CL Semi-Finals 13/14 - April 22,23,29,30

malappapper said:
I think Bayern were fantastic tonight (especially the first half) The fact that they lost has nothing to do with any loss of form. They were simply facing another mega opponent who was prepared to played extremely defensively and hit on the counter (something in which they are excellent at)

When the best teams in Europe are more than happy to sit back and hit you on the counter or through the corners, it gets pretty nightmarish at times. Just Barcelona since the 2009 semis. When you are the best in the world, this is the shit you will have to put up with all the time.
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Fantastic? There was nothing fantastic about the display by Bayern tonight. Watch them last season in the CL if you want to see fantastic.

They had a grand total of one clear cut chance tonight. There was no urgency, no penetration, no dynamic, in short no cutting edge. Just possession for possessions sake, while struggling at defending Real counters.

I also don´t get how Bayern could complain about the opponent being in a ultra defensive state. This is what Guardiola´s system forces you to do. It is all about keeping the opponent around their own box (as far away from the own goal as possible) and then to cut them open with combinations. Problem with that is, that you need genuine world class abilities to do that. At Barca it was Iniesta´s or Xavi´s enourmous passing abilites, which could slice open a deep defense with a single pass or Messi´s sheer individual brilliance. At Bayern it would come from either Robben or Ribery, which were kept quiet again tonight or the width offered from the FBs. Does of course not help, if you shove the best RB on the planet into the midfield, though.

If you play Guardiola´s Bayern, you have two options to stand up to them:

The first one is to sit extremely deep, soak up pressure, pray to god that they waste most of their possession and then hit them on the counter. This is what Real did today and while they defended well, this way only works, if Bayern does not have one or two offensive players in top shape. Otherwise said player will find a crack in your armor.

The second one is to pressure them collectively and early and then hit them on the break. This is what Dortmund usually does and can be successful, because you prevent Bayern from building up their passing game.

The key difference between Guardiola´s Bayern and Heynckes´ Bayern is variability. The Bayern of last season could also dominate possession and bind a team around the box, but it also had the ability to draw them out in the open and hurt them on the break aswell. This is what made the Bayern so deadly last year.
 
Dominos said:
Well, you have my sympathy...
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Well, I could live with Bayern only winning one title this season, being a Dortmund supporter and all that ;)

I do hope that Bayern make the CL final, though. Increases the chances of my team stealing a title from them because they are more focused on the CL than the German Cup.
 
NoLogo said:
Bayern got lucky tonight Real should have had 3 or 4 goals tonight. Unfortunately Bayern look already as stale and sluggish as Barca in Guardiolas last two years they just can't play it fast anymore and have trouble defending.
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Bayern put extreme pressure on Madrid for large parts of the game and could have scored themselves. Real Madrid had the better chances for sure, but hey, that will always be a possibility when you are facing Real Madrid and not Mainz.
 
Sphaero said:
The key difference between Guardiola´s Bayern and Heynckes´ Bayern is variability. The Bayern of last season could also dominate possession and bind a team around the box, but it also had the ability to draw them out in the open and hurt them on the break aswell. This is what made the Bayern so deadly last year.
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Very well spotted, and it all starts with the people playing in midfield. With Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Lahm (who I still consider much better as a RB, silly me...), you have 3 players who prefer to play the safe pass, don't penetrate but are also not fast enough and lack physicality and a defensive mind (Kroos, Schweinsteiger) or, in Lahm's case, not tall and strong enough to withstand pressure and disrupt the opponent's counter effectively. There's just no balance, it's all about pointless possession.

There's a reason why we managed to destroy Juve and Barca once Kroos got injured and Müller played behind Mandzukic. One guy focussing on distribution (Schweinsteiger, Kroos), one guy doing the dirty work (Martinez) and a very agile 10 that runs his lungs out, draws attention and provides opportunities to break down the defense - that's what I want to see again! What good are 3 guys good at passing the ball around when there's nobody left that can really benefit from it?
 
I've never understood the Lahm-love. He's poor defensively as a fullback and no kind of CM.
 
Twisted with Power said:
Dumb question it may be. But if your a Bayern fan can I ask you this question about Ribery?

Does he go missing in big games? I'm trying to remember specific moments that he's done against big teams and I can't think of any. Maybe my memories sh*te and he's been brilliant against some of them.

Anyway your more likely to know. How good has he really been against top class opposition?
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fair question, but Ribery was our best player for years. We rely on him and Robben to create something and he delivered in big games. e.g. he assisted the winning goal in the cl final. He is just out of form at the moment. Not sure whats the problem, because he doesnt seem to be injured. He is a very emotional player, so sometimes he has his "special days".
 
I don't think Bayern will go through if they try and totally dominate next week. I'd like to see Guardiola play similar to last season's Bayern. I'd be a lot more impressed by him if he did.
 
Sphaero said:
The key difference between Guardiola´s Bayern and Heynckes´ Bayern is variability.
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its not really about variability. Besides playing possession based football, we scored more counterattacking goals than any other top team last season; even more than Dortmund or Real. These were often important first goals. When we had the opportunity to counterattack, Heynkes allowed the team to take bigger risks and he gave Robben/Ribery/Müller freedom. Today we had 4-5 of those opportunities but the players turned around or a refused to play the direct pass.
 
peterstorey said:
I've never understood the Lahm-love. He's poor defensively as a fullback and no kind of CM.
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In what universe is Lahm "defensively poor" on his natural positon as RB? There were/are a few RBs in the world, who could rival Lahm´s offensive abilities, namely Dani Alves and Lukasz Piszczek, but none of them offered the defensive stability he could bring to the table at the same time. I hate that midget and see him as one of the worst captains the German national team ever had, but even I have to rate him as the most complete and consistenly best RB of the last four or five years.


PedroMendez said:
its not really about variability. Besides playing possession based football, we scored more counterattacking goals than any other top team last season; even more than Dortmund or Real. These were often important first goals. When we had the opportunity to counterattack, Heynkes allowed the team to take bigger risks and he gave Robben/Ribery/Müller freedom. Today we had 4-5 of those opportunities but the players turned around or a refused to play the direct pass.
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Thats exactly what I meant with variability or versatility. You had more options in your game and a way better balance overall.
 
Sphaero said:
Fantastic? There was nothing fantastic about the display by Bayern tonight. Watch them last season in the CL if you want to see fantastic.

They had a grand total of one clear cut chance tonight. There was no urgency, no penetration, no dynamic, in short no cutting edge. Just possession for possessions sake, while struggling at defending Real counters.

I also don´t get how Bayern could complain about the opponent being in a ultra defensive state. This is what Guardiola´s system forces you to do. It is all about keeping the opponent around their own box (as far away from the own goal as possible) and then to cut them open with combinations. Problem with that is, that you need genuine world class abilities to do that. At Barca it was Iniesta´s or Xavi´s enourmous passing abilites, which could slice open a deep defense with a single pass or Messi´s sheer individual brilliance. At Bayern it would come from either Robben or Ribery, which were kept quiet again tonight or the width offered from the FBs. Does of course not help, if you shove the best RB on the planet into the midfield, though.

If you play Guardiola´s Bayern, you have two options to stand up to them:

The first one is to sit extremely deep, soak up pressure, pray to god that they waste most of their possession and then hit them on the counter. This is what Real did today and while they defended well, this way only works, if Bayern does not have one or two offensive players in top shape. Otherwise said player will find a crack in your armor.

The second one is to pressure them collectively and early and then hit them on the break. This is what Dortmund usually does and can be successful, because you prevent Bayern from building up their passing game.

The key difference between Guardiola´s Bayern and Heynckes´ Bayern is variability. The Bayern of last season could also dominate possession and bind a team around the box, but it also had the ability to draw them out in the open and hurt them on the break aswell. This is what made the Bayern so deadly last year.
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He is a Barca fan, ofcourse he finds all the pointless possession fantastic.
 
peterstorey said:
I've never understood the Lahm-love. He's poor defensively as a fullback and no kind of CM.
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Yeah but you don't think any full backs can defend apart from Sagna and Gibbs.

You also watch these players you criticise about twice a season, when they play a big CL tie.
 
Sphaero said:
Well, I could live with Bayern only winning one title this season, being a Dortmund supporter and all that ;)

I do hope that Bayern make the CL final, though. Increases the chances of my team stealing a title from them because they are more focused on the CL than the German Cup.
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My bad. We have so many Bayern fans on here now it's difficult to keep track.
 
Dominos said:
Yeah but you don't think any full backs can defend apart from Sagna and Gibbs.

You also watch these players you criticise about twice a season, when they play a big CL tie.
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A lot of them can't. I've seen Lahm look fantastic against Nuremberg when he has next to no defending to do, put him up against top opposition and he's beaten too easily one on one and has poor positional sense.
 
peterstorey said:
A lot of them can't. I've seen Lahm look fantastic against Nuremberg when he has next to no defending to do, put him up against top opposition and he's beaten too easily one on one and has poor positional sense.
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Ask Ronaldo what he thinks about that, especially about Lahm's performances against Portugal...
 
Spiersey said:
Was there a pen shout I missed? You surely can't mean Alonso winning the ball and Muller taking a fresh air swipe.
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No Howard, I mean Alonso fouling Muller as he shoots then kicking the ball away afterwards.
 
Bayern now facing uphill battle, they've been unimpressive as of late. Lack of away goal could prove fatal as I can't see them keeping a clean sheet at Allianz.
 
Piratesoup said:
Very well spotted, and it all starts with the people playing in midfield. With Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Lahm (who I still consider much better as a RB, silly me...), you have 3 players who prefer to play the safe pass, don't penetrate but are also not fast enough and lack physicality and a defensive mind (Kroos, Schweinsteiger) or, in Lahm's case, not tall and strong enough to withstand pressure and disrupt the opponent's counter effectively. There's just no balance, it's all about pointless possession.

There's a reason why we managed to destroy Juve and Barca once Kroos got injured and Müller played behind Mandzukic. One guy focussing on distribution (Schweinsteiger, Kroos), one guy doing the dirty work (Martinez) and a very agile 10 that runs his lungs out, draws attention and provides opportunities to break down the defense - that's what I want to see again! What good are 3 guys good at passing the ball around when there's nobody left that can really benefit from it?
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Heynckes atleast had the half solution before Kroos got injured - he played Müller on the right and as they often shifted to powerplay in which Müller played hanging striker behind Mandzukic and Lahm pushed forward - it was stable and we somehow always scored.

We often even where better when just one of the wingers played - Robben or Ribery on the left and Müller was on the right.

Actually I do not remember a good match away from Ribery in the CL.

I would not even surprised if Müller really would try to leave after this season - than maybe van Gaal will make the steal... There is horses and golf pitches in England, or?
 
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PedroMendez said:
fair question, but Ribery was our best player for years. We rely on him and Robben to create something and he delivered in big games. e.g. he assisted the winning goal in the cl final. He is just out of form at the moment. Not sure whats the problem, because he doesnt seem to be injured. He is a very emotional player, so sometimes he has his "special days".
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Cheers for replying.

(It was just a question that hit me during the game.)
 
peterstorey said:
I've never understood the Lahm-love. He's poor defensively as a fullback and no kind of CM.
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Are you taking the piss? Usually you post stuff that makes sense so I am just going to assume you haven't watched much of Lahm and the few games you've watched has been among his worse. Lahm is ridiculously even as well so randomly watching off-days of him all the time must be near impossible.
 
Bayern really bottled this decision. They had no place getting rid of Heynkes and hiring Pep. They seriously had the opportunity to be a trully legendary side but now I feel like they just won't reach those heights unless they get rid of pep and call Jupp back, which probably won't happen.

Pep's way of playing has been found out and its been the case for some time now. Back then some teams weren't well equiped enough to hurt barca but teams are better now. Even then when Mou joined madrid they struggled heavily against them.

Its pretty simple. Play a deep line and squeeze whenever the opposition comes near the grey area. These ridiculous number of passess slow the game enough to allow tea to regroup and then the high pressing doesn't allow teams to get disorganise via attacking.

Bayern will find it very difficult to not only win this tie but to also win the final against either atl madrid or chelsea. All teams are equipped enough to beat them and have managers who are sensational with such tactics.

He's destroying what jupp had at the club. The counters are pedastrian, the wide play is elementary, and clearly not enough switching of play.
 
Pleased with the result but not with the performance. Even though it worked, I don't like us sitting back like this, especially at home.

Let's hope we'll have a fully fit Ronaldo and Bale for the away leg as I think we're going to need that vital away goal to go through.

@peterstorey it looked like a penalty at first indeed but you really need a visit to specsavers if you think it was a pen after watching the replays. Alonso clearly had the ball and barely touched Muller, that was never a penalty. Good call from Webb.
 
RooneyLegend said:
Bayern really bottled this decision. They had no place getting rid of Heynkes and hiring Pep. They seriously had the opportunity to be a trully legendary side but now I feel like they just won't reach those heights unless they get rid of pep and call Jupp back, which probably won't happen.

Pep's way of playing has been found out and its been the case for some time now. Back then some teams weren't well equiped enough to hurt barca but teams are better now. Even then when Mou joined madrid they struggled heavily against them.

Its pretty simple. Play a deep line and squeeze whenever the opposition comes near the grey area. These ridiculous number of passess slow the game enough to allow tea to regroup and then the high pressing doesn't allow teams to get disorganise via attacking.

Bayern will find it very difficult to not only win this tie but to also win the final against either atl madrid or chelsea. All teams are equipped enough to beat them and have managers who are sensational with such tactics.

He's destroying what jupp had at the club. The counters are pedastrian, the wide play is elementary, and clearly not enough switching of play.
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Pep or Jupp, Real Madrid would still have the same chances to win tonight. No matter how good you are, you cannot always win in football, and especially in the CL. Still, I think that Bayern played very well tonight, but facing Real Madrid, there was always the possibility of getting exposed at the counter. It's the nature of the game. Both teams had their chances, and Real Madrid took one of theirs. It could have gone either way. Still, there are 90mns more to be played, and it is still well within the realm of possibility for Bayern to come through.

If they do come through, I will expect them to smash either Chelsea or Atleti... The Real Madrid - Bayern semi is virtually the final for my money. Unless something slightly shocking happens in Lisbon.
 
malappapper said:
Pep or Jupp, Real Madrid would still have the same chances to win tonight. No matter how good you are, you cannot always win in football, and especially in the CL. Still, I think that Bayern played very well tonight, but facing Real Madrid, there was always the possibility of getting exposed at the counter. It's the nature of the game. Both teams had their chances, and Real Madrid took one of theirs. It could have gone either way. Still, there are 90mns more to be played, and it is still well within the realm of possibility for Bayern to come through.

If they do come through, I will expect them to smash either Chelsea or Atleti... The Real Madrid - Bayern semi is virtually the final for my money. Unless something slightly shocking happens in Lisbon.
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Dissagree. Jupp's side wouldve had a better chance vs madrid than this bayern. That team didn't keep the ball this lng and their direct football was more adept at breaking down defences. Madrid wouldve needed to have a hell of a game to beat them.

Can't see how you can possibly say that bayern had a good game. What did they actually do that convinced you of such? Or are you still stuck in the whole keeping of the ball obssession?

Don't see how it'd be a shock if atl madrid beat bayern. Unless if you haven't been keeping up with them this season ofcourse. They're top of la liga with wins over both of the traditional big two. They mauled milan and then sent barca packing. If they can't beat bayern or madrid then who the hell can? Chelsea I'll understand. They have no bussiness being this far in the competition anyways.
 
peterstorey said:
I've never understood the Lahm-love. He's poor defensively as a fullback and no kind of CM.
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Fair enough on the CM comment but what's this about him being poor defensively as a fullback? Please recall the last time a winger tore him a new one, don't worry, I'll wait.
 
RooneyLegend said:
Dissagree. Jupp's side wouldve had a better chance vs madrid than this bayern. That team didn't keep the ball this lng and their direct football was more adept at breaking down defences. Madrid wouldve needed to have a hell of a game to beat them.

Can't see how you can possibly say that bayern had a good game. What did they actually do that convinced you of such? Or are you still stuck in the whole keeping of the ball obssession?

Don't see how it'd be a shock if atl madrid beat bayern. Unless if you haven't been keeping up with them this season ofcourse. They're top of la liga with wins over both of the traditional big two. They mauled milan and then sent barca packing. If they can't beat bayern or madrid then who the hell can? Chelsea I'll understand. They have no bussiness being this far in the competition anyways.
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Wasn't it Jupp's side that lost to Chelsea in 2012, having lots of possession at the same time? It can happen to anyone. Having lots of possession and losing to the team's immediately challenging is exactly he way the dominant teams tend to lose. It's just part of the game. Some you win through possession, like Barca and Bayern did, and some you lose through counters or set pieces to other top of the line teams.

Bayern were all over Real Madrid for large parts of the game, especially in the first half and had lots of extremely menacing forays into the Real Madrid area. Some last ditch defending by Real, some good saves by Iker, and the lack of a genuine world class striker blunted the Bayern attacking effort. I am sure that you will agree with me that Mandzukic is not really Bayern Munich standard.

Sure Real were extremely menacing on the counter, but what do you expect? Facing a Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, hugely motivated to win at last their 10th European Cup, and having some of the most gifted players and geared to do precisely that, it is to be expected that your opponent will get some chances.

To put it in another way, Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid at the Allianz two years back, precisely by having more possession. Like tonight, the game could have had a different result, and then all the pundits would adjust their comments accordingly. When a team like Barca/Bayern win, then it's: "hooray possession football", when they lose, it's "possession is meaningless". The game tonight could have turned out differently, either in the form of a draw or a Bayern win, or an even better margin for Real. Pundits and most fans will always react in a knee-jerk manner. But the fact of the matter, is that we cannot even remotely make definitive claims based on a result like tonight's. Facing Real Madrid, there is always the possibility of losing, it does not necessarily follow that Pep has made bayern worse. The CL is extremely tough to win, that is why it is so prestigious after all.

As for Atletico, as consistent, and as heroic as their efforts have been this season, they are not as good as Barcelona/Real Madrid. Season-long deviations are hugely unlikely, but still well within the realm of possibility. When I was watching the Atletico-Barca semis in a London pub, the English fans there (United and Chelsea mostly) cheered when Atletico scored, despite the fact that they already knew that Atleti were on top of La Liga, and that they had already beaten Real Madrid on previous occasions, and that Barca failed to beat them in several attempts. This was no accident of course, nor was it emotional. It was the result of a rational calculation. In very simple terms, Atletico are a less daunting opponent than either of the Spanish Big 2, just as Everton or Spurs (or even Arsenal) would be a less daunting opponent for European teams in the CL instead of Man United, irrespective of the table. If this "the table never lies" theory were valid, then do you think that Everton or Spurs would have given Bayern a tougher time in the quarters?

Having said that, I know that you are also trying to say that Atletico's systematic and coherent manner of defending would pose problems to Bayern. While there is definitely an element of truth in that notion, on the other hand, Atletico do not have the big name, big game players that the other two have to hurt Bayern Munich.
 
malappapper said:
Wasn't it Jupp's side that lost to Chelsea in 2012, having lots of possession at the same time? It can happen to anyone. Having lots of possession and losing to the team's immediately challenging is exactly he way the dominant teams tend to lose. It's just part of the game. Some you win through possession, like Barca and Bayern did, and some you lose through counters or set pieces to other top of the line teams.

Bayern were all over Real Madrid for large parts of the game, especially in the first half and had lots of extremely menacing forays into the Real Madrid area. Some last ditch defending by Real, some good saves by Iker, and the lack of a genuine world class striker blunted the Bayern attacking effort. I am sure that you will agree with me that Mandzukic is not really Bayern Munich standard.

Sure Real were extremely menacing on the counter, but what do you expect? Facing a Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, hugely motivated to win at last their 10th European Cup, and having some of the most gifted players and geared to do precisely that, it is to be expected that your opponent will get some chances.

To put it in another way, Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid at the Allianz two years back, precisely by having more possession. Like tonight, the game could have had a different result, and then all the pundits would adjust their comments accordingly. When a team like Barca/Bayern win, then it's: "hooray possession football", when they lose, it's "possession is meaningless". The game tonight could have turned out differently, either in the form of a draw or a Bayern win, or an even better margin for Real. Pundits and most fans will always react in a knee-jerk manner. But the fact of the matter, is that we cannot even remotely make definitive claims based on a result like tonight's. Facing Real Madrid, there is always the possibility of losing, it does not necessarily follow that Pep has made bayern worse. The CL is extremely tough to win, that is why it is so prestigious after all.

As for Atletico, as consistent, and as heroic as their efforts have been this season, they are not as good as Barcelona/Real Madrid. Season-long deviations are hugely unlikely, but still well within the realm of possibility. When I was watching the Atletico-Barca semis in a London pub, the English fans there (United and Chelsea mostly) cheered when Atletico scored, despite the fact that they already knew that Atleti were on top of La Liga, and that they had already beaten Real Madrid on previous occasions, and that Barca failed to beat them in several attempts. This was no accident of course, nor was it emotional. It was the result of a rational calculation. In very simple terms, Atletico are a less daunting opponent than either of the Spanish Big 2, just as Everton or Spurs (or even Arsenal) would be a less daunting opponent for European teams in the CL instead of Man United, irrespective of the table. If this "the table never lies" theory were valid, then do you think that Everton or Spurs would have given Bayern a tougher time in the quarters?

Having said that, I know that you are also trying to say that Atletico's systematic and coherent manner of defending would pose problems to Bayern. While there is definitely an element of truth in that notion, on the other hand, Atletico do not have the big name, big game players that the other two have to hurt Bayern Munich.
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There's a difference in the way they play which has decreased their chances of defending their title. Possession for possession sakes is what we just saw. No penetration what so ever. Obviously madrid will have a chance of beating them but the argument is that their chance has increased with the managerial change.

Look at the game between madrid and bayern now, and the one a couple of years ago and there's a clear difference, how you can't see it is beyond me. While the did keep the ball for lng periods of time even back thenn they always did something with the ball. Their wing play is what got them through. That wing play is basically a thing of the past now. In the chelsea final they lost because of some divine intervention. Chelsea gave absolutely nothing throughout the game and bayern for some reason just couldn't score. Cole was clearing from the line, robben despite tearing him a new one couldn't score, gomes was having a mare in front of goal. The thing is In tht game bayern was clearly the better side, while in this one madrid was infact better than bayern.

They had the more dangerous openings, more dangerous momements throughout the match. Even in the first half they had the better chances. Any time on the counter they looked like they'd hurt bayern. High line and all looking like being exposed most of the time.

Seriously mate, english fans hate the big two from spain, its that simple. If they were cheering for atl madrid it was because of that or they are ignorant as feck if they think atl madrid is inferior to the other two spanish sides. This season tells a different story. It isn't all heart and passion, its a defending system that has shown that it can handle a variety of attacking set ups and this bayern team poses nothing different. You say they have no names to beat bayern, well, they just beat barca without 2 of their best players. This is a team, not a group of fancy individuals. Have you learnt nothing from mou throughout these years? If you don't concede you'll find it difficult to lose matches.

Btw everton have a better chance vs any team than moyes' united. Get out of here with that theory.

You seem to think this is an attack on possession football, we'll it isn't. It is an attack on the way pep choses to set up his teams. Surely even you can see there's a difference between what bayern used to do with the ball, to what they do now.
 
I don't get :( . We peaked too early this season. I really hope we can get two more great performances out of this team before the season is over, but at the moment I can't see it happening. We lack focus, determination, movement and our tactics seem to lull us to sleep, not our opponents, who are of course fully motivated and up for the game. Since we started all the tactical experiments during the winterbreak, we completely lost form :mad:.
 
Balu said:
I don't get :( . We peaked too early this season. I really hope we can get two more great performances out of this team before the season is over, but at the moment I can't see it happening. We lack focus, determination, movement and our tactics seem to lull us to sleep, not our opponents, who are of course fully motivated and up for the game. Since we started all the tactical experiments during the winterbreak, we completely lost form :mad:.
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Do you have the statistics for distance covered by any chance?

I thought that Bayern were extrely mobile. Especially in the first half. I think that you played really well last night. The problem with football is that you can lose while playing well. Happens all the time. First semi between Chelsea and Barca in 2012 a classic example.
 
malappapper said:
Do you have the statistics for distance covered by any chance?

I thought that Bayern were extrely mobile. Especially in the first half. I think that you played really well last night. The problem with football is that you can lose while playing well. Happens all the time. First semi between Chelsea and Barca in 2012 a classic example.
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We barely made any runs in behind the defense, no penetration in the final third. We had good movement in midfield which helped keeping the ball when Real tried to press us. It all looked pretty for a while until it become pointless and boring. We were much more dangerous when we played more direct in the end. I also think it's criminal that Müller rarely starts in our away matches in the CL now. He's been by far our best scorer and arguably best player away from home for years. Makes not the slightest bit of sense to me :(
 
Balu said:
I don't get :( . We peaked too early this season. I really hope we can get two more great performances out of this team before the season is over, but at the moment I can't see it happening. We lack focus, determination, movement and our tactics seem to lull us to sleep, not our opponents, who are of course fully motivated and up for the game. Since we started all the tactical experiments during the winterbreak, we completely lost form :mad:.
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I really feel it is partly due to you guys cantering to the league title in March. You guys don't have that sharpness in the league now. That automatically percolates into your CL performances where your opponents, in this case RM, are fighting to the last point in La Liga. Thus their focus is much sharper.
 
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