LILLE vs REAL MADRID | UEFA Champions League - League Phase Match #2 | 02.10.24 | 21:00 CET

Tiago Santos Lille RB was just wonderful yesterday, his 22 years old and Portuguese so he wouldn't could as a foreign player. he could be a good replacement/back up for Carvajal.

 

You unwittingly weakened your argument and strengthened his. Playing well in a another league and team doesn't rally buy you as much credibility as Vin I his will have as a team Captain and multiple CL and La Liga title winner in Madrid.

My exact thoughts. Vini, Fed, Mbappe, etc., all will have way more clout and influence at the club than he's ever had to deal with before and they are probably at the point of their careers where they want to show their "personalities" on the field and not be cogs in a machine where they are nothing more than a pair of legs and lungs.

 

We can't win every game, that's not realistic but the manner of this loss was shocking, no one was good, but that midfield was dire, nothing much happening there on or off the ball, i thought so at half time, i still think so now

Maybe, with all the long balls forward that were played, but that's not a mistake by the club, the 9 that most fans were angry that we had, who would have thought, he wasn't pushed out of the club though, he wanted to the and the club made is possible for him to do so

This just isn't true

Absolutely agree, coach shares the blame, not good enough, but those turnovers and general sluggishness, coach can't get on the pitch and solve those issues

I think after this particular game the players too might think about upping their game and getting the best out of themselves, a collaborative enterprise

Hmmm well, pretty much everyone was awful in this one, so.......what do we do next if we use the game by game performance to pick the starting lineups?

YES.... this

When we had them, they absolutely were not what they are now, and Trent is better than Hakimi on the ball and it's the same for both of them off it, not much of a clue how to defend, they look good in the teams they play for now though, even if those teams aren't doing nearly as well on a whole as we are

This is what a majority of fans here wanted, Toni, Luka and Case too slow too old, pace and power to overrun all opposition, but we will always need guile, the only players i see using that pace and power now on a constant basis , Jude and Fede, lots of walking around happens

 

I don't like Tcho as a 6. Either move him to CB or sell him. We need a more agile, more technical defensive midfielder to execute our fluid tactics. Against teams with less attacking threat, Camavinga Valverde Bellingham Arda
is my choice.
Or 4-3-3 with Cama Fede Bellingham and Rodrygo added up front.
He is one of the most in-form players of this team. Should start when healthy.

 

I think we need to get Camavinga up to speed as soon as possible, and that's not because I dislike Tchou or don't rate him, quite the opposite in fact. However, I think he generally worked so well since his arrival because of his synergy with Kroos. Kroos did the leading, the passing, the general playmaking, and Tchou could focus on what he does best. Now, it is expected of Tchou to do something he's simply not able to do (at the acceptable level for Real Madrid), which is why he sometimes looks slow, lost and has limited ideas of how to move the ball.

Simply put, I think he's currently just not a good fit in midfield for the players we currently have, and it sets off a domino effect for the remaining midfielders (and forwards).

Important note: I don't think he is the problem, but I do think we should give Camavinga a go in that position for the remainder of the year, because he has substantially more 'football' in him than Tchou (and tbh, I prefer his defensive game too, but that's my opinion).

 

I just hope everyone's ego is bruised at the club. We need to see a big reaction in terms of attitude.

Carlo can't fix all tactical issues in just a few days...that will take time.

In the meantime, we better see some pride and intensity against Villarreal. The team owes madridismo that at least.

 

I also hope Fede doesn't play..... dude is cooked. We really shouldn't risk our most reliable midfielder at this stage.

 

Yep, agreed. Sure, one can get a bit frustrated at times (because hey, one actually likes the game and it may consequently evoke certain emotions, it certainly still does for me sometimes), but I'm not too bothered most of the time. In fact, the bothersome part is that it sometimes feels like a waste of time, and time is something you can't get back...

 

Ok, this is interesting.

How do you mean by the bolded?

From my view, all of your forwards want to do the same thing, which is to get in behind the defender, in part, because all 3 are natural LW's. But then, I'm on the outside looking in on your club.

 

While I agree with that, I mean, Yamal is painfully one-footed, and it hasn't mattered to him, either. And both you guys and us would take prime Robben any day of the week on our teams, to be fair.

Vini seems to me like he'll age just fine, if he can keep his head straight. I actually think he'll age better than Mbappe.

 

The only thing that I would caution against is once he loses a little bit of that pace that makes him electric, he’s finished. He’s not the type of player who’s adapting his game to round out where he’s still a top player.

By age 28/29 hopefully we’ve cashed in.

 

I think thats also fair; I'd meant to mention it, but yes, a decline in pace may well be his downfall.

But then, I think that a decline in pace is why it seems like wingers age quicker than other positions.


I think Vini's ability to make others around him better will help him age better than Mbappe, who seems like he thinks of filling up his own stat sheet, above all else.


OTOH, Vini acting a fool and/or getting distracted by outside forces can be a detriment to him going forward as well. You guys are fortunate to have an experienced, steady hand in Ancelotti as gaffer. I dont know that a lesser manager would tolerate the antics, and/or reliably deal with a figure like Vini.

 

You guys continue to doubt these players and they continue to make you look silly.

May that continue

 

Tbf, how many wingers at the top level can we name who stayed there after losing their pace? That is rare to begin with, as the role usually depends a fair amount on that burst of pace. Especially in the modern game.

But all of this is rather premature. We’ll see. He’s been worldclass for 3 years going. And it already resulted in 2 CL titles. I trust him to keep this up for another couple of years. Injury and whatnot withstanding.

 

Ronaldo, Robben, Figo (maybe Salah) all adjusted their games and were still largely effective as they weren’t able to beat players 1v1 to the same level before. I’m sure I’m missing some but yes, thats why wingers fall off a cliff as most are one dimensional and can’t do much apart from use their pace.

Right now Vinny is WC but it’s not going to last much beyond 28/29 - which is the age when most players lose their pace slightly.

 

I am sure some people thought the same about CR7.

 

CR7 was on another level in terms of focus and physical preparation. There is no comparison.

Besides being a winger, CR7 was a beast in the air and a good finisher (not very efficient until his later years as he shot from anywhere after the center circle for a long time lol).

Vinni reminds me of Overmars. Overmars fell off a cliff at the age of 28-29. And Overmars was a better winger (maybe the best true winger I have ever seen along with Ribery and Robben) but not as good a scorer.

 

Totally forgot about Overmars. That’s a good comparison. He was a speed merchant that was brilliant and then fell off rapidly.

 

He is slowly improving his skillset, not super obvious but his crossing with his weak foot, his interplay, his penalties are very assured and his cutbacks are much better than a couple of years ago. His movement is a bit disappointing though, and his finishing shocking sometimes. Against Lille he skied the ball after the goalline clearance from Guler's header, and I don't get how that was even physically possible.

Not every player is like Ronaldo or Messi who will become 10/10 is all aspects of the game.

 

As a player and watching my daughter's teams over the tears, I've noticed that players with a strong physical advantage often rely on it until it no longer works for them. Benzema was an exception—he was a big center forward who didn’t rely solely on his size. Players who develop their game without over-relying on physical attributes usually show high football intelligence. It will be interesting to see how Vinicius Jr. adapts as he continues to develop.

 

No thread for the game today?