Wolfsburg vs Real Madrid

game after game i realise how good modric is compared too kroos. i'd like to see isco-case-modric

Great game by everyone... everyone gave it their all. There are obviously guys playing who aren't 100% but giving it what they had for this game.

There is absolutely no need for criticism after this one for any of the players. Everyone gave it their all.

I agree with that. Saw benz doubling over being subbed out. Ronaldo ran his ass off, and man, some of these guys showed more heart today then I've ever seen. Hats off to zidane on this as well

6th straight semi

And when benz comes back into form, good lord, BBC will be firing on all cylinders. At exactly the right time too.

Ramos header was a goal...where the hell is goal-line technology?

nah it wasn't. Half the ball was still on the line, let alone the while thing making it over. That was the right call.

Unbelievable! Who are we? Real Madrid C.F. or Colchester United F.C.? Have we lowered our standards so much that now we're high-fiving each other for barely beating freaking 8th-placed Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu?

Jesus Christ people! This was supposed to be a stroll in the park. Instead we ended up winning 3-2 on aggregate.

The players and the coach should apologize to the fans for going 2 goals down first, and then for delivering such subpar performances both home and away. And Benzema should personally write an open letter to the fans to beg forgiveness for his pathetic performance tonight.

Freaking Wolfsburg gave us a hard time, and you're throwing confetti at each other. We should be crying blood instead.

If the Fans inside the Bernabeu are jumping like crazy after this win then I'm sure as hell would accept us being overly ecstatic on this victory.

It's not always about how this should've been. This game has drama written all over it.

@The Demon of Carthage wrote:Unbelievable! Who are we? Real Madrid C.F. or Colchester United F.C.? Have we lowered our standards so much that now we're high-fiving each other for barely beating freaking 8th-placed Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu?

Jesus Christ people! This was supposed to be a stroll in the park. Instead we ended up winning 3-2 on aggregate.

The players and the coach should apologize to the fans for going 2 goals down first, and then for delivering such subpar performances both home and away. And Benzema should personally write an open letter to the fans to beg forgiveness for his pathetic performance tonight.

Freaking Wolfsburg gave us a hard time, and you're throwing confetti at each other. We should be crying blood instead.

wtf ? this was a big win in a CL quarter final

some posters want the team to fail cause isco/james are riding the bench

@The Demon of Carthage wrote:Unbelievable! Who are we? Real Madrid C.F. or Colchester United F.C.? Have we lowered our standards so much that now we're high-fiving each other for barely beating freaking 8th-placed Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu?

Jesus Christ people! This was supposed to be a stroll in the park. Instead we ended up winning 3-2 on aggregate.

The players and the coach should apologize to the fans for going 2 goals down first, and then for delivering such subpar performances both home and away. And Benzema should personally write an open letter to the fans to beg forgiveness for his pathetic performance tonight.

Freaking Wolfsburg gave us a hard time, and you're throwing confetti at each other. We should be crying blood instead.

Its more about the come back and showing fight in my opinion. It should have been an 'easy' tie but we made it hard on ourselves. Instead if folding like a bunch of pussies and giving up on the season, we faught to advance. That shows mental toughness mate.

@chad4401 wrote:some posters want the team to fail cause isco/james are riding the bench

Isco and James deserve the bench. Just like Benzema.

DoC, come nah man, behave yourself . We came back from a 2-0 1st leg defeat. Those stat guys at Sky did the percentage of teams that had a 2-0 lead after the 1st leg that went on to the next round in the UCL. It was 84%. 84% of teams that held a 2-0 lead went on to the next round.

While it was Wolfsburg, it was a team that beat us soundly in Germany. Respect the victory and the passion these guys show today, they really earned it. I have no criticism for this one.

it was a big big win. should we have lost in the first leg? no. but it happened, you either rally in the face of adversity or lose out like we usually do. but we played with character, albeit against wolfsburg....overturning a 2 nil lead (and your opponents having added advantage of only needing 1 goal) is still a huge endeavor. the players did well, and cristiano bagged the hattrick nicely...once again, i pray we can hold unto such character. fantastic win. i also have to give props to carvajal

Yes it was a big win.I'm of the opinion that our performance wasn't that good but won because we had Ronaldo on cheat code mode. I think Ronaldo masked glaring issues like flat midfield, unconvincing team shape and lack of ability to put a player on one on one against PTB teams.

Benzema and Bale were crap. I don't like sugarcoating shit performances. The midfield tactics is a mess. When in possession Casemiro moves up and becomes the furthest midfielder, Kroos and Modric forms a double pivot.. Only works against crap team. This set up means we are constantly changing team shape in midfield. We have to do something about it.

btw ramos' header was a goal. look at the initial contact; the goalkeeper's boots, his glove, the ball and the line. it was a difficult call, but it should have counted....

Zidane:​

Zidane: "This is a day to celebrate & to be happy!

Zidane: "We won with personality, application and fight. I am very happy with the players."

Zidane: "Cris is a special player. He makes the difference!"

Zidane: "It was not easy. I'm very proud of what happened. A job well done. Its a special night & a great feeling."

Zidane: "Cristiano shows who he is... He is the BEST player in the world! He is a special player who does it all without rest."

Zidane: "We entered this game with the intensity that showed we came out here to win & that was important."

Zidane: "We showed that we wanted the SFs. We were intense but with a clear head."

Zidane: "My message to the players was that of patience & that we had 90mins to accomplish our task."

Zidane: "Cristiano needs all the team. What we want, what he wants, is to speak of the team, what they have done together."

Zidane: "For any team the fans are cital. They are always with us. I want to thank them for what they did for our players."

Zidane: "Affection from the fans is a HUGE plus. A comeback is an amazing thing. My best night as coach so far."

Zidane: "The celebrations were that of any win. The president came down to the dressing room to congratulate the team."

Zidane: "We now must rest because on Saturday we have La Liga. we only have tonight to celebrate. Then its back to business."

Zidane: "You should not go crazy, as anything can happen in football. I never lost my head as a player, and will never do so as a coach.”

Zidane: "I have to make decisions based on the team. Carvajal played today & I was delighted with him. Everyone is committed."

Zidane: "Rotations are made for the team & we all win together going in the same direction."

Zidane: "I'm happy for now but I know there are more difficult times ahead. I do my job & will never stop learning. I love my job."

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Ramos:​

Ramos: "Cristiano has yet again showed why he is the number 1 in the world. Its been amazing! There is no stadium like ours!"

Ramos: "We left our souls on the field for this victory. We had promised the fans & they deserve it!"

Ramos: "Many people thought the comeback was impossible. Its been a difficult season for me. I can't remember a game without pain."

Ramos: "We rightly deserved the win today & will enjoy going into the SFs. Yes I have played many games with pain."

Ramos: "Cristiano deserved to be the hero of this magical night. He gives everything for this shirt. He's #1!"

Ramos: "It was sensational; 1st minute to last. When the fans get behind us they are like another player."

Ramos: "Cristiano is our icon!"


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Marcelo:​

Marcelo: "It's been a fantastic evening. The fans have been phenomenal. Without them, it would not have been possible!"

Marcelo: "You must always suffer to win. We finished the party virtually dead after giving our all."

Marcelo: "To be honest I don't even remember it all that well. Nobody can doubt Cristiano!"

Marcelo: "The fans helped us alot. They deserve this. They were essential!"

Marcelo: "To be in the SFs is never easy & we new we had to drop dead to finish this game."

Marcelo: "I can tell you that Cristiano is MORE happy to be in the semifinals with the team than SCORING his goals."


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Butragueño:​

Butragueño: "I'm extremely proud of our players & fans! The team earned it."


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Guti​

Guti: "The team came out even stronger after HT."

@titosantill wrote:btw ramos' header was a goal. look at the initial contact; the goalkeeper's boots, his glove, the ball and the line. it was a difficult call, but it should have counted....

I thought so too. From the replay, it was clearly a goal. I bet GLTech would have picked that up.

@adit, yeah we had glaring issues in the middle of the park and 1 v 1. my mind wasn't even there, when we had two quick goals before 20 minutes, all my panic was the defense and how they'll manage crosses. i was expecting a cross to be whipped in from marcelo's wing, pepe slips on the grass, and ramos fouls the last man conceding a pk and getting a red card, and carvajal complaining to the ref. thankfully such scenario didn't happen.....but its very plausible

https://twitter.com/EPLBible/status/719992098146160644

@Adit wrote:I think Ronaldo masked glaring issues like flat midfield, unconvincing team shape and lack of ability to put a player on one on one against PTB teams.

Thank you, at least there's someone who gets it.
Ronaldo single-handedly carried us through. We didn't advance because we looked tactically sound. We advanced because one player stood out.

We're still unable to create chances through open play and we heavily rely on set-pieces and crosses to score. Our midfield is unbalanced and the Rafa-esque line gaps appeared many times throughout the game.

We have many problems that got concealed with the win and with Ronaldo's performance. But they are still there, bubbling under the surface, waiting for the next elite team we face to come to surface.

Re-watch the game now that you're no longer nervous about us getting eliminated. Re-watch it and focus solely on our performance while keeping in mind that our opponent was Wolfsburg.

@chad4401 wrote:some posters want the team to fail cause isco/james are riding the bench

I haven't seen it but can you find a quote from anyone here especially on this thread saying we should lose because certain players aren't starting?

DoC it is the comeback that is celebrated not the win or the win vs Roma wouldve been celebrated as much too which it wasnt. We should never lost in Germany let alone by 2 goals to 0. We had an uphill battle against a team that were happy to play on the counter with that 2-0 and with our defence keeping a clean sheet was huge seeing as Wolfsburg just created 1 clear cut chance. I did not like how some players were walking in the first half but in the 2nd we turned it up and suffocated them

I however agree with the guys that feel the midfield was flat. I think offenwively and defensively Kroos was absolutely useless and there was an instance were he dwelled on the ball with the defenders level with him and they nearly stole it from behind. It was like his brain and body was working in slow motion. Modric wasnt much better. Casemiro though was very good

Carvajal is the absolute best rb in the world. Put any winger on him and he doesnt get fazed and plays with his head always making the right decision when in posession. Just like in pretty much every tough game this season that side creates all our most dangerous chances and thats due to him. I am so glad we have him as our rb

Carvajal

I'm not sure how once we got our first 2 goals it was as if we took a step back and invited Wolfsburg into our own half the gaps and space we were allowing was crazy. Not sure why we tend to have the habit of doing that.