Atletico’s football is hideous every time I watch them.
Griezmann or whatever his name is will thrive in a side that attacks. He’s wasted there.
Griezmann or whatever his name is will thrive in a side that attacks. He’s wasted there.
Champions League Round of 16 (12th Feb - 13th Mar)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
He'll be great in our team currently, where attackers are expected to create chances themselves a lot of times after isolating defenders and Antoine is great at that. Plus with the movement of our forwards he will have a great time linking the midfield and attack. Will take a lot of burden off Pogba in terms of creativity and I'd love to have a creative forward rather than a creative CM and someone who can provide those moments of brilliant near the opposition goal.
Think he'd be amazing for you. The guy is still underrated if you consider the teams he played in. I mean, Atletico scores maybe 60% the amount of goals Barca, Real or City do. And he provides much more than goals. Imagine him in an all out attacking team..
After the whole La Decision nonsense, I'm particularly happy for Griezmann, made the right choice to stay at Atletico.
Yep, he has had a very good career at Atletico and of course has already starred in the WC win for France being their best player arguably, should now move to a proper attacking team to showcase his talents fully and also boost his stats a bit which also matters in a player's reputation in this era.
Interesting that this round in the CL underlined some points:
Tuchel is one of the best tactical coaches who can set up a team very well, but lacks points on the other hand: motivation and mentality. His teams often can't handle unlucky goals scored by the opponent in big games. It happened with this game in the EL Liverpool vs BVB. And it was shown on the whole squadbuilding at Dortmund, which now is corrected by our DoF and was clearly adressed as the aim of our new squad for the future. Plus: He is very intelligent, but his social skills are questionable (this also leads to his sacking at Dortmund).
Schalke is completly lost. Squad, Coach, PR, Clubboss, the whole club is an unprofessional mess. No wonder that they got hammered by City. This proofs only the weakness of Schalke rather than the really strenght of City. Battle for relegation in the league could be interessting.
Ronaldo can still motivate and step up in big games if he is in the mood for it.
Atletico is a killerteam, but only if their gameplan works out. If this doesn't happen, they struggle to score and dont know exactly what to do.
BVB got a great coach and the squadbuiling is on the track again. But at least injuries of Reus and Akanji, two of the new solid axis, lead to loosing the momentum a bit, too much to compete with Spurs. It was the false moment for this two matches. But nothing to worry about, Zorc, Watzke and Kehl claimed before the season that we need at least two transferwindows to sort things out and to regain power, it was a happy surprise that this works out so well even in the first season. Will see what happens in the league, its still exciting and the Bundesliga can be happy with the fact that its not so boring like the last years, the league will get some strenght if this stays and evolve. You have to keep in mind that BVB got a bit more than the half of the money than Bayern, so there is nothing a BVB fan will moan about even if they don't win the title.
United problems are still there and there is lot to solve, but they survived the round as Ole can motivate and get some miracles. That shouldn't hide the fact that there is so much to do, would be the next big fault for the years to come to get blinded by results.
Ajax is an interesting team, and Real will need more than a new coach. After three times CL winners they shouldn't be so sad about this and we will see how they will develop from now on.
Tuchel is one of the best tactical coaches who can set up a team very well, but lacks points on the other hand: motivation and mentality. His teams often can't handle unlucky goals scored by the opponent in big games. It happened with this game in the EL Liverpool vs BVB. And it was shown on the whole squadbuilding at Dortmund, which now is corrected by our DoF and was clearly adressed as the aim of our new squad for the future. Plus: He is very intelligent, but his social skills are questionable (this also leads to his sacking at Dortmund).
Schalke is completly lost. Squad, Coach, PR, Clubboss, the whole club is an unprofessional mess. No wonder that they got hammered by City. This proofs only the weakness of Schalke rather than the really strenght of City. Battle for relegation in the league could be interessting.
Ronaldo can still motivate and step up in big games if he is in the mood for it.
Atletico is a killerteam, but only if their gameplan works out. If this doesn't happen, they struggle to score and dont know exactly what to do.
BVB got a great coach and the squadbuiling is on the track again. But at least injuries of Reus and Akanji, two of the new solid axis, lead to loosing the momentum a bit, too much to compete with Spurs. It was the false moment for this two matches. But nothing to worry about, Zorc, Watzke and Kehl claimed before the season that we need at least two transferwindows to sort things out and to regain power, it was a happy surprise that this works out so well even in the first season. Will see what happens in the league, its still exciting and the Bundesliga can be happy with the fact that its not so boring like the last years, the league will get some strenght if this stays and evolve. You have to keep in mind that BVB got a bit more than the half of the money than Bayern, so there is nothing a BVB fan will moan about even if they don't win the title.
United problems are still there and there is lot to solve, but they survived the round as Ole can motivate and get some miracles. That shouldn't hide the fact that there is so much to do, would be the next big fault for the years to come to get blinded by results.
Ajax is an interesting team, and Real will need more than a new coach. After three times CL winners they shouldn't be so sad about this and we will see how they will develop from now on.
The first he played the ball.
I know a lot of you watched the Juve/Atletico match yesterday, but the other match going on between between Morata and Chielini also had some intense moments. It was like two actors trying to out perform each other, on the moment improvisations....really compelling stuff!
We need liverpool to progress so they don't have just the league to focus on.
Even if we'd potentially be a tougher tie for you than Bayern? Seems daft to me. I'd take second in the league right now if it meant a Liverpool vs United final.
Not sure how we'll get on tonight. I think it depends on Klopp's midfield selection.
If he goes for something like Fabinho, Wijnaldum & Henderson we'll probably struggle to create anything.
Our away record in Europe this season is awful as well.
If he goes for something like Fabinho, Wijnaldum & Henderson we'll probably struggle to create anything.
Our away record in Europe this season is awful as well.
Yup. Honestly, I'll be disappointed if we go out tonight. There's so many winnable ties (on paper) in the pot (Spurs/Ajax/Porto), and I'm pretty sure we can hold our own against United & City.
We'd need to step it up MAJORLY to play last nights Juve side or Barcelona.
8 out of the last 11 Champions League's winning sides have been won by teams led by either Messi or Ronaldo.
Last night was proof of why that stat is no coincidence. Don't be surprised if becomes 9 out of 12 in a few months either.
Last night was proof of why that stat is no coincidence. Don't be surprised if becomes 9 out of 12 in a few months either.
Don't care about Liverpool having more energy for the league, I want them out. Plus I'd rather face Bayern than them too.
I mean, they were also the two strongest teams in the world
I wouldn't be surprised at this point, though. For me, I'd rank the remaining teams something like...
(Barcelona)/Juve/City
(Liverpool/Bayern)
United
Ajax/Porto/Spurs/(Lyon)
Inter, Chelsea, Bayern - and all three had to beat Messi in the semi finals to win it!
Conclusion: the trick is to get Barca in the semi finals!
Marcelo out for Lyon will be a blow for them.
So what are the chances Barca bottles this one tonight?
Maybe he wants to be the big fish in a smaller pond..
It'd honestly surprise me more than the Ajax/Madrid games.
I don't know how to feel about tonight. We have been good the last few games, but the team for tonight will be different due to suspensions. Not having Kimmich is bad. Müller, who has contributed a lot to our attack in our recent 5-1 and 6-0 demolitions of Gladbach and Wolfsburg, is missing as well. They have VvD back. We need to win. They go through with a scoring draw.
It's a really weird one, because most of us Liverpool fans don't seem to know what to make of it either
Like Klopper said, our away form has been woeful, but really, all we need to do is draw & we do have our talisman defender back. I should be confident, but I'm just not... It's a coin flip.I just hope it's more interesting than the first leg. That was one of the worst games I've ever seen.
Our midfield selection will be interesting. I've found Klopp's approach to his midfield far too conservative in some games this season. He'll go for something like Wijnaldum, Fabinho & Henderson instead of adding a more creative player like Shaqiri. It usually means we're solid but struggle to create unless our front three play well.
Very hard tie to call.
I think Lyon will score, but Barcelona will win and go through.
Salah has said he will sacrifice his CL dreams for the title this season. Getting the excuses in quite early I see.
How do you expect Klopp will approach the game tactically, the traditional gengen press or a more conservative approach i.e soak up the pressure and hit them on the break?
I'm looking forward to the games tonight as both ties are evenly poised.
Barca had 20 good chances in the first leg. They play like that again and they’ll score 3 or 4 as there’s no chance they’re that wasteful again.
Lyon have Fekir back though so I can see them scoring.
Knocking out Barca at Camp Nou without winning the first leg is next to impossible but somehow I can see Lyon giving them serious problems.
Lyon have Fekir back though so I can see them scoring.
Knocking out Barca at Camp Nou without winning the first leg is next to impossible but somehow I can see Lyon giving them serious problems.
Barca have had so many disappointing performances the last few years in the knockout stages that I wouldn't be surprised. They really seem to have a hard time breaking down a good defense and struggle a lot against teams that park the bus.
Come on, Bayern, you Bavarian bastards! Tear the Vermin apart.
I think he'll try to set us up to counter but I'd like to see us put Shaqiri or Lallana in with Wijnaldum & Fabinho to give us a bit more going forward. Salah, Firmino & Mane can easily become isolated in games like this.
Salah needs to pull his finger out. His big game performances have been poor this season.
I'd be shocked if we come out and go at them from the start.
I want and think that Bayern and Lyon could do it. Barca the stronger team on paper, but the away goal rule make it hard for them and I can see nerves for them. Lyon will go for it on the counter and they can do that well against strong teams.
Bayern vs Liverpool is very open. Going on the counter could suit Liverpool, but with Salah in poor form it might not hurt Bayern. I expect a tight game though with not that many goals. Bayern being in better form can hopefully see them win it with a goal.
Bayern vs Liverpool is very open. Going on the counter could suit Liverpool, but with Salah in poor form it might not hurt Bayern. I expect a tight game though with not that many goals. Bayern being in better form can hopefully see them win it with a goal.
This is the pinnacle of European football we are talking about. The top-6 mini league is irrelevant because everyone in there is for all intents and purposes pony. No one in this league can match City for quality. Barca can match City for quality and Juventus are slightly below them but still at a very high level.
It's quite simple, Guardiola's system needs player superiority to function. That is why he goes to the biggest spender in the league and smashes it domestically. Then when he comes up against a team with quality all over the pitch in Europe he folds.
The comments about Newcastle, Leicester and Palace make no sense because they are the exception that proves the rule. Guardiola teams almost never lose against inferior teams, it's by design. His teams starve the opposition of possession, and force forwards to score from a low volume of chances. Teams with quality can do that and have done it regularly.
This is a bit odd. You think there is a significant gulf in quality between City and all the other top sides in England?
That was barely a touch to be fair, never mind a shove. Well that's part of the point, why didn't those morons in the VAR room signal to the ref to take a look at it again? Every guy that I spoke to today about the penalty felt there was nothing in it, and from the replays it looks like the guy tripped himself and was barely touched. Considering the magnitude of the game, there should have been a review. Otherwise what's the point of VAR.
I rewatched it couple of times, and from what we could see, there's minimum contact with the hand, and no contact with the legs. It's easy with today's divers. I might be wrong, but I think he should have reviewed it, if not for anything other than shutting the polemics. It was very strange that the ref didn't review it himself.
People are starting to realize that defensive tactics are never the option especially when both sides are more or less the same quality. If athletico went for it yesterday they would have progressed. Simeone has squandered a great opportunity but I’m sure the media would twist it to seem they were underdogs. Not saying defensive tactics aren’t needed but it’s only for when bottom sides come up against the better sides.
At least 3 of the 6 mini-league will be in the CL quarter-finals, perhaps 4 (I have Liverpool as slight favourites tonight) so I think describing the top 6 as pony is harsh.
But I was disagreeing with the notion that all you need to do is have a go at City and we'll fold. Tactically, I think City would fancy their chances of beating anyone who decides to have a go and play openly against us, except perhaps Liverpool. I think where we struggle more is against teams who set-up in a very structured, disciplined way, who are comfortable with City dominating possession, but are lethal on the break with pace on the wings/up front.
Guardiolas system also helps player to perform a lot better too. He got a systematic way to create chances and not just let the players open teams up. I think it could work well with weaker sides too if you work on defending too and to mix it up. I think Guardiola is not the ideal manager to turn things around as motivation is not his strenght unlike tactics. When things are going well he will further improve a side to make them very hard to stop.