Ajax have started to fizzle out and lose momentum in Europe as of late In other news, Aubameyang has been doing relatively well since joining Barca in January
Ajax are always fun to watch but their style leaves them open for goals and that is how they lost it ultimately to a solid portugese club. Meanwhile Auba was in a horrible situation and sometimes a player just needs a switch.
We continue to be linked to Timo Werner ((((( Please God. No! No! If this happens it will be Mario Gotze all over again.
I'm so conflicted about Werner. No doubt, his PL stint is very unproductive and for years I have this impression that he positions himself so awkwardly to the ball which results in bad outcomes. But he was very productive in the BL especially playing behind a more advanced striker like Poulsen. When he misses chance after chance, it can be very frustrating though.
Hlocek > Haller > X > Y > Z > Timo Werner. I really hope they have the common sense to go for Hlocek, with Adeyemi, even better. It probably explains all the Hazard rumours, I don't mind Hazard staying, he is very good player when on form, just injuries have curtailed things. Hazard (Bynoe) - Reus (Gio) - Adeyemi (Malen) Hlocek (Moukoko) Brandt is better as an 8 in a double pivot, because he can spray passes from deep, and Wolf can play there in a pinch, but is probably just better off being all utility and LB/RB, so you don't have to buy one of these; Dahoud (Can) - Bellingham (Brandt) Guerrero (Wolf) - Sule (Hummels) - Schlottenbeck (?/Coulibaly) - Mounierre (Passlack/Morey/?) And Kamara and Unbehaum (or loaned out), brought into first team. Now that's a dam team alright, and you have pretty much only spent the Halaand Sheik money.
A shaky, not confident striker is a scary prospect. He's also one of those players who you can't really tell what their best position is. And so I think coaches will find it hard to get the best out of him.
IMO, Hazard should be sold.. he's so overrated, and not at the level I want in BVB. I think sadly, there's a good chance we'll see Brandt depart. I like Malen's improvement over the last season, and I think he should be given a bigger role. But definitely won't object to adding talent in the winger positions, and the Defensive Midfield. I would like to see us get a RB or a LB, or hopefully both. But I feel the board will not prioritize this, and we'll end up with Passlack and Wolf deputizing, which is OK but far from ideal.
Agree 100% about Hazard who is simply not Dortmund-level quality...which is the case for quite a few players on this roster unfortunately. Brandt may depart but I hope Kehl can talk him into staying with a new approach and life after Zorc. Another big personnel issue is Dahoud who will need to be locked up.
I think you guys underestimate Hazard, I'de like to see him run a uninterrupted season, and I wouldn't be surprised to see double digits on both the A and G. Here is another formation; Hlocek (Moukoko) - Adeyemi (Malen) Reus (Gio) Dahoud (Kamara) - Bellingham (Brandt) Guerrero (Wolf) - Sule (Pongloski) - Hummels (Coulibaly) - Schlottenberg (Can) - Mounierre (Hazard) Unbehaum, Bynoe on the sidelines. The club don't need to spend silly money given the academy players they have coming through. Bynoe is another Sancho in the making. Moukoko needs to be shown game time.
Although the odds still swing in favour of Bayern overall, Villarreal showing that on their day and with the right mindset and strategy that they beat them. Question remains whether they can finish them off though, or will they get crushed like Salzburg in the return leg. My gut feeling is Bayern will come back strong at home but would like to see Villareal putting up a good fight to the end.
Watched today's match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Barcelona. Why exactly was Knauff deemed not good enough to get regular playtime?
The only reason I'm glad they are out is because there seemed to be an arrogance in how this game was seen, mainly by the media. Getting humbled is a good experience. Edit: Sane is such a strange player. Sometimes I think he could be a truly amazing player and then there are those recent games when I think he's such a detriment to the team...I'm not a Bayern fan and he still annoys me in how useless he can be.
Sane is a talented player but doesn't seem to have the drive to be great throughout the course of an entire season. He'll show streaks of brilliance but will fade away for other parts of a campaign
"They have the best squad in the world" some have claimed. Glad to see them knocked out by Villareal.
As much as I hate Bayern my hatred of Spanish football supersedes it, therefore it pisses me off that a club like Villarreal is in CL SFs. I don't care if they're underdogs.
https://sportbild.bild.de/bundeslig...haeus-kritik-nach-dem-aus-79775596.sport.html [Sport Bild] Lothar Matthäus criticizes the FC Bayern: "The bosses talked the 1:1 more beautiful than it was. Three big chances are not Bayern-like, demand and quality actually higher.The classic FC Bayern DNA is missing, uncertainty has crept in." I'd reckon that with how Alaba left them last summer, Suele joining BVB, and the uncertainty ahead with players like Lewy and Gnabry, there's gradually cracks in the armour happening at Bayern. Although domestically, this season they've shown this season that the quality is at least still there to take the Buli. And the clubs behind them have a knack for either self imploding or every club that comes close just chip away at each other for points in various unpredictable results. Klopp recently mentioned this in an interview. The status of whether Lewy stays or leaves may be a game changer though. Yes he turns 34 later this year, but barring any major injuries then he'll still in top scoring form for a league like the Buli for probably another 2 years. Anyways, if there's a time for the new BVB brass to show their competence then the time is now. Gotta strike while the iron is hot
So Rangers who went on to also beat Red Star Belgrade and Braga are onto the EL semi finals where they'll face Leipzig
Dortmund reject leaves us to play 120 minutes in the Euroleague final to win an international title. Hopefully, that's not the thought that other talents like Moukoko have.