Holy over-reaction! Just cuz Messi played like that 24 hours after becoming a Dad doesn't mean it will be the new norm. Lets give him another day or two to adjust before writing off his season, yeah? Anyway, still got the 3 points w/o the real Messi on the field. Good job by Tito subbing Bartra on for Cesc. First-half, Barca were split open so many times, but I only remember one occasion in the second-half where Celta had a great chance to score (and that was partly down to poor positioning/goalkeeping by VV).
Good win for us today even if the starting lineup wasn't exactly the correct one and Messi wasn't really there mentally, obviously mentally tired and thinking about his new baby boy. Totally undestandable, this sesmioun guy is seriously overreacting. Villa had a fantastic game and it's clear that he'll be back to full fitness very soon. Hopefully he'll be able to complete 90 minutes in some of the upcoming matches we have that will be difficult like Celtic, Mallorca, and Levante all away. Alba is continuing to be a revelation of a signing for us while Iniesta also had a very good game. Xavi controlled the midfield well after Cesc came off. The Bartra-Cesc sub was smart because Tito realized he didn't really go with the right starting lineup by starting too many creative players in the midfield and the move to slow down the tempo and just put the game under control was good, otherwise we'd have suffered more. Alexis looked bright when he came on. Not enough time to grab a goal but he did well and hopefully he continues to build his confidence from here. We'll need him to, as well as Pedro. Celtic away next. A win and we've sealed the group completely with two games to spare before we can fully focus on the league. Hopefully we'll get it done and not leave it waiting ahead of a trip to cold Russia.
I come to conclusion that its not Chelsea and Real madrid that has superb counter attack but its any team that played against Barca has superb counter attack. Valdes was in top form today but still cant save us from a simple counter attacking move. Our defenders are always none existence in this type of situation and it has been like the million time we conceided goal like this since we dont have Pique and Puyol. Messi never looked focus to the game since the begining and it was quite evident, he already frustated after missing his first chance... glad Villa back to his best and Pedro made another assist. Sanchez did well to helped the defence when he came on, I think that's the adventage of having players like him and Pedro and he can drop back and help to cover occasionally. Finally Atletico dropped point. Must be a relieve for Messi that Ronaldo also failed to score and Falcao too, only earned a yellow. Hopefully Valdes could keep performing like the last 2 matches
You have to realize the way this team plays (not this year but for the past 4) will always leave the defense extremely exposed. It's not much a question of the quality of the CBs. The defense has always started up front with this system. Since that pressure hasn't been as intense this and last year and midfield has been more inconsistent with possession, the system is just getting exposed.
Yeah the pichichi is one of the most overrated things in team sports. Just cuz it has a cute name, I guess? That said, forget about Falcao winning it. Atletico are not going to average one penalty every two matches for the entire season. They're not LPB.
Well every league has an award for the top scorer so the pichichi is not exactly unique. Personally I think since the battle between Ronaldo and Messi began the pichichi has taken on a lot of meaning, imho anway. I just want Messi to beat Pele's record. Lets hope he does it against Celtic.
Has nothing to do with the name "Pichichi", and yep every league measures the top scorer. It's a fun thing to see, who scores the most. The point was: the league table is what matters, top scorer is soooooooo secondary.
I'm sure there is an award for most clean sheets in a season too, but that doesn't mean people pay a lot of attention to it... especially in November. The pichichi trophy is kind of unique in the way that it garners attention IMO. I never even heard of the "Barclays Golden Boot" until just now when I looked it up.
The pichichi is getting lots of attention for the simple reason that over the last two years it has been a shoot out between the best player in the world and Ronaldo. Simple as that. There is nothing that comes close to that in any other league at the moment.
lol I've always loved that title. No idea what the German leader is called (Torjäger?) but the award for the Bundesliga's top goal scorer is a cannon (awarded by kicker magazine).