Real Madrid (A) | CL | Post Match Thread

[Mr. Shush]

There both average these days so it doesn't really matter who played.

Kova came on in garbage time. 77th minute. Two subs in this game of Pep's choice. I wonder who he's going to start in the middle against scousers?

 

[Bluearmy]

I will be more depressed if we beat Liverpool and somehow arsenal managed to win the league

I was talking about the CL….

And beat Liverpool LOL

 

[meltonblue]

We looked good against Newcastle as we had a spine for the first time in a long while - Ederson, Stones, Nico, Marmoush and Haaland.

Losing Haaland had the double whammy of not just not having him but having to move Marmoush too. To lose Stones again as well.

I don’t think there’s any team he could have picked that would have beaten Madrid tonight as we just don’t have the quality in the spine when any players are missing.

 

[Pingu the Penguin]

For the reasons I’ve said mate , maybe the club thought Pep was really in two minds. You don’t blow 100’s of millions on new players if you suspect the manager may leave , that’s what United do. He’s commited , and the club is backing him in the transfer market.

Yeah get that but a well run club fighting on multiple fronts isn’t fragile in key positions. We have enjoyed the ride as fans but maybe the club (and us) got complacent

 

[BolinCell]

it does beg the question as to why we have dropped so far. It can't be one man (Rodri), can it? I think its just the game has changed. Teams have gotten more pacey. Counter attack us more effectively. This and our plodding offense. Teams just sit back and say, "oh this again? Nah, we're fit. We can handle 65/35 possession. Meantime, you can't run and we'll counter you to death".

Shopping at Aldi in the transfer market is what's done it. We used to get up teams noses enquiring about there best players now we sign people for 40 million + that i've never heard of.

 

[RayCTID]

One team at our level cannot be this dependant on one player.

Our rivals have their key players fit for longer periods than when we had ours on the pitch for. Take them out and they too would really struggle.

 

[dronefromsector7G]

...it could be worse, we could be Juventus, no shame to go out against Real, but PSV...

And Brest were tanked 10-0 on aggregate.Talk about things going tits up

 

[heslops barnet]

Shopping at Aldi in the transfer market is what's done it. We used to get up teams noses enquiring about there best players now we sign people for 40 million + that i've never heard of.

We’ve signed a few for good money who I’d never heard of who turned out top players…

 

[IrishBlueSince92]

But those two clubs are basket cases. We aren't.
The questions isn't whether we should or shouldn't ditch Pep. The question is does Pep want to be in charge of the rebuild, and how many of the current squad does he believe can help in that venture.

He’s already said a few times that he wants to be part of the rebuild.

Bayern and Barca
Two more big clubs who haven’t recruited well over the last few years in terms of managers.
It’s not easy any more to find good managers

 

[Crooked_rain]

One team at our level cannot be this dependant on one player.

Rodri is a big miss, he's the best in world

But I don't think it's just a case of that. We would get away with missing him a lot more if our team wasn't full of players made of glass and players a couple of years past their best. Then you have young players like Foden who have dropped off drastically.

Put Rodri in this team and we would still have some problems. It still wouldn't change the fact half of our defenders can't stay fit and some others haven't got the legs anymore.

 

[Rory Bluelow]

Yeah get that but a well run club fighting on multiple fronts isn’t fragile in key positions. We have enjoyed the ride as fans but maybe the club (and us) got complacent

We’ve been caught cold this season but are actively trying to fix it.

 

[Scaring Europe to Death]

If Madrid win the tournament then tonight will be a distant memory and won't seem so bad.

However we should never have got ourselves into this situation and we need to learn (fans included) that a football team can go backwards but still win the PL.

That's precisely what happened last season and rather than reinforce or replace we just let things drift to such an extent that we've gone backwards in both the PL and CL.

On the plus side (and despite a worrying first 15 minutes and all the subsequent commentary hysteria) I thought Khusanov grew into the game.
Similarly, whilst not particularly excelling tonight both Gonzales and Marmoush should help us finish the season strongly alongside the improving Gvardiol and Savinho

 

[simon23]

It was a 4-4-2. Marmoush and Savinho were 20 yards ahead of that four line base midfield at times in the first half. It was nonsensical. They were isolated and totally ineffectual as a result.

Throw in two midfielders that are busted in that four, and one that can't be arsed, and we never stood a chance with that selection.

At least go out fighting, get some width on and try to create.

Yes cause they didn't drop as they should....Madrid made the pitch huge and not a single player available tonight either on the pitch or on the bench change that.

Did you notice who mbappe beat with a step over for the third goal...Foden! Where was gundo, nico, silva.....????? Nowhere to be seen..... we don't have the physicality 8n the squad..

Liverpool if they have any sense will do exactly the same thing on weekend.....they are a sligyt step below Madrid but our midfield will get played around or over.

The difference is that Madrid midfield and front 3 are better tgsn Liverpools....but the issued will be similar

We may have Haaland back which gives us a different option but defensively the issues will remain

 

[glauberbertistossedshirt]

And Brest were tanked 10-0 on aggregate.Talk about things going tits up

Sadly, there's a few in our squad that we need to say " thanks for the mammaries" to

 

[RayCTID]

We can't afford to have any emotion about it. We don't change that midfield and we will have a similar season to this even with rodri back

Fingers crossed we will sign KDB's successor in the summer

 

[East Level 2]

At least our record margin of defeat over two legs is still only four goals. There were times tonight when I thought Lincoln City and Liverpool were going to be eclipsed.

 

[Bozzie]

Remember when opposition clubs used to let the grass grow to combat the speed of our passing?

 

[cleavers]

We had a raw kid centre half playing at right back that we were trying to hide against one of the best players in world footy

Yes and he was our best player, after a poor first 10 minutes, the lad has bollocks, and vj moved away from after half time, because he didn't fancy it.

 

[Taylor’s Nod Down]

So you would rather have got beat by more...an interesting approach.....

I’d rather us have set ourselves up to be more competitive. Pep deserves no pelters but tonight felt wrong and in any job in life, people can make mistakes.

I’m not necessarily advocating ‘basketball’. But if it was ‘basketball’, that means end to end. That’s the point of the term applied to other sports. So if it was end to end, then yes. Because tonight was all at one end. So I think that’s logical. If you find it interesting, all the better

 

[BolinCell]

Kova came on in garbage time. 77th minute. Two subs in this game of Pep's choice. I wonder who he's going to start in the middle against scousers?

Kova was unwanted by the worse Chelsea outfit in god knows how long and Barca thought all there birthdays had come at once when we fetched back the dud we sold them. Gundo has been fantastic but when we allowed him to go that should of been it. When you start filling a squad with average players don't be surprised when you get average results. This season its all come home to roost.