La Liga 2020/21

carvajal

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I only saw a quick highlight reel, but how the hell did the Real goal count? The linesman raised the offsite flag (he was wrong to do so) which made some Villarreal players stop playing.
From what I've read (Marca´s referee), it's a legal goal. He rushed with the flag, but if the Villarreal players stop playing is their mistake
 

giorno

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Really? Don’t mean to be rude, but how on earth did you come up with that logic ???
Every team's going through patches where they barely have anyone fit. It's going to get worse
 

Morty_

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Messi`s finishing isnt what it once was.
Other than that, Pique`s haircut is...interesting.
 

giorno

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I only saw a quick highlight reel, but how the hell did the Real goal count? The linesman raised the offsite flag (he was wrong to do so) which made some Villarreal players stop playing.
Ref correctly didn't whistle. You play to the whistle. It's their own fault for stopping
 

RobinLFC

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If Carrasco meant that that’s world class, but I doubt he did.
 

RobinLFC

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Put that anywhere else but on Oblak and it’s an equalizer.
 

JuliaScalaR

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Going by the replay they showed, it has to be his knee.
To be honest, I'm a bit surprised the replay was shown at all. It gives me the shivers seeing a knee bent like that :(
 

FootballHQ

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Barca down to 10th place
Already dropped 13 points, can't see them getting much above 70 so who knows where they'll finish with that total which will be their lowest since early 2000s when they were struggling to make top 4.
 

Acrobat7

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Ref correctly didn't whistle. You play to the whistle. It's their own fault for stopping
Interesting, thank you. I think it is quite natural to stop when you see the flag going up. But it is obvi the player’s fault if the rules state otherwise
 

Lay

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How many more games will Koeman last?

Atletico need to go on and win the league now.
 

Ishdalar

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How many more games will Koeman last?

Atletico need to go on and win the league now.
The team is losing games but it's competing, we can't realistically afford a better manager right now since parting ways with Koeman would mean paying him, and can't think about anyone better that would like to come here the way things are currently plus an election in a couple months with candidates bringing their own managers.

Unless there's a huge meltdown and we're 10 points clear off UCL spots in January, Koeman should see this season through.
 

el3mel

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Barcelona has really become a very toxic club. Everything around the club at the moment oozes toxicity.
 

GatoLoco

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Honestly the team that survives the season better wins it. Quality doesn't matter all that much this season
That seems similar to Nacho's thoughts today:

"It's an unusual season, it's come off the back of the last one with almost no break and the team who manages that the best will be the one that wins La Liga."
 

GlasgowCeltic

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Is there any change in Atletico's football this season? I'd wondered if there may be any introspection from Simeone after the RBL defeat
 

Camara

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It's not Koeman's fault, he might not be fit for Barcelona but from the moment all the drama in the end of the last season started and continued to this season everyone knew Barcelona would be in shambles.
 

Mb194dc

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Is there any change in Atletico's football this season? I'd wondered if there may be any introspection from Simeone after the RBL defeat
Joao Felix actually looks like a player this season and it's helping Atletico look far more coherent going forward. Carrasco is looking useful too. They've changed a lot of players since the last title win and maybe just gelling again.

Very interesting title race this season with Real Madrid and Barcelona both having big problems.
 

FootballHQ

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La Real and Villareal will be serious players for top 4 given their results and squad depth imo. Sevilla been average so far but could come good in second half of season like last year.

With state Barca are in I don't think it's clear cut they finish in top 4 at all from from what I've seen.

That would finish Messi off as he ain't staying to play europa or whatever it's going to be called next season.
 

Pretzels81

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At this rate Koeman will be sacked in Jan-Feb and the interim will have to finish Top4 as the sole objective left.
 

Pep's Suit

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La Real and Villareal will be serious players for top 4 given their results and squad depth imo. Sevilla been average so far but could come good in second half of season like last year.

With state Barca are in I don't think it's clear cut they finish in top 4 at all from from what I've seen.

That would finish Messi off as he ain't staying to play europa or whatever it's going to be called next season.
Yeah. He'll join City to play in Europa for them instead. :keano:
 

Inter Yer Nan

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Is there any change in Atletico's football this season? I'd wondered if there may be any introspection from Simeone after the RBL defeat
Yes. While the unbeaten league streak goes back a long way, you can tell these last 5-6 games things are clicking more on the attacking front.

Joao Felix is a magician and it’s coming together for him and he’s opening things up. Suarez gives them that consistent goalscorer they’ve missed, and Carrasco has been a smart addition to the squad again. Correa has improved too and you’ve got the transformation of Llorente which has opened up a lot for them. He’s lightening quick, gets stuck in, is everywhere and very creative. Absolutely quality player and bit of management from Simeone to transform his game.

Saul is a bit below form and has been for some time but he’ll get it back. They still remain as solid as ever defensively but there’s more cutting edge to them and more adventure in their game.
 

FootballHQ

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They've also had a fantastic transfer campaign over last two years. Young squad that needs experience in a few areas, sign Nacho Monreal and David Silva who've won loads of trophies between them.

Isak and Merino have been fantastic pick ups aswell, two of best players under 25 in their positions in europe imo. Then good squad players like Portu and Januzaj who they can rotate into front 3.

Really well balanced squad between youth and experience. They were going to make top 4 before covid hit last year so been playing at a good level for 18 months.
 

Sean_RedDevil

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They've also had a fantastic transfer campaign over last two years. Young squad that needs experience in a few areas, sign Nacho Monreal and David Silva who've won loads of trophies between them.

Isak and Merino have been fantastic pick ups aswell, two of best players under 25 in their positions in europe imo. Then good squad players like Portu and Januzaj who they can rotate into front 3.

Really well balanced squad between youth and experience. They were going to make top 4 before covid hit last year so been playing at a good level for 18 months.
And they are still in the 2019-2020 cup final :)
 

appleman

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Is there any change in Atletico's football this season? I'd wondered if there may be any introspection from Simeone after the RBL defeat
Yeah very much so, I think on average they're topping Barça and Real's possession this season as well (although after a game vs Barcelona that could always have turned around though).
Pretty much every season Simeone tries to play more offensively in the beginning, which sometimes starts out well, but then they need it magic is gone after 1-2 games, a defensive approach works once and then he sticks to the safer choice again.

But this time it seems to work much longer than just the beginning, with just a few missteps. Joao is carrying the team up front and Correa is actually composed. Suarez adds some movement/positioning that makes the team tick in ways that didn't happen before. Koke is much more of a solid playmaker now than a great work horse with an excellent pass, but mostly when given the time to prepare it. I feel like he's also much more confident defensively, which makes the Thomas loss much more bearable.
I kinda feel that this new type of play shows Saúl's limitations a bit more, who seemed to shine more like Griezmann did, by having to focus (offensively) on the more spare moments to perform and surprise the opponents instead of trying dominate more consistently. (With Savic it actually feels the other way around, and I trust him more than in all his previous seasons). Llorente surprisingly becoming a great offensive midfielder/supporting striker in the second half of last season was a very pleasant surprise too, especially since he was bought to replace Rodri haha.

You do notice that when Koke or Joao is missing that the team lacks a lot in the moving forward and dominating, though. And having Gimenez back in the back is so much more comfortable too! Hope he stays fit more consistently this season.

The only player I wouldn't build on right now is Herrera, but he is useful enough until Kondogbia and Torreira are comfortable enough to carry more responsibilities.
 
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appleman

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Yeah. He'll join City to play in Europa for them instead. :keano:
Opening up that salary budget of his will feel like entering group stage of CL for Barca though, so at least there's that :lol:
 

Raredaredevil

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This is so Atletico. They have a genuine shot of winning La Lisa this season if they can keep up with this consistency. Would be amazing for Simone and the team.
 

FootballHQ

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Huge goal for Atleti away at Valencia, 10 minutes to go
Yep that's the type of results league winners just do.

Looking at team and seems they were playing Lemar as false 9 with Correa so Atletico missing all their strikers aswell.
 

Peyroteo

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Yep that's the type of results league winners just do.

Looking at team and seems they were playing Lemar as false 9 with Correa so Atletico missing all their strikers aswell.
They badly missed a striker today, played well but it feels like with Suarez up front this would have been a lot smoother as they weren't incisive enough in attack.

Still, 3 more points. 1-0 win at home against Barca and 1-0 away to Valencia back to back is great stuff. Only 2 goals conceded so far too after 9 games.
 

Lay

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Good win. Hope they can keep going. They're not doing that well in the CL though.