San Siro's Siren Call: 2015-16 UEFA Champions League
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
Wait what? Muller's healthy and not in the lineup? That's madness. Nice save by the Atleti keeper there. Interesting to think about whether Courtois is actually as good as he looked when he was in Madrid, but I honestly haven't watched much Chelsea so I can't say.
Also, with the amount of time wasting that goes on in the modern game, if I'm a manager, I tell my players not to play it out and force the other team to play it out if the injured player isn't faking it.
MARTIN-ez.
I honestly think British commentators make a pointed effort at mispronouncing names that aren't of English language origin.
I honestly think British commentators make a pointed effort at mispronouncing names that aren't of English language origin.
Does Pep realize he subbed Thiago out? Its like he's his assistant coach.
I still can't believe Muller didn't start from the beginning. Pep has overthought this.
I still can't believe Muller didn't start from the beginning. Pep has overthought this.
The NBC Sports guy that says Ulloa correctly with Argentine pronunciation though gets mad props from me.
I think both teams can live with the 1-0. Atletico should be happy, although it could be 2-0, but Bayern also had chances to score. Bayern knew coming in it would be tough to score, they haven´t won in away CL knockout matches in 2+ years and with that result, they have a decent chance to go to the final, although they have to play like the 2nd half from the beginning. Bring in Boateng, Ribery, Müller from the start and you have a chance for two goals against Atletico.
Vidal...And what about Atletico Madrid/FC Diego Simeone?
The match was fantastic, a typical Atletico win. Tough defending, a few good chances, one brilliant individual effort, and a bit of luck. It's just really, really hard for teams to break down Atletico and this match was no exception. I have no expectations for the return leg -- Bayern could win 4-0, or Atletico could score a quick goal to advance 2-2 on aggregate. I know one thing: I'm taking Tuesday afternoon off.
Disgrace is admittedly over the top. He was pretty frustrating to watch with gesticulations and complaints about every bit of contact, including a few dives.
Every team has players who do that to some degree, but Vidal was on the high end today IMO.
I'm not his biggest fan but Clattenburg was solid today
Every team has players who do that to some degree, but Vidal was on the high end today IMO.
I'm not his biggest fan but Clattenburg was solid today
I think it's absolutely inexcusable not to start Muller. Am I missing something here? Aside from Lewando, no one else on Bayern is even close to the threat he is. If Pep did it to control the middle, I think that's vastly overrated, especially on the road where a goal is huge.
I would think that Pep wanted to have more self-creators on the wings in Coman and Costa and was a lot more conservative/defensive in the middle. Obviously, he just loves Alonso and Thiago and Vidal played great in the last weeks and scored a few really important goals. But it´s not as if Müller didn´t score important goals. Costa and Coman were constantly doubled on the wings and it took too long to pass the ball across the field to get a good situation where someone like Costa had someone like Felipe Luis alone and could go into a dribbling.
Alaba as a CB was horrible. He was passive on the goal (although Thiago, Alonso and then Javi Martinez should have stopped Saul) and looked like a totem pole standing still when Torres crossed him to hit the post. Pep said something that he probably won´t play Boateng next week due to him not being in form, which makes sense. I think there will either be Benatia or Kimmich as 2nd CB next to Javi Martinez or just three man back. Could make more sense with a 3-5-2 and Lewandowski and Müller together in front. Pep has to feat the away goal, but he said in the interview the 2nd half showed him a lot of chances, so i think he has to go for it next week with more offense. At least, if Godin isn´t back (i don´t know about that).
Alaba as a CB was horrible. He was passive on the goal (although Thiago, Alonso and then Javi Martinez should have stopped Saul) and looked like a totem pole standing still when Torres crossed him to hit the post. Pep said something that he probably won´t play Boateng next week due to him not being in form, which makes sense. I think there will either be Benatia or Kimmich as 2nd CB next to Javi Martinez or just three man back. Could make more sense with a 3-5-2 and Lewandowski and Müller together in front. Pep has to feat the away goal, but he said in the interview the 2nd half showed him a lot of chances, so i think he has to go for it next week with more offense. At least, if Godin isn´t back (i don´t know about that).
You are joking, right?
I have a lot of respect for Pep and he's a great manager, perhaps the best in the world. I also do think that he's a perfectionist and he wants to get every last bit from his team and he'll tinker as a result. He's a little too smart for his own good and he wants to win with his intelligence. The problem is that he isn't on the field and he's not the one making the small differences. It's the players. You need to get the performances from the players. Tactical variation necessitates a high level of execution.
He left out a big time player in Muller in favor of his tactics. Pep messed up in my eyes. Plain and simple.
And this is not to take away from Atleti's performance (I want the winner of this tie to win it all), but including Muller in the starting line up, at least in my eyes, would have increased the likelihood of a more positive outcome for Bayern.
He left out a big time player in Muller in favor of his tactics. Pep messed up in my eyes. Plain and simple.
And this is not to take away from Atleti's performance (I want the winner of this tie to win it all), but including Muller in the starting line up, at least in my eyes, would have increased the likelihood of a more positive outcome for Bayern.
Pep heard you guys: Muller starts.
He goes with Neuer, Lahm, Martinez, Boateng, Alaba, Xabi Alonso, Vidal, Costa, Muller, Ribert, and Lewandowski.
Let's hope Godin and company are ready.
He goes with Neuer, Lahm, Martinez, Boateng, Alaba, Xabi Alonso, Vidal, Costa, Muller, Ribert, and Lewandowski.
Let's hope Godin and company are ready.
There's something to be said for weathering the storm early and growing into the match once Bayern's energy (and your own nerves) subsides. The problem is that you actually have to do it, flipping that switch and becoming more assertive can be difficult once you've been under siege for a while. I think it has to happen pretty soon...
Bayern can shoot from distance and cross the ball if need be, they won't try to pass the ball into the net if Atleti has 2 lines of 4 firmly placed in front of their area, which was Barça's undoing. At this point it's hard to fathom Bayern not scoring in this game, but I've had this feeling with Simeone before and it has worked out in his favor in the past.
I hope you're right. And thanks for a somewhat uplifting point of view.
Hmmm...If Atleti can get to halftime at 1-0 I still like their chances. But that's going to be tough.
The one decision I didn't like: Gimenez. He's too emotional. Savic is cooler. Bad choice in hindsight.
Atlético have to offer at least SOME threat on the counter. Bayern are pushing forward with no worries. Merely trying to survive isn't good enough against top sides.
Incidentally, I feel like I'm seeing that strategy more and more often on close free kicks - put your guys right in the middle of the wall, have them move unpredictably right before the ball is struck, and have the free kick taker just drill it low and extremely hard right into that space. Arsenal has done something similar a couple times in the last few weeks.
Ribery holds him back. lol. What an image of the smug Guardiola taunting insane Simeone with Ribery in the middle.
It's incredible that Atletico escaped that half only allowing one goal, which was a rather unfortunate goal to give up. A poor line-up choice (Gimenez over Savic) is a problem, but a bigger problem is that it seems Simeone forget to play football.
Xavi, the Barca star, had an interview the other day saying that he thinks top teams should play good football, more or less both complimenting Atletico for being a top team and criticizing the way they play. In these sorts of matches, I agree. The team has talent to play with the ball: Saul, Koke, Juanfran, Filipe Luis, Griezmann, and Torres (yes, I included him) are not just defensive cogs. They can play. Let them play once in a while rather than defend to the end.
Xavi, the Barca star, had an interview the other day saying that he thinks top teams should play good football, more or less both complimenting Atletico for being a top team and criticizing the way they play. In these sorts of matches, I agree. The team has talent to play with the ball: Saul, Koke, Juanfran, Filipe Luis, Griezmann, and Torres (yes, I included him) are not just defensive cogs. They can play. Let them play once in a while rather than defend to the end.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think Atleti will play a higher line in the second half and try to possess the ball and push more players forward. I think Simeone wanted to avoid conceding two early and then having to chase the game. Everything seems ripe for them to now be a bit more assertive, try to steal a goal somewhere in the next 20-25 minutes, and then defend like hell again.
Bayern looking very threatening now, although their build up is taking a lot of time and passing each attempt.