Oct 25, 2020

That save on the goal line was just

 

Oct 25, 2020

So a couple of thoughts of yesterday 8/24:

- El Clásico ended up being a great spectacle with more than just pride being on the line. If there is one thing I've learned about this Real Madrid team, one that infuriates me in fact, is the lack of motivation they have going against 'minnows', in turn to fixtures like this then all of a sudden they are playing Galactico football. Koeman made a brave decision to start 3 teenagers with Fati continuing his ruthlessness in front of goal and fellow countryman Serginio Dest having a great showing, it's the vets who let this team down. Busquets failed to track Valverde's run on the first goal, Pique failed to provide leadership in the back and Messi had a few glimpses but felt disconnected to the team. Part of that disconnect lies within Koeman's emphasis on having equal ball distribution along the whole team + more of him being positioned along the final third rather than being the playmaking focal point, in the long term it's fruitful for the team since they need to transition away from Leo dominating the ball as his days look numbered at the club, only his Stans will be the ones complaining. As for Real, Zizou read the game perfectly and made his adjustments whenever the tempo demanded, I'm still laughing at Koeman putting in 6 forwards and completely unbalancing his team, the scoreline would have been uglier had Neto not made those saves in the end. Great game, Zidane is the man, f--- you FC Barcelona.

- I also excited for United-Chelsea that followed afterwards...until I saw the game. I think this had one of the lowest expected goal rates I've ever seen from any stat database lmaooo. But why did we have such a dampening game (no pun intended) you ask? Well, I think Ole woke up that morning and thought "Gee, we actually got an amazing result against Paris by playing conservatively...let's turn it up a notch!" and therefore we got a fairly restrictive line-up and a highlighted emphasis on man-oriented marking to put the clamps on Chelsea's forwards (in the same vein Maguire put I forgot who in a chokehold lol). Granted, United had no choice considering the injuries that amounted and the slow reintegration of Mason Greenwood as he's evidently still trying to make up for off-field issues. Rashford will someday be a one man offense like Son/Memphis/Sterling, he just needs to work on his decision making on when to s---t and when to facilitate a teammate. Chelsea on the other hand, need to still be patient as their new offense develops chemistry and with the return of Ziyech they will need to work on which piece of the puzzle will work best as their most optimal starting frontline. In this game for example, Chelsea was crying for another destabilizing central presence that could float between the lines and force United to pull out a defender/midfield pivot to prevent the ball getting to a dangerous position--someone like Ziyech if healthy or Havertz could have done that role (sadly he was stationed out wide again). Might still be echoing this all season, but both teams are still works in progress and are no where near where they should be, but it makes watching their journeys feel the worthwhile. Last note, Daniel James f---ing sucks.

- Elsewhere, Dortmund and Bayern scored a bunch of goals, Atalanta lost to Sampdoria's ancient frontline, Inter beat one of Serie A's worst teams, I heard Liverpool earned another crucial win and Ajax put a staggering 13 goals past a hapless team. Crazy that Frankie de Jong left that team to play with plumbers like Messi wow

 

Oct 25, 2020

I mean..... I've definetly seen calls given for less.

 

Oct 25, 2020

I sometimes don't understand how VAR works, I mean I can't imagine 4-5 people in the booth looking at this than looking at one another and say "Yup def not a penalty move on"

 

Oct 27, 2020

Marseille players did not take a knee in their Champions League clash with Manchester City on Tuesday evening - but they stood and watched the Premier League side do so.

LE : Marseille players choose to stand for 1min silence to remember Samuel Paty...a teacher who was beheaded by terrorists last week in France.

 

Oct 28, 2020

Great challenge LOL

 

Oct 29, 2020

Jota solid Portuguese striker/winger recently signed by Liverpool...looking good

 

Oct 29, 2020

Wow Ole schooling hipster managers

 

Oct 29, 2020

I talked about him here like 5 years ago when he was in Paços Ferreira.

 

Oct 29, 2020

My Braga won and Gaitan did this in his first game

 

Oct 29, 2020

lol how does he look like a hipster, can't figure it out?

 

Oct 29, 2020

I mean their styles of play. But yea he kinda does in that flashy suit lol.

 

Oct 29, 2020

Well they just had a bad day.

Nagelsmann actually is 33y old and at the age of only 28 he became the youngest manager ever in Bundesliga history when he signed with Hoffenheim. When he came in they were fighting to escape relagation and he managed to keep them in the 1st division.

The next year he finished 3th in Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and got them in a European Competition for the first time in their 119 years of history and just one year later he finished 4th qualifying for the Champions League groups also for the first time ever.

A few months ago he reached the ucl semifinals after eliminating Tottenham and Atletico Madrid along the way with Leipzig.

Me personally I never seen a coach this young with the results he has.

 

Nov 7, 2020

Bamford having his goal overturned was BS wtf

 

Nov 7, 2020

 

Nov 7, 2020

 

Nov 7, 2020

 

Nov 8, 2020

 

Nov 8, 2020

Chelsea ran into some good form going into the international break. Jesus Christ @Michael Myers why didnt you warn us how amazing Hakim Ziyech is. What a gun

God I hate the international break but thats no unpopular season it's so dumb but at least it helps Chelsea by not rushing Pulisic and Havertz coming back fron quarantine.

 

Nov 8, 2020

Like I did before with Diogo Jota and Trincão ( I think) i'm gonna drop here the name of the next Portuguese big thing. Pedro Gonçalves aka Pote.

He's was formed in Braga and now plays for Sporting, he's already breaking Bruno Fernandes numbers, 7 goals in 4 games and he's a midfielder. Great player.