My bad, right you are, probably Ribéry or Davies in his place on RW. Nonetheless, not the easiest assignment for Robertson
Are we sure we trust US Soccer’s interpretation of anything?I was annoyed about the PSG handball call and went about trying to understand the rule and whether it was interpreted correctly. While I initially thought it was unfair, after further consideration I think the call was correct.
I recommend watching this video of a referee training session:
My key takeaway is that a defender who is out of position and elects to slide, jump, or otherwise make an additional effort (beyond staying/getting in front but remaining standing) to block a strike by an attacker is taking a risk and making themselves bigger to prevent an opportunity. The spirit of the game is to encourage attacking football and even as a defender this makes sense to me. Defenders should get credit for being brave and getting in front of shots and crosses, but that should not entitle them to a greater advantage. Put another way, if Kimpebe (sp?) had sprinted towards Dalot and the ball had struck his hand while in a sprinting motion, I think the referee should and would elect not to call a handball.
My understanding is the additional change of the natural silhouette is aimed at allowing defenders to have their arms in natural positions, as opposed to behind their back. While that is a positive change, as a defender in the box, I will continue to put my arms flush on my body (i.e. covering the family jewels) or behind my back. In addition, I think the rules are written in a way so that if an attacker hits a defender's arm at the defender's side (in a natural position) while the defender is in good position and is on his feet, that no handball would be called. That is a very common situation that often has handball incidents.
Worse for who? I’d love to see this (again)! 2012-13 was a fun year to watch.Worse still (and by a large margin), Mourinho has indicated that he is open to overtures from Madrid!
I missed this - Monchi out at Roma, too. That's a helluva midseason shake up. Things must have been very unsettled behind the scenes.The fallout from these couple wild days of CL football begins with....Roma firing Di Francesco and eyeballing Ranieri as a replacement. That gets a "wow" from me.
They’re in 5th and were potatoed by Lazio last weekend. Porto dominated them on Wednesday. I imagine there was a lot of high volume Italian spoken behind closed doors this week.Things must have been very unsettled behind the scenes.
Crazy things happen in football, but I struggle to see Atletico losing 3-0 or 4-1. I have to think that Juventus will come out of the gate quickly in an attempt to get an early goal. Atletico is without both Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez, which means Juanfran, who is a RB, will start on the left. Atletico is also without Diego Costa, so there is some extra pressure on Morata to have a solid match.Atleti take a 2-0 lead into Turin and Citeh seem comfortable heading back to the Etihad having scored 3 in Westphalia against Schalke. Will be fun to see Juve needing to chase the match as that plays right into Atleti's counterattacking hands.
So was the goal called back.He fell over himself, maybe a little contact but he tripped when his right cleat scuffed his left calf. That’s a bad call.
Announcers seemed to think it was pretty cut and dry but I thought the same thing. I’d be livid that they didn’t at least look at it if I was an Atletico Madrid supporter.Really surprised they didn't go to VAR on that. He created the contact with his own leg.
Certainly become a meme on reddit...Unbelievable result for Juve.
It’s amazing that Ronaldo has transformed into the worlds best poacher.
Pretend the one called back counted. See if you feel better.Brutal to go out on that penalty. This competition is such a crapshoot
Certainly become a meme on reddit...
Sorry. Drinking heavily.I’m not sure how to take that, but I mean it with all sincerity in the world. It’s amazing that he’s transformed himself twice in his career and he’s the best at what he does.
If juve win the Champions League this year, I think you could make a more than reasonable argument that he’s the best of all time and not just one of the best...or one of the best two.
Having followed Messi and Ronaldo for their entire careers . . . no, you couldn't.I’m not sure how to take that, but I mean it with all sincerity in the world. It’s amazing that he’s transformed himself twice in his career and he’s the best at what he does.
If juve win the Champions League this year, I think you could make a more than reasonable argument that he’s the best of all time and not just one of the best...or one of the best two.
Correa has not yet figured out how to control his emotions and often plays thoughtlessly. Correa needed to commit the foul near midfield -- stop the play, take the yellow, and move on. His complete boneheadedness was beyond frustrating.Maybe less neck tattoos, Correia.
This strategy worked wonders -- great game plan design by Juventus. Atletico was missing both Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez, and their absences forced Juanfran to play left back instead of his usual spot on the right.Clearly, somebody in Turin saw something about Atletico’s ability to deal with crosses. Looks like the entire game plan right now.
One thing that interests me about football is how often a turnover leads to a goal or a poor foul leads to a goal. I feel like the really good teams limit the number of compromising turnovers.After a braindead turnover from Morata trying to be cute and playing a headed ball backwards, an outstanding ball from Bernardeschi finds Ronaldo on the far post, 2-1
Agreed and you watch enough and you just feel the turnover or awkward clearance leading to a corner in your bones. Just feels like a mistake you get punished for sometimesOne thing that interests me about football is how often a turnover leads to a goal or a poor foul leads to a goal. I feel like the really good teams limit the number of compromising turnovers.
Yeah, and most of all it stood out because of how rarely you see someone on Atlético make a mistake like that. Never in a million years would you have seen Costa or Torres holding up the ball by pushing it backwards into a danger area.One thing that interests me about football is how often a turnover leads to a goal or a poor foul leads to a goal. I feel like the really good teams limit the number of compromising turnovers.
I didn’t understand it either. I know Atletico are comfortable defensively and incredibly solid, but it just seemed overly defensive to me. They had very few stretches where they seemed to control the game.I don't understand Simeone's game plan at all. Within reason, Atletico needed a single goal. Now, I understand Juventus came out flying and pressing, but it's nothing they haven't seen before. There was no adjustment. Outside of a spell at the end of the first half, Atletico couldn't string three passes together. Even after the last goal, they never switched on. Stupid fouls allowed Juventus to milk the clock (a certain irony in seeing Atletico players frustrated by the tactic...).
We haven't seen this Juventus all season. Watching things come together was a sheer joy. Ronaldo will get all of the press, but goddamn if Bernardeschi didn't have his best match in the shirt. Spinazzola stepped in and up beautifully in what could have been a terrifying baptism. It was comprehensive.
The one from United Ronaldo to Real Ronaldo of his first few seasons there?Very fun match to watch. Congrats to @SocrManiac and sorry to @bosox4283 .
As for the CR7 reinvention thing, this is the same CR7 we've seen at Real for the past 2-3 seasons. He deserves credit for that transformation, but what was his other transformation?
I guess? What exactly was the transformation there? He was an all-world terrorizing inverted winger. What did he change? He certainly matured, got stronger, more confident, etc. but from what I remember nothing as substantial as his transformation from that same inverted winger to his current iteration.The one from United Ronaldo to Real Ronaldo of his first few seasons there?
One thing that sticks out to me is his use of the ball at his feet. At United he was getting clobbered by defenders ignoring his feet and just going through him to the ball. At Real, something was beaten into his head that flashiness and embarrassing defenders was going to shorten his career. It's the exact lesson that Neymar can't seem to learn.I guess? What exactly was the transformation there? He was an all-world terrorizing inverted winger. What did he change? He certainly matured, got stronger, more confident, etc. but from what I remember nothing as substantial as his transformation from that same inverted winger to his current iteration.