La Liga 2017/18

Getting past two tricky away ties with 6 points and comprehensive performances across most of the games is pleasing. Most of Barca's hard away fixtures are behind them now.
 
Suarez and Messi look even better together than when they played with Neymar. They just understand each other so well. Betis have confirmed to be a good unbalanced team.

The league is over.
 
AndyJ1985 said:
Messi is phenomenal. Could watch him play all day.
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It’s actually unfair how good he is. He does things we take for granted now because “it’s the norm”. But his highlight reel each match (odd anonymous game aside) is better than most attackers can put out for a season (wee bit hyperbole ;) ).

He’s just immense.
 
Ishdalar said:
Vermaelen is done, exactly the day Umtiti is back from his injury. It's like someone made a blood sacrifice to make him last this long or something, and now his time is up
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Shame too, his form over the last couple of month with Umtiti out has been fantastic and now injured, again. Hope he will be back soon because Mina isn't ready to be counted on in the rotation IMHO

Messi, 12 completed dribbles - most in more than 3 seasons in La Liga since presumably Leo himself. Outstanding performance against an excellent Betis side of Setien. All of this without Coutinho or Ousmane, with Valverde milking a 4-4-2 and immense 2nd halves, would have never guessed it. Stunned

Scandalous refereeing, again
 
Funny how half way through the season barcalona can now rest players in the league games for the copa and UCL games.
 
@wr8_utd Yeah, curious how the atmosphere was because it was such a competitive match for more than an hour and then you could hear even Betis fans singing Messi's name
 
Wow Suarez looked like trash and the start of the season, but really stepped it up since december. 11 goals in 10 games.
 
Schneckerl said:
Wow Suarez looked like trash and the start of the season, but really stepped it up since december. 11 goals in 10 games.
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5th on Barcelona's all time scoring list in La Liga - fastest to 100, surely will end up at least 3rd

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Barcelona in the last 30-40 minutes was sensational. Really good to watch when they are in top form. Suarez has hit form just in right time with Chelsea soon coming up. Sergi Roberto is a really great player, would love someone like him on our team. Messi was phenomenal as per usual.
 
Ishdalar said:
There's only so many chances a top level scorer can miss until he scores again.

Also, as I said in his thread, both goals come from him attacking where Benzema was/created space at, this is why Karim still plays for Real despite having awful scoring numbers.
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Benz is Madrid's 7th highest goalscorer and averaging around 20 goals or more per season is nothing short but great.

Has better goal ratio than likes of Raul, Santillana, Butragueño who are all-time great legends for RM btw.

Not bad for someone who used to compete with Higuain/Adebayor for playing time and is 3rd fiddle in BBC-trio where Benzema is mostly being used as a facilitator and not as a proper out-and-out striker except during Benitez-period. Or the fact that he doesn't takes boatloads of shots (only this season, CR7 has taken 101 shots in LaLiga compared to Benzema and his 26 shots). Never mind that Benzema is being taken off in every game lol.

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And speaking about Benzema, he made a great impact coming off from the bench and was involved in Madrid's 4 goals vs. Deportivo last weekend.

Pretty good analysis on this subject

Today's game vs Deportivo was a really interesting and I think perfect example of Benzema's role in the Real Madrid squad. As many of us know, Benzema has been criticized on here (and in the press) for not scoring or assisting much this season, and both he and Zidane have reiterated that his value to the team may fall elsewhere. Many have argued in Benzema's defense that his movement opens up space, while others have said either that this is an overestimation of his skill or that his movement simply doesn't have the effect people think. After Benzema was subbed on today in the 64th minute, one can argue his movement was responsible for all 4 goals. His movement was directly responsible for both Ronaldo goals, at least. Here's a short (sort of) analysis:


64': Benzema subbed on

68': Modric scores. Unlike Borja or any other center forwards, really, who will look to score when they see a player on the wing, Benzema takes a different role. We see Benzema jog past Juanfran and raise his arm. This would normally indicate that he wants the ball, but if we notice Benzema's head and body movement, he looks neither toward the goal nor toward the defenders, but instead maintains eye contact with Bale on the wing. Then, immediately once he has passed Juanfran and is between Juanfran and Schar, he turns slightly away from the goal and springs forward, drawing them both into the box and leaving Modric completely open. Bale slightly feints as if he's going to cross to Benzema, also playing into the move, but works with Ronaldo to pass through to an open Modric to score. This move looks completely rehearsed, and it would not have been possible without Benzema's movement. In fact, Benzema seems to have been the key player in this routine and we see that Benzema turns to look at Modric before Modric even receives the ball, seemingly knowing that this was the plan all along. Benzema's body is not even in a position to score, and by the time the two active defenders realize this they've already been drawn out of play.

78': Ronaldo scores. This goal was directly made possible by Benzema. As the ball is played through the midfield, Benzema drifts toward the center of the pitch from the left wing, slowly pulling the defensive line with him. Then, the moment Casemiro receives the ball, Benzema glances back and sees Ronaldo and the defender both behind him. He gestures with his arm for Ronaldo to make the run behind. He then darts forward away from goal in the direction of the near post, causing the goalkeeper to assume he's going to shoot from there and follow him while simultaneously drawing out Juanfran again. This leaves the goal open for Ronaldo to tap it in at the far post, and Casemiro was aiming for him all along. Again, we can see that Benzema has turned around to watch the goal happen while the ball is still in play, acknowledging that he has no intention to score and simply watching the plan successfully play out since he's already drawn out the keeper and Juanfran.

84': Ronaldo scores. As Carvajal comes up on the wing, Benzema is not even looking at the goal. He glances back at Ronaldo drawing his defender to the far post and begins drifting toward the near post, same move as last goal. From this point his head is constantly shifting from Steve One to Carvajal, and he's gauging how to draw One out for Ronaldo. Immediately when Carvajal lays the ball off to Vazquez, Benzema glances back at Ronaldo once more to ensure he is setting him up before bolting toward the near post again. This time, he shifts so that he's taking One actually straight toward Vazquez, toward, the wing, completely away from goal. By the time the ball is in the air he's completely removed from the play and he turns around to watch Ronaldo score for the second time.

88': Nacho scores. Benzema and Bale serve a similar function here, but we see Benzema bouncing as if ready to jump for the header before leading his defender to the near post for the third time. Bale leads his defender out onto the wing. It seems like the plan was for the cross to go far post for Nacho here, but it instead lands at Varane who heads it there anyway.

You can argue maybe that Benzema didn't do anything particularly special in the third or fourth goals I've described, although I'd argue against that as we can clearly see a pattern in his actions falling in line with what we already know about Benzema's play style. But for both Ronaldo goals in particular, Benzema's movement alone made scoring possible at the expense of any possible scoring opportunity for himself. Most center forwards would remain in play in an attempt to score themselves, and in doing so they'd also keep their defenders in play as well.

In other words, in all four of these goals Benzema is directly involved but receives neither a goal or an assist, and he's not attempting to do so. We talk about this with Iniesta, how he consistently assists the assist. In a sense, Benzema is doing something similar with his movement. These goals are not only exemplary of his on-field relationship with Ronaldo, but also of his role within the Real Madrid squad more broadly.

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/7s2eli/benzema_vs_depor_analysis/
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The problems with Benzema are that he's very inconsistent, and that nowadays his value to the team is tied to Cristiano. If Cristiano doesn't score, an off form Benzema becomes not just useless, but an outright negative.

He's been our compass for years now: if he's on song we're great. If he's off we struggle. And he's just too inconsistent to play such a big role for a club like ours. The only reason we accepted this situation is because of Cristiano's constant, enduring greatness
 
scoring around 20 goals a season for a center forward in Madrid is a good feature? alright...

Several center forward that lately had been around Benzema presents better numbers outside madrid. Higuain, Moratta, even Mariano. I am not saying he has no quality, for me is lack of attitude. And if they keep it under the excuse that he is not and scorer but that he distributes game, you have Isco, Asensio and even you had James besting him
 
giorno said:
The problems with Benzema are that he's very inconsistent, and that nowadays his value to the team is tied to Cristiano. If Cristiano doesn't score, an off form Benzema becomes not just useless, but an outright negative.

He's been our compass for years now: if he's on song we're great. If he's off we struggle. And he's just too inconsistent to play such a big role for a club like ours. The only reason we accepted this situation is because of Cristiano's constant, enduring greatness
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Nah, Benzema had a lots of games where he made great performance when CR7 hasn't scored or not even being on the pitch.

And regarding the constant criticism about Benzema's inconsistency, I think it's very exaggerated.

Sure, he might have some small dips here and there but same could be said for most elite players...

Truth is that not everyone are Messi, Busquets, Lahm etc. who can deliver week in and out for several years without any sign of dip.

Hell... Even Zinedine Zidane, recognized by many as the best midfielder from his era, was infamous for being inconsistent throughout his career.


4bars said:
scoring around 20 goals a season for a center forward in Madrid is a good feature? alright...

Several center forward that lately had been around Benzema presents better numbers outside madrid. Higuain, Moratta, even Mariano. I am not saying he has no quality, for me is lack of attitude. And if they keep it under the excuse that he is not and scorer but that he distributes game, you have Isco, Asensio and even you had James besting him
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Benzema is hardly playing like a centre-forward since he spends most of the time outside the goal box, mostly around left wing and central area.

Besides, most of the players you mentioned are the the focal point in their respective teams (unlike Benzema) so it's not really that strange.

If anything, that comparison would be relevent for CR7 who himself has been outscored by Higuain, Morata and even Mariano as well domestically.
 
El Pasillo said:
Benzema is hardly playing like a centre-forward since he spends most of the time outside the goal box, mostly around left wing and central area.

Besides, most of the players you mentioned are the the focal point in their respective teams (unlike Benzema) so it's not really that strange.

If anything, that comparison would be relevent for CR7 who himself has been outscored by Higuain, Morata and even Mariano as well domestically.
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That is why I wrote "....And if they keep it under the excuse that he is not and scorer but that he distributes game, you have Isco, Asensio and even you had James besting him"

But hey, for me, they can keep Benzi forevah
 
El Pasillo said:
Nah, Benzema had a lots of games where he made great performance when CR7 hasn't scored or not even being on the pitch.
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Yeah, i said that. When he's on he's amazing, and he makes the whole team better, including Cristiano.

And regarding the constant criticism about Benzema's inconsistency, I think it's very exaggerated.

Sure, he might have some small dips here and there but same could be said for most elite players...
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He doesn't go cold for a couple games, then hot for another couple gameS..

No, Benzema alternates months of lights out performances with months were playing him means playing with 10. He takes inconsistent to a different level

Hell... Even Zinedine Zidane, recognized by many as the best midfielder from his era, was infamous for being inconsistent throughout his career.
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Zidane was inconsistent in that he might an off game here and there, and sometimes have a dip a even a few games. But he was mostly great. He started to become truly inconsistent around 2004-05, when he began to fade due to age

@4bars thing is when Benzema is on song he's been our second best player. Better than Isco, James, Asensio, Di Maria, Ozil, Modric, Kroos, etc. AND he generally scored enough to be the second/third main scorer

Plus, he does all the things we need a striker to do that Cristiano doesn't want to do(play back-to-goal for example) on top of being a big creative outlet for the team, AND his movement facilitates Cristiano

Basically yeah, we stuck with him all these years for Cristiano.
 
giorno said:
@4bars thing is when Benzema is on song he's been our second best player. Better than Isco, James, Asensio, Di Maria, Ozil, Modric, Kroos, etc. AND he generally scored enough to be the second/third main scorer

Plus, he does all the things we need a striker to do that Cristiano doesn't want to do(play back-to-goal for example) on top of being a big creative outlet for the team, AND his movement facilitates Cristiano

Basically yeah, we stuck with him all these years for Cristiano.
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No he does not. He does not defend like no one from the BBC.

Also, of course is the 2nd/3rd top scorer...he is on the front 3

In my opinion Isco, James and Asensio are better than him (by the way, with more goals than Benzema so far and with less minutes, specially Asensio). Ozil is about the same, lazy fecks both of them and lots of talent. Modric is way better but different position. Kroos about the same but different position

Anyway, are tastes and you are happy with Benzema in your team, and I am too, so everybody happy :)
 
Ronaldo’s pace on the counter attack before the penalty was good to see. Didn’t look unlike the breakfasts of 5 years ago
 
What a joke, 4 crosses in the same play to end up with another gifted penalty
 
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