Champions League Semi Finals (30th April - 8th May)

Guardian interview with Edwin van der Sar:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/30/edwin-van-der-sar-ajax-champions-league

Interview with Vertonghen:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/29/jan-vertonghen-tottenham-ajax-champions-league

Martin Jol on Spurs options to counter Ajax (don't listen to this guy! :o ):
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...enham-ajax-decided-martin-jol-frenkie-de-jong

Pre-match Pochettino and ten Hag interview:
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...uricio-pochettino-champions-leaghue-semi-ajax

CNN on Ajax CL upset and match vs Tottenham (edit: contains lots and lots of horrific spelling errors. Uneducated colonials, am I right? :p):
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/29/...hampions-league-semifinal-spt-intl/index.html
 
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RobinLFC said:
Still, there would be way better choices to ask advice from than Pep with respect to beating Liverpool - Mourinho for starters.

I think Valverde is perfectly capable of beating us on his own, mind.
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I'm not sure there are better choices as Barca are probably the closest thing to City out there - with better indviduals but probably worse tactics and work rate. Barca are nothing like a Mourinho team and can't resort to his methods.
 
Hoping for a Spurs Barca final
 
dwd said:
Add it to the luck list:

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Barca complain of potentially neutral refereeing.

On this occasion I hope they get a uefalona ref for the second leg and knock the scousers out.
 
I don't think it's right that Pochettino said it was unfair that Ajax had a weekend off, we've just got to get on with it at the end of the day.

A narrow win will do tonight, at least Sissoko seems to be fit so there's that.
 
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Siorac said:
Klopp is an idiot then: UEFA regulations mandate the exact same size for all pitches: 105x68 m. Old Trafford, the Etihad, Bernabeu, the Camp Nou: they're all the same.
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Anfield is 101m x 68m
Camp Nou is 105m x 68m

Klopp is making the comparison between his experiences of playing at Anfield vs. playing at max regulation size fields. In respect to Liverpool, they struggled to press as well on the 105x68 fields vs. United and City, which is an indicator to him that Nou Camp will likewise be a difficult challenge in terms of press coverage.

RobinLFC said:
Bollocks to that. Kuipers is one of the best referees there is.
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But.......Kuipers is slow to blow to whistle.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
Isn't this kinda like me hoping Arsenal or Chelsea won the CL?

You guys on the continent are far too nice. Need more burning hatred in your lives.
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Not really. Most countries need all the positive PR, coefficients etc. they can get. Fans of opposition teams are well aware of the fact that the more coefficients their country has, the more European spots their league gets and the qualification process gets easier.

Not every country has 35 % of their league qualifying for Europe you know.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Anfield is 101m x 68m
Camp Nou is 105m x 68m

Klopp is making the comparison between his experiences of playing at Anfield vs. playing at max regulation size fields. In respect to Liverpool, they struggled to press as well on the 105x68 fields vs. United and City, which is an indicator to him that Nou Camp will likewise be a difficult challenge in terms of press coverage.
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I don't really understand this though. Not having a 105x68m pitch literally goes against UEFA regulation. It is clear: to host any game in the Champions League proper, a stadium must be a Category 4 stadium. Category 4 stadiums must have a 105x68m pitch. Do UEFA just not give a feck? Or do Liverpool change their pitch size for CL games?
 
RobinLFC said:
Yeah, it's not like we were the first team to beat them last season and dumped them out of the Champions League afterwards :lol:
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Exactly, which is why Pep totally changed tactics against Liverpool this year, won the game at the Etihad this season with less possession and passes than Liverpool, that is unheard of for City at home, only time this season I think. They also got a draw at Anfield and should probably have got more given that awful Mahrez penalty miss.
 
Going by how bullish the majority of Dutch former players and analysts have been this week about Ajax knocking out Spurs and making it to the final, I suspect it might be a bit of a disappointment. Still really looking forward to tonight's game, but I have this feeling Ajax are going to get a suboptimal result.

If Ziyech or Tadic score in one of these legs, and Ajax goes through on top of that I'm 100% going to buy their shirt though. A Morocco or Serbia NT shirt with their names on it that is, buying an actual Ajax jersey is a step too far for me.
 
Mb194dc said:
Exactly, which is why Pep totally changed tactics against Liverpool this year, won the game at the Etihad this season with less possession and passes than Liverpool, that is unheard of for City at home, only time this season I think. They also got a draw at Anfield and should probably have got more given that awful Mahrez penalty miss.
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Meh, overrated if you ask me - we came 2cm short to take the lead at the Etihad and deserved a point there as well imo, so fine margins and all that. Pep's H2H record against Klopp is pretty poor, so that's why I thought it was a weird choice to ask specifically him about Liverpool.
 
Siorac said:
I don't really understand this though. Not having a 105x68m pitch literally goes against UEFA regulation. It is clear: to host any game in the Champions League proper, a stadium must be a Category 4 stadium. Category 4 stadiums must have a 105x68m pitch. Do UEFA just not give a feck? Or do Liverpool change their pitch size for CL games?
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Regulation apparently doesn’t apply to Anfield since it’s not a category 4 stadium. Not as far as I could discern anyway.

https://www.worldstadiumdatabase.com/list-of-uefa-category-4-stadiums.htm
 
Read a lot of naive Spurs fans all over the internet today. Most of them are completely clueless about this Ajax they're playing tonight. Mumbling something about a young, energetic team, but other than that.... nothing. Football starts with respecting your opponent. Mourinho made sure every player of United knew this.
 
RobinLFC said:
Meh, overrated if you ask me - we came 2cm short to take the lead at the Etihad and deserved a point there as well imo, so fine margins and all that. Pep's H2H record against Klopp is pretty poor, so that's why I thought it was a weird choice to ask specifically him about Liverpool.
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The H2H record includes past seasons and is not that relevant this year. Besides, the the H2H record in the EPL is not "pretty poor" at all: 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses with positive GD for City. The CL tie last season was decided not only by tactics and players (City didn't have Aguero) but also by several referee decisions all in Liverpool's favour.

Liverpool really should have taken something at the Etihad as City weren't in top form, with an experimental defence and no KDB in midfield. Big opportunity missed that.
 
Treble said:
The H2H record includes past seasons and is not that relevant this year. Besides, the the H2H record in the EPL is not "pretty poor" at all: 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses with positive GD for City. The CL tie last season was decided not only by tactics and players (City didn't have Aguero) but also by several referee decisions all in Liverpool's favour.

Liverpool really should have taken something at the Etihad as City weren't in top form, with an experimental defence and no KDB in midfield. Big opportunity missed that.
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That's poor for a team that'll likely get 198 points over 2 seasons if you ask me - probably the lowest point return against any team over that 2-season span, or close to it.

And yeah agreed, we should've and could've. But we should've lost against them at Anfield as well so there's that.
 
Ffs. BT Sport

D5Uc-ZcX4AA8D4c.jpg
 
RobinLFC said:
Meh, overrated if you ask me - we came 2cm short to take the lead at the Etihad and deserved a point there as well imo, so fine margins and all that. Pep's H2H record against Klopp is pretty poor, so that's why I thought it was a weird choice to ask specifically him about Liverpool.
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Not sure if Pep's tactics will work for Barcelona in the CL, we'll see tomorrow. They definitely have a better chance than if Barcelona trying to play their normal game though. Liverpool are pretty much designed to beat teams that play like Barcelona.

Going to be two very interesting CL semi finals.
 
Liverpool are indeed a difficult match up for City and generally any Guardiola team. They can intimidate, disrupt and turn game into chaos, which City doesn't handle well. But this Barcelona isn't that kind of team anymore. Firstly, their overall technical level is still higher than City's. They are also significantly more press resistant. Better structure and more possession doesn't equal better press resistance.

City actually tend to get nervous and make mistakes when pressed. Their midfielders are also not at the level of Barcelona's when it comes to keeping the ball under pressure. Both Silva's and De Bruyne are primarily attacking players, and are not risk averse enough. Only Gundogan is comparable to Busquets-Arthur-Rakitic when it comes to circulating the ball.

And contrary to popular opinion, it's mostly down to individual quality when it comes to bypassing the press. Kroos and Modric were able to handle any midfield without some grand tactical plan or perfect playing structure. I think Liverpool will be aware that their physicality and workrate are no match to Barcelona at Nou Camp and will play a conservative game, with low block and counters.
 
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Barça absolutely still the best when it comes to press resistant play, even to this day. There's so many automatic set-play moves they utilise when faced with high pressure from the first line of the opponents press.

Eg. Ter Stegen with the ball, CB's split very wide, Busquets drops between the CB's, Alba goes wider and higher up the left and Coutinho drops back into an area Alba has vacated for a pass from Ter Stegen. If TTA goes with Alba, Ter Stegen hits Coutinho, and if TTA goes with Coutinho's run dropping back, then Ter Stegen hits Alba. Time and time and time again Ter Stegen hits the open player with unerring accuracy. Both the left or the right side employ this.

It's not something even City do as well, since Mendy's tactical positioning isn't nearly what Alba's is.

Also, one thing to take into consideration. Valverde is much better at adjusting tactics than preparing them. A two-leg affair benefits Valverde's strengths as a coach. We observed this during his multiple games vs. Madrid this year as he improved each time they played them.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Barça absolutely still the best when it comes to press resistant play, even to this day. There's so many automatic set-play moves they utilise when faced with high pressure from the first line of the opponents press.
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This is my opinion as well - don't know why people say we're ideally set up to beat this team and that they will struggle with our pressing tactics. If any team in the world can beat those tactics by simply retaining possession, it's Barcelona.
 
Henrik Larsson said:
If Ziyech or Tadic score in one of these legs, and Ajax goes through on top of that I'm 100% going to buy their shirt though. A Morocco or Serbia NT shirt with their names on it that is, buying an actual Ajax jersey is a step too far for me.
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Depending on where you live, wearing a Serbian NT shirt could be the most dangerous clothing choice you will ever make in your life.
 
Barcelona already trying to put pressure on referee to give them calls. Is there any other team who would be so obsessed about refs? Literally every time things don’t go their way they are trying to force red cards and penalties to win.
 
Siorac said:
Klopp is an idiot then: UEFA regulations mandate the exact same size for all pitches: 105x68 m. Old Trafford, the Etihad, Bernabeu, the Camp Nou: they're all the same.
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Well that's interesting but he did say it was a big pitch and there would be more space for their attacker and on the upside there's more space for liverpool's attackers. That's exactly what he said.

Are you sure it's going to be the same size? It's weird a manager would not know this with so much experience in the CL. Also, I doubt Anfield can be the same size at Camp Nou.
 
HisDudeness said:
they are scared. liverpool under klopp has a good record against barca in friendlies. ok it's only friendlies, but still... a good record.
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Liverpool on the whole has a good record against Barcelona. They have never lost in their history against Camp Nou...winning two matches and drawing two. They also knocked Barcelona out of each competition they've played in so guess they're a bit apprehensive.

I think Valverde will set up properly this time though and will follow Pep this season. Feel they'll win 3-1.
 
Uhh I don't think I can handle the scousers in another cl final. Come on barca. And come on ajax!
Is there anyone who doesn't want ajax to win the whole thing? (apart from barca, spurs, liverpool fans of course)
 
Hound Dog said:
Depending on where you live, wearing a Serbian NT shirt could be the most dangerous clothing choice you will ever make in your life.
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Same probably goes for the Moroccan jersey - to a slightly lesser extent of course. But I reckon I'll survive over here in the Netherlands, only wearing them when playing football myself!
 
Just shoot me said:
Read a lot of naive Spurs fans all over the internet today. Most of them are completely clueless about this Ajax they're playing tonight. Mumbling something about a young, energetic team, but other than that.... nothing. Football starts with respecting your opponent. Mourinho made sure every player of United knew this.
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You're mixing up the fans and the managers. Poch hasn't been clueless about Ajax and was talking Frenkie instead, so another manager trying to solve the puzzle how to stop the Frenkie machine. It will be interesting.
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Regulation apparently doesn’t apply to Anfield since it’s not a category 4 stadium. Not as far as I could discern anyway.

https://www.worldstadiumdatabase.com/list-of-uefa-category-4-stadiums.htm
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Unless stipulated otherwise in these regulations, matches in the competition must be played in a stadium which meets the structural criteria of the following categories as defined in the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations:

a. category 2 for the preliminary round, first and second qualifying rounds;
b. category 3 for the third qualifying round;
c. category 4 from the play-offs to the semi-finals
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https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFile.../Regulations/02/55/82/79/2558279_DOWNLOAD.pdf

So it has to be a Category 4 stadium, otherwise they literally couldn't play a game there.

And here are the Category regulations: https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFile...ium&Security/01/48/48/85/1484885_DOWNLOAD.pdf
 
HisDudeness said:
they are scared. liverpool under klopp has a good record against barca in friendlies. ok it's only friendlies, but still... a good record.
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What has ticket prices got to do with them being 'scared'? :lol: They did the exact same thing to us and we are terrible!
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Barça absolutely still the best when it comes to press resistant play, even to this day. There's so many automatic set-play moves they utilise when faced with high pressure from the first line of the opponents press.

Eg. Ter Stegen with the ball, CB's split very wide, Busquets drops between the CB's, Alba goes wider and higher up the left and Coutinho drops back into an area Alba has vacated for a pass from Ter Stegen. If TTA goes with Alba, Ter Stegen hits Coutinho, and if TTA goes with Coutinho's run dropping back, then Ter Stegen hits Alba. Time and time and time again Ter Stegen hits the open player with unerring accuracy. Both the left or the right side employ this.

It's not something even City do as well, since Mendy's tactical positioning isn't nearly what Alba's is.

Also, one thing to take into consideration. Valverde is much better at adjusting tactics than preparing them. A two-leg affair benefits Valverde's strengths as a coach. We observed this during his multiple games vs. Madrid this year as he improved each time they played them.
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Think you are over rating this Barca team. They really aren't all that. There is much more to press resistance than being able to play from the back under pressure. Liverpool will press them in every part of the pitch, especially in Liverpool's half. Hope I'm wrong and Barca win at Camp Nou convincingly and also the tie.
 
Spurs 1 Ajax 1
Barca 4 Liverpool 0
 
Hoof The Ball said:
Barça absolutely still the best when it comes to press resistant play, even to this day. There's so many automatic set-play moves they utilise when faced with high pressure from the first line of the opponents press.

Eg. Ter Stegen with the ball, CB's split very wide, Busquets drops between the CB's, Alba goes wider and higher up the left and Coutinho drops back into an area Alba has vacated for a pass from Ter Stegen. If TTA goes with Alba, Ter Stegen hits Coutinho, and if TTA goes with Coutinho's run dropping back, then Ter Stegen hits Alba. Time and time and time again Ter Stegen hits the open player with unerring accuracy. Both the left or the right side employ this.

It's not something even City do as well, since Mendy's tactical positioning isn't nearly what Alba's is.

Also, one thing to take into consideration. Valverde is much better at adjusting tactics than preparing them. A two-leg affair benefits Valverde's strengths as a coach. We observed this during his multiple games vs. Madrid this year as he improved each time they played them.
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Agreed.
 
RobinLFC said:
This is my opinion as well - don't know why people say we're ideally set up to beat this team and that they will struggle with our pressing tactics. If any team in the world can beat those tactics by simply retaining possession, it's Barcelona.
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Was worried about the same, but judging by the quarter finals, Barca struggled, especially DM/RB, whenever utd managed to apply any kind of pressure, and I dont see them going for long balls like Pep does now against us. I guess we'll see soon enough!:wenger::D

My prediction is that we win at the Camp Nou, with a really tight and nervous 2nd leg at Anfield - similar to last time when Bellamy decided to use Riise as a golf ball...

Edit: Oh, and Ajax is overhyped now; Don't know when Son is back, but 0-0 first leg, and 2-0 Spurs 2nd leg if he is back for that.
 
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