Yeah but his results are remarkable considering the quality of the squad, even if they were a bit lucky (no idea if that is actually the case).
Barcelona's expected stats are comparable to Real's, but they conceded far less goals. 50% because of Ter Stegen (who is 8 goals or so above xG in his stops) and 50% luck because the oppenent missed.
Take off your incredible bias against Barca. Instead of forcing possession and getting massacred they bunkered down after being up 1-0. Not sure why you are crying so much about it, oh the horror of defending a 1-0 lead. They clearly DID want to defend the lead and played far more conservative. I give xavi credit for not thing to force a play style that was never going to work in this match. The hill you are trying to die on is a weird one. Barca played like Atletico when playing like Barca on this day was never going to work. The team is FAR worse without pedri so this was the right call by xavi after going up a goal. They found out very quickly possession wasn’t going to work so they tried something else and defended beautifully. Not sure why you are having such a hard time understanding this. We get it, you hate Barca and can’t see anything else. Xavi did well enough for the wi and deserves credit for willing to bunker down instead of trying for suicide tactics with a depleted squad. The midfield wasn’t working so he opted to be a lot more defensive AFTER going up a goal. That’s all there is to it. Have zero problem with how he manages the match.
I don't particularly hate Barcelona but I'm very annoyed by the cult like behaviour of a lot of their fans. Good for you if you think it was Xavi's instructions to get pinned down in your box for pretty much an hour.
Most of the comments made about Barcelona not competing for la liga were made before the transfer window. Real Madrid not fixing several gaps in their team and Barcelona getting useful players obviously reshuffled the deck, especially when you see how bad the other teams are.
We weren't pinned down by choice, we sat back and absorbed pressure and parked the bus. And it worked. Was it ideal? No. Does Xavi have flaws? Plenty, including reacting way too slow to things during a match. But he got it absolutely right in this match. Everyone else who saw the match is telling you how wrong you, Barca PURPOSELY went more defensive after going up a goal but you are too blind to see it.
Xavi 2 days ago :
He is one of the biggest cry babies in the sport. Always blaming things such as grass length when things don’t go his way. Pathetic little man.
What’s he whining about? His player didn’t have to throw a ridiculous elbow and get himself sent off. The incident at the end wasn’t a pen either.
His club is a shame for being stingy to players and using their history to "pay" the players and people do not want to consume it.
I'm not sure. It's more like they paid the head of the refs for 17 years and the federation is now a bit embarrassed byt the whole affair and has to prove a point by giving actual neutral refereeing.
He's been like that as a player too. Cringe monster.
Agree. It's just as a manager he gets a lot more microphone time.
Maybe he could ask his players to not throw themselves on the floor every single time there’s any contact. Watched some of the game and it was awful, so much play acting from both sides. Unreal he’s blaming the ref for what he coaches his players to do and them carrying out those instructions on the pitch.
That's what makes me laugh when they (and to a lesser extent Bayern) complain about the Premier League's financial advantage. It has it because the revenue is more evenly distributed and is better entertainment. Their greed is hurting their own league and they want the rules changed (super league) to save them from the consequences because they think they're entitled to win.
Just going to say this....
The quality of La Liga from the mid 90s up to the mid 00s was insane. In 11 years, from 93/94 until 2003-04, only three times Barcelona and Real Madrid finished in the top two. The title was being decided between 75-85 points. It was extremely difficult to win the title. Valencia and La Coruna won titles and did well in Europe. Teams like Atletico and Real Sociedad would spice up the title race. Even in the decade before that, during which the two big clubs monopolized the league, it was nothing like this. Pre-Bosman era and before the TV money changed the sport forever, when you actually had to live with your bad decisions instead of buying every player under the sun. The Madrid side that won 5 in a row was probably the most fun football team of the modern era. They won two UEFA Cups by making a habit of coming back from three or four goal deficits. Barcelona won 4 on the trot by embracing Cruyff's philosophy. Again, only half of the time they both finished in the top two. What do they have now? Simeone trying to go against the grain?
Shouldn't Pep's replacement be Lego Pep and not the Spanish Lego Pep?
Klopp is 100 times worse when it comes to being a whiny baby
Not a barca fan, which makes me more objective actually(also better because i'm not some delusional crazy person unfit for society)
Whatever his strengths, he's still too much of a whining brat. He has to stop blaming the pitch, the sun, the cold, the rain, the calendar, and whatever else might happen that day for his teams performance. Doesn't seem like a man who's going to inspire his men to great things with his public attitude.
Love the objective opinion.
Pedri has played 8 league games, Gavi has a torn ACL and de Jong has played 10 league games.
So what are the problems with the squad?
The main issue with their squad is the attack. Lewandowski, Torres, Raphinha, Joao Felix. Lewandowski is the only world-class, "productive" player in that attacking lineup, and he's getting old.
The midfield is very good — only when they’re all fully fit. Attack is blunt, and the defence is decent.
This sounds awfully similar to the problems Chelsea have, except we don’t have Lewandowski, who even in his old age is more prolific than any striker we’ve had the last 5 years.
Lewandowski is underperforming in regards to expected goals (I know, I know...) to quite a big extend: xG 12, goals 8.
)It isn't a good sign that after all that "restructuring" and "financial levers", their best players are an academy player, another really young midfielder and one that was already there. I still think that restructuring was pointless and will cost them long term.
