Coutinho is missing easy chances in every game. I don't know what's the point of playing him anymore. He'll likely be sold at the end of this season alongside Dennis Suarez
Na ... we can never recuperate the massive sum we paid .. He was looking great before the injury .. now he's not getting many chances and his confidence is low
You literally couldn't escape all the hype about Messi's 400 career league goal. It was obnoxious ...
Why not? I don’t think there would be a problem with congratulating a 31 year old who has scored 400 league goals(all at the highest level) There problem is with certain fans(not saying you-necessarily)who suffer from a inferiority complex and view every achievement by CR as some sort of attack against Lio I can enjoy both and prefer one without having the need to diminish the worth of the other
Sick game against Sevilla yesterday. There was a few wrong calls by referee here and there. But overall it was nice to see Coutinho back in the score sheet. He needed the confidence. Messi as much as I admire him has been demonstrating poor finishing nowadays
Yeah, should've buried that chance when the game was still in doubt at 4-3 (on aggregate). But not gonna stress-out too much about him missing - I mean there were still 3 guys back defending the goal. Especially after his insane finish last weekend against Girona.
Statistically, he still scores above his expected goals, so he's still one of the world's supreme finisher.
Yes his goalscoring records are off the charts. Yet he's missing easy goals against Girona, Levante, Eibar, Getafe in the last few games. What I'm trying to say is that he won't be getting so many chances to score in UCL against defensively compact teams.
That's not true. Not only does he take more shots per game than anyone in his team, he takes more shots per game than anyone in La Liga, EPL, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, or Serie A, not named Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of course not. I also happen to think that he is the best playmaker in the world, but I just don't think his role is more of a playmaker than a goal/scorer. It's a pretty even mix I think, which is the right role for him considering he's probably simultaneously both one of the best playmakers and goalscorers in the world.
All he needs is healthy Dembele. Barcelona's squad is stacked and after Juve, probably the most versatile team in the world. They have so many options. It's crazy to think that Messi is doubted for few misses. His finishing is a level(s) beyond anyone's, in terms of efficiency. It's not just me saying this, we can measure it: https://understat.com/player/2097 Taking all of Messi's shots in la liga into consideration, he was expected to score 14.22 goals to date. He is crushing that tally, because he has scored 21. +6.78 more than expected. That's the highest amongst goalscorers in top 5 leagues. The second is Alcaser with +6.01 and then nobody for a looong time. I realize it's la liga only stat, but things wouldnt have changed much including other competition. It's mostly our bias towards Messi's ridiculous standards that thinks he is in a bad form whenever he misses a great chance. It's an essential part of the game. Griezmann, Aguero, Suarez, Lewa, even Cristiano from last 3 years, miss those on a regular basis. Misses are still very much an exception in Messi's game, which is not something that should be taken for granted, but rather celebrated.
Kylian Mbappé has now scored as many Champions League goals as Ronaldo (14).Two generational talents. pic.twitter.com/NvnJedWmjv— Squawka (@Squawka) February 12, 2019 He’s scored or assisted goals against Tottenham/Manchester city/Liverpool/Manchester United If this kid goes to the EPL he is going to destroy that league and now hopefully the English media will calm down and stop bragging about how good English teams are. They are a bunch of overrated and overpriced players As of now only salah has shown his worth in the CL while others like aguero/hazard/Sanchez have yet to make their mark(and they are in their late 20s)
Easy if we can all agree that the EPL is overrated as has been since at 2011 Otherwise a breakdown of his goals(and assists) will show that a significant proportion have come against “difficult” sides (And yes a large percentage of R9s 14 CL goals came against low level teams that he was “expected” to score against Teams like locomotive Moscow Aek Athens Monaco were hardly contenders) Mbappe has a way to go to reach R9 (overall)but there is a strong case for him at only 20 years old being a greater champions league performer than the Brazilian
I am not denying comparison. He might as well have already a better ucl career, i am just saying. There are so many factors that have allowed Mbappe to have this much impact early on. He, i think, has the easiest circumstances in start of his career compared to any 18, 19, 20 year old ever. Only real comparison in that regard is Pele, but i believe neither did he had so much attention and care given so early on.
I agree with Sexy Beast, but Mbappe for sure will be more successful than Ronaldo 9, but probably will not be considered the better player. Vinicius Jr is the real deal tbh and he might even surpass Pele.
This is absurb Vinicius Jr cannot even finish while Pele arguably had one of his best ever years at 18-19 years old scored 126 goals including friendlies in a single year the overhyping of Brazilian players needs to stop There is no one(from Brazil at least) in the foreseeable future who will replicate what Pele did. R9 looked like he had the potential to get close but that’s as far as it got(potential) It took 40 years for someone to match Pele in stats and talent. Maradona/Cruyff were as influential (if not more)outside of goals but the records of Pele are just too significant to overlook There is Pele/Messi and then the rest Vinicius Jr can aspire to reach Neymar/kaka/Rivaldo level even though from what I’ve seen he’s not as talented(athletically yes but not technically)
Did mbappe have a easier route than Messi? He was after all eased into a champions league winning team of dinho/deco/puyol/etoo players all ranked as the best or one of in their respective positions (a fact confirmed by dbs calcio amongst other sources)
Waaaaaaay easier. That Barcelona team was nothing special. Porto won ucl in 2004, Chelsea won in 2012, Bayer Leverkusen was in final 2002. Single ucl thropy on itself represents absolutely nothing and its not like they were dominant that campaign. How did that GREAT Barcelona generation did in 2005 and 2007 ucl, 2007 la liga, 2008? Messi until he turned 20 in the summer of 2007, wasnt considered a standard first team player even tho he was outperforming everyone in his team for awhile. Unfortunately, that season he struggled with injuries and had to battle with newly signed Henry for minutes. He couldnt take a break. He became undisputed first team player with a key role only after Guardiola came in 2008 when he was already a 21 year old, and what would you know, Messi exploded that season (would have exploded sooner given the chance) and the rest is history. All of them at the club knew Messi was a goat level talent when he was already 15 and yet Rijkaard never risked with placing him in the spotlight. He had to fight for minutes even after a hattrick vs Real, Getafe goal and many more crazy performance. But yeah he had it easy.... On the other hand, an 18 year old, Mbappe joins newly created superteam in an awful French league (perfect for a development of an 18 year old, not too tough, not too weak), walks into an undisputed first team role with Draxler and di Maria being his competition. In a national team he gets a number 10 in like what, few months after a debut, and another undisputed first team role. They are investing in him like mad. He is a huge brand at this point and people want to exploit that. Dont let me started with how lucky Mbappe was to come into a first team of Monaco at the point when they were having, possibly, the greatest attacking generation of the clubs history. If he was only 2 years younger and he was currently a 17 year old in Monaco, you can forget about playing in KO champions league, let alone recording few fancy goals in KO phases. So many stars have aligned in Mbappes career so far. Thats not a crticism, but rather an observation.