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Real Madrid - Champions League (A) 6/4/21 - 20:00


Bjornebye
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1 minute ago, aRdja said:

What did Kabak do wrong tonight? I don’t think he’s ever gonna be the worlds best defender, but he had a good game I thought. 

They didn’t I’m not knocking them but when one important part of the team isn’t right the rest isn’t either ...

I remember winning the European Cup in 81 when we had loads of injuries that season but we always had at least one top class centre-half fit ..

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Re: the Kroos balls over the top, aside from Henderson, I'm frustrated that we don't have a midfielder capable of executing such passes. We had it with Alonso, Gerrard and Coutinho. But, it's a weapon that is currently very much missing from our arsenal. The times we do seem to get in behind tend to result from a deflection that breaks our way or a defensive error. We definitely lack that "special" kind of player in midfield. That's why teams are happy to just drop off us when they need to, like Madrid did in the latter stages tonight. 

 

Up until now, Thiago doesn't look like the player to fill that gap. 

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That was awful. I'd like to claim it was inexplicably awful but there was nothing inexplicable about it. That was a very poor performance and a very bad night by a group of players who are making a habit of putting in very bad performances and having very bad nights.

 

The first half was an absolute shambles. We just didn't do anything to threaten, and that is also becoming a habit. First halves where we offer no threat have been a feature of 2021. Real Madrid are far from brilliant but we were making them look like it at times.

 

My biggest problem was the midfield (and Trent who, one glorious cross aside, had a stinker). None of them were keeping the ball, not were any of them carrying it and looking to make things happen, nor were any of them moving the ball with purpose and tempo, and nor were any of them protecting the defence adequately enough. It was shit, and I doubt Naby was hooked for Thiago because of injury (although I bet that's how it's reported). He was just shit, slow and weak, but Jurgen could have hooked any of them. It had to be Naby because Gini was captain for the night, and Fab is necessary to stop the flow of attacks. Fab's problem was that Real Madrid didn't look to go through the middle. They were looking early to the channels in behind our full backs.

 

A lot has been discussed already about what we did wrong, and I agree with most of it, but I'd like to mention the officials. As soon as I saw Felix Brych was refereeing, I knew there would be at least one inexplicable moment, and at least one moment where he would allow himself to be duped into giving a free kick and a card. He is the European equivalent of the PGMOL lot. Trent was the recipient of that late on. The inexplicable moment was the ref and VAR completely ignoring a blatant last-man shove by Vazquez on Sadio. Just no reason for VAR to ignore that, especially when you see how long the VAR check took for our goal (2 seconds would have sufficed for that one!). Also, on the third goal Trent put the ball out near the corner flag after Real had broken from our corner. The linesman is right there yet he allowed the throw to be taken in line with the corner of the penalty area which gave Real more options for the throw-in. That one seems minor but when you consider the nth degree with which certain incidents are analysed, that is massive ignorance on their part.

 

We didn't help any of this by being so naive. There was nothing savvy or intelligent about our approach, with or without the ball. Everyone was passive as fuck, and I kept getting annoyed when our players took an age to get set when we had a throw-in. Trent or Robbo were holding onto it for ages trying to pick someone out. Eventually they just had to get rid and Real simply recycled possession. It's like all our coaches who taught the right things have either fucked off or given up because we just don't do any of these little things anymore.

 

I want to be positive that we can turn it around in the second leg, but can you trust this lot to deliver?

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6 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

Yep him and Trent have been big reasons for our drop off, Trent especially who is starting to look like a competition winner. There’s just so much wrong with this side right now, so much needs fixing, Klopp must be shell shocked with the disintegration he’s seeing.

 

Put two quick centrebacks behind them, and play a normal season with fans in the stands, and I guarantee you both Trent and Robbo (and the entire team) will look a whole lot better!

 

I thought Kabak did reasonably well tonight (apart from his scuffed backpass, but as much as I want Phillips to succeed, it just doesn't happen here in these circumstances.

 

Someone said earlier that the first goal might have happened with VVD playing as well. Eh, no. Just no. Perhaps if was playing without cruciate ligaments. 

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22 minutes ago, Halcyon Days said:

Fuck off Mcmanaman.

The 'g' in -ing is never pronounced. What is pronounced is the velar nasal consonant represented in IPA as [ŋ]. ... The difference between [ŋg] and just [ŋ] can be heard in the difference between the words finger and singer. You should never use a [g] in meeting.

The stupid fake cunt.

Someone on here said he always spoke like that, he fucking didn’t.

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Salah was not strolling around.  He was trying to press the whole side himself in the first half. He was getting wide and trying to play passes and mix it up.  He was covering Trent a few times as well in the full back position.  He scored a goal and put a chance on a plate for Mane if he would have controlled it.  He had a 5 minute spell where he gave the ball away a couple of times.  It was irritating but he was our best attacking player.  

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11 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

Yep him and Trent have been big reasons for our drop off, Trent especially who is starting to look like a competition winner. There’s just so much wrong with this side right now, so much needs fixing, Klopp must be shell shocked with the disintegration he’s seeing.

Big summer for Klopp.

 

It would take a masterstroke of management to get this group back firing on all cylinders after this season without shaking it up. Problem is, there are very few ways to do it. He may need to blow the whole thing up and re build - different system?

We are so easy to play against right now.

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15 minutes ago, Colonel Bumcunt said:

I'm fucked off with Klopp. 

Nobody did more to undermine the two lads at CB than Klopp himself. 

They were fine, just attack the cunts with our world class forwards and let the defence deal with the fallout.  But no, the message was clearly different, as the second half showed.

I hope we start next season with Klopp and Alisson gone and Bumcunt starting all the threads.

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4 minutes ago, Nelly-Torres said:

Re: the Kroos balls over the top, aside from Henderson, I'm frustrated that we don't have a midfielder capable of executing such passes. We had it with Alonso, Gerrard and Coutinho. But, it's a weapon that is currently very much missing from our arsenal. The times we do seem to get in behind tend to result from a deflection that breaks our way or a defensive error. We definitely lack that "special" kind of player in midfield. That's why teams are happy to just drop off us when they need to, like Madrid did in the latter stages tonight. 

 

Up until now, Thiago doesn't look like the player to fill that gap. 

We have players who can do it, but no one is dumb enough to let us do it, like we let Kroos do it.

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4 minutes ago, lebron said:

 

Put two quick centrebacks behind them, and play a normal season with fans in the stands, and I guarantee you both Trent and Robbo (and the entire team) will look a whole lot better!

 

I thought Kabak did reasonably well tonight (apart from his scuffed backpass, but as much as I want Phillips to succeed, it just doesn't happen here in these circumstances.

 

Someone said earlier that the first goal might have happened with VVD playing as well. Eh, no. Just no. Perhaps if was playing without cruciate ligaments. 

He wouldn't have had to get there as Gomez would have already snuffed it out.

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Oh, man, we're in trouble, from a to z. 

 

Allison has dropped his standards considerately and looks like a Pepe 2010-doppelganger: every decent shot hits the back of the bet. 

 

Trent is proving Southgate right, and Klopp is seemingly too proud or naive to protect him. Every opponent of a certain standard is looking for the space behind him as he is slow and can't defend one against one. 

 

Phillips/Kabak are playing to their standards. It is what it is. 

 

Robbo is out of steam and has lost the spring in his step. 

 

Why on earth Klopp went Keita tonight, God only knows. He is not physical enough, doesn't cover enough ground, and when he passes the ball, it looks like he's hitting a basket ball with a golf club. 

 

And, as Usher has pointed out long time ago, the front three is finished. Let them grow old on someone elses ground. 

 

This Real team is piss poor, and we were outclassed. 

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1 minute ago, HolyHank said:

Oh, man, we're in trouble, from a to z. 

 

Allison has dropped his standards considerately and looks like a Pepe 2010-doppelganger: every decent shot hits the back of the bet

 

Trent is proving Southgate right, and Klopp is seemingly too proud or naive to protect him. Every opponent of a certain standard is looking for the space behind him as he is slow and can't defend one against one. 

 

Phillips/Kabak are playing to their standards. It is what it is. 

 

Robbo is out of steam and has lost the spring in his step. 

 

Why on earth Klopp went Keita tonight, God only knows. He is not physical enough, doesn't cover enough ground, and when he passes the ball, it looks like he's hitting a basket ball with a golf club. 

 

And, as Usher has pointed out long time ago, the front three is finished. Let them grow old on someone elses ground. 

 

This Real team is piss poor, and we were outclassed. 

Utter horseshit.

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5 minutes ago, El Rojo said:

Their first goal was a quality one. Great ball, good control and a good finish. 

It was well executed, but that really shouldn't happen at this level. One of the all-time great passers with not a single player near him and the slowest CB in the major European leagues standing on the half-way line. That was just schoolboy stuff.

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Just now, skaro said:

 

Are you including Salah and/or Jota in that?

 

 

More like the front three as a unit. They produce moments of quality, but the collective brilliance is gone. 

 

Jota and one of Salah/Mane could stay for a new attacking line 

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