Fc BarceLona News

الأحد، 1 مارس 2020

Busi: We struggled to play out from the back

Photo by Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

The midfielder has given his thoughts on El Clasico

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets says his team found it difficult to play out from the back during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A deflected strike from Vinicius Junior and a scuffed effort from Mariano Diaz gave Los Blancos all three points on Sunday to send Zinedine Zidane’s side back to the top of the table.

Busquets offered his thoughts on Barca’s defeat after the match but also made it clear there’s still a way to go in the title race.

“We lost control because we lost possession. We don’t know how to bring the ball out from the back when they press us man to man.

”Sometimes you’re not sure with a pass and you run a risk, although I think we have the players to carry it out. We all like to have the ball and I think we have the players for it.

”Every team suffers without the ball. We’re not the most defensive nor the most physical of teams. There’s still a long way to go in the league.”

Source | Marca

Real Madrid now lead the table by a point from Barcelona with 12 games left to play. Los Blancos are away to Real Betis next in La Liga, while Barca face Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou.

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Quique’s first giant week was just a little too big for him

By Unknown 2:44 م No comments

Photo by Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

A terribly disappointing week for the boss

Let me say this right off the bat: I love Quique Setién and I believe in him. His work at Las Palmas was sublime and he was great for 18 months at Real Betis. With better players more suited to his and Barcelona’s philosophy, he will be successful if given the chance next season.

This doesn’t stop me from criticizing him right now. Quique Setién’s first giant week in charge of Barça, with a Champions League road game and El Clásico with a chance to end Real Madrid’s season, finished with no wins and a lot of tactical and decision-making errors from a man known for his tactics and smart decisions.

The biggest of all mistakes: Arturo Vidal on the right wing. After shining as the second best player on the pitch in last week’s 5-0 win against Eibar as a false left winger, reminding us of the early Pep Guardiola days where Andrés Iniesta played the exact same position with the exact same role, Vidal played the two biggest games of Barça’s season on the right, where he was completely useless.

Vidal’s constant presence on the right side stops Lionel Messi from doing what he does best: moving freely from right to center, picking his spots based on the opponent’s defensive setup to work within the right channel to create for himself and others. The problem against Napoli and Madrid was that Vidal was also on the right channel, ALL THE TIME, clearly instructed by Setién to never leave that spot, and Messi was forced to play solely as a number 10, which just does not work against Casemiro or the Napoli bus that had five players in the middle at all times on Tuesday.

Vidal is also stopped from doing what he does best: move freely all over the attacking third looking to link up with teammates and make timely runs into the box. Setién’s tactics completely nullified Barça’s two best players in two consecutive and decisive matches away from home, which is just inexcusable and unacceptable.

Quique’s decision-making on lineup choices substitutions was also well below par in both matches: it made no sense to bring Ansu Fati on with just 5 minutes left in Naples, and it didn’t take a genius to realize Martin Braithwaite should have come on for a horrible Antoine Griezmann (not Vidal, just change his friggin’ position!) in El Clásico after Madrid’s incredible start to the second half, but he waited too long to make a change and Braithwaite nearly scored a goal seconds before Vinicius Júnior found the back of the net for Madrid. What would have happened if Braithwaite had come on 10 minutes earlier? We never know, but maybe the pressure wouldn’t have been so big.

The biggest criticism of Setién in what was a miserable end to his tenure at Betis was his stubbornness and inability to recognize and change what wasn’t working, and he sure does love possession to a fault, doesn’t he? This team is passing too much and creating too little, and that’s why he got the sack at Betis.

I’m not saying he should be sacked at all, and I really believe in this man. But if he doesn’t learn the clear and painful lessons from his two poor coaching performances in the two biggest games of the season so far, it’s really hard to see him having any long-term future at this club. Better get better quick, Quique.

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Madrid 2-0 Barça: Recap

By Unknown 2:14 م No comments

Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images

Pathetic second half.

Barcelona are no longer leaders of La Liga and will finish Week 26 one point behind their biggest rivals thanks to a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clásico. The Blaugrana played a decent first half but were completely dominated in the second, and Madrid have not only saved their season but gained plenty of confidence in the title race.

FIRST HALF

From the very beginning the two teams had two very different strategies: Madrid wanted the quickest pace possible, especially with Vinicius Jr. and Federico Valverde running in behind the Barça full-backs at every opportunity. Los Blancos had at least three very dangerous moments on the counter attack, but they were all ruined by terrible decision-making from the home team when it came to the final pass.

While Madrid wanted to run and run some more, Barça wanted to control the tempo as much as they could, working the ball with patience and looking to create chances after long sequences of possession and timely runs in behind a high line from the Madrid defense.

On the balance of play it was Barça’s gameplan that worked better, with the Blaugrana creating three big chances: first Jordi Alba found Antoine Griezmann alone in the box but the Frenchman sent his shot over the bar; then Arthur went on a fabulous solo run and forced Thibaut Courtois into a world-class save; and finally Sergio Busquets played a gorgeous pass to find Lionel Messi in front of goal, but the captain’s shot went straight at the Madrid keeper.

At halftime there were no goals but the game was well played and very competitive, with a promise of even more intensity and chances in the final period.

SECOND HALF

Madrid had 45 minutes to save their season and it showed in the first 20 minutes of the second half: the home team completely suffocated Barça, who couldn’t get out of their half and constantly lost the ball in dangerous areas. Real had two giant chances: the first came on a beautiful curling effort by Isco that Marc-André ter Stegen stopped with one of the greatest saves of the season, and then Isco had a header cleared off the line by Piqué.

The pressure was just too big and Barça’s defense was bound to break, and it did with 20 minutes left: Toni Kroos found Vinicius Júnior all alone on the left wing, and the Brazilian was allowed to run freely until he was close enough to the goal to beat Ter Stegen at the near post and put Madrid ahead.

Martin Braithwate came on and made an instant impact with his pace and willingness to run in behind the defense, but Barça continued to make dumb mistakes with the ball and Madrid looked really solid with 10 minutes to go.

Quique Setién brought on Ansu Fati for one last attempt at an equalizer, but the youngster, just like the rest of the team, had zero effect because Barça kept losing the ball and Madrid knew how to waste time and run out the clock, and they also added a second goal in the final play of the game through Mariano Díaz.

The final whistle came to end a pathetic second half from Barça, who are no longer leaders and just wasted a chance to end Madrid’s season. Setién did a poor coaching job for the second

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Arthur (Rakitic 80’), Busquets, De Jong; Vidal (Braithwaite 68’), Messi, Griezmann (Ansu Fati 80’)

Goals: None

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos; Valverde (Vázquez 85’), Isco (Modric 78’), Vinicius; Benzema (Mariano 90’+2)

Goals: Vinicius (71’), Mariano (90’+2)

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El Clásico: LIVE BLOG!

By Unknown 10:14 ص No comments

Photo by Matt McNulty - Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Join us for another Barcelona El Clásico adventure!

WELCOME TO THE SANTIAGO BERNABÉU!!! The home of all-time La Liga champions Real Madrid is the site of a gigantic El Clásico between the hosts and two-time defending champions Barcelona, who come into this one two points ahead of their biggest rivals at the top of the table and could take a giant step towards winning a third straight league title with a sixth straight win at the Bernabéu. This promises to be all kinds of fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!!!

(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

MATCH INFO

Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga, Matchday 26

Date/Time: Sunday, March 1st, 2020, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday)

Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain

Referee: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM EL CLÁSICO

How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Not Available (India), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), others

How to stream: FuboTV (USA), beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), Facebook Live (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others

Matchday Thread Rules

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, be careful with the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!

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Braithwaite could start el clásico for Barcelona

By Unknown 6:14 ص No comments

Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“I have no doubt he’s gonna have serious impact,” his uncle says.

Martin Braithwaite has impressed local media and fans during training prior to Barcelona’s meeting with Real Madrid. The Danish forward has only played a few minutes since signing from Leganés, but Barça’s crisis in the forward line might mean he has a chance to start el clásico.

— Martin Braithwaite ladies and gentleman. pic.twitter.com/atD0GxlCbp
— barcauniversal.com (@BU_Videos) February 27, 2020

We have spoken exclusively with Philip Michael, his uncle and business partner about what we can expect should Braithwaite either start or come off the bench.

“I have no doubt he’s gonna have serious impact. There’s no nervousness in him, he scored against Real and Barcelona [soon after arriving] in la Liga. He’s more than capable—and last game proves that,” he said.

Braithwaite made his transfer to Leganés from Middlesbrough on January 3rd, 2019. He made his debut on the 9th, and scored against Real Madrid in a 1-0 Copa del Rey win on the 16th. And then, he netted against Barcelona in La Liga on the 20th in a 3-1 loss.

He signed for Barcelona this winter after Ousmane Dembélé reinjured himself, allowing the Catalans to sign an emergency replacement outside of the transfer window.

“Don’t be surprised if he scores twice. I’m not biased just because he’s family. I’ve seen this movie before,” said Michael, who is a New York-based real estate developer, ex-TV/radio host, and bestselling author.

Braithwaite has been tipped by Spanish media to start el clasico, while Diario SPORT of Barcelona has called him “the secret card.”

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How Messi has fired Barca past Madrid in goalscoring charts

By Unknown 3:14 ص No comments

SSC Napoli v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg

Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

But can they stay there?

There is always a before and after to every little thing in life and when it comes to LaLiga, Barcelona have gone from a sluggish past to a phenomenal rise in the Spanish competition and much of the credit should be given to Lionel Messi. Before the Argentine genius repped the blaugrana kit, the Catalans suffered an immense goal difference with Real Madrid in the tournament. In 1990, Los Blancos created a differential of 139 goals, an absolute nightmare for Barcelona. However, it’s safe to say since Messi’s arrival to Camp Nou, things have taken a 360 degree turn for the better. Barcelona’s number 10 quickly began reducing the gap. In 2004, precisely the year he made his debut for the club, the gap was brought down to only 70 goals.

Fast forward to 2020 and Barca have surpassed Real Madrid as the highest goalscoring team in LaLiga after their 5-0 victory over Eibar, as the fifth goal of the match which was scored by Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo was an historical one. For the first time in 57 years, to be exact since December 1962, the Blaugrana have returned to the top of the goalscoring charts with a total of 6151 goals whilst Real Madrid have 6150.

The common denominator in this success for the Catalan side is Leo Messi with a total of 437 goals and 174 assists in the top flight.

Now the question remains if Barcelona can continue holding their top spot on the charts and score this Sunday when they take on Zinedine Zidane’s men in ‘enemy territory’. However, with Messi’s incredible track record at the Bernabeu, we can almost guarantee a goal from the little magician this weekend. The forward has featured in 42 Clasicos, netting 26 times, and curiously enough he has found the back of the net on more occasions at Madrid’s ground than in front of his home fans. 15 Messi goals have been celebrated at Bernabeu, giving him a 0.71 goal average in Chamartin. If all goes well for Quique Setien and Co, in just a couple hours we will be celebrating yet another Leo strike in his playground, which is also known as the Santiago Bernabeu.

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