PBP: Copa del Rey | Semifinal Leg 2 | Real Madrid v FC Barcelona | 27 February 2019 [R]

For running around like a headless chicken? I think not

 

Also drew a stone-wall penalty. At least it seemed so watching on a phone(?).

I suppose BadaBing still doesn't have a nice thing to say about Suarez despite 17 posts in a match-thread where Suarez essentially scored a hat-trick(?). What a mong!

 

BeIn just confirmed: 11 goals in 14 Clasicos for Suarez!

 

We played conservatively in the first half which was weird as we were the ones needing the goal. Midfield was rather poor throughout particularly Raki and Sergi and Vini could have had a PK early. Dembouz and Suarez were terrific though as was MATS. Something about winning a game where Messi was invisible/playing too deep makes me satisfied. We were clinical in this game which is the exact opposite of our play prior to the Sevilla game.

 

We can all rest easy now. No more Copa matches getting in the way for the next three months.
I never take the Copa del Rey for granted. The final is always a great spectacle and I absolutely LOVE having that Copa del Rey final in the back pocket, waiting to be pulled out after La Liga has ended. It can be used to salvage the campaign, or to complete a Liga/Copa double, or perhaps even something better.
Irregardless, no matter what happens in the next three months there will be an extra match for us to look forward to and it will take place on May 25. And I think that is very cool.

Either or. Doesn't really matter to me.
I suppose playing Betis in a one off at their ground would be the bigger spectacle and possibly even the greater challenge.

 

Agreed! Last season the CdR final was in April so it interfered a bit more, but now it doesn't really cause a problem in terms of travel, fatigue, etc. Even if you make it to the CL final you almost rather play a meaningful match in the lead-up rather than have 2-3 weeks break before it.

I'm already looking at flights to Seville in late-May. Works-out because the CL final is a week later in Madrid. How much does it cost for the high-speed train from Seville to Madrid?

 

0⃣ - 3⃣
📍Bernabéu pic.twitter.com/T9IXSva9d1

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 27, 2019

 

🔜Final !! pic.twitter.com/PPR6bX0ykL

— Samuel Umtiti (@samumtiti) February 27, 2019

 

I went pretty crazy after that chip penalty by Suarez.
Not a good performance by us, but we were clinical.
Semedo tried his hardest, but that Vinny kid is really good. Definitely something that will cause nightmares for us later on.

 

^ Updated.

 

Very crisp highlights and English commentary from Miami:

 

Solid result, Suarez stepped up his form at the right time. Winning treble for the third time would be the only thing that will erase my disappointment of RM winning 3 straight CL.

 

Getting ahead of myself here, want to savor this big win, but already thinking about Saturday. As I said earlier, a draw is not bad on Saturday (though it likely lets Atleti within 5 points, Real stay 9 back and hard to see Real make that up). But I'm greedy, and want another win, and I think as little as one substitution and one big change up can get us there.

The sub is Arthur for Roberto. And Arthur plays on left, unlike Roberto, Rakitic back on right. Then the big move is Dembele plays right wing, Messi more his false 9 role, Suarez as striker, and left flank is mostly left for Alba to man (I know that asks alot of him) with help from Arthur and Lenglet on defense, and all 3 forwards occasionally play a bit of left wing just to keep Real guessing and give Jordi a breather.

Semedo plays a bit more withdrawn (than Alba) as a defensive fullback, but still gets forward too to help punish (and pin back) Reguilon and Vinicius and both are really punished and pinned back by having to mark Dembele. Semedo also gets defensive help from Rakitic on the right flank.

So it can still be called a 4-3-3. Or you could even call it a 4-2-3-1 (but that works better if Arthur was spelled by a winger like Coutinho or Malcom, which I don't think is how we want to start, but could be a nice substitution, esp. if Arthur not ready to go 90 minutes and we are chasing a goal, or sub on Vidal if we are defending a lead).

This tries to capture it but it's hard to show Alba getting forward more than Semedo, forwards switching a bit, Raki playing a little closer to Busquets, etc.

MAtS
Pique-Lenglet
Semedo-Busquets-Alba
Rakitic-Arthur
Messi
Dembele-Suarez​

 

Valverde said the same thing: "I think we come out of the game strengthened, but we also have things to improve. Curiously, in Lyon the same side had 25 shots and didn't score a single goal and they were talking about a crisis,"

https://www.sport-english.com/en/ne...a-side-had-25-chances-and-didnt-score-7328606

 

Well what I'm proposing is NOT having Suarez play on the Left Wing, rather the left wing is Alba's to roam up and down, supported by Arthur defensively when he gets far forward.

What I'm suggesting would probably make more sense if, instead of Arthur, I had Coutinho (or Malcom) on in a 4-2-3-1 as everyone knows Coutinho or Malcom can play wide left, even though both will often tuck in in the last third. But unless EV is ready to blitz Real with Malcom and Dembele out wide and Messi behind Suarez centrally, I'd prefer Arthur got the start, and Luis plays centrally.

So 4-2-3-1 but where the wide sides of the 3 are doing very different things. Arthur on left is a bit more central supporting Busi and Raki just behind him and Messi in front to his right. Dembele on the right is marauding up and down the right wing, supported by Raki and Semedo. It is actually what allows Alba to be at his best to have the whole left wing for much of the match, Neymar in front of him often stifled Alba's playmaking.

 

Lol

Although I will say that fans in general are biased against older players. The bar is set so low for guys like Vincius, Malcom, Dembele, etc. All they have to do is complete a simple pass or maintain possession for 3 touches and fans drool all over themselves.

 

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