It would have been nice to have gotten the clean sheet. But perhaps that will lead to more focus in the upcoming matches.
The Flick Wagen taking no names and running over the opposition. A perfect performance. Could have been 7. Next up two big games, Bayern and Madrid. Time to find out how good this team is.
Great to see the proverbial "like free signings" make positive appearances today: Gavi, Fermín, Ansu Fati Olmo and FdJ stayed on the bench today but could get time vs. Bayern and/or LPB It'd be nice to have Araujo and Christensen available again
FdJ and Gavi are probably looking at this team and thinking how the Hell can they break into the starting 11.
La Liga | J11 Date: Oct 26, 2024 I thought about doing a separate thread for El Clasico but then again, why messing with something that's working. Barca goes into El Clasico on a high leading La Liga and beating Bayern in the CL midweek. Flick will have to decide if he keeps his starting lineup from midweek or makes a change. The only change I see him making would be bringing Olmo in. But it would have to be for Fermin who has been playing well. I would like to see some more experience in the midfield. It doesn't sound like Frenkie is fully ready so I wouldn't expect him to start. Highlights from Flick's Presser: - When asked about about one day less of rest: "We can't change that. Real played on Tuesday and we played on Wednesday. We are capable of handling 2 days of rest, and we will have to do so again in the future" - About the high line: "It's our philosophy. the idea is that we want to press high, we want to put pressure on the ball. We have to be closer, very compact. Because when there is too much space between the lines it's not good." - About Fermin's position: "I haven't decided that yet. But he was involved in 3 goals against Bayern. The third he pressed to win the ball. He showed us exactly what we want from him." Real Madrid are defending a 42 game unbeaten streak in La Liga. One game shy of Barca's record of 43 with Valverde. Just a little extra incentive for the game tomorrow. They will be without Rodrygo and Courtois among the other already missing players. Most importantly Carvajal. Ancelotti has said that he sees Barca playing more direct and he has a surprised stored for the game. I wonder if he will play Bellingham closer to the goal as last year. Overall, it's a dangerous game as Madrid are built to exploit Barca's weaknesses. We all saw the first half against Bayern. They will have chances to score, that is clear. The high press needs to be good if that's going to be the game plan. When Flick talks about philosophy, it shows me he is committed to it regardless of opposition. We can't give their players much time on the ball to find Vini and Mbappe and even Valverde if he plays.
Everyone everywhere is droning on about the high line and LPB's pace up front. And yes, that can be an issue tomorrow. However, there still has to be that delivery of the key pass, and Kroos is retired. But more importantly, Munchen press high, while LPB haven't as much. To me, Munchen's press was the bigger issue than the high line. We'll see.
Agreed. I think that's an important difference to consider. Flick's Barca also can play direct, but we don't really want to get into and end to end battle with Madrid. I think we will surely lose that battle.
I'm also worried that Mbappe tend to score vs us. He plays as a 9 now and struggles with his back against opponent's defender. However with current high line, he will have more space. Possesion and control are the key for us this match. Pedri has big responsibility this time to circulate the ball quick and find creative solution.
My take on the game today is that even if we lose, it will be OK. League table will be tied on points. At the very least, there would be lessons that Flick can take for the rest of the season. If we do lose today however, I definitely would want a win at home. This game has also put me in a conundrum as the Palmeiras Brazilian league match kickoff is 30 mins after Clasico kick off. And since I will be at a bar, I had to sign up for Fanatiz to get that game on my phone as Paramount doesn't carry Brazilian league matches anymore. So my attention will be divided. So don't look for me to make any posts here until way after the match is over.