Messi 
Needed that one for +1,5 team goals. Sloppy finishing
Needed that one for +1,5 team goals. Sloppy finishingLa Liga - 2014/15
- Thread starter jojojo
- Start date
Messi's finishing has undoubtedly declined since that injury v PSG in 2013, that was a ridiculous miss. Made something very straightforward way too hard.
Messi making the result isn't unfair
Neymar useless
30 seconds to get a draw!
Mathieu the saviour
That's a big result. Madrid could have made up ground.
Ah well Celta made it interesting, could easily have been a draw. But Barca spent so much time in/around their area in the second half they were bound to get something.
Well, it's fair to say that the whole tridente has cooled down significantly... Messi has been average since the 2nd leg v City. Neymar as close to useless as a human being can be and Suárez getting too caught up all the time, spends more time on the floor than on his feet. Barça's DF saving them in the last two games, Piqué, Mathieu, Dani Alves, Busquets today, Bravo... just brilliant.
Turan throwing his boot last month, Orellana throwing a piece of grass tonight 
Only chances for Madrid to get closer is when Barça plays Atlético and specially when they face Moyes again
So madrids 9-1 vs Barcas 1-0.. makes no difference
FIFA virus, Leo carrying a foot issue, Neymar in a lousy run of form and Lucho still lacking ideas in these sorts of matches. Still, ref only had a couple of mistakes on the night - one of them was a terrific goal from Neymar who outside of 20 minutes was pretty poor, giving balls away cheaply. 3 VERY important points to start off a tough April, 7 more matches to go
Rafinha showed he can't really start matches if Xavi is healthy and Alves making it hard to root for his renewal as he was repeatedly abused by Nolito
Piqué MOTM, for me
Indeed. What a strange day in la liga.So madrids 9-1 vs Barcas 1-0.. makes no difference
No way, they still have Sevilla away (who are in great form at the moment), Valencia at home, Espanyol away before that. RM still have to face Celta and also Sevilla away, where they could conceivably drop points. Also Valencia at home. This win was absolutely massive for Barça.
Heh you thought i was being serious
As much as i´m rooting for Moyes and give credit for his awesome home result, he will have as much chances at Nou Camp as he did at the BernabéuHeh you thought i was being serious
Well, obviously not about the Moyes part, although it would be just like football if that's where they lose their lead
Well, obviously not about the Moyes part, although it would be just like football if that's where they lose their lead
Speaking seriously now, i think Barcelona will win the league but as you say they still face very dificult challenges. Combine that with the Champions League campaign and the Copa del Rey final and it´s obviously a very demanding schedule.
I don't know how to describe Xavi anymore. He just comes in and suddenly barca controls the game -relatively speaking, we were shit today- even when he's not touching the ball. It's like an aura or something !!
The unusual part is that this season it's far more the offense (and Iniesta) that's letting them down than the DF. Piqué, Busquets and Bravo have been absolute rocks since the turn of the year. Mathieu also putting in more confident performances and coming up with two vital goals. The lack of balance in Lucho's system is troubling them again like it did at the end of the 1st half of the season. All in all, apart from a period between January and March it's probably Barça's defensive players (and Messi) who have been the most consistent throughout the entire season. The issue is that against teams that have the ability to match them technically and the willingness to press them high up they're clearly struggling to gain any sort of control over games and you get very tight affairs (2-3, 3-1 v PSG; 1-3, 2-1 v RM; 0-1, 1-0 v Celta; 1-0, 3-1, 3-1, 3-2 v Villarreal; 1-0 v Valencia).
Simply the best midfielder of his generation, if not ever.
Without him, Spain wouldn't have won anything + less trophies for barca. He's one of the greatest MVP in history !!
The Valencia vs Villareal game was a letdown, I was looking forward to seeing Vietto and Andre Gomes, neither were bad but the game was negative and it was hard to get the more creative players involved, I think you could count the amount of touches Alcacer had one one hand.
Fair summary. Just to add, I don't think it can be emphasised enough how good Piqué has been over the past few months. Must admit I never thought he'd ever get back to how he played alongside Puyol but he's been incredible in 2015. Best centre back in the world in 2015 I'd say.
Messi
I had Barcelona -1 as my final game of the betting weekend. Started off with $25 on Betfair, needed Barcelona to win by more than one to claim more than $1k. Imagine my face when Messi put that over the bar, I'd already been celebrating as I was supposed to buy my dreamy Tag Heuer watch with the money...
I still did well. I think it'd been 8 or 9 wins on the trot before that. I wanted Barcelona at 1.41 before the game so I'd have ended up with around $700 but opted for -1 at 1.99. Foolish me...
I am getting very close though. One game away yesterday, one day I am turning this $25 I casually play with every now and again (it is my daily budget for casual living stuff - groceries, cosmetics, dining out etc. - so I don't miss it much hence that exact amount) into $1k and buying the fecking watch.
How did he miss that though?
Just watching highlights from the Madrid annihilation of Grenada, have they always played that awful cringey music after goals?!
And to think he was already 28 when his unparalleled (by anyone) years (2008-2012) started.
I also wouldn't bet against him becoming a good manager.
What he did in those years was amazing. Messi edges him in those Barcelona teams, but not by a mile or anything ridiculous. Xavi was that good.
If in 30 years my grandsons ask me about Spain golden era I think that I will talk about Xavi (with some mention to Iniesta).Big thanks to Luis Aragones who in 2008 (already with 28 years) trusted him to be the real boss.Unfortunately and unfairly he didn't get any ballon d'or
Poor Iker (Muniain). Confirmed that he's tore his cruciate ligament...
Leaving out barca and madrid players, what would a team of the season look like? I dont follow european football as much as I used to.
That's a real shame.
Good question... I'd probably go for something like this,
(4-3-3)
GK-Moyá
DF-Mallo
DF-Otamendi
DF-Godín
DF-Gayà
MF-Tiago
MF-Krychowiak
MF-Bruno
FW-Vietto
FW-Jonathas
FW-Griezmann
Subs: Asenjo; Velázquez, Mustafi; Parejo, Arda, Cheryshev; Bueno
Moya
Juanfran - Godin - Otamendi - Gaya
Gabi -- Parejo
Piatti---------------- Koke
Griezmann -- Bacca
Subs-Juanfran - Godin - Otamendi - Gaya
Gabi -- Parejo
Piatti---------------- Koke
Griezmann -- Bacca
Alves
Bruno
Krychowiak
Susaeta
Ituraspe
Camacho
Mandzukic
Matchday 30 - 8 Apr - Sevilla chasing Valencia for fourth
A full midweek Liga schedule starts today.
Tuesday
Atlético-Real Sociedad (20:00 - all times Spain, so UK 7pm)
Eibar-Málaga (22:00)
Levante-Sevilla (22:00)
Wednesday
Deportivo-Córdoba (20:00)
Barcelona-Almería (20:00)
Granada-Celta (22:00)
Rayo-Real Madrid (22:00)
Thursday
Athletic-Valencia (20:00)
Elche-Getafe (22:00)
Villarreal-Espanyol (22:00)
Atletico lost to Real Sociedad earlier in the season, but aren't likely to repeat the mistake at home. Mandzucik is out, Simeone says that he's been playing injured for weeks, but that now he needs to rest his ankle.
During the weekend, Almeria lost 1-4 at home to fellow minnows Levante, and they've got a relegation "6 pointer" sort of match with Granada coming up at the weekend. In other words, it's hard to imagine them not getting soundly flattened at the Camp Nou.
Rayo's last 7 games: W5 L2. The two defeats are a 6-1 away to Barca and a 1-0 away to Athletic. In other words, despite the fact they have no money (a wage budget of 15.8m compared to 20 times that at Barca and Madrid) they are still not an opponent to take lightly, especially not in a derby match. On the other hand they have one of the worst defensive records in La Liga and lost 5-1 at the Bernaeu earlier in the season.
Best match could be Athletic V Valencia but Athletic are so erratic this season I really have no idea what to expect, except that it should be close.
Tuesday
Atlético-Real Sociedad (20:00 - all times Spain, so UK 7pm)
Eibar-Málaga (22:00)
Levante-Sevilla (22:00)
Wednesday
Deportivo-Córdoba (20:00)
Barcelona-Almería (20:00)
Granada-Celta (22:00)
Rayo-Real Madrid (22:00)
Thursday
Athletic-Valencia (20:00)
Elche-Getafe (22:00)
Villarreal-Espanyol (22:00)
Atletico lost to Real Sociedad earlier in the season, but aren't likely to repeat the mistake at home. Mandzucik is out, Simeone says that he's been playing injured for weeks, but that now he needs to rest his ankle.
During the weekend, Almeria lost 1-4 at home to fellow minnows Levante, and they've got a relegation "6 pointer" sort of match with Granada coming up at the weekend. In other words, it's hard to imagine them not getting soundly flattened at the Camp Nou.
Rayo's last 7 games: W5 L2. The two defeats are a 6-1 away to Barca and a 1-0 away to Athletic. In other words, despite the fact they have no money (a wage budget of 15.8m compared to 20 times that at Barca and Madrid) they are still not an opponent to take lightly, especially not in a derby match. On the other hand they have one of the worst defensive records in La Liga and lost 5-1 at the Bernaeu earlier in the season.
Best match could be Athletic V Valencia but Athletic are so erratic this season I really have no idea what to expect, except that it should be close.