Arthur out 3-4 weeks, yikes, hamstring. Probably misses next 2 Clasicos and Lyon clashes. https://www.sport-english.com/en/ne...r-melo-ruled-out-for-up-to-four-weeks-7293515 Time for Vidal and Alena to shine. Better news, Umtiti practices with full squad again, first time since November: https://www.sport-english.com/en/ne...barcelona-training-after-knee-problem-7293150 He told Lyon TV he hopes to be ready to play in the first Lyon match Feb. 19th!
Sucks about Arthur but should be back in plenty of time for the second-leg v Lyon if that timeline is somewhat accurate.
Yeah, I should have written "first Lyon clash" instead of "Lyon clashes", hopefully he is back even sooner. I did not see it posted here but he got a bit of a talking too, supposedly, after his images appeared at Neymar's night time party in Paris just 2 days (so day and a half before kickoff?) before the Clasico. Course he played great in Clasico, and this was maybe his first warning about keeping unprofessional hours, added travel, etc. But then he up and got injured in the game. Is there a connection? Probably not, but you never know. https://m.allfootballapp.com/news/La-Liga/Barcelona-unhappy-with-Arthur-over-Neymar-party/1071287
EPL basically made Coutinho look like Messi dribbling. I thought that was league where players like Coutinho, small and weak physically, were supposed to struggle ...
Coutinho is a wonderful player....just out of form at this moment. He had been pretty special for Brazil throughout the Qualifiers and at least the first two games of the World Cup.
They evolved and got a tad lucky with the front three working together so well .. plus nobody expected Salah to develop into such a prolific scorer
Nobody expected Salah to be so prolific because people overrate the quality of defending in the EPL. If you accept that the Premier league is garbage defensively it explains alot, from Salah’s rise to Coutinho’s or Bale’s medicrity to De Gea’s and Courtois’ goalkeeping.
Bringing the 'importance of the Copa del Rey' debate to this thread. It's a fair argument that I fully understand. I will say that as much as I love to root for Barca in the Copa del Rey I would like to see the federation get rid of the two-legged format leading up to the final. The first three rounds are already one-offs so no problem there. At the Round of 32 stage when Primera clubs begin play, all ties should be one leg. • Round of 32 played during the last midweek of October • Round of 16 played during the first midweek of December • Quarterfinals played during the third midweek of January • Semifinals played during the last midweek of April That's four matches removed from the current format. The same number removed if Barca had been knocked out at the Round of 16 stage this season, which some here had hoped would happen. Pairings that match a lower division team against a higher division team should be played at the ground of the lower division team, up to and including the semi-finals. Pairings that match two teams from the same division are played at the ground of the team that was pulled out of the hat first. No replays. If level after 90 minutes, play an additional 30 minutes followed by penalties.
Yes, I could definitely be sold on this idea! Maybe I'd like the semis for be two-legged. We tend to think of these formats from a Barca perspective, naturally, but if you're a Levante or Bilbao and you get all the way to the semifinals, which could be a once-in-a-decade thing, it would be nice to have a guaranteed home match. Its the only trophy that such clubs can realistically win.
He's still just a baby and hasn't even competed his first season with barca, so it's strange to see him compared to these veterans. we still haven't seen the best of Arthur, while the others are either at, or just past, their peaks. but i sure wouldn't trade him for any of those others. Passing and vision transcend in both football and basketball...👀Which play-maker is the best in the world today?🤔 pic.twitter.com/U0JIPh39FO— GOAL (@goal) February 18, 2019
Calendario update... FEBRUARY 2019 Sat 23: J25 (A) Sevilla 16:15 Wed 27: CdR-Sf2 (A) Real Madrid 20:00 MARCH 2019 Sat 2: J26 (A) Real Madrid 20:45 Wed 6: Supercopa de Catalunya (Sabadell) Girona 18:45 Sat 9: J27 (H) Rayo Vallecano 18:30 Wed 13: UCL-2R2 (H) Olympique Lyon 21:00 Sun 17: J28 (A) Betis 20:45 midweek 18-19: weekend 21-23: FIFA Calendar midweek 25-26: FIFA Calendar
The spanish federation changed the referee for el clasico to the guy who was responsible for VAR in the LPB levante game and basically gave LPB the win If a referee sees the super slow motion replay on a UHD monitor and still intentionally get it wrong then i doubt we have any chance to win or even draw this game , but i guess they didn't want LPB to suffer another humiliating result in the Bernabeu again in such a short time ...
More deliberations for the ‘clueless one’ .. Rakitic says he’s staying and will fight FDJ for his place in the midfield ... Great , just great !!