Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich | UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals - 1st Leg|4.23.14[R]

Well at least you've moved on from "poor" as your smack talk weapon of choice...progress I guess

 

He'a amazing. We just need one more player like him.

If Isco can (vastly) improve his defensive positioning and use the ball better, we might be on to a winning formula.

 

I just finished watching the second half and I guess the complaints of this team not having the grit and determination of previous RM teams can be put to bed, for now anyway. I agree that this is a very slender lead but I think if we knick a goal in Munich we're in a very good position to advance. Good (and surprising) stuff today from the team and Ancelotti today

 

Did you record this or are u streaming online? if streaming do you have a link?

 

Maybe I'm looking too far ahead but with Modric in his prime, Isco coming up, we can potentially groom a pure Zidane type playmaker (obviously not of his quality of course) to play alongside the two in central midfield and continually churn out chances while holding onto the ball expertly. I feel like this has the makings of a very powerful Madrid center midfield engine if it all functions accordingly, perhaps even better than Barca's Xavi-Iniesta duo in time.

 

If you go the the match thread @Aimar 21 posted a link to a site that has excellent streams. I watched on television (and suffered through Eric Wynalda) but I have used the site for streams that were of good quality. Make sure you rep him and bookmark the site

 

It just looks like he is 3 steps ahead of everyone. I also did not know he was that good defensively.

Bayern have to score now, and if you guys can counter with a healthy Ronaldo and Bale then I don't see how you won't score at least one. The only way Bayern will score three is if your guys goof up.

 

Therein lies our problem.

Pepe and Ramos have got their one good game per season together out of the way, so if you're a Bayern fan, hope springs eternal.

 

Just make sure that you don't sign a pre-contract, or have your father take over the negotiations/contract arrangements. We don't want to make the world's most expensive rep transfer for half of it to go to your shit money-grubbing family or third party owner, and then have to loan you out to Getafe for rep-time!

 

No worries, Barca's transfer ban applies at BigSoccer too and apparently their appeal has been rejected so they will serve the ban immediately.

 

If Pep was surprised, he should be sacked for being an idiot. Parking the bus is not the same thing as ceding possession; it implies putting 11 men behind the ball and defending. I really don't think we parked the bus.

If I knew what we were likely going to do and Pep didn't, Bayern have much bigger problems to worry about.

The only thing that'll surprise Pep is that our shape was excellent, we defended cohesively as a unit, and our defenders played pretty much mistake-free. We haven't seen that here in a long time.

 

Only watched half of the first half and heading to bed, but I'm not convinced by the display. While Bayern didn't have any serious chances, I think we were quite lucky.

In the first 15 mins, every time we regained possession, we went straight to the counter, with everyone dashing forward, only to lose the ball from the very first pass. This opens up a lot of space: midfield and defense are far ahead of the ball, while you got ~6 FCB players that could punish us right away. I think we will need more possession and some lethal build up play in Munchen.

 

It goes both ways. I think if the chances were played out like they could've been - for instance Bayern scoring off Goetze and getting a lucky penalty, we score 4 goals like with Benzema's chances and Di Maria + Ronaldo + Bale, this game could've ended in an interesting 4-2 or something like that, which is just as fortuitous. If you recall in 2011/2, in the first leg in Munich, we had a decent shot of winning, and a definite change of keeping it to a draw. That Coentrao ********up led to the 2-1 winner late in the game. They were lucky and so were we, but I feel like the balance was that we were deserved winners regardless, because for every chance they could've scored on, we had 1 or 2 just like it or even better.

 

It is really set up for a curse-of-el-riazor-style exorcism of the German demons next week. I mean, if we can advance to the CL final and do so by beating three German teams in succession, including a defending champion Bayern team, that will be a special milestone for this club. Which is strange to say given this:




I can only hope the lads can get the job done. And I think they can - Pep is a formidable tactician but Ancelotti is onto something with this formation against possession sides.

I think one thing that always favored us in this tie is the fact that it's so historically difficult [impossible, in a sense] to repeat in this competition. Has anyone even ever gone to the final in three straight years?

I think it's pretty much 50/50 going into the second leg. Then again, everyone (myself included) seems to think the second leg is perfectly poised to feature 3+ goals combined - watch it end up 0-0 or something like that.

Also, @Umar is absolutely correct; Bayern will be extremely cautious about over-pursuing and leaving themselves open to the counter, particularly with a healthier Bale/Ronaldo involved. They're not going to chase the tie, at least not at the start. It's absolutely crucial that we keep them off the board for at least the first 45 minutes (unless we score first, obviously).

 

The biggest weakness in this team...in fact the only weakness In This team...is the back four, especially the two CBs. They are simply too stupid. They don't anticipate well, get caught in bad positions, make horrible non sensible choices that result in re cards or penalties, and what bugs me the most, instead of the safe pass they like to boot it up 60 yArds and give away possession whenever they can.

 

You crazy mofo, I'm going to attribute this post to being in the heat of the moment.

 

Both ties still in the balance but hopefully the final is RM v Chelsea. would be epic. Anything but RM v Pathetico, no one wants to see a la liga match as a final.

 

Ironically, it would be the better match if it was.

 

Isco truly is a special player, I would prefer to see him play further up the pitch because I think some of his natural qualities as a footballer are best utilized in the final third but I have to admit that this may be my own bias. To be fair Isco has really improved a lot in midfield; he is making good tackles, breaking up plays and learning to be a much more rounded player than I ever thought he would be.

The comparison to iniesta is not a bad in some respects as both are very very good with the ball at their feet but I think it sort of falls apart when you consider how much better iniesta's vision, creativity and distribution are. OTOH I think Isco is a much better finisher than iniesta will ever be.

If Isco can continue to improve the defensive side of his game and more importantly become a better passer then he probably can play deeper and with his ball control that would be deadly for our opponents. Unfortunately that would make his finishing ability less of a factor which would truly be a shame.

One things for sure, he has earned his way into the starting line up and I don't mind the type of headache his development and maturity has created for CA.

 

Modric is magic. Honestly I feel he's so underrated, probably in the same class as Iniesta. So many plays, but the one that stuck out was near the end when there was that last counter and he started driving into Bayern's half. A few players swarmed him but he just effortlessly changed feet, dribbled a bit further, and lofted a perfect pass.

I can see why Madrid sold Ozil. This Croatian is one of the best technical midfielders I've seen.

 

EPL fans are creaming their pants because one of their teams is actually relevant this year. Woohoo, Chelsea in the semis!! Champagne is in order fellas!

 

Cept with oZil I think it would be even nastier

 

Love Modric and very happy he's here but I do want to see him increase the range and speed of his distribution. Granted his teammates moving into lanes and creating options has a lot to do with that but at times I find myself biting my tongue and thinking this guy really needs to move the ball quicker. His tackling and positioning has improved quite a bit though. I'd like to see him shoot more too, that goal in the CL last year is prime example, our midfield can really help our offense if teams feel they are a threat from range and need to close them down. It would really help with the bunkering down that some teams use to try and diffuse our attack.

 

Can't agree more with this.