Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona discussion

McAgger wrote:Meh overrated game

Gonna be watching the Belgian second division derby White Star Woluwe vs FC Tubize at that time if anyone needs me.

Like I said

White Star and Tubize was probably one of the matches of the season. 2 very comprehensive goals from Tubize to win it in the second half. You guys missed out big time

Fantastic game that provided a tactical feast from both ends. Simeone and Tata provided quite a pragmatic set-up yet the attention to detail and reactions were magnificent. Barcelona were the superior team yet it does not take away from a very comprehensive tangent from Atletico.

Wish there were more games such as this. Enjoyed every moment of it. Tactically brilliant.

Very good match during the part that I watched

Obviously lots of people think bad defending = great football, and are scared of low scoring games. Stick to basketball please

Lex wrote:The one non El Clasico game in Meh Liga that I will watch

  

Never again

Lex wrote:

Lex wrote:The one non El Clasico game in Meh Liga that I will watch

  

Never again

had the exact same feeling before the match I am not sure about the exact stats but I think there were very less chances created from both the sides so it felt boring to watch.
Although on a tactical level, the same can be appreciated

DuringTheWar wrote:Very good match during the part that I watched

Obviously lots of people think bad defending = great football, and are scared of low scoring games. Stick to basketball please

The funny thing is, that before when the Barca - Atletico games used to open(5-4,4-3,4-3 were very normal results for this game) people used to complain about the defending. Now that the defending is brilliant, they complain about the low scoring.

I guess that you can never satisfy some people..

Predictable game plans for both teams.

Atlético playing similarly to how they played in Supercopa. A very effective hybrid between high pressure and park the bus that works well against teams that build up slowly. Pressure on set pieces so Barcelona can't start from the back, and quickly retreat at their own half if pressing fails, at times defending with 11 men and showing fantastic work rate. Once in their own half though, they regenerate energy by keeping the middle of the park clogged up. They didn't actually sweat much once they switched to defending deep.

Both coaches playing with plenty of caution and not risking much. The players were told not to make ambitious attacking moves and put defence in higher priority to attacking. I don't remember any memorable overlapping run from either fullbacks, despite the space being there (and plenty of it). Martino had encouraged his wingers and fullbacks to cross whenever given the chance, adding a degree of unpredictability to their attack. Despite his attackers' lack of height, they did create a few chances from such plays.

Diego Costa: You can see why Diego Costa is drawing comparisons to Suárez. Apart from their physical work and the intensity they display, they both have underrated close control and great feet to get past defenders and create danger from wide positions. Not to mention both show signs of thuggery quite consistently

Xavi: When it comes to big games, Xavi is really past it. The guy takes forever to make a pass and when he does he makes the safest decision. Along with Busquets, the Barça vice-captain has been their most inept player in attack for a good few years now - against teams that defend compact such as PTB teams.

Alves: Woeful performance from the Brazilian fullback. Clearly not fit, made a handful of defensive errors while contributed almost nothing in attack. Last but not least, if you want to see Messidependencia, Alves would be the guy to watch. The guy is constantly looking for Messi in the pitch and almost ignoring the other players who may be in a much better position than the Argentine.

Neymar: Of course it will be knee-jerk to criticise Neymar after an illness/heartbreak. But it seems to me that Messi's shadow is too conquering for the Brazilian to let the him play freely with his instincts. A couple of times he got into a good position had the chance to take on his marker and cause some havoc but scarily made a poor and overly ambitious pass to Messi. Not good enough.

Men of the Match for me are Arda Turan and Mascherano. The Argentine for his much needed aggressiveness in a match like this, and Turk for his superb link up plays, composure and technique.

Football went into a coma tonight

Vagi

danyjr wrote: Arda Turan

A gleam of colour in a smorgasbord of bleak grey tonight

Lex wrote:

danyjr wrote: Arda Turan

A gleam of colour in a smorgasbord of bleak grey tonight

That sentence had 3 words that I didn't know the meaning of

However, I concur.

People who are calling this game boring

Pique was on point

That much maligned Chelsea v Arsenal game had alot more chances than this one yet apparently that was the worst game ever seen.

Nobody is talking about that game in this thread. Nobody cares who thinks what game was more exciting or boring, its an opinion and up to the viewers taste

windkick wrote:its an opinion and up to the viewers taste

I could believe that if that opinion didn't change every so often to suit the viewer's agenda

This is the best some poor soul could muster up of this game today

Gil wrote:That much maligned Chelsea v Arsenal game had alot more chances than this one yet apparently that was the worst game ever seen.

Hell the Chelsea and Man Utd game everyone said was boring ( which it was btw) was practically identical to this one but no this is tactically awesome

So much bollocks in this thread lmao.

As if people prefer teams cancelling each other out to goals and excitement.   

Preach my main man Moal

Forza wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Presumably if we draw this match and Madrid win their game the Top 3 would be within 3 points of each other.

I was just thinking that. This has draw written all over it. Madrid to capitalise.

Called it.

Conservative display from both teams. it looked as if they were happy with 0-0.

Comparing Chelsea-United to this game

Chelsea-United was merely a game where both teams were just to scared of conceding a goal to actually create anything outside the tepid and dreary stalemate that was that game. Tactically it was uninspiring as all Wenger-Mourinho face-offs were and simply a waste of time.

In other words, a typical PL big game.

Any manager worth his salt would pick up a lot to work on seeing yesterday's match.

Can we return Diego Costa and take Felipe instead?

Anyway, the most exciting thing in this game was definitely Simeone losing his mind on the touchline. This guy coaches his team every defensive possession, never seen anyone else do something like that. To be honest, I don't think anyone else can, it must require a great great deal of energy.

Watching the PL games you refer to, for me at least, is like watching cartoons. You wake up on Saturday, turn on the TV, and for about an hour and a half, you take in Tom and Jerry or Wile Coyote going at it like a couple clueless maniacs. It's fast, loud, exciting, even intriguing at times, but there's that subtle feeling in the back of your mind that what you're witnessing was really intended for infants.

Then, later in the day, you progress to La Liga, and you realize football is much much more than an bunch of guys running haphazardly around an excessively huge field.

It was a boring game overall due to a lack of goals, chances and excitement. However tactically it was a good game with both sides cancelling each other out. I think the pattern was clear before this match started. Barcelona with the majority of possession, Atletico defending well, blocking the middle as usual and limiting Barca's chances.

Atletico's lack of top individualistic attackers meant they couldn't really create too much to threaten Barca.

Arquitescu wrote:Comparing Chelsea-United to this game

Chelsea-United was merely a game where both teams were just to scared of conceding a goal to actually create anything outside the tepid and dreary stalemate that was that game. Tactically it was uninspiring as all Wenger-Mourinho face-offs were and simply a waste of time.

In other words, a typical PL big game.

Any manager worth his salt would pick up a lot to work on seeing yesterday's match.

And this wasn't?

No one took any risks at all because they were scared shitless of conceding.

There was no difference, the only difference being one happened in PL where everyone hates because of the success it has and have a huge chip on their shoulders regarding that success.

The other happened in La Liga which has an almost hipster like value in its supposed tactical, technical ( how many times was the ball turnedover btw lmao?) and so called entertainment value.

I would actually accept your opinion if like Lex says your stance wasn't constantly changing to suit your argument.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

Arquitescu wrote:Comparing Chelsea-United to this game

Chelsea-United was merely a game where both teams were just to scared of conceding a goal to actually create anything outside the tepid and dreary stalemate that was that game. Tactically it was uninspiring as all Wenger-Mourinho face-offs were and simply a waste of time.

In other words, a typical PL big game.

Any manager worth his salt would pick up a lot to work on seeing yesterday's match.

And this wasn't?

No one took any risks at all because they were scared shitless of conceding.

There was no difference, the only difference being one happened in PL where everyone hates because of the success it has and have a huge chip on their shoulders regarding that success.

The other happened in La Liga which has an almost hipster like value in its supposed tactical, technical ( how many times was the ball turnedover btw lmao?) and so called entertainment value.

I would actually accept your opinion if like Lex says your stance wasn't constantly changing to suit your argument.

Again, your new thesis in PL hate due to its success cannot be applied into this argument, considering Chelsea-Arsenal truly was a muted and lackluster game. In typical Wenger-Mourinho face-offs it was a mere stalemate akin to the Schlieffen plan where one simply runs away from another; no mettle or resolution on the way anyone played.

Difference here is that half of this forum have found this match entertaining while I'd reward you in finding one who actually remembered anything from that fraudulent football match.

We celebrate this match because it was everything outside the overhyped Classico, it was not rinse-repeat tactics, it was not drama, there were tactical reactions to how each other played, both managers had conviction in their actual plan and technically it was a match to be cherished, not to mention the atmosphere.

Don't see how they Barcelona were scared of conceding considering their high-line while Atletico pressed fantastically, another facet missing in the grey and monotonous Chelsea-Arsenal match.

Frankly I don't even know why I am comparing them as the games were considerably apart in their quality of football.

It has nothing to due with this petulant league vs league dross, yet simply appreciating the match that was on display yesterday.

It was not the worst game ever but neither was the game fantastic. It had it's moments but both teams looked far too scared to concede. In the second half especially, there were hardly any good chances for either sides.