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Δευτέρα 7 Απριλίου 2014
Σάββατο 5 Απριλίου 2014
Παρασκευή 4 Απριλίου 2014
Πέμπτη 3 Απριλίου 2014
Τετάρτη 2 Απριλίου 2014
Τρίτη 1 Απριλίου 2014
Match Review: FC Barcelona 1-1 Atlético Madrid
And once again there is no victor. Two moments of magic were all that separated two gargantuan performances that will be praised in completely contrasting ways. FC Barcelona gave it absolutely all they had; yet in another very new-age Barça-Atletí flavored meeting the final score read 1-1. Of the encounters this season, tonight Atlético most embodied the ghost of Diego Simeone the footballer: Fouling consistently and physically. German referee Felix Brych was delighted to produce the first yellow, but when a second was more than warranted, the man in the middle cowered. Leo Messi had a quiet night thanks to his man-marking shadows, but the remainder of the side performed admirably and despite a godly Andrés Iniesta and terrific showings from Sergio Busquets, Neymar and Alexis Sánchez, the win was out of grasp.
Gerardo Martino named the side everyone expected, again sacrificing Alexis for Cesc Fàbregas. On the other end Simeone was bullish by selecting both David Villa and Diego Costa in a 4-4-2, with Tiago and Gabi holding the middle being supported by Arda Turan and Koke. The back four of Juanfran, Miranda, Diego Godín and Felipe Luis was status quo.
The truth is Atlético, as an attacking force, ranged from mild to non-existent. When Diego Costa was removed, the absence of his physicality, speed and clever running patterns left Atletí neutered. After Diego Ribas’ thunderbolt, the Madrid side sat back entirely, totally rejecting the notion of attack. But they worked extremely hard to keep an imposing defensive shape and constantly surrounded the ball carrier with three obstacles. With five minutes to go, Barça had run an impressive 97.78 kilometers, Atlético were just over 101.
But as always happens, the reactive team had the opening chance. José Manuel Pinto got too confident with a pass from the back and gifted it to the opposition. A superb pass into the box found David Villa, but the former blaugrana let his previous employers off the hook with an off target attempt. That was a genuine let off for the home side, and one that would have complicated the tie immensely.
Many Barça observers have shouted both often and loudly that Marc Bartra is woefully underused and undervalued, and tonight their argument only gained credence. Just before 2014 began, I wrote an article advocating that Bartra needed to be tested so the technical staff could truly decide to hunt a center-back or not. “Bartra’s real litmus tests aren’t going to be versus Villarreal, Cartagena, Granada, Vigo and Osasuna, all games in which he started. He needs to be tested and tested now against Real Madrid, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid and Manchester City. He may fail, but at least we will know.” Well now we know. Bartra wasn’t hungry to get on; he was ravenous and over his 83 minutes put in a magnificent, confident and determined performance when replacing Gerard Piqué after the starter bruised his hip following a hard fall. What does the young man have to do before being given a real shot to partner Piqué and see what the two can forge together? Tonight he made 15 ball recoveries, the most of anyone. All buying a marquee defender is going to do is stop Bartra’s Barça career dead in its tracks. It’s likely to happen, and it will be entirely unjust.
Barça didn’t create a moment of genuine danger in the first forty-five. The first quarter-hour was poor, with a far too direct game that was bypassing both Xavi and Iniesta, thereby conceding possession and control. This was to the team’s detriment; one need only relive Iniesta’s unbelievable second half display to prove that true. Otherwise, Neymar was brave in a leap over Felipe Luis but couldn’t get power onto Xavi’s cross (23rd minute) and Messi also had a header that was well-directed (41st minute) but not strong enough to get past the gigantic wing-span of the world-class Thibaut Courtois. There were a few other moments of penetration for Iniesta, including a sublime Messi ball after bamboozling Miranda with a lightening fast drag back, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked.
Despite being of no threat at all after Costa’s half-hour removal, Atlético Madrid finished the half with another great chance. This time a quick-free kick caught Barça off-guard, and after some lucky deflections getting past Bartra, Pinto went down left and low to save Villa’s goal-bound shot. It must be noted, that not all of Atletí’s toothlessness was self-imposed. The Barça defense was terrific and anticipated the outlet balls perfectly, ending danger before it even got a moment to percolate. Having previously written about Bartra above, it’s necessary to highlight that Javier Mascherano was in his early Barça form. El Jefecito didn’t put a foot wrong and had some classic anticipations and tackles only Masche can do. Still, he isn’t the future in the position, whereas Bartra could have been.
Then it happened: Moment of magic number one. Diego Ribas received the ball from a short free-kick, maneuvered past Xavi, then hit the ball as perfectly as is possible. Nobody saw that coming, and as Pinto tried his best to react, the ball kept swerving away from him, blasting into the top corner. No finger-pointing here, just to Diego himself and saying woof.
Barça reacted as well as they could have. From that moment onwards, it was attack after attack. No matter how many times Atlético made the tackle, someone was on hand to recover or chase the ball down. There was literally no more the team could do. It was absolute, limitless effort and thanks only to Atletí brutish tactics, disciplined shape and Courtois was victory denied.
The introduction of Alexis Sánchez will likely be glossed over, but not here. Alexis was instrumental in the come-back and with his 25 minutes should have earned the starting spot next Wednesday. Cesc Fàbregas is a world-class player, but tonight he slowed the game down and made too many wayward passes. Alexis made several clutch defensive plays, stretched the game and constantly attacked the danger zones. It was his forced turnover that led to Neymar’s goal.
Cesc’s final contribution was meeting a Dani Alves cross. The attempt was saved but wouldn’t have counted either way after Herr Brych whistled for a non-existent foul by Dani on compatriot Luis. Not too long later Alves did one of his shot/crosses, however the speed did not allow Messi to make meaningful contact.
With twenty minutes left, a goal was vital. Going into the Vicente Calderón without a goal and one conceded would have been mountains more difficult. Then moment of magic two. I mean, look at this:
Gerardo Martino named the side everyone expected, again sacrificing Alexis for Cesc Fàbregas. On the other end Simeone was bullish by selecting both David Villa and Diego Costa in a 4-4-2, with Tiago and Gabi holding the middle being supported by Arda Turan and Koke. The back four of Juanfran, Miranda, Diego Godín and Felipe Luis was status quo.
The truth is Atlético, as an attacking force, ranged from mild to non-existent. When Diego Costa was removed, the absence of his physicality, speed and clever running patterns left Atletí neutered. After Diego Ribas’ thunderbolt, the Madrid side sat back entirely, totally rejecting the notion of attack. But they worked extremely hard to keep an imposing defensive shape and constantly surrounded the ball carrier with three obstacles. With five minutes to go, Barça had run an impressive 97.78 kilometers, Atlético were just over 101.
But as always happens, the reactive team had the opening chance. José Manuel Pinto got too confident with a pass from the back and gifted it to the opposition. A superb pass into the box found David Villa, but the former blaugrana let his previous employers off the hook with an off target attempt. That was a genuine let off for the home side, and one that would have complicated the tie immensely.
Many Barça observers have shouted both often and loudly that Marc Bartra is woefully underused and undervalued, and tonight their argument only gained credence. Just before 2014 began, I wrote an article advocating that Bartra needed to be tested so the technical staff could truly decide to hunt a center-back or not. “Bartra’s real litmus tests aren’t going to be versus Villarreal, Cartagena, Granada, Vigo and Osasuna, all games in which he started. He needs to be tested and tested now against Real Madrid, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid and Manchester City. He may fail, but at least we will know.” Well now we know. Bartra wasn’t hungry to get on; he was ravenous and over his 83 minutes put in a magnificent, confident and determined performance when replacing Gerard Piqué after the starter bruised his hip following a hard fall. What does the young man have to do before being given a real shot to partner Piqué and see what the two can forge together? Tonight he made 15 ball recoveries, the most of anyone. All buying a marquee defender is going to do is stop Bartra’s Barça career dead in its tracks. It’s likely to happen, and it will be entirely unjust.
Barça didn’t create a moment of genuine danger in the first forty-five. The first quarter-hour was poor, with a far too direct game that was bypassing both Xavi and Iniesta, thereby conceding possession and control. This was to the team’s detriment; one need only relive Iniesta’s unbelievable second half display to prove that true. Otherwise, Neymar was brave in a leap over Felipe Luis but couldn’t get power onto Xavi’s cross (23rd minute) and Messi also had a header that was well-directed (41st minute) but not strong enough to get past the gigantic wing-span of the world-class Thibaut Courtois. There were a few other moments of penetration for Iniesta, including a sublime Messi ball after bamboozling Miranda with a lightening fast drag back, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked.
Despite being of no threat at all after Costa’s half-hour removal, Atlético Madrid finished the half with another great chance. This time a quick-free kick caught Barça off-guard, and after some lucky deflections getting past Bartra, Pinto went down left and low to save Villa’s goal-bound shot. It must be noted, that not all of Atletí’s toothlessness was self-imposed. The Barça defense was terrific and anticipated the outlet balls perfectly, ending danger before it even got a moment to percolate. Having previously written about Bartra above, it’s necessary to highlight that Javier Mascherano was in his early Barça form. El Jefecito didn’t put a foot wrong and had some classic anticipations and tackles only Masche can do. Still, he isn’t the future in the position, whereas Bartra could have been.
Then it happened: Moment of magic number one. Diego Ribas received the ball from a short free-kick, maneuvered past Xavi, then hit the ball as perfectly as is possible. Nobody saw that coming, and as Pinto tried his best to react, the ball kept swerving away from him, blasting into the top corner. No finger-pointing here, just to Diego himself and saying woof.
Barça reacted as well as they could have. From that moment onwards, it was attack after attack. No matter how many times Atlético made the tackle, someone was on hand to recover or chase the ball down. There was literally no more the team could do. It was absolute, limitless effort and thanks only to Atletí brutish tactics, disciplined shape and Courtois was victory denied.
The introduction of Alexis Sánchez will likely be glossed over, but not here. Alexis was instrumental in the come-back and with his 25 minutes should have earned the starting spot next Wednesday. Cesc Fàbregas is a world-class player, but tonight he slowed the game down and made too many wayward passes. Alexis made several clutch defensive plays, stretched the game and constantly attacked the danger zones. It was his forced turnover that led to Neymar’s goal.
Cesc’s final contribution was meeting a Dani Alves cross. The attempt was saved but wouldn’t have counted either way after Herr Brych whistled for a non-existent foul by Dani on compatriot Luis. Not too long later Alves did one of his shot/crosses, however the speed did not allow Messi to make meaningful contact.
With twenty minutes left, a goal was vital. Going into the Vicente Calderón without a goal and one conceded would have been mountains more difficult. Then moment of magic two. I mean, look at this:
Héroes en eliminar al Real Madrid en Champions… ¿Quién será el próximo?
Y aquí os dejamos a todos los jugadores que le han amargado la Champions League al Real Madrid estos últimos 11 años jajajaja
¿Quién será el próximo? jajajaja
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