After all these years we will finally face Barcelona in the Champions League. We are very likely to get crushed but that shouldn't deter us. Not gonna lie guys, I'm hyped as fvck about this match.
We need to go out and face Barca without fear. We have the players to match anyone. I saw Barca vs Valencia. Fati, is a 16 year old and looks like he will be some talent. De Jong is great, but it's very possible to get at their defence. Valencia had a lot of chances. We have a chance to make a statement to the entire world.
Very likely to get crushed? No way lol. It is possible to lose, but there is no big gap in quality between the teams. I would actually say BVB are slight favourites, and should expect to win.
Bürki Hakimi Akanji Hummels Guerreiro Delaney Witsel Sancho Reus Hazard Alacacer Almost the same lineup we saw against Leverkusen except Hazard for Brandt. Inter is currently trailing Slavia so I'd be happy with any kind of result today.
Nervous start by us. Too many mistakes and high risk attempts. Delaney got an early yellow that looked like bs and seemed rather influenced by the acting.
0:0 after 45 minutes. Reus had a very good chance, Alcacer had another one early that he should have put on target at least. I think his nerves were showing at the beginning of the game. Hummels has been immense so far and is our best player, the only one showing a high quality on the level of the top teams. But it's tough for the other players to make the right decisions under high pressure. Our game looked decent after the nervous start but we allowed too many deadball situations towards the end. These are always scary and Barca actively seem to go for that.
We are getting good chances but we just cannot convert them. But it's promising seeing the team play like this.
Super exciting game. Great focus and intensity from the team, too bad about the finishing and ter Stegen.
We looked tired towards the end. 0:0 is a decent result I guess but a win was possible. With Hakimi and Guerreiro, we can play against pressing teams. We just have to be more clinical with our chances against these kind of teams. With a little more confidence we score and not only once. But it was a very concentrated team effort and the team showed it can compete against one of the contenders for the title.
We had by far the better chances. Hummels had a 10 out of 10 game as did Ter Stegen. This match is enough to show why Loew should be fired. Witsel was great, Reus had a shocking day in front of goal. If he had his shooting boots we would have won. This team should take confidence from this match and fear nobody.
Stats from Sky for Hummels: - 100% duels won, 10 clearances, 7 interceptions. Hazard and Brandt had quiet games but at least they showed their potential (Brandt with that fantastic shot that hit the bar, Hazard with a couple of smart plays). I also liked Guerreiro's dribbles that were crucial to counter the pressing. I hope he can get further developed for one specific position now that we have enough alternatives for the wings.
Agreed with all the positive reactions above. We had a great game. Guerreiro and Hakimi add a lot of creativity, and their errors are few enough to let them start. Ter Stegen came to his home country to make a point regarding the national team, I guess! I got so worried when Paco was hit. We don't have anyone to replace him. Also, this early in the season with none of the players being tried in different positions, I don't see any change that Favre could have made to shake things up. I wouldn't have risked Dahoud in place of either Delaney and Witsel who were doing a great job closing things down. Brandt was the only option to introduce. I do think we need to try to play him as the central playmaker and move Reus to the wing. Reus would be a much better winger than Hazard, even if he's currently going through some ups and downs.
Dammed unlucky not to win this match, but pleased that our team faced Barcelona without fear. I agree with eaglespark. Hummels' retirement should have been up to him, not some arbitrary decision from Löw, and give ter Stegen a chance. Overall this game lived up to the hype.
Oh another point.. regarding ter Stegen's penalty save: they keep changing the rules so that it's easier to call penalties and easier for penalties to be scored, like this stupid rule that the goalie should have both feet on the line. And then they don't enforce the rules. That's a stupid way to increase the number of scored goals (probably by a minuscule amount.) I'm for a total revamp of how penalties are called, especially in the case of hand balls.
For me the issue though is that he was moving way too much and was already moving towards (at least 2 steps!) his left before the ball was shot not to mention 2 players in the box... IMO the penalty should have been retaken...
Mats Hummels was incredible. He has been (maybe not by far) our best player so far this season. That 31M we spent to get him back was absolutely worth it so far. Jadon, Witsel, Akanji, Delaney, Hakimi and especially Guerreiro were phenomenal. I am so glad we have Raphael tied down for another 4 years. He should totally be playing at LB. Marco Reus was tactically quite good. Shut down Busquets, pressured their CBs and was always an outlet. What I dont understand is how can not be familiar with MatS. He played with him in the past and now at least trains with him in the NT. That said, he is not that great as a typical no. 10. Wish LF had introduced Mario Götze in the last few min. Paco wasn't clinical either. His streak this season comes to an end, unfortunately. Really needed him to continue in this one match. Thorgan Hazard was disappointing. He seemed star-struck. Which is a bit weird considering BMG did face Barca a couple of years ago. Looking forward to Eintracht. LF should absolutely start Weigl, Götze and Mo in that match. That JBL substitution made no sense but apart from that LF was tactically quite sound.
Well the picture clearly show his too feet far in front of the line, so that is clearly not just sideways.
I think Reus was fine as a 10 and it was his finishing, which let him down. He should have had a hat trick. Reus creates with movement and we made more than enough chances. Hazard and Brandt are both not match for and are adjusting to a new team. I would prefer for Brandt to play, but I think both need games. I am impressed and the team needs to progress. In an ideal world I would have seen Brandt in for Hazard and Dahoud in for Delaney. As for Sunday, I think some rotation would be good. Lucky for us Frankfurt have a tough game against Arsenal.