Mallorca 1 x 5 Barca - FT Important win to break the La Liga bad mojo. Elastic scoreline but the game was still in danger until well into the 2nd half. Good to have Lamine back. Ferran ... I know he is coming off injury, but very hard to believe there is any hope for him. Raphinha with another good game ... he has really been playing his heart out this season.
Five goals when top goal scorer is fully rested. Can't complain with that. Now hopefully Athletic Club can do Barca a favor.
More relieving than a port-a-potty after you've drank a six pack. Gotta get him into the shop window, so Flick has gotta keep feeding him minutes, so that some of the [borrowed] 55MM Euros can be recouped. For my money, a Balon D'Or candidate so far.
On the fatigue matter, I note that there are 6 Barca players that are high on minutes played this season. - 3 are central and right defenders who will see their playing time decline when Araujo returns any game now (and further decline when Christensen returns, probably right after New Years'). So, I am not worried at all about these guys being spent towards the latter part of the season. Keep putting them out there for 90 minutes every match until Araujo returns. - 2 are going to be very difficult not to play almost every match: Raphinha and Lewa. Lewa I am less concerned about. He just seems like a very robust player. Just hope we have the sense to sit Raphinha for most of the Spanish super cup and Copa del meh matches. And same for Yamal, though I know he makes a big fuss every time he doesn't play. - The other is Pedri, and I think it should be easier to rest him here and there. Great player, of course, but surely we have others good enough to step in here and there w/o the team's performance falling off a cliff.
Looking along the backline, Iñigo's roughly 50 years old, so his minutes will have to be managed, and Cubarsi's a child, so he'll also have to be monitored. Balde and Araujo have had a surprising amount of games missed in recent seasons. I'm surprised that Martin has gotten more time than Fort, especially given that Martin hasn't impressed as yet. I'm more concerned for Lewandowski, as there's a precipitous drop-off in quality at the 9 after him. Guiu would have been handy to have, but I hope he's enjoying the cash Chelski gave him. (Or even better, saving it.) While Raphinha's played at a Balon D'Or level, one can "squint" and see alternatives to him. You've got Olmo (between his regularly-scheduled injuries), Ferran, Fati (between his regularly-scheduled and to put him into the shop window), or even Pedri's played on the left in the past. I can agree that Gavi, De Jong, and Fermin can play in the midfield for him. Also, Olmo (between his regularly-scheduled injuries). There are 3 tough matches and 1 more winnable match coming up before the break: Betis and Dortmund away, and then Leganes and Atleti at home. Every man needs to be ready to put in their time, IMO. I'd like to see Araujo get reintegrated, and perhaps for Szczesny to knock some rust off as well.
La Liga | J17 Date: Dec 7, 2024 Early game today away at mid table Betis. No new injuries or suspensions to speak of AFAIK.
Betis are coming off 2 consecutive losses, so nows a good time to take the trip to Sevilla. The seasonlong momentum has swung back in Barça's favor, so here's hoping they can take advantage today.
So, the PK occurred because Peña decided to punt the ball just outside the area, leading to poor control of the ball, which lead to giving it up. Their 2nd goal was a wonderfully taken one touch, but then no one got within 5 meters of the cross. Had Barça won, it would have flattered them. This is disappointing for Barça to not finish the win nonetheless.
To be fair, much of the match today was about the same. We didn't start well, didn't play well throughout, and didn't finish well. So not really a case of fading at the end.
Another trophy less season. Barca under Flick started well, but we have been very inconsistent. I think he will be sacked if we do not win the league.
Yup, went back and rewatched. Getting caught up on a counter is par for the course for this team, unfortunately.
This is the frustrating thing. This same team put LPB and Munchen to the sword in one week. Then, it also has given it up like a $10 whore after the 82nd minute to Vigo and Betis.
Laporta should’ve hired Slot if we had the chance. Flick is too one dimensional and doesn’t have a plan B when things go awry.
I think this is part of it. (See: stupidly playing an offside trap at Vigo in minute 82, while up 2 goals.) The other part of it is a poor mentality, in terms of finishing a match. Dunno if this is down to Flick, or if this is down to the player leadership. In turn, we can all count at least 4 or 5 matches where points were lost, when the game was already won.
Yeah, I have compared these two also in my head. Both have very positive styles of play but Slot's tactics seem a bit less extreme. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I am still ok with Flick. A draw in Betis is not a bad result by any means. And if we had been more conservative in the second half, I think Barca come away with nothing.
La Liga | J18 Date: Dec 15, 2024 With Madrid dropping points yesterday, a win today against bottom table Leganes would put us back on the virtual lead. Although we can't forget about Atletico who have put up a strong run of wins and are winning right now to stay level on points with us. They also have a game in hand. The team has definitely have a dip in form not playing well in the last couple of matches (La Liga and CL) so we need to get back to form and today is a good day to do it. Raphinha had some fitness concerns after the Dortmund match but is included in the squad.
Need a win today. LPB dropping points is an opportunity, while Atleti await, after winning 11 in a row.