is supposed to be play long balls from defence to MSN against Granada at home? Sorry, but can't accept that. And you know why? Because then we'll play vs Atletico in CL again, and be put in the same situation, and try the same tactic and for a team like Atletico it's piss easy to block these sort of balls.

 

[Raketa10]

If you don't enjoy it, then I suggest you go on and watch Manchester City and your boy Gündogan instead of watching Barca.

This way of playing has won us everything. Yes, there are some bad matches, but that was also the case with Pep at Barca. Midfield is plenty good in most matches, and the attack is spectacular.

Midfield is plenty good and attack spectacular? When? In this season?!?! Sorry but that just isn't true.

 

[Wick]

In the meanwhile Gundogan scores two for ManC..
Bar Iniesta, Raki, and Busi our midfield is one of the worst in the league.
Attack is spectacular, if they have the flow, but we rely way way to much on them.
If we had proper creative midfielders, they would score much much more goals.

That's what I'm saying. Go watch, go support them so can regularly enjoy your man crush and a "proper" midfielder. Meanwhile this team will continue to be successful with a proven formula. I never see the likes if you after matches where we have been controlling the midfield by ball retention (yes, that still happens) or dominating by playing more directly. I guess that's because it doesn't fit your idea of what dominating or playing good football is. We are versatile, and it works. Deal with it.

Our midfield is worse than normal without two world class starters? Sure. Not close to one of the worst in the league though. Joke of an assessment. Two of the players are completely new to the team (D. Suarez and Gomes), and Rafinha seems to be doing just fine. He is one of the better midfield alternatives in this league. Perfect for our current way of playing. So yeah, I can see why you'd label him part of one of the worst midfields in the league.

D. Suarez and Gomes need at least a season (i.e. more training sessions AND playing time!) to get acclimated (look what happened to Arda, who people wanted gone after just one year), but even as they are now they'd walk into a lot of teams' midfields in this league. In a year (like with Arda), we'll have a lot more understanding of them in terms of them being able to provide sufficient quality to the midfield. But to call them one of the worst in the league is nonsense.

 

[Barcilliant]

Lucho needs to settle on a midfield and get some rhythm going. We have no momentum because the line ups are so varied. When it comes to rotation Lucho often goes full retard. Add all the injuries and its been no surprise we've been inconsistent this season.

 

[viper76]

Not looking good for next week against Sevilla .

 

[Wick]

Midfield is plenty good and attack spectacular? When? In this season?!?! Sorry but that just isn't true.

Where have you been the last couple seasons?
I responded to a person that's been whining about the midfield for years. That's why I wrote that this way of playing with these players is proven. Will there be bad stretches? Yes. All teams go through those. Even City and the mighty, creative Gündogan. This team will be just fine like they have been.

 

[serghei]

It's still good we won 6 points after two poor games. I wouldn't be overly sad with 9 after 3 poor games either, give Madrid a taster of their own medicine for a change.