Messi hit the cross bar..that alone was more clearer than what Atletico conjured up (mostly crosses) the PK was 50/50 their goal should have stood but you know what? after 180 mins we scored 3 they scored 2 and we were the only team to win a game so yes I think we fully deserve the final
I'm a Barcelona fan not Real. I like to watch good football, not only for the results otherwise, will just check the news next day to see the scores. Our philosophy is to win by playing good football not luck and Messi balling us. I have nothing else to say to someone who doesn't care about the team's performance and celebrate bad wins. What's the point really?
The ref: Jesús Gil Manzano, youngest La Liga referee, only 33 years old. He's reffed the Clásico in 2014 we lost 3-1, the CdR final vs. Sevilla last May (2-0 win for us), and the 1st leg of the Supercopa vs. Sevilla last August (0-2 victory for us). He's from Extremadura, but he's been found to be a supporter of Athletic Bilbao. http://www.superdeporte.es/valencia/2016/02/29/gil-manzano-arbitro-pena-athletic-bilbao/288102.html
Huh, I really thought I saw him show yellow, than red. Obviously I could be wrong. Ray and Phil referred to a second yellow, but even more obviously they could be wrong.
I prefer Celta to wipe that smug whistling grins off their faces. I want the fans to wish they could trade all those wins at Anoeta for this Copa
Good, cause wouldn't a direct red actually cause him to miss a Liga match as well? Academic question if not a straight red.
Yes, even Marca is saying it was a 2nd yellow. But Luis should shut up with comments like "I laugh, cuz it's what the ref wanted [to eject me]" if he wants an appeal. Feel bad for Luis, who went down injured early in last years Copa final and was distraught. Our 4th straight Copa final!
even when we play good football people complain always complain, that seems to be the Barca way of some fans
In principle I agree, but Cholo has made a career at Atleti destroying teams that try to play champagne football. Lucho is pragmatic and has our guys playing efficient if ugly when it gives us the best chance of winning against tough rivals. Then look at matches like, e.g., vs. Man City where we throw back to tiki-taka like it's never going out of style. So I don't think it's Lucho being inept or Messi's individual brilliance saving us from Lucho's idiocy. Lucho mixes things up, and there's always a risk in mastering different approaches. But remember Pep had trouble keeping players from getting bored, and he would introduce stuff like the 3-4-3 for no reason other than to keep them on their toes.
Well when LPB relied in luck and won Barca fans complain that they are only lucky and when Barca and Lucho rely on luck we should be happy cause we win. Lets then rely on luck all the way
Remember that the scoreline of the first-leg flattered Atleti. If that match finished 1-4 everything that happened tonight would've been irrelevant. So yeah ... overall Barca received some luck but not a ridiculous amount of it.
I'd love to face Celta given recent events. I'd like to see how the LPB papers spin it around and start liking Celta again.
Personally, I'd take an ugly win - or in this case, an ugly favorable result - than a beautiful performance that results in defeat any time at any point of the season. The point being winning solves everything. I'd rather be watching Barca in the Copa final in May than watching Atletico in the final and thinking, "Barca played beautifully against them in the semis." Then again, it begs the question of how many 'beautiful defeats' have Barca been involved in? And would one be willing to re-watch them today on video? I've been following Barcelona since 1979 and I don't recall this idea of having to play beautiful football back then. Most certainly not during the Terry Venables era. It only came about when Cruyff took over and the club won four consecutive titles, three of which required LPB (twice) and Deportivo to falter on the final day of play. If the beautiful play comes about, that's fine. But I don't need it to enjoy a victory.
Lots of interesting Lucho quotes in this Marca piece: "The result was misleading," he told reporters after the match. "We didn't deserve this result from the 90 minutes, but we do deserve to play in the final for what we've done throughout the competition. We have had to overcome Hercules, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. Now we're in the final and we should enjoy it. We are where we are despite having had injured players and with the fixture list that we have, so there are a lot of positives." Their busy schedule was a real thorn in Luis Enrique's side, with the coach blaming the non-stop past month for the knocks and niggles suffered by his players. "I don't know if there's any other team in Europe that has played as many matches in such a short space of time as us, with rest times of under 60 hours," the Asturian posited out. "The terrible calendar we have has caused injuries." When it was put to him that this is the fourth consecutive cup final for Barcelona, Luis Enrique admitted that this was an impressive record and thanked the Camp Nou crowd for their backing. "We are a club with a winning mentality," the assembled media were told. "Our players have ambition and our fans are worthy of that, as they supported us when we needed them." Analysing the specific details of the 1-1 draw, the tactician was pleased with the way his players kicked off the second 45 minutes, although Sergi Roberto's 57th minute red card swung the momentum back towards the capital city side. "The part I was happiest with was the start of the second half," Luis Enrique said. "We had Aleix Vidal ready to come on, but Sergi Roberto was sent off and our nerves returned. "We saw that he might collect a second yellow card, but I wasn't quick enough. "The part I was least pleased with was the beginning. "It wasn't much fun for me at any point of the match. "It was a match that we need to analyse intensely." Specifically, the way Barcelona continued to give away possession frustrated him and that is one aspect that he promised to work on. "It isn't normal for us to lose so many balls," the 46-year-old admitted. "Yet I have confidence and faith in my players that they can find solutions. "Everything good or bad is the responsibility of the coaching staff. "We must improve our level of play and that's what we'll try to do." Jasper Cillessen's performance is one thing that will have pleased the coach and he told the press that he was signed last summer from Ajax to do what he did on Tuesday night. "He was very good beneath the posts, especially at the start, and that is why we signed him," Luis Enrique said. "It wasn't just because he's tall, blonde and handsome." http://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2017/02/08/589a5eebca4741dd098b4670.html Finally, speaking about Luis Suarez's late red card, one which will rule the Uruguayan out of the final with suspension, the coach agreed that it should be appealed. Edit - great emoji unclesox
The way we are playing at the moment is very worrying. This was not the one off game and we have been playing like this for a long time this season without things being improved by the coaching team. I am afraid to say this but only silverware we will win this season is the Coa del Rey. Regarding ugly win vs champagne football: people need to understand that we are playing neither of this at the moment. Ugly wins also demand a game plan and control on certain area of the pitch. But we have no control whatsoever in either attack, midfield or defence. We are always playing in the back foot. I will term yesterday's game as a game with no plan than to term it as a ugly win. Ugly win is what ATM used to do, Chelsea used to do, ugly win means team defending in numbers and giving very small room for the attacking team. But we are all over the place and teams are creating chances after chances without us being able to come with a plan to stop this. Only thing saving us from more embarrassing results is the bad finishing from our opponents. One more thing I have noticed from our recent games. We play more in a 4-4-2 formation than a 4-3-3 these days. I thought this was because of Messi moving towards the middle but when Messi was subbed off in our last game, the first instruction Lucho gave to Neymar was to move central and the formation was clearly seen to be the 4-4-2. Are we playing 4-4-2 because our midfielders are terrible? Are we playing this so that one of our attackers, mostly Messi, plays centrally to make things happen as our midfielders lack the creative edge? Whatever this is, it is not working at all. This one is on the coaching team and sadly I do not think this will be resolved this season.
I don't think many would rather see beautiful football and win and play finals. I rather play a final any time rather than playing gorgeous football. But for the future I think the way Barca plays is very shakey and worrying, also playing/winning ugly in la liga is not working and Barca seem to be missing out on that "final", the trophy that matters the most really. There the way have resulted in many point losses. There doesn't seem to be a plan and Lucko's rotation and lineup policy is just not helping the team or players to be in game shape, find form, find consistency or a stable foundation (especially in defense and midfield). In CL there will be a different story and one off game relying on luck/ugly win hope could see Barca knocked out on their asses. Lucko needs to create stability and consistency. Gomes and Roberto are causing more harm than good, not because they suck but because Lucko feels he needs to play them and that ruins it IMO for the team and other players who are better. Their first half display last night could have been costly. When you get away with murder then you should learn from it, something Lucko is incapable off.
Worst officiated game I've ever seen. Got every big decision wrong, none of the three reds weren't yellow fouls, penalty wasn't penalty, onside goal ruled offside and 3 minutes overtime changed to 5 minutes. RREF only hires worst refs of alltime like Gil Manzano, because they are avid Real Madrid supporters, nothing else explains why Liga Florentino Perez has the worst refs of alltime.
Just love how some people here are defending Lucho after he played Gomes as a DM ... AS A FREAKING DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER !!!!
Masch now out about 2 weeks (or less it is hoped) with hamstring strain http://www.sport-english.com/en/new...red-hamstring-against-atletico-madrid-5794146
So maybe he was injured afterall since he didn't start and our fantastic coach played him instead if Vidal and caused another injury. Anything Lucho does is wrong.. Well according to me haha [emoji23]