City vs Barca - Post Match Thread

OUCH!!!!

Feeling very sensitive this morning regarding the game last night, my girlfriend will just never understand why and thinks im mental lol. I'll have to get her a copy of Blue Moon on DVD to maybe help explain what we go through with the team lol.

Mixed feelings about the game, feeling very frustrated about the red card and how it undone everything in our game plan, but thats stating the obvious. Because I thought Pellegrini got it spot on with the tactics and how we set up. Playing the extra man in midfield didnt allow for any space for Barca to open us up, we kept things very tight and were well disciplined. Messi was kept quiet, Kolarov and Clichy worked well down the left keeping Alves quiet. I was happy enough to see Barcelona just playing the ball sideways and never finding that defence splitting pass. We were patient and when we got the ball we certainly looked dangerous on the break.

At the end of the day people need a bit of perspective - we were playing BARCELONA - the best team in the world the past decade - and I feel very proud of the players and the effort they gave especially when we went down to 10 men. It really could have been backs against the wall stuff and we would have crumbled and easily been embarrassed. Cast your minds back to the Dortmund game at home and youll see how far we have come. How many teams do you know that can give it a good go with 10 men vs Barcelona? They stood up and fought hard.

I can't get over the disappointed in the red card though, if not for that we would have shaped up well for the 2nd leg at 0-0 perhaps. Regarding Demicheles, i see why Pellegrini plays him. He fits into Pellegrinis mould and style of play. He is a 'footballing centre back' if i can use the phrase, meaning he wants and is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and wants to play the ball out from the defence. Yeah perhaps he losses the ball passing straight to the opposition, but thats his style he attempts. He wants the ball at his feet to play out. Whereas Lescott is an old fashioned out and out defender - good in the air, hustles and bustles, tackes well etc. But he is not a footballer as such. He doesnt want anywhere near the ball, he doesn't want it at his feet to play out from the back, always looks very uncomfortable with it and always seems to be in 2 minds what to do with it. Its for those reasons that Pellegrini opts for Demicheles. For me personally though, he always has too big a mistake in him - and currently outweighs Lescott in this department.

I will always be the optimist though. When we've been down, we've had some incredible comebacks - vs Gillingham, vs QPR! Why not Barcelona away next? If we show the same raw passion, grit and determination who knows - its 11v11. It could all be come down to one man -

SERGIO AGUERO
 
I thought we did great before the sending off. The sending off was our fault because we let the best player in the world out of our sights. Lost concentration and paid for it. Afterwards I was impressed with our determination. All round I was happy with the team but not the scoreline. I think we could shock them if we play our best attacking team in Barcelona. we have a more dangerous attack imo but they can kill you with their use of possession. 2-0 down at half time :-)

I was upset with Demichelis at the time for being so stupid to dive in but I'm a bit more forgiving now. He is what he is. As is Lescott. As is Nastasic. Each fine 99% of the time and prone to rash decisions that cost us. They are human and very good CBs but not true world class CBs. Kompany is human too so can make silly decisions but just less often. We are paying the price for not getting a better CB but obviously it's not as easy as it sounds. Not only do we need someone as technically good as Kompany but we need someone mentally as good and we need someone with the right attitude and social skills etc. Not an easy task but I hope in the summer we figure it out.
 
Well at least it simplifies things for the return leg. Barring any further injuries we should have everybody available (short of Demichelis :( ) with Aguero and Nasri getting some game fitness back. A good win against Stoke and hopefully the first bit of silverware on board before we play them again. We can start with our customary 4-4-2 and go hell for leather and try to rock them early on. An early goal back and we can still pull this off. We'll at least go out with pride after the showing last night.
 
C-Hop25 said:
OUCH!!!!

Feeling very sensitive this morning regarding the game last night, my girlfriend will just never understand why and thinks im mental lol. I'll have to get her a copy of Blue Moon on DVD to maybe help explain what we go through with the team lol.

Mixed feelings about the game, feeling very frustrated about the red card and how it undone everything in our game plan, but thats stating the obvious. Because I thought Pellegrini got it spot on with the tactics and how we set up. Playing the extra man in midfield didnt allow for any space for Barca to open us up, we kept things very tight and were well disciplined. Messi was kept quiet, Kolarov and Clichy worked well down the left keeping Alves quiet. I was happy enough to see Barcelona just playing the ball sideways and never finding that defence splitting pass. We were patient and when we got the ball we certainly looked dangerous on the break.

At the end of the day people need a bit of perspective - we were playing BARCELONA - the best team in the world the past decade - and I feel very proud of the players and the effort they gave especially when we went down to 10 men. It really could have been backs against the wall stuff and we would have crumbled and easily been embarrassed. Cast your minds back to the Dortmund game at home and youll see how far we have come. How many teams do you know that can give it a good go with 10 men vs Barcelona? They stood up and fought hard.

I can't get over the disappointed in the red card though, if not for that we would have shaped up well for the 2nd leg at 0-0 perhaps. Regarding Demicheles, i see why Pellegrini plays him. He fits into Pellegrinis mould and style of play. He is a 'footballing centre back' if i can use the phrase, meaning he wants and is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and wants to play the ball out from the defence. Yeah perhaps he losses the ball passing straight to the opposition, but thats his style he attempts. He wants the ball at his feet to play out. Whereas Lescott is an old fashioned out and out defender - good in the air, hustles and bustles, tackes well etc. But he is not a footballer as such. He doesnt want anywhere near the ball, he doesn't want it at his feet to play out from the back, always looks very uncomfortable with it and always seems to be in 2 minds what to do with it. Its for those reasons that Pellegrini opts for Demicheles. For me personally though, he always has too big a mistake in him - and currently outweighs Lescott in this department.

I will always be the optimist though. When we've been down, we've had some incredible comebacks - vs Gillingham, vs QPR! Why not Barcelona away next? If we show the same raw passion, grit and determination who knows - its 11v11. It could all be come down to one man -

SERGIO AGUERO
Click to expand...


Nice first post bud :)
Welcome to the forum.
 
TonyM said:
I thought we did great before the sending off. The sending off was our fault because we let the best player in the world out of our sights. Lost concentration and paid for it. Afterwards I was impressed with our determination. All round I was happy with the team but not the scoreline. I think we could shock them if we play our best attacking team in Barcelona. we have a more dangerous attack imo but they can kill you with their use of possession. 2-0 down at half time :-)

I was upset with Demichelis at the time for being so stupid to dive in but I'm a bit more forgiving now. He is what he is. As is Lescott. As is Nastasic. Each fine 99% of the time and prone to rash decisions that cost us. They are human and very good CBs but not true world class CBs. Kompany is human too so can make silly decisions but just less often. We are paying the price for not getting a better CB but obviously it's not as easy as it sounds. Not only do we need someone as technically good as Kompany but we need someone mentally as good and we need someone with the right attitude and social skills etc. Not an easy task but I hope in the summer we figure it out.
Click to expand...
It was Kompany switching off that put MDM in that position in the first place. And every centre back in the world would have attempted that tackle under the same circumstances. It's silly, but you can't train that instinct out of them.
 
Firstly on the Messi performance front, I agree with most in that he was poor. He is the one Barca look to in order to inject pace and more direction and create space. But we handled him really well, Kompany knew Messi's game is all about making the opposition players commit to a challenge and then beating them and he didn't have any of it. All Messi really did was play the ball 5 yards here or there. Have to agree that this Barca side, based on last nights performance, are looking a bit dreary compared to how they were. Bayern are miles ahead in terms of their style of play and ability. I have always had the opinion that Messi, should he ever move to the Premiership, would struggle to impose himself in the same way. He would get a lot less protection from referees and I don't think he would be as good. Ronaldo, physically can cope and that is why he is better in my eyes. Messi suits Spanish and International football, he wouldnt be able to cope in a more physical league. What he would do is take a couple of opposition players out of the game and therefore his impact would still be immense.

Back to the game in general, we showed Barca a bit too much respect - clearly a few nerves throughout the squad and we were sloppy to start with. We grew into the game though and were the better side in terms of chance creation, we looked more likely to score. The penalty and sending off was evidence of how quickly things can change at the top level. I wouldn't have given Navas a free kick but then again I wouldn't have allowed Alves 4 professional fouls until showing him a yellow card. I wouldn't have given Messi a free kick when Kompany put his body in front and shouldered him off the ball. So the way the game was going and the decisions the ref had made leading up to that Busquets tackle, it was a free kick based on his other decisions. Following that, Kompany took a step back and allowed Messi space to run into, catching Demichelis off guard. It wasn't a penalty. We showed a lot of spirit and a lot of fight and desire even with 10 men, we grew in confidence and the players went from playing with a few nerves and respecting Barca, to f**k it, lets do what we do best and attack. We deserved a draw in my opinion based on that.

The trouble is when you play Barca, they always win the possession stats and so when they win 2-0 people look at it as comfortable. I would say we were comfortable for the most part in defending their possession and they looked more flustered from our quick interplay. I do not think the game is over, it should have been when we went 1-0 down with 10 men and 30mins left, but it isnt. If we play with the same attitude at the Nou Camp we will score. And if we score first, their crowd will get edgey and we can prosper. In my eyes we are a couple players away from being able to challenge for the Champions League but I think we went about the game the right way. We started slowly but grew into the game and I am proud of the players.
 
TCIB said:
C-Hop25 said:
OUCH!!!!

Feeling very sensitive this morning regarding the game last night, my girlfriend will just never understand why and thinks im mental lol. I'll have to get her a copy of Blue Moon on DVD to maybe help explain what we go through with the team lol.

Mixed feelings about the game, feeling very frustrated about the red card and how it undone everything in our game plan, but thats stating the obvious. Because I thought Pellegrini got it spot on with the tactics and how we set up. Playing the extra man in midfield didnt allow for any space for Barca to open us up, we kept things very tight and were well disciplined. Messi was kept quiet, Kolarov and Clichy worked well down the left keeping Alves quiet. I was happy enough to see Barcelona just playing the ball sideways and never finding that defence splitting pass. We were patient and when we got the ball we certainly looked dangerous on the break.

At the end of the day people need a bit of perspective - we were playing BARCELONA - the best team in the world the past decade - and I feel very proud of the players and the effort they gave especially when we went down to 10 men. It really could have been backs against the wall stuff and we would have crumbled and easily been embarrassed. Cast your minds back to the Dortmund game at home and youll see how far we have come. How many teams do you know that can give it a good go with 10 men vs Barcelona? They stood up and fought hard.

I can't get over the disappointed in the red card though, if not for that we would have shaped up well for the 2nd leg at 0-0 perhaps. Regarding Demicheles, i see why Pellegrini plays him. He fits into Pellegrinis mould and style of play. He is a 'footballing centre back' if i can use the phrase, meaning he wants and is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and wants to play the ball out from the defence. Yeah perhaps he losses the ball passing straight to the opposition, but thats his style he attempts. He wants the ball at his feet to play out. Whereas Lescott is an old fashioned out and out defender - good in the air, hustles and bustles, tackes well etc. But he is not a footballer as such. He doesnt want anywhere near the ball, he doesn't want it at his feet to play out from the back, always looks very uncomfortable with it and always seems to be in 2 minds what to do with it. Its for those reasons that Pellegrini opts for Demicheles. For me personally though, he always has too big a mistake in him - and currently outweighs Lescott in this department.

I will always be the optimist though. When we've been down, we've had some incredible comebacks - vs Gillingham, vs QPR! Why not Barcelona away next? If we show the same raw passion, grit and determination who knows - its 11v11. It could all be come down to one man -

SERGIO AGUERO
Click to expand...


Nice first post bud :)
Welcome to the forum.
Click to expand...

Thanks pal, appreciate it :)
 
Up until the penalty/sending off I thought we were playing a great game. Letting Barca have the possession, leaving us to have a few decent chances on the break. I remember thinking in the first half, and most of the second actually, how Messi was not in the game at all. Kompany did a quality job of marking him. I thought Silva was outstanding, he was everywhere, and he was unlucky with that volley. I honestly think, with Aguero back in the second leg, we could have them at their ground.
 
I dont know why people are over analyzing this game, we were comfortable till demi got sent off and even then we were fine, we edged the better of the chances in the first and created a few in the second and its pritty clear we are getting better and better
 
Never say never.. The tie aint over yet. Gutted we leaked the second goal but so proud of the way we played was proud to be a blue and the fans were great as well.
 
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