Solid looking win now for Barca, really good come back.
La Liga 2017/18
- Thread starter Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87
- Start date
2-4 Messi free kick 
Very impressive this Barca side.
I didn't think they'd amount to anything this season. Couldn't have been more wrong.
I didn't think they'd amount to anything this season. Couldn't have been more wrong.
Valverde showing what a good manager can do to a team who looked dead and buried in august. Really building another great Barca side.
Crazy freekick, curse broken
Really pleased for him.
Messi is taking the piss with these free kicks now, doesn't even shoot them with power anymore, just chips them in
Sky saying this is Barca's first Liga win there since Rijkaard was in charge!
That is the curse lifted. Well done Barcelona.
They've not won here in 10 years (in the league).
9 points to Atleti, 19 to Madrid.
Messi has equalized Muller as top scorer in one league with 365
They are us from last season, but better
I give up
Give me 10 more angles on that free kick
I give up
Give me 10 more angles on that free kick
First win in 88 years after trailing 0-1
Shame giorno
He was overall better than Ronaldo last year too but Ronaldo had an amazing last 3 months and that was that.
Ronaldo can still do that again and the World Cup too. Balon Dor is undecided.
Madrid are now closer to relegation than to the top
10 years isn't a curse!
Utd at the Bridge is a curse, City at Anfield but not 10 years which is also a stretch since Barca easily won there last season.
Utd at the Bridge is a curse, City at Anfield but not 10 years which is also a stretch since Barca easily won there last season.
I've mentally checked out for this season. I'm just going to enjoy beatiful things and pretend they don't hit me like a knife through the kneeShame giorno
That was an impressive comeback. Didn't think they had it in them with the way Sociedad were playing, the rain..
Aye, nothing quite as nice as taking a step back, putting on a (fairly!) neutral hat and just enjoying the best of what life (& football) has to offer!
Besides, life is more interesting when 1 team isn’t winning every season. Unless of course that 1 team is United
Was thinking the same thing when I saw it, Villa has a similar one too
Not really. Any decent manager can have this Barca team winning everything. For evidence see Luis Enrique.
Lionel Messi is a cheat code; like playing a video game. Add on to this the quality that Barcelona can get and there you go.
This has happened to Madrid and Barcelona for a while; a new manager comes in with a fresh approach and the world class players perform to their level again.
Messi is the best player I have ever seen.
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I have the rare ability to pretend that i can dissociate myself from my fandom. Sometimes i even manage to dupe myself into believeing it!Aye, nothing quite as nice as taking a step back, putting on a (fairly!) neutral hat and just enjoying the best of what life (& football) has to offer!
Besides, life is more interesting when 1 team isn’t winning every season. Unless of course that 1 team is United
Did you consider the quality of the teams you named?
Your team will bounce back. It’s Madrid. At least the summer muppetry should be fun
Maybe calling Luis Enrique a "decent manager" is giving him too much credit.
I love the guy, but let's be realists, his real true coaching stage in Barcelona were his first months until the loss in Anoeta, after that he allegedly took a step back and more or less let players do "their thing", Valverde is the first guy since Pep I've seen making changes to the team, being respected by the players and getting consistent results
So just because a manager has a system it means he is a good manager now? So almost every manager is a good manager, only need to manage Barcelona to show it?
Valverde has managed for a LONG time, and only once he came to Barcelona did he start looking to win major silverware? I dont believe that is evidence of quality.
Maybe the standards for a good manager have fallen now, I thought you needed to win in difficult situations to be considered a distinguished manager.
He only had a couple chances for silverware, he got titles in Greece (not a shocker, I know), led Espanyol to a UEFA final and lost in Penalties, qualified Athletic for a Cup final and for a UCL season, those are things that only Bielsa or Luis Fernandez in 1999 have done in Bilbao in the last 30 years, not even Heynckes took them to those heights. And it's only a Super Cup, but he ended a 31 year title drought in Bilbao too.
You can't compare him to Luis Enrique if you look at their numbers outside Barcelona. Lucho was a disaster in Roma and finished 9th, 10 points above relegation in Vigo, a good job, but nothing extraordinary and that pales to the heights Valverde has moved around in Olympiakos, Espanyol, Athletic or Valencia
That dip at the end.
He probably is the best all of us have ever seen.
Andre Gomes must be the worst player to ever play for a top team to be honest , how bad is that guy seriously? Another great performance from Barcelona , they are right now the favorite to win the CL and they will win La Liga easily even if it hurts my feelings
Real Madrid are closer to the relegation zone than they are to Barcelona
Think about what the expectations were for Barca over the summer, after losing Neymar and the board being on the verge of being replaced and Messi not signing a new contract and look at them now. It's halfway through January they are UNDEFEATED in all competitions since the season began. That is insane.
And it's not always easy to "win matches you should be winning" Barca hadn't won at Real Sociedad's stadium in ten years and had an amazing come from behind victory to have 4 straight goals. Their come from behind victory at that particular stadium is the first time it has happened for Barca after being down in 88 years. Pep always struggled there during his time with Barca.
People just refuse to give Barca any credit despite the fact that this was supposed to be the worst Barca team of the decade heading into this season and things looked grim after the supercup. Paulinho was an amazing signing, Iniesta is having his best season in a while, Jordi Alba might be the best LB in the world based on current form and Ter Stegen is a worst case top 2 GK. Sergi Roberto is an absolute gem and even players like Vermaleen who used to be made fun of have been making immense contributions when called upon. This Barca team has FAR more depth than the 2016 or 2017 teams of Enrique's last two seasons. Valverde has done a fantastic job this season and is easily the most underrated manager in Europe right now. And the scary thing is, Barca can still play much better, they have room for improvement.
Barca is the #1 defensive side in all of Europe. Yes, they have made mistakes here or there, Umtiti was out for over a month and he's one of the best CB's in the world but the fact that they actually have a right flank that isn't a dumpster fire like it was last season is massive. Semedo was a great signing, Yery Mina is one of the most promising prospects from South America, and Paulinho has to be the most pleasant surprise of the year. Dembele is still working his way in and he will take some time, and Coutinho was a shrewd signing. They had the best January transfer window in their history. Despite being undefeated they still want to improve.
People want to discredit Barca so far but NOBODY and I mean NOBODY would have them undefeated this far along into the season. I don't think this team is better than any of Pep's teams or the 2015 team but they were definitely much better and much more balanced than the 2016 or 2017 teams. The teams plays much more cohesively since Neymar left and Valverde has them playing with a great fighting spirit. They actually play with using the midfield as an asset as oppose to bypassing them altogether like Enrique had them do. There are at least 3-4 games so far this season Barca definitely would've lost last year under Enrique. Especially today's match which was one of their most impressive wins of the season. Messi should have another Ballon D'or by the end of the year at this current rate.
Agree with rest of your post(mostly) but the bolded part is not true.