Wait a minute the opposition striker roaming free to score a back post header is good defending? Or that hospital pass and slip for the second goal? Ronaldo having 1 shot on target has much more to do with how bad Real have been. Personally I was impressed with Sule last night, and disappointed with Hummels over the two legs. And most importantly best defenses are made out of continuity and stability, of course with proper coaching and set up, now because their name is Hummels or Boateng. I rate Athletico, Juventus and ourselves as the three best defenses in the world. Yeah I know they set up defensively but we are discussing defenses and those 3 teams have better defenses than Bayern in my opinion.
Real Madrid 2017/18
- Thread starter Suedesi
- Start date
The Madrid team 5 ECs in a row only won 2 league titles during those season. Seems to be a club thing.
Because it's simple logic to have the best player play in his best position. Something LVG doesn't seem to grasp.
Bayern only won one bundesliga when they won 3 ECs in the 70s
Atletico, Juve and United? Seriously? You can argue with A.Madrid but like you said they are set-up to defend first, majority of the teams will be able to keep clean-sheets if they play like they do. Their defensive tactic is why they got knocked out of the UCL group stages, only scored 6 goals in 6 matches.
I would love you to go see Juve's defending vs Real as well before saying they are better than Bayern's and as for United, that's red tinted glasses at it's finest.
Bayern are up their in terms of the best defenses in Europe. They had to play both legs without two first team defenders and suffered in both because of it, despite yet restricting Real, and the most in form striker, to only 1 shot on goal.
Yeah they are set out to defend first, but nobody says if you are set out like that that you would be as good. That's like saying United would be as good in attack and score 90 goals in the league if they are set out to attack firstly, it doesn't work like that. Athletico had a slump early on in the season, just like Bayern, but now are a much better side.
Yeah, Juve's defending was not the best in the first leg, but even with that it was Ronaldo's wonder goal that broke them, that could have happened against Bayern and nothing could have been done. Juventus actually managed to hold Real at bay at their own home until the 90th minute, something you couldn't do.
Bayern are one of the best defenses in the world, but the best? I don't think so. Real were very bad in the attack, but mostly it was up to them and in my opinion Bayern defense looked very shaky.
The thing is, probably only United fans call United “biggest club in the world“. For everybody else it is most likely Real and then with a bit of a distance Barca.
Nah. Man Utd are world famous. You can go to the most remote villages all across the globe and you'll spot Utd shirts. I'm not saying they're outright the biggest, but to claim they aren't either 1st or 2nd is odd.
Untrue. We are more popular and well supported than Real and save for CL trophies compare with them alright.
I don't honestly know who are the best defense in Europe, it can go anywhere depending on the person's opinion/support, but Bayern are surely in the top 3 or 5. Hummels, Boateng, Kimmich, Sule, Neuer, Alaba are top class.
Arsenal are more famous over the world than Bayern, Juve, Milan and many more. Doesn't make them the bigger club.
I'd say Atletico.
You could use goals conceded but not many people would agree with those numbers.
Depends how you're defining it.
These feckers are going to 3 win CL's in a row, and their 4th in 5 years. Unreal.
We aren't more well supported than Real or Barca. Both of them dwarf us in all three main social networks, which is a better indicator than 700m or whatever fans some English newspaper says.
12/13 UCL vs 3 is such a big difference and 33 or so league titles vs 20 is another big difference. It is absolutely delusional to claim that we are as big as Real, a bit like Spurs fans claiming that Spurs is as big as United.
Hala Madrid 
Man Utd were late to the party when it came to social media, as they usually are.
No, it's just a different definition. This argument always come down to semantics and there isn't one agreed-upon definition of 'big.' Is is trophies, recent trophies, support, revenue? The correct thing to do would be to come to a consensus of 'big' or accept different meanings of it. It's just words at the end of the day but people will argue something with no solution. It's like arguing about whether a man is 'tall' or 'old.' First find out what each of those words mean to the party and involved then go about seeing if the man in question conforms to that definition. Anything else is pointless and, frankly, idiotic.
Well, he starts on the wing. he doesn't like playing with his back to the goal, so he needs to be allowed to go to the wing at times. Hazard playing there would make ronaldo play with his back to the goal.
Not Modric. His ability to create space in packed areas of the pitch is second to none. He is the engine of the team and should be able to maintain his good standards for at least two more seasons.
It's pretty self-evident that in terms of both fitness and organization we are and have been shambolic this season, whereas last season we were really good on both fronts
Also i heard this on tv and went to check, this is the breakdown of our KO games by half:
15/16
First halves: 4-2
Second halves: 5-1
16/17
First halves: 4-6
Second halves: 15-2(including et against bayern)
17/18
First halves: 4-5
Second halves: 9-3
Pretty much confirms what i said about us, we struggle in high-intensity, high-paced contests but blow our opponents away when the intensity and pace slow down
This is down to the characteristics of the players and the team's composition and lineups
And it confirms that liverpool are indeed our worst possible stylistic matchup. We won't play them at anfield and away they struggled to play with that impossible energy and pace all season long. On the other hand, if they can put up 30 consecutive minutes of hyper-intensity and pace, they could realistically kill the game during that stretch, provided they don't have a complete defensive meltdown afterwards
Stop being negative. We cannot allow ourselves to believe Liverpool could win. I want nothing but propaganda from you merengues until after the final.
HALA MADRID!
Liverpool have struggled away from home in the big games this year. They seem to lack game management.
Ronaldo, Ramos, Modric, Kroos, etc are serial winners.
They will not bottle this.
Henderson winning and captaining a CL winner? It's impossible. Some things just don't happen.
They will not bottle this.
Henderson winning and captaining a CL winner? It's impossible. Some things just don't happen.
Way i see it, it's not much different from last year's final, in that liverpool much like juventus will need to win the game in the first half, and the key stat to keep in check will be the difference in kms run by both teams. But they match up better than juventus because they can really blow teams away by scoring 3-4 goals in quick succession. And we are clearly worse than last season(though liverpool are also worse than juventus in that regard)
you are right,the time of rest is good.Right now I don't see Modric or Kroos at 100%, but in any case to get those 30 crazy minutes they'll need a certain dominance of the game stealing the ball to Isco or Modric.I am not sure if they can control as Bayern did.
Madrid really struggled against Spurs. Its' true that they have a problem this season against high intensity energetic teams, I don't think the Madrid of previous seasons would have lost against Spurs. The problem is, Liverpool are arguably better at it than Spurs. Over 2 legs, I fancy Madrid over any team even now, but this is a Final.
I see a lot of our style in Madrid in terms of their uncharacteristic sloppiness this season. But Madrid have superior players and they have dug deep and ground out the wins. So there is certainly hope that they can retain the CL.
I see a lot of our style in Madrid in terms of their uncharacteristic sloppiness this season. But Madrid have superior players and they have dug deep and ground out the wins. So there is certainly hope that they can retain the CL.
So, Red and White cafe it is then.
It's hard putting any trust on a team that's quite so erratic as Madrid. What we know is that they'll be up for it, that they'll wrap Ramos and Ronaldo etc in cotton wool for the next couple of weeks, and that the ref will get hammered from all sides, irrespective of what he does.
We'll have to hope that Navas has one of his good days, that Casemiro finds his form and that Zidane has his players ready for kickoff.
My predictions: Ronaldo to score a hattrick, Salah to do just enough to get a transfer, Zidane to accidently headbutt an overexciteable Klopp in the 85th minute.
It's hard putting any trust on a team that's quite so erratic as Madrid. What we know is that they'll be up for it, that they'll wrap Ramos and Ronaldo etc in cotton wool for the next couple of weeks, and that the ref will get hammered from all sides, irrespective of what he does.
We'll have to hope that Navas has one of his good days, that Casemiro finds his form and that Zidane has his players ready for kickoff.
My predictions: Ronaldo to score a hattrick, Salah to do just enough to get a transfer, Zidane to accidently headbutt an overexciteable Klopp in the 85th minute.
Social media is far from conclusive and yes we are. You can't compare instagram followers and facebook likes to what their actual fanbase is. I don't like United on facebook while someone who probably doesn't support United does. The newspaper figures make sense because when the time comes to renew sponsorship deals we are up there with them if not ahead and you need only look around you. that is a more reliable barometer than social media. It's a lot closer to the truth. Take the pre season game in USA as an example which Marca had to photoshop.
You cannot compare league title counts across leagues, it's just daft. Celtic are bigger than everyone in that case. Yes Real have won more than us in the UCL no doubt but 5 of those were when it was an inaugural Cup and then we had tragedies like Munich to contend with which didn't help our cause but added to the 'story' around the club. The comparison with Spurs is a stupid one again because everyone and his dog knows that they are not among European royalty while we are but don't quite have the European Cups to help further reinforce that notion. Using that logic we weren't as big as Forrest before '99 and Barca were a small club until the early 90s because they hadn't won any, both of which are ridiculous. it is far from delusion when we can sign some of the best players in the world without even CL football like in 2014 and 2016.
Good point. I have no doubt that Liverpool's style will give Real Madrid massive headaches. It won't be easy. But ultimately they have too much experience and will handle the pressure better than Liverpool.
Are Madrid better than Man City? No. A similar result in the final is very possible.
Are west brom? Stoke?
Not to mention that Yes, real Madrid in this competition are better than city. Strange way to make a point
They know how to win C.L matches and that their 3rd final in a row, it's so unreal, but yes anything can happen.
My point is that if Liverpool can blow away Man City in the manner they did, Madrid can get it too.
They seem to have some kind of guardian angel guiding them through this year's competition, but they're far from unbeatable.
They're fantastic at getting the job done in the CL. Whenever you feel like they're there for the taking they manage to grind it out anyway.
I'm going to say how I honestly see things now.
Liverpool is a good side and their three strikers are very dangerous, but in terms of overall level they are one or two steps below Atletico 2014, Atletico 2016 and Juventus 2017 who defended way better while being very complete in attack as well. The good news for Liverpool is that Real Madrid is today nowhere near the Real Madrids of those years either, either tactically, either in terms of vibrations or fitness.
Manchester City is obviously a very good unit and their campaign in the league has been brilliant, but until I see the contrary, and having observed how Guardiola has coped in Europe not having Messi, I find his approach has probably been too naive in the continent for years. If I knew what kind of Madrid we're going to see in the final, I could probably compare it to Manchester City as you did, but right now it's impossible to know that. If the best Madrid, or at least a very good Madrid, appears, they will most than likely win the final. If the best Madrid appears, the comparison with City doesn't make sense. Madrid have played 8 straight semifinals, and 4 out of the last 5 finals. There is a world of difference with City and Zidane is a more pragmatic coach than Guardiola. Conversely, if a not good Madrid is the one taking part Liverpool will make them suffer and push them into trouble.
I also think, a team with Carvajal (or Nacho), Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Isco and Benzema all playing in their positions would not be denaturalized, as opposed to the one in the Benabeu that was so concerned with stopping Alaba and Ribery that completely forgot the middle of the park.
And even in spite of all I said previously, it's a final and it's football. The most sensible and sanest thing is to expect the unexpected, and not take anything for granted.
You never "blew away" City. In the league, you started hot at Anfield but it ended in a narrow 4-3 win. In the CL, City had legitimate complaints in both legs - one of your goals should not have stood in the first leg and Sane's goal was wrongly disallowed in the 2nd leg. Imagine if you won the 1st leg 2-1 and City were 2-0 up in the 2nd leg by HT...
But ok, one cannot hide behind poor refeering decisions in a cup competition. Credit to you, you beat them. But not comprehensively.
You only "blew away" Maribor, Porto and Roma. Those aren't small feats ofc, but neither are those teams on the level of Madrid.
We beat them 5-1 on aggregate..
Exactly. There's no one correct answer.
Anyway as a great man once said, everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife.