MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

 man city played real madrid in the return leg of the ucl q/f .man city did everything right in terms of defense and offense but they just didnt do one thing right and that caused them the tie . this is the game that you can show to anybody as to how you press the opposition but not in terms of offense . i am not impressed with real madrid they knew that they were going to press back and will have to play on the counter so they should had been better prepared . they should had devised a plan to counter the man city press because man city really did their job when they lost the ball . they pressed real madrid very well . 

man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation while real madrid started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . vinicius started the game upfront . he led the line beautifully but he never really got the support that was wanted by him. man city started the game with 4-3-3 . they brought in walker to deal with either vinicius or rodrygo whoever tries to use the right hand side. both of them like to use that same flank . the game started with similar note with man city dominating the possession and real madrid sitting back and hitting on the counter . here bellingham was used more deeper and behind vinicius rather than with him . he had the had in the first goal where on he released vinicius behind the back four which eventually led to the goal . it was the only shot real had on the goal. man city played a perfect game after that . they just real madrid back . they pressed madrid very well .when real madrid beat the press they just denied the press upfront and made them move the ball back or loose possession . what i was unimpressed by real was that when they were trying to counter they were just one dimensional . they should had tried different ways on trying to open man city defense . it was always vinicius who was always upfront trying to take on the man city defenders instead it could had been rodygo or valverde or even bellingham who could bomb beyond vinicius . secondly some of the players were just not aware of the man city's press and how good they were pressing and denying space to madrid . they kept the ball when they should had passed it . vinicius and rodrygo keep hold of the ball and dont pass the ball when they should do . they try to overdo and lose the possession . i would say that ancelotti is guilty for that because that is what training is that for to explain as to when they should pass the ball and when they try to go solo . the inverse is also true for defense as to when to press and when to hold back . 

man city played the perfect game at least on defense . this game is the perfect example as to how they should defend and then use the ball . man city did very well but they lacked one thing . while opening up opposition defense you had to find the weak spot and then improvise it because once you make the move for that the opposition closes that zone and you need to improvise on your plan . man city were very good with their positioning and even on offense but they just did one thing less i would say . i would try to explain that with the graphic . man city pass the ball but they didnt move with the ball . when you play on offense you need to do something special . either you beat the defender in one on one situation or beat them with your passing . man city passed well but then in the final third they were just not having proper ideas to open real's defense . when the ball is passed to you the others surrounding you need to the cue to make themselves open or have that eye where on the ball needs to passed . i will shot that in pics. i think man city lacked that necessary cohesion around the box and for that they paid . most of the players dont have that necessary sense as to whether they can take a touch and try to do things as the ball arrives at their feet . they should try to coach themselves as to when they can take a touch so that they can have better chance of passing or shooting the ball . 

MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

 real madrid played man city in the q/f of the champions league . real madrid started the game with 4-4-2 formation . real madrid had vinicius and bellingham in the false no.9 role . man city started the game with 4-2-3-1 . why i would say 4 at back even though stones would play as a midfielder while man city had the ball was because that when on defense he would slot back besides dias as the centre back . gaurdiola will always try to put the opposition in quandary. he will try to put something new but still i am not so impressed with him. stones movement will always try to create some chaos in the oppostion ranks most importantly he gives one option in the middle which make the ball movement very easy . even though he has moved stones in the middle pep is still not able to exploit or say exploit the advantage that stones creates in the middle of the park he is just there to help move the ball and press the opposition higher up the pitch but his role still needs to be refined which i hope he will . 

whether it be attack or defense it has to be like a well oiled machine where on all the parts are working in tandem with each other then only can perform to the maximum can cause the maximum effect . i remember one famous quote from johan cryuff" playing football the easy way is the most hard way . the other thing is that i often wonder as to why the coach cannot look at what is lacking in terms of the shape or what is the trouble with the formation and what is lacking . madrid were playing with bellingham in no.9 role . the trouble with madrid was that whenever he was coming deep to come help move the ball there was nobody who would bomb beyond him. madrid had rodrygo and valverde as wide players while vinicius likes to operate from the left . he was linking up with rodrygo but they too had a shortcoming which i will discuss later . ancelotti being a veteran tactician that he is could see that there was nobody in the no.9 position and that was hampering his attack . there was nobody around whom they could play or who would be at the end of the crosses or passes in the box . vinicius like to operate from the left and he and rodrygo were combining very nicely . they exploited the space behind the back four for the second goal . but after that they were not that effective . ancelotti too much time to introduce a no.9 in the attack which he should had done very early . 

why was i not happy with vinicius and rodrygo's movement . they were combining beautifully to take the ball deep but they were not doing that in the final third . i am presenting some pics with that . first off when rodrygo or vinicius would combine with each other on the left flank but whenever one would pass the ball the other one would stop . what i would like is i would like him to continue with this movement because his movement would create flutter in the opposition flank . his movement distracts the opposition and i think that this where they lacked . had they done that then their pace and ability on the ball can create a lot of problems and most importantly they can take the ball deep and can really a problem for opposition . 

man city like to keep the ball and pass it around and just mask their offense as to when they will try to pierce opposition defense . they would push the opposition back so that even when they loose the ball they could press the opposition and win the ball back . in the first half both the team were patient and tried to build up the play and pushed each other back . most importantly the second real goal made gaurdiola think because he had to get his back line a little deep . he moved the back four 10 yards back . in the first half when both teams were patient with their offense . 

in the second hand man city were able to press madrid better and were able to pin them back in their half or around their box . they just kept on passing the ball and made madrid lose concentration and that is why both foden and gvardiol got the space at the edge of the box and could punish madrid . kross is very good at distribution of the ball but is not very mobile . he should had been substituted earlier and tchoumeni or modric should had taken his position his position earlier . most importantly i failed to understand as to why ancelotti didnt lash at bellingham as he was slowing down the game . he needed to much more mobile and not walking pace . he should had realized that man city were never going to give him time and space on the ball so he should had just increased the tempo of his game which would had benifited his team . in the second phase ancelotti has to do some major work and if needs to win this tie then he needs to change the players and bring joselu in the team or atleast make bellingham play better . 

BAYERN AND DORTMUND GAME .

 bayern munich played dortmund in the bundesliga game . bayern are already behind in the title chase and yesterday's result was nail in the coffin of their title hopes . before i write about the game let me talk something if you had been following my blog then touchel was appointed as bayern coach somewhere during this time only . i had already predicted then only that it was a stupid decision . he won the title because dortmund bottled it . bayern had already announced that touchel will leave at the end of the season . this is another stupidity by bayern . touchel knows that he is going to leave at the end of the season and so he has no passion for the result as well as the team . he is just going through the motions of completing the contract . bayern should had held the decision and not announce it so early . 

bayern started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while dortmund started with 4-3-3 . bayern had to accomodate kimmich and groetzka in the line up so kimmich was asked to play out on the right while groetzka and laimer were in the middle in front of the back four . i had written this several times and i will write it again . small things make big impact in every sports . you have to seize the moment . the other thing is the cohesion . you need to have cohesion between players who are around you . this helps in creating spaces and you can just change the tempo of the game at any time you want . what is coach's job is to practise and get these players to gel and make them understand the importance of position as to how they should take and how they can create space with their movement and open the opposition . bayern were the dominating team and dortmund were sitting back and trying to hit on the counter . whenever a team plays on the counter it sits deep and opposition does tends to close them down high up the pitch and try to wrestle possession as soon as they loose the ball . in the game dortmund were sitting back and trying to hit on the counter . the best chance that dortmund had was adeyemi against kimmich . 

as i had said earlier in my post that you need to atleast  have cohesion with players around you . bayern under touchel and bayern under nagelsman are two different things . bayern under nagelsman were fast aggressive and direct . under touchel he has made them slow dependent on certain players . bayern started the game as the possession team but bayern with ball are too much dependent on musiala and sane to open up opposition's defense . now this is where the coach comes in . he needs to have cohesion between musiala and kane so that both can benifit and untimately the final beneficiary is the team . both musiala and sane have this attitude of staying too much on the ball and wasting the moment where on they can pass or slip the ball and miss the opportunity . the coach should be telling them or rather get them to gel in the practice or how they should work for each other or create spaces for each other . touchel hasnt done any of that he is there just sitting in the dug out . secondly laimer was preffered to kimmich in the middle . kimmich is one of the best midfielders in the world. if given the freedom he can be very good . thirdly groetzka's was very bounded he was used specifically for defensive work but his best quality is that he can be very good around the box and if allowed to go beyond the striker is a very good header of the ball . 

bayern were just too impatient around the box . as i had said earlier kane wasnt involved much in the offense which he should had been secondly bayern should had passed the ball more around the box and tried to take it deeper .instead they were crossing the ball which was what dortmund wanted . if you want to cross the ball then you need to have groetzka in the box who is better header than kane and muller . on the defensive front you could see that adyemi was going to be problem against kimmich or de ligt. touchel should had seen the danger because dortmund were trying to release him in the space that was left by kimmich who was allowed to bomb forward since sane time and again kept on coming inside but with any positive outcome. 

for me dortmund didnt do anything great . bayern were just poor and all over the place on both offense and defense . fullkrug was played upfront but apart from his part in the first goal where on he did a good pass he was just poor and i would not play him upfront . even though dortmund won i think i would change terzic who lost the league last year because of his ego because he wont play bellingham just because he was leaving . 

the second game between arsenal and man city . it was a boring game . why does gaurdiola expect his opposition to play good football against him.the opposition is there to make it hard for him. it is his job to find a way past them . he is paid those big bucks to solve the riddle that is presented by the opposition . he has the best players at his disposal and if he cannot open opposition then there is something wrong with his coaching . possession doesnt wins you a game . just like gaurdiola  arteta's arsenal were poor . the team has no killer instinct . most importantly he has the habit of picking wrong players for the game . he choose jorginiho who cannot control a fast tempo game and requires time and space on the ball to be effective in the game . he choose havertz who is just poor . at chelsea havertz had kante and pilisic who are one of the hardest workers in the game . i think arteta needs to have that killer instinct if he wants to win something or it will always be second or third . 

there are two players that i wanted to write about first is liverpool's maccalister who if given the chance can be a really good no.10 . proper mid foot player and really simple techinque plus has a very good eye for pass . the other one is akanji . everybody talks about de bruyne and rodri and others but for me akanji was one of the most underrated performers last and his signing for the club made a big difference and you can see that gaurdiola trust him . 

BAYERN AND MAN CITY.

 in the past two weeks there were two big games first was bayern munich playing against leverkusen and man city playing against chelsea . first off i will try to analyze man city chelsea game . before i write about the game let me talk about something first . i dont give stats any meaning but one stat is there which is very important is the rate of complete passes by each team and you could see that man city had the highest percentage of passes completed in the game . you can see in the game the type of chances that chelsea missed because the weight on the ball was not perfect and that is why the chance which was there was wasted . i had already said that to  be tactically efficient you have to be technically world class and that is the difference between enzo fernandez and gallagher. 

chelsea started the game with 4-3-3 while man city started the game with the same formation .there was news in the midweek where on gary neville called gaurdiola team not that pleasing to the eyes . to be honest although gary neville is stupid but i do concur that gaurdiola's atleast man city is not that pleasing to the eyes . man city are technically very good and are very good at keeping the ball but let me tell you they dont know as to what to do in the final third or near the box . gaurdiola's team can keep the ball but i havent seen them just open opposition defense at will or murder teams . the game started with man city dominating the possession and chelsea sitting back . there is isnt much in the game to write except cole palmer's performance . this kid was able to keep the ball and play some very good balls to release players in the space . had these chances been taken properly then the result would had been different . 

while watching the game i was intrigued with some points which i want to write over here . chelsea must had practised as to how they are going to play against man city . just as they had practised defense didnt they practised offense so when they practised offense cant they get the players to practise proper weighted passes so as to make the play simpler and enable them to create more chances or finish the chances that were created . just look at the number of chances that chelsea created and how many were wasted because of the wrong passes. secondly there are instances where on players try to overdo things particularly the wingers and forwards . they could see that they could get close down by two players then they should just pass the ball instead of just trying to overdo it and trying to dribble those two players . there are many a things that need to improve for chelsea if they are to achieve something .

bayern played leverkusen, lazio and bochum in a week and lost to all . the idiots in the media had be questioning about kane's curse but none had been talking about touchel's tactic's . bayern under nagelsman was feared in europe . they were playing a very direct game and it was quite effective . touchel had just abandoned it altogether they are slow and one dimensional under touchel . he is struggling on both ends . let me just give you an example in match vs leverkusen adli was continously exploiting the space left by kim . touchel should had made the necessary adjustment as to close that gap that was left by kim . these are little adjustment that need to be done . he has not delivered on that and i am just reading the news that they are going to replace him next season. 

SOMETHING OFF MY CHEST .

 i had not been writing for last 3 months . the reason being that when it comes to tactics its always defensive its never offensive . players are shown in positions as to how many are there in front, middle and back but there is never a question about cohesion . what matters on the football field is what you do with the football . it doesnt matters as to whether you play possession game or counter attacking game . what matters is your ability with the ball . it is always said that offense is the best form of defense. you can put the opposition on the back foot if they know your ability on the ball . football is beautiful game but what johan cryuff said is very true . playing football very simple is the most difficult thing . in the recent years football has been very defensive and i havent seen a team who when plays football that you are glued to the screen and cant miss the game for a second . there were two teams that is liked that one the barca team under frank rijkaard and another one was the 2007 man utd team who were just joy to watch . if you ask me as to what is football then let me tell you that football is a mix of physics , mathematics and human intelligence . why physics because when you pass then your mind calculates the pass where to pass and many other parameters . the most important thing is the human intelligence as to when you use the opponents momentum against him and how you outsmart him and out wit him . 

now i had to talk about mouriniho and xavi .why do we practise and what is the importance of a coach . a coach is there to think of the tactics like a chess player who with second prepares for the game . they prepare for their approach as well think about the oppositions approach and think about how they will stop the opposition . they try to go through all the possible anamalies that they can think off and try to find the answer . first off mouriniho he had been at every club for alteast 2 years and more but he had never been able to create a team which had been effective and good on defense and is very effective in the final third . what do you say about xavi . he had played under raijkaard and gaurdiola and very versed with the possession game but let me tell you as coach he is lacking something . his team is struggling in the final third . they just dont know as to what to do when the ball comes in the final third . as a coach its your job to put your team in to paces as to what they should do in the final third . he is coach there for a reason to find a way and teach the team as to how they can put the ball at the back of the net . he had been poor and its time for him to step down . 

india played in the asian cup and lost against australia and uzbekistan . there were some journalists who were saying that india was shown the mirror . he is talking as if india is in an elite category . no they are not . i had been critical of the current indian coach stimac and let me present to you as to why i am critical of this man . first off had stimac been this coach then he wouldnt be coming here he would be in europe or some other place on earth than in south asia . first off what has stimac brought to the team . he has brought the european organisation which is very necessary in team sports . his contribution on the defensive side of the thing had been good . he had helped the team to organise better on defense . the trouble is when we have the ball . there is a lack of cohesion on the offensive front . to be honest there are lot of things that needs to be done before we can make the leap . the team still not techinically proficient as the other teams are . just look at the physical appearance from that you can guage the work that is put out . to be very honest there is lack of ambition in the players . just look at the japenese players . nakata had the ambiition to go and play in italy( 90's belonged to italy) . the others had followed the suit . people will criticize me that japan has many a resources compared to india then look at africa ( they will point out to genetics) . we have to start somewhere and just cant be sorry for ourselves . first we have to be techincally good to execute the tactics . 

there are many a things in which the team is lagging . you cannot have tactics unless you are technically efficient . let me start from the start . bharat is not a rich country and playing as a proffession is still not seen as a viable option . let me come to the national team first now when  stimac took over he should had seen as to what the players are lacking and should had asked them to improve themselves . the players are not physically strong just compare them with other asian teams . he should had asked them to work on their physiques . had the seniors worked on it then it would had percoaled down below and the bottom would had started getting better by looking at their seniors . in india education is given more importance over game and we loss very good players by the time they get to class 10th . we need to have a proper scouting structure to select good players and we need to bring them to coaching centres so that will drastically improve the level of our game . there are many a things that can be done and these are a few of them .

MY TAKE ON EL CLASSICO AS WELL AS ON MAN UTD .

 on saturday's barca played real madrid in the el classico . the tie is called el classico but there is no classic about this match . there was poor showing in terms of the play. whenever there is talk of tactics it is about how the team stops the opposition not how the team puts the ball in the back of the net . the beautiful game is not beautiful game anymore because of the defensive nature of the game . the opponent will only respect you when you show quality with the ball . the teams just dont know as to what they should do in the final third and how they should work the opposition . 

real and barca both started the game with 5-3-2 formation . now i dont know why real started the game with 5 at the back and why is valverde underrated with his offensive game . valverde's ball retention and his ability over the ball is very good . barca had set themselves up to dominate the possession but that domination never culminated in chances . to dominate the possession barca played a high line and pressed real . there were some key battles and xavi had rightly noticed that if real need to be stopped then they need to stop kross and vinicius . so whenever real had the ball kross was pressed but the player near him either by gavi or lopez . they know that kross is not that mobile and can be pressed . barcelona had specifically congested the middle of the park but the trouble was that they didnt a plan to open real's defense. barca had 2 uptop and three in the middle . out of the top two joao felix would come inside while torres would stay uptop . both barca and real wanted to the other to press then when they had the ball so that they can play around them but to be honest nor one of them did had the plan a as to how they are going to open up the opposition . barca scored in the first half but it was all luck plus a stupid decision making on the part of alaba who should had cleared the ball . 

just as barca's front two were not combining the real's front two were just miles apart . while rodrygo was playing on the right vinicius was playing on the left side . barca were quite susceptible about vinicius's pace . they had araujo tightly marking him .the commentators commented that vinicius needs to do something different .  but didnt ancelotti saw that why did he let him do that or tried to change anything . real were struggling with possession and bellingham who was asked to play as a no. 10 had to come deep to collect possession . real were just poor in the first half they just didnt had the plan when they had the ball . they were relying on vinicius pace to create chaos in barca's defense and try to score from that but there was no plan . 

in the second half real had to change things so right players were introduced . kross was replaced by modric who is much more mobile while mendy was replaced by kamavinga . real changed from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3 . they brought joselu who would be a target man in the middle . to be honest bellingham's first goal was nothing but a lucky or desperation or frustration shot ( but a very good shot ) . real were  not having offense till they scored the first goal. after the first goal with modric and kamavinga's substitution real started to dominate the possession but the second goal was nothing but a bit of luck as well as bellingham's reaction's for which he is very good at . he has shown great reactions which the other player lack . but now i am going to disappoint you . 

as i watching these news and interviews claiming that bellingham is the best player in the world . let me ask as to whether bellingham wasnt playing in the first half . i wouldnt say he was poor but he needs to polished . he still needs to learn to control the tempo of the game . he needs to rally players around him and read the game better . he needs to be involved more in the build up than just the finishing just as modric does . he should just ancelotti as to whether he can play deeper alongside tchoumeni or kross and the control game from there .  he is a diamond who needs some polishing . needs to play more with the middle of the foot . his finishing and positional understanding and reactions are very good . 

man utd lost man city and immediately roy keane was calling for ten heg's head . sadly i agree with that . man utd were just played around . your ability is seen when you have the ball and the opposition respects that but at the same time you need to defend well and have a good tactical plan to stop the opposition . man utd were just played around . you cannot press with eriksen in the middle . secondly you do a lone some press rather than a team press . most importantly utd need to show their quality when they have the ball which is just bad because they just dont have any cohesion in the ranks . 

the other thing is that i was reading daily mail there is podcast by chris sutton that were talking about mason mount . i had already said in one of my earlier post that signing mason mount was a mistake . players like mason mount are never no.10 no defensive abilities and are just waste of money. instead of mount they could had signed better players  . 

MY THOUGHTS ON MAN UTD.

 right of now man utd are down . they have lost 3 games in a row and everybody is gunning for their throats . people like to kick anybody who is down. they cannot point out as to what is wrong and what needs to be improved . i will get straight to the point . man utd are a counter attacking team and the teams have studied that . just look at the game against arsenal . man utd could score against arsenal when they  countered quickly and found the space . what was man utd doing in the game against arsenal . they had pushed back arsenal and arsenal were happy to sit back and invite man utd to come and open up their defenses . man utd were having problems playing through them . they were struggling to play through . what they wanted was that arsenal should come out and close them down so that they can close them down and use that space for their advantage. it doesnt works that way . you should be able to play when teams are sitting back as well as trying to close you down . 

man utd like to close team down and they like to do a quick counter as soon as they recover the possession . man utd like to close from the front but they dont have leg for this .they are playing fernanades and eriksen in the middle of the park . they are not that mobile and that is where this tactics fail. in trying to close team down they have to play higher defensive line. just look at the game between munich and utd . how many times sane and gnabry came deep or between the lines picked up the ball and suddenly man utd were back tracking . third had been that players had been bad in one on one situations or that they just made stupid decisions . in the game against arsenal most of arsenal's attack were from the left with martnelli against wan bissaka . wan bissaka was giving too much time and space for martnelli . he should had just dealt martnelli the way antonio valencia dealt with sterling. he would just sterling  come closer and just use his strength to dilodge him off the ball . another was the way dalot messed up against gnabry. he should had done better . man utd need to be better in one on one situations and the positioning should be better . 

the next thing i am going to write will not go down very well with utd fans but rashford needs to have a reality check . yes he is good but he thing he can do everything by himself . if needs to be more effective then he needs to pass the ball . at this time air has gone in his head and ten heg needs to cool rashford down . he needs rashford to use his team mates . 

in all this dust there is a silver lining for man utd. look at the third goal against munich . if they could just do the same what they did against munich in that goal then they can get back to winning ways and can still turn the season around .