Saturday 24 February 2018

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN CHELSEA VS BARCELONA.

before i write about the game let me say doesnt matters as to how many time you have the ball and how much you have the possession but if you cannot stick in the back of the net . gaurdiola can moun that wigan had only one chance but what matters is the score and when after some years people will not remember that man city dominated the possession but the way we remember brazil dominating argentina in the 1990 world cup but ended up losing the match . in the game between chelsea vs barcelona i had read news about how barca dominated and messi being unstoppable but to be honest i would say that if i was conte i would just be happy at the way barca were playing because he should had figuered them out . i had never seen an offense being so concentrated around one player . i have heard that certain section of the press were critical of pauliniho starting but to be honest doenst matters whoever you start will he get the freedom to do his thing because eventually after two or three passess the ball ends at messi's feet and as if so he is everything creator and finisher . all the team has to play around him and adjust accordingly if i had to critical of neymar and PSG's tactics then what should i say about barca because they too look like a single man team . i think valverde had to look after his tactics and should change because if the barca board sane people and if the opposition starts figuering them out then i think clearly they will struggle . 
the game started with barca with 4-4-2 formation while chelsea started with 3-5-2 formation  with willian in the no.9 role while hazard in the no.10 role  but they kept on interchanging the role . it was very much written that chelsea were going to sit back and barca were going to be in the ascendancy and going to dominate the possession . before the game it was hyped as the battle between ngolo kante and messi but that was not the case atleast in the first half . in the first half messi was finding the space between lines and he was causing good trouble to chelsea and the interplay was good between him iniesta and  busquestus but again as i had said everything is messi . barca know that the opponent are going to be very compact because little amount of space can be exploited by barca . to honest i was a little surprised that valverde was not able to spot that chelsea were a little thin in their midfield . chelsea only had two midfielders in the middle with kante and fabregas . while pedro and willian were shifting besides them to make numbers . but at times willian was staying just high up the pitch at that time i thought that the chelsea  midfield was way too thin and there was space ( will show in figure ) that could had been exploited but then we come back to square one because it had to be done by messi . in the first half there was considerable space between back five and the middle three . most importantly messi's was staying in between the lines and was causing problems for chelsea . the reason why barcelona play pauliniho is his ability to make the runs and has a very good positional sense . the only thing that let him down is his touch . the other player that had benifitted from barca's formation had been jordi alaba . both pauliniho come inside and the fullbacks get the space to go up the pitch and when messi drifts on the right alaba had made some darting runs evading his opposite number and had been very successful in providing assists . 
in the second half chelsea made the adjustmest . in the first half the distance between chelsea back five and middle three was about 15 yards but in the second half it was less that 10 yards . conte made the adjustmests to make them more compact . secondly messi started coming more deeper which put him against kante and fabregas who now know on how to defend messi . they dont try to snatch ball from him instead try to be patient and they get the chance or they double on him . barca's equaliser because chelsea were trying to play out from the back . conte wanted barca to press them so that they can play around them and there are players like hazard and willian who can show their quality in the final third and in one on one situations . chelsea's formation had been based around good defending and most importantly the understanding between the front two . in this match i think both willian and hazard were not on the same wavelength . most importantly in this match chelsea's most unsung hero pedro was not that used or else he can cause trouble to the oppostion with his runs behind the back four and had got good postional sense.
barca may had the advantage with away goal but the tie is certainly not over and most importantly if conte had watched the game and if he is able to make some adjustments then definitely the tie is very much open . there are already talks of barca slowing down or getting tired but that is not true but after certain time the opposition starts fiuering you out and i think this may be the time when valverde needs to freshen up his tactics and should give more freedom to other players like iniesta who looks to be tied up to messi . they had been asking as to why dembele is not playing but to be honest in this style nobody cant shine except messi .

Wednesday 14 February 2018

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN JUVENTUS VS SPURS.

the uefa champions league matches are a great audition for the coaches as well as the players . the game between spurs and juventus was an audition for pochettino and his players . over the period of two weeks spurs have played against good opponents notably against liverpool and utd . i watched the game against liverpool and whoever had watched it then they would had found the similarities in terms of the way the game went . spurs dominated the game but were not good in the final third . the same was the story here spurs dominated the proceedings but most of the times they didnt look that threatning and squandered there possession off .
juventus started the game with 4-4-2 formation . higuain was upfront with costa who was preferred in the no.10 role because of his ability to dribble as well as he can exchange positions with manzukic who can come inside and join higuain if costa goes wide and be at the end of the cross from costa . spurs started with 4-2-3-1 formation with dembele and dier in front of the back four . spurs wanted to congest the midfield and have dominance over it . spurs fell back through two early goals because of their defensive lapses . both the goal could had been prevented atleast the second one i mean its a stupidity from the fullback davies . he should had just cleared the ball from direction where it came from instead of trying to clear it to the other side and secondly he should had tried to catch it much higher instead of trying to let it come that much down . 
spurs went two goals down early but credit goes to the coach and the players who didnt let their head go down and instead started to play their game and stamped their authority in the game . while at the same time juventus went into their italian mentality of trying to protect the lead that they had . the initial game plan of trying to close down spurs and try to win the ball high up the pitch and hit them on the fast counter went out of the window . now if you had watched the game between liverpool and spurs and this game then the reason why spurs dominated was because of one player and that is dembele . his ability to get out of the pressure and dominate the game was amazing .he was the main reason why spurs dominated .
spurs dominated the game but i was disappointed in the their offense . liverpool game was repeated here . there are three main zones in football the defense,midfield and offensive third . now spurs were playing out of the back demebele was able to pass that pressure that was exerted to him in the midfield and was able to pass that ball forward in the final third . its the role of the final third that they need to combine and the coach needs to orchestrated the offense as to what happens when the ball comes in this zone or that whoever recives the ball and who makes the makes the run and who takes what position . this is the role of the coach because unlike midfield the opposition is not going to give time and space on the ball in the final third and get themselves murdered . here i was disappointed with delle alli . he plays in the no.10 postion and is supposed to be the main creator in the spurs team but how many times did he squandered the possession in the final third . plus spurs players dont have that sharpness as to whether they have aplayer around or whether they can take a touch or should they just pass back .
i had read somewhere that pep gaurdiola use to discuss the tactics with chess grandmaster's . chess and football are way similar and the grandmasters would had taught him as to how to draw out an opponent or use various positions and how to use them . how do you read your opponent and their game plan and get an upperhand on that . the context of this is that spurs were able to bring the ball upfield but were simply poor in the final third . just as when you press a player and one of the player starts as it is a cue for others to press others . similarly it is on offense when the ball is passed upfield then the other players needs to take the cue and take positions and it needs to be crisp . there is no stopping for crisp passing and only it can be stopped is by fouling the offensive team . i think spurs need to up their game in the final third and be more creative .
juventus took the lead early but then just took their foot off the paddle . first thing if it was an audition for pochettino then similarly allegri's name is being linked to various clubs and would any club like to have a manager who plays defensive football . there is nothing bad in sitting back and hitting back on the counter but when you can read that you need to you have ten players players behind the ball then you need to do level changes( ufc word) like be patient move the ball try to slow the game and then hit them . juventus just played one dimensional football just try to hit spurs on the counter atleast in the last quarter they should had just try to take different approach . juventus were helped by some stupid defending by spurs fullbacks who were just hopeless all night long and there decision making would cost spurs a place in the quarter finals .