Some comments on last night’s stunning game
The CollinsBeans management team decided to undergo some valuable research last night, battling the elements and Bob Crow to make the journey to a preferred ale house (we’d recommend a pint of Bengal Lancer by the way) for El Classico. Thankfully the game didn’t disappoint, and here are some very brief thoughts on what turned out to be a cracker:
Messi is unbelievable
Everyone knew this already of course but when the big game arrived, Lionel Messi yet again delivered a stunning performance. What a player. Messi tormented the Real backline and some of his dribbling and passing was magnificent. The pass for David Villa’s second goal…oh wow.
Also (and this is not a criticism of the man himself) following on from a previous post, last night’s game underlined the difference in class between Messi and Gareth Bale. All those declaring Bale to be the world’s current best player are clearly far too ignorant and blinkered to take in action elsewhere in Europe. Bale is a brilliant prospect, but Messi is in a whole different league. 13 goals this season already, a stack of trophies and a sensational performance in the biggest club game around. I know who would be my first pick.
La Liga trumps the Premier League
I don’t want to unnecessarily knock the English game, but watching the slick interchanges on show last night really did emphasise the gulf between the top sides in Spain and England. Even looking at the line-ups, you could see the contrast in quality, and style too.
The top Premier Leagues sides appear to be on the decline at the moment. Three and four years ago, Chelsea and Manchester United were clocking up around 90 points when they won the league, losing hardly any games in the process. Now, they are less dominant and the league as a whole is more competitive. Clearly that’s a positive, but when it comes to the business end of the Champions League, it’s hard to see the English sides being able to combat a midfield of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
Real and Barca still have some defensive problems
Obviously Real looked the most vulnerable last night, but you could see how both teams could potentially be exploited at the back. The weakest players on both sides tend to appear in the defensive third. Marcelo looked poor for Real, and Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe didn’t exactly seem secure. Unusually, I thought Iker Casillas had a bad game too. Despite Barca’s dominance, you could spot areas for attacking sides to exploit. I’m still unconvinced by Victor Valdes, and I don’t trust Eric Abidal either.
It’s still all to play for
Notwithstanding Barca’s extreme dominance, absolutely nothing was decided last night. The top of the table is so tight and it’s only November. Don’t be surprised if Real, who were looking very good prior to this game, go on to win La Liga and potentially other silverware. It’s clear though that the league winners will come from one of these two giants again. In a way it’s getting a bit like Celtic and Rangers, only about a trillion times higher in standard.
Watching the game last night, I couldn't believe that it was going to be a 5-0 game. Basically because I didn't think Mourinho teams did 5-0 defeats.
ReplyDeleteYour observations are pretty much spot on. Messi was out of this world good, and the way Villa plays, always on the move, suits the team a lot more than when Ibrahimovic was there when the build up play tended to get a bit bogged down.
Madrid were overrun in midfield, where Alonso, Ozil, Khidera and then when he came on Diarra were passengers for most of the game. Because they couldn't ever get the ball and the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta could just thread balls through, the fact Madrid were playing such a highline led to so many occasions when they were caught out.
One thing I will slightly disagree with though, is even if it is still early in the season, this could be a pivotal result. Positions in Spain are decided on head to head and you can’t see many occasions when either of these teams will lose, meaning Madrid are effectively 5-0 on aggregate in a two legged tie.