DFB-Pokal 2014/15

1:0 Lewandowski assisted by Müller
2:0 Müller assisted by Lewandowski

wait wtf. 2nd goal disqualified a minute later

BMG looking very good atm. They just don't score with their sitters

'a minute' as in, referee gives the goal, there's celebration, players walk to kick off position, then it's disallowed as the ref assistant noticed Alaba might have touched the pass from Lewa to Müller.

2:0 Alaba. Not unsavable.

HT Eintracht Frankfurt 0:1 Borussia M'gladbach

If they had actually scored their 100% chances, it could have been 0:4 by now
BMG must be the most wasteful team in the Bundesliga...

Rode for Lahm, spot on sub, Lahm had an anonymous game and seemed a bit tired.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0:2 Borussia M'gladbach, Ibrahima Traoré

Lasogga with the 1:3. We've been 'aufreizend lässig' the last 20 minutes

Few things to take away;
Firstly, this HSV-team looks a lot better than the tired dinosaur embarrassing itself in the league.
Holtby was working very hard, but I actually find myself (and this is rare!) agreeing with the commentator: Hamburg just look surprised whenever they manage to get the chance to attack, and the wasted attempt by Holtby was exemplary of that.

Secondly, Bayern seem very structured defensively by now, and their work rate is just incredible. Their weak points defensively being Bernat and Dante atm, one of whom is very young, and the other maybe a bit shellshocked from the world cup, or just lacking match practice.

Back to the HSV though; I do like the general structure Holtby brings to the middle of the pitch for them. They should really look into complimenting him more, since he and Lasogga are probably the only real bright spots in that team.

FT - Eintracht Frankfurt 1:2 Borussia M'gladbach

The goal against was needed like a hole in the head

Little addendum: I rather liked Götz, the Hamburg fullback, did quite well against Ribéry.

Viva, Dante has been declining and I think at the moment our top starting CBs will/should be Boateng and Benatia, which is as good as it possibly gets. Looks such a great combination.
And then when Badstuber and Martinez are back we'll be spoilt for riches.

The thing is, our defensive solidity under Pep 'steht und fällt' with workrate and concentration.
If everyone presses hard as they should, opponents can't breathe, lose balls, don't have time to pick passes.
The moment the work rate declines, as when the league was sealed last season, we are vulnerable. It's not really a shocker.

Our defensive record in the 4-1-4-1 last season, which you claim lacked balance, was outstanding as long as everyone played with intensity.
Just as our defensive record this season with these super-vertical 3-4-3/4-3-3/4-4-2 permutations is outstanding as long as we press and close spaces.

It helps of course that Boateng is in absolute top form, unreal player at the moment. Provides security for the whole backline almost all by himself lol. Alaba is in great form too, even if I still hope he can improve his final pass capabilities a bit.

Rode has really impressed me everytime he played.

What I think changed, though, since last season, is what happens when you screw up and actually lose the ball.

Last season, when Bayern lost the ball, I felt like the players just stood their, scratched their arses, and thought to themselves something along the lines of "but papa Pep said this could never happen!" and kind of switched off.

Now, when they screw up (which admittedly happens very rarely) they immediately start pressing again, trying to make up for their mistake, which you saw working really well especially with Bernat and Müller, who recovered insanely quick from their few mistakes, never conceding a proper counter, at least not when it was their fault.

On your CBs, Boateng + Bernatia is awesome, and either Alaba or Lahm with them in a back 3 is nice, though I could also see Badstubar or Martinez joining them.

I still think it sucked you lost Kroos, but Xabi is immense. I would love to see Xabi together with Schweinsteiger, but I doubt Pep would play them both at the same time. But they would so rule the world.

VivaStPauli wrote:What I think changed, though, since last season, is what happens when you screw up and actually lose the ball.

Last season, when Bayern lost the ball, I felt like the players just stood their, scratched their arses, and thought to themselves something along the lines of "but papa Pep said this could never happen!" and kind of switched off.

Now, when they screw up (which admittedly happens very rarely) they immediately start pressing again, trying to make up for their mistake, which you saw working really well especially with Bernat and Müller, who recovered insanely quick from their few mistakes, never conceding a proper counter, at least not when it was their fault.

On your CBs, Boateng + Bernatia is awesome, and either Alaba or Lahm with them in a back 3 is nice, though I could also see Badstubar or Martinez joining them.

I still think it sucked you lost Kroos, but Xabi is immense. I would love to see Xabi together with Schweinsteiger, but I doubt Pep would play them both at the same time. But they would so rule the world.

I still feel that if you're talking about 'last season' you always refer to things we did when we were shit in March/April.
Don't you remember how we played before? We won every game, had record few conceded goals precisely because the players executed the relentless and mercyless pressing.

The game at Hertha I saw in the stadium was the perfect example. First half we went at them like crazy, almost all players in their final third, immediate pressing, 2:0 up, league won.

Then the players stopped at halftime and never recovered fr the remainder of the season lol.

Don't really get how can't acknowledge that this super-immediate pressing and rewinning the ball is Pep par excellence.
If the players don't do it it's not because, but in spite of what he wants, it is because they get lazy/saturated.

About Schweini and Alonso together, let's wait and see.
As for Kroos, you know how much I hated losing him, but now it seems to me that he was indeed a huge element of anything 'horizontal' in our play
It's funny because when we bought Alonso Pep explicitly said that he wants him as he can also provide "quality passing vertically", I felt like it almost was a dig at Kroos, though it wasn't.

I have to tip my hat to Xabi in that regard, the immediacy with which he passes the ball vertically right after receiving it is awe-inspiring, maybe Real forced him to do too much defensive work the last few seasons, but even though I knew he was great, he turned out so bloody awesome, makes me almost forget Schweinsteiger is injured atm, who does much of the same stuff, albeit a bit differently.

a retard signing, though

Yeah I'm happy about him too, obviously. Most of all I'm interested to see what will happen not that Ribery is back.
Götze was really good so far, can't see him going to the bench.

Still feel like Bernat is something of a placeholder, but he is a placeholder who performs probably some interesting tactical functions.
He makes it possible for Alaba to switch between defense and midfield, sometimes even left attacking midfield, because he does the same albeit in a role more restrained to the touchline, and they interchange.

All in all I think our set up is completely changed from last season, which is really intriguing although a bit confusing.

Last season felt a bit like a Pep-enhanced/bent version of the Jupp setup, with higher line, smaller space, more possession, more crowded, shorter passes.

Now I feel we're something different which I've not really seen before (not that that means much )

I still maintain that the Xabi-Kroos swap is retarded, in a purely sporting way, especially because of the age difference, but there were probably important off-the-pitch reasons for Kroos leaving, Bayern really aren't the type to just sell a player like Kroos.

Especially after that season.

Xabi himself works out perfectly as a short-term solution for the Schweinsteiger injury though, I admit that.

Yep. There's the money, where I think our board made mistakes by not signaling early and clearly they value him as much as new pets Götze and Thiago, but I have the feeling there are team chemistry reasons for Kroos leaving as well. And I don't mean the manager, I mean relations between him and the other players.

I have done my share of crying over Kroos, I'll from now on only spin it in the most positive terms for us.
From now on I'll strictly maintain he was too often a passenger when the going gets tough, he was slowing us down, and he was too arrogant for his own sake

The draw for the next round is starting soon!

Xabi has been a truly great signing as much as it pains to say it. He's just ace.

Oh and Bayer xD, Magdeburg deserve some applause for that performance

DFB-Pokal Last 16 - 3./4.March 2015

Bayer Leverkusen - 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Kickers Offenbach - Borussia M'gladbach
Bayern München - Eintracht Braunschweig
VfR Aalen - 1899 Hoffenheim
RB Leipzig - VfL Wolfsburg
Arminia Bielefeld - Werder Bremen
SC Freiburg - 1.FC Köln
Dynamo Dresden - Borussia Dortmund

Jesus, now Yann Sommer is in the GL banner

RWO you're taking it too far .

Hey, he was in the banner ever since it was uploaded here. He was in the last banner, too, although then still in the Basel kit

And don't complain - we have the top 2 Bundesliga goalies in the banner with Manu Neuer and Yann Sommer ^^
(Proof: http://www.goallegacy.net/t36200p360-the-bundesliga-thread#1320571 )