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Other games thread 30/4 to 4/5

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Something else to consider; between now and the 28th every game we play needs intensity and sharp minds. Madrid can chill out.

I'm not sure who this helps, but I think I'd rather turn up on the back of intensity than trying to restart the engine for a final.
 
Basically what you guys are saying and what all the channels on LFC are saying - is not to miss our chances in the way Chelsea, and City fucked it up.. Just go out and destroy them to end it completely as quickly as possible in the most halal way possible. That way no matter what angle of approach they try - they will not succeed.
 
Basically what you guys are saying and what all the channels on LFC are saying - is not to miss our chances in the way Chelsea, and City fucked it up.. Just go out and destroy them to end it completely as quickly as possible in the most halal way possible. That way no matter what angle of approach they try - they will not succeed.

That’s the thing I’m worried about - we tend not to be so ruthless when the opponent seems surprisingly weak. The forwards start to overthink, become too selfish or start faffling about - then before you notice your period of dominance is gone and you maybe only have 1-2 goals to show for it, when it should have been out of sight, and then a team like Real will come at you with completely new weapons and complete belief that they will find a way to win no matter what. I’m sure we will dominate the game for large periods, but we cannot underestimate them for a second, not until the referee blows the final whistle.
 
Not to jump ahead all the way to the end of May, but just some thoughts on Real Madrid while the game is still fresh in my mind:
  • Vinicius Jr. will beat Trent at will, so the key position will actually be Matip at RCB (definitely preferable to Konate for that reason) getting his timing and distance absolutely spot on every single time to swoop in/block the run. No need to change the way Trent plays because of Vinicius – we will need his contribution at the other end. Fabinho would need to be ready to drop in at CB whenever Matip is drawn to the right.
  • Kroos and Modric can only last for 60-70 minutes max at the level of intensity the likes of City or ourselves will offer – I would be surprised is either of them is on the pitch in the decisive last minutes of the final.
  • Fede Valverde is an Uruguayan Jordan Henderson of 5-7 years ago – his energy is the key ingredient in that aging midfield. The downside of playing him alongside Casemiro, Modric and Kroos is that it only leaves room for 2 genuine attackers and therefore Benzema can be isolated. If we can control the Vinicius threat and don't do anything stupid against the wily old Kareem, Real actually doesn't have much else to threaten with in attack in their first-choice 11.
  • Ancelotti will try to time the introduction of Camavinga to the moment the game loses shape and becomes stretched – this is where he's at his best, able to take the ball with his long strides from one penalty area to the other, run all the way back to defend and then do it all over again. In a structured game, he's far less useful.
  • Rodrygo has those Solskjaer/Origi vibes – not sure how to stop this, but we have to be very aware of what he can do.
  • Courtois is an incredible goalkeeper having possibly the best season of his career. He's a real match-winner and we would need a clear-cut chance or luck to beat him. Him and Alisson are probably the two best in the world this season and it's no coincidence they meet in the final.
  • Overall, Ancelotti has a large variety of tools in his toolbox in this Real Madrid team – there is a whole array of sparingly used attacking midfielders like Ascencio, Isco (remember him?), Dani Carvajal etc who can try to find a way against a defensive block if they need a goal in the last 15 minutes, they have Camavinga the ball-carrier, Valverde the energizer, Modric the genius old head, Rodrygo the super-sub, etc... They don't have a clear way of playing like City or Bayern, but that makes them almost more dangerous – and like a movie villain, you have to kill them again and again because they keep rising up and coming from an unexpected angle. And it's like fighting inside a house of mirrors, because there is no single "Real Madrid" to prepare for – every segment of the game they will show a different face. It will be a fascinating final, one for the ages.

You forgot Bale :-D
 
I rarely post the ESPN FC stuff here, but I thought this was actually an insightful discussion and worth a watch:


 
All of this and we have to hope we have a decent referee assigned to the game to ensure we're not subject to more Real Madrid (Ramos-eque) shitehousery.

Even today, as much as I dislike City, have to admit they were somewhat cheated out of many decisions.

How the ref never gave Casemeiro a card is beggars belief!

And then only 3mins of injury time, despite all of Milatao's timewasting (which lasted about 4mins).

Then to add insult to injury, he blows up 10 seconds early! If I was a bluefumer I'd call it a UEFA-conspiracy against Citeh.

But really, these decisions are just the sort that always go for Madrid.

In 2018, Ramos should have seen 2 yellows for the foul on Salah and then the elbow on Karius, but Madrid have this sort absurd privilege to get away with shite in the CL.

And...

[article]Alternatively though, there’s perhaps more evidence to indicate that if he had the choice, Klopp may prefer to take on Guardiola over Ancelotti. This is because the experienced Italian manager has proven to be somewhat of a thorn in Klopp’s side in recent years.

The two managers' most recent meeting came in the Premier League last season when Ancelotti’s Everton side travelled to Anfield and secured an impressive 2-0 victory. That stretched Ancelotti’s record over Klopp to three straight unbeaten matches.

Klopp has in fact managed to win just one of his last six games against Ancelotti during spells as manager of Everton and Napoli. That one win came when his must-changed Liverpool side overcame a rotated Everton team 1-0 in FA Cup third round back in January 2020.


One of the ways in which Ancelotti has enjoyed success against Klopp has been coming up with tactical plans to nullify the threat posed by his team’s usually dangerous attack. It’s striking that across those aforementioned six meetings, Klopp’s side failed to score three times, and scored more than one goal only once.
[/article]
 
Do we get to see Bale this time round?

Ancelotti might just put him on the bench to fuck with our heads.
 
Madrid is very dangerous to play in a one of final as opposed to the double header. They always have super talents who can change the game on its head in a matter of minutes. Now their confidence will be very much up after a game like that....the olympiacos win gave us a lot of momentum in our number 5 and likewise the Barca win for number 6. It's how we won those games that make some people get unshakable belief. Now Real Madrid have that with this win. They were never in front through out this 2 legs and then to win it like that after stoppage time is super crazy...
 
Reporter: Mr Guardiola, when you were at Barcelona, how many Champions league did you win?

twice-guardiola.gif


Reporter - Impressive wins those were. Since those brilliant wins, you've managed Bayern Munich, the best team in Germany, and Manchester City, the wealthiest team in England until earlier this season. How much money, rounding up, in billions have you spent in that time period?

twice-guardiola.gif


Reporter - Wow! Almost 2 billion and how many Champions Leagues have you won in that time period?

GettyImages-631094062.jpg


Reporter - Is that 1?

pepinterview.jpg
 
[article]
Barney Ronay


When the moment came it seemed to strike Daniele Orsato like a surge of static energy. The referee had been phlegmatic at the Bernabéu. He shrugged. He jogged. But this place does something to you. As Karim Benzema fell, ankle tapped by a lunge from Rúben Dias, even before his body hit the turf Orsato’s arm was springing out from his side, ramrod straight, possessed with the voodoo of another of these absurd electrical storms, these nights of white noise, white light, where nothing is ever done until it’s done.


Benzema stepped up and rolled the penalty kick into the empty corner of the net, ran to the crowd and began slapping hands, reaching out, like a demented papal walkabout. And so it came to pass. With 89 minutes and 40 seconds of this semi-final second leg gone, Real Madrid had been on their way out of the Champions League in sickly fashion, pushed to the edge of things by a City team that had been more efficient, more coherent.


With 95 minutes gone they were 3-1 up on the night and the Bernabéu was floating up off its moorings, writhing, singing to itself, high on that regal will to power.


What to make of all this? There has been a great deal of mythmaking around the Bernabéu on this run. This is a magical place. A terrifying place. An enchanted canyon. A place where witches skirl about in the skies above casting dark magic.


And there was the usual white noise and white light at kick-off, those craning ends creating a kind of noise funnel effect, dissolving into a barrage of whistles as the name Josep Guardiola appeared on one of the screens. They hate Pep here. He represents, well, all of it. Catalanism, Messi‑ism, clásico‑hate, other people succeeding.


After which, Madrid just seemed to sit in and wait for their moment, trying to reduce the game to something smaller, a moment that could be snatched. They trod water. They watched City pass the ball. It took four minutes for Kevin De Bruyne to put his first sequence in motion, turning away from Casemiro, and producing a wonderful cinematic through pass for Gabriel Jesus. After which City kept turning on the cold tap, making those packed, fretful stands watch as they passed the ball in their neat little triangles and hexagons, asserting their own careful rhythms.


Madrid had one tactic in those opening 25 minutes. Give it to Vini. Watch him go. Around the 40‑minute mark they counterattacked, feeding the ball to the left‑hand corner again like an upmarket Jack Charlton team. Vinícius Júnior was away – and then he wasn’t. Kyle Walker’s sprint back was full-thrust. The tackle was perfectly timed. It felt like maybe this was the thing that was going to happen. Maybe this is the story now? Except, somehow you knew it wasn’t. Half‑time brought whistles, arms thrown in the air, and a shrug of frustration around the stands.


City had looked like a version of City that wasn’t quite City. But Madrid’s midfield had still been outgunned and outrun. Does it matter? Aged 36 now, Luka Modric just kind of hangs in there, waiting for the day to come his way. Toni Kroos spent most of the game looking gassed and pink and sweaty, like a dad on a fun run. But Kroos is also part of the myth, the show of being able to put out a midfield with a player this languid and regal. Yeah, this is us. And this is how we will beat you. With 17 minutes to play Riyad Mahrez scored a wonderful goal that seemed to kill the tie, spanking the ball into the comer of the net after a fine run and pass from Bernardo Silva. City were two goals up now. Was this it? Was this thing done?


Carlo Ancelotti appeared on his touchline, shrugging and shuffling, and resembling as ever, a renaissance archduke about to ride off into battle wearing evening dress and smoking a cheroot. Rodrygo came on. That end point began to creep closer. And steadily City began to congeal.


There have been times in this competition when this team has seemed brittle. As though playing football is a formal exercise, something learned and studied and reproduced . There is a team of beautiful movement, precision, passion in there. But sometimes it helps in these games to play through a mist, to play red not blue, hot not cold, as they did in the first leg. They had chances to kill this tie, most notably Jack Grealish twice at the death.


The strangest part was, there was no buildup. This wasn’t coming. The earth did not shake. The air didn’t crackle. There was no sound of footsteps approaching through the forest. Instead of winding up through the gears at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid did something else, scoring twice in 84 seconds right at the death, both from Rodrygo.


Then came that penalty kick, and a final half‑hour that felt, somehow, like a victory lap, an assertion of will. It is six seasons now since Guardiola first took City into this competition. Every exit hurts. Here as he walked out, bandy legged, all in black, to shake hands and face those tumbling stands, the shrill wave of noise, it was impossible not to feel the pathos of the moment. City were simply overwhelmed here, the masters of control beaten by another moment of energy, light, magic, whatever

[/article]
 
Something else to consider; between now and the 28th every game we play needs intensity and sharp minds. Madrid can chill out.

I'm not sure who this helps, but I think I'd rather turn up on the back of intensity than trying to restart the engine for a final.
Yeah, part of the reason we were so shit in the final against Spurs was the gap. We're completely used to playing must win football every week. Let's see it through to the end and crown it with big ears.
 
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