MY TAKE ON THE UEFA S/F .

 semifinals were played in the euro 24 . in the first game france played spain . france played 4-3-3 while spain too started with the same formation . france brought in dembele in place of griezman . the thinking about bringing dembele in the squad was to use his pace and most importantly he is good in one on one situations but hopeless in positional reading and most importantly is extremly one dimensional . spain brought in olmo in place of pedri ( how many times had i recommended this kid ) . the game started with spain dominating the possession and france trying to break on the counter . the trouble was with the midfield and the no. 10 position . first off france's midfield three were not able to compete against the spain middle three . the reason being that there was no cohesion in the team . france is the team of superstars but there is no cohesion in the team. they play like individuals and i am sorry to say but they had been carried by mbappe's brilliance ( the reason i am calling him brilliant is because he is just not good running with the ball but very good technically ) he needs a proper no. 9 in the form of giroud  who is severly missed by france . the tr4ouble with france was that they couldnt compete with the spain's midfield . the cohesion that the middle three of spain ( rodri,fabian and olmo ) was way better than france's middle three . still france took the lead . now i had been telling this in past posts as the body position that the centre backs take when they defend and thats what happened there. laporte lost kolomuani because his body position wasnt correct . mbappe showed that he is just not a good dribbler but also very crosser of the ball . 

the trouble for france was that they just couldnt compete with spain the midfield most importantly they were just not able to pick up runs from olmo . there was always a question as to whom will pick him whether the centre backs or the midfielders picked him . i think it was tchoumeni's job but he failed miserably in that . spain had flat two in front of the back four but france had kante and rabiot high up the pitch and not along side tchoumeni and that was causing a lot of trouble . i think deschamps should had put on midfielder besides his holding man for cover . secondly he should had just started griezman instead of demebele who is wastes chances .

spain responded very nicely . yamal equalized for spain . now just look at the way spain were  defending against  mbappe . as soon as mbappe received the ball there would be the right back  navas and luiz who would drop on mbappe helping navas to deal with mbappe . now i dont know why france didnt use mendi who is much better defender compared to hernandez who is good at going forward but cant say that about his defense . now the second goal .everybody is talking about the second goal as to how he fooled tchoumeni but still in the that half just look at the the flick that olmo did to put ball at morata's feet . i had said that the striker should be always ready to pull the trigger . he didnt expect the ball but that just shows olmo's reading of the game and his ability . france chased the game in second half but since there was no game plan and cohesion spain were just comfortable . he brought giroud but it was little too late . i think its time france bid goodbye to deschamps it would be stupidity  to waste such talents cause a good coach can gel them together and can create a very good winning team 

england started the game with 4-3-3 while netherlands started with 4-2-1-3 . many call saka and watkins the hero of the game but for me the kid mainoo was the hero of the game. england started the game better the reason being that england had 3 against 2 in the middle of the park and the were able to defend very nicely the reason why england dominated is because simmons who was suppose to playing no.10 was very poor . dutch took the lead when simmons who was just hopeless ( i wonder how he is 50 mil player) dislodged rice another hopeless england player off the ball and had a shot which he will remember for the lifetime . on the other hand mainoo was just dominating the england midfield the kid was running the game and very good on the ball . had there been a better coach then he would had asked him to play him no.10 atleast no.8 and asked others to play around him . his passing ability and game reading ability is very good and will only improve . 

i think that palmer should had been brought earlier his passing ability is similar to me . seeing the angles and most importantly passing the ball right to the feet with proper weight . watking just finished what palmer served him i think he should start in the final game . last but not the least if tripper keep his place for the finals then we will see a drubbing by spain . 

last but not the least but the game has got ugly and to be honest coaches just dont think about the offensive game anymore they are just concerned of not conceding rahter than scoring . 

snippet.

 euro's had started from 14th of june but there hadnt been a single game that was a standout who deserves mention . yesteday england played slovakia and got lucky . let me tell you you play the same game in the match as to what you practice on the field . the coaches thinking is seen through the way team plays .

one thing that i want to write is that if you had seen the swiss goal then you would had seen that konsa failed to close down ndoye where on he should had closed down and got much closer that he did . if you watch the play closely then ndoye had a losse touch before the cross and he ball was slightly away from him . that is the moment that konsa should had seized and closed him down  and get much tighter . this is what is taught on the field and not on the board . 

FIRST LEG MATCHES .

 two semifinals were played this week but to be honest i am frustrated about the way game is played . let me just put my point there is book called similarities between chess and football . yes definitely there are similarities but football i think has many a way to catch . in chess we analyze the game from start to finish but most importantly in chess we analyze every position and try every iteration in every direction . to be honest i am not very pleased with the way coaching is done . you know of the strength and weakness of your and the opposition . you have to devise a plan and improvise it but most importantly you have to look at the smallest of the details because in the first game  between  bayern and madrid i dont think that none of the coaches took it under consideration . the reason why i say that football needs to have proper analysis is becasue when these guys dribble then you need to have proper analysis of the play . there are players who have started to be over smart air has gone in their head and coaches need to bring them on the ground and tell as to where they need to use there ability and where not . players like 

first off  bayern vs madrid . madrid started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while bayern too started with the same formation .before the game started  i was apprehensive of kim's pace and i thought that he could be the weak link in the bayern's defense and i was not wrong . bayern won the initial exchanges and put madrid on the back foot and i think ancelotti was just guaging his opponent and was happy sit back and defend . after the first 15 min madrid took control of the game and scored first . the way madrid scored should had be an awakening to touchel because madrid carved them open through the middle and i think for that particular goal touchel held groetzka responsible because he was the left sided midfielder and it should had been his job to close down kroos but to be honest the way madrid were operating and changing positions . valverde was coming inside and kross was going made closing more difficult but then the way kim cam out was disastarous . while coming out he should had realized the space he was leaving behind and others not closing down that space leaving him exposed .  while madrid closed bayern were just too poor .their whole offense was based on solo dribble by sane and musiala . there was lack of cohesion in the bayern team in the first half . they were kept at bay by madrid and were made to shoot in and around the box . this is where coaching seen because he can tell the players to slow down the game or can change the movement of the players but touchel was just hopeless and if any man utd are thinking of appointing him then there is nobody stupid than them . 

bayern changed groetzka in the second half and bought guerrero in the second half . bayern immediately came in the game not because they made the substitution but because their fullbacks the most common mistakes . for the first goal the ball was switched from left to right . the ball ended at sane's feet . now the madrid's fullback should had known that he just needed to show him on his weaker foot and let him get down the line instead of letting him  cut inside . the second goal was nothing but the same mistake was done again . instead of letting him tumble with his own dribble he stuck his own foot which cost the goal . bayern were gifted two goals madrid because of their simple mistakes . 

to be honest i am not very impressed by ancelotti . he should had got much better cohesion in the madrid ranks . most importantly he needs to get player like vinicius on the feet because he seems to be floating in air . air has gone in his head . he is decent but his ability to read the game and most importantly his choice of shots is questionable . the other thing is that the offense is just constituted of three players namely vinicius , bellingham and rodrygo but i think he need to bring valverde in the offense . 

i cannot write anything about psg vs dortmund because for me luis enrique is a stupid coach . he won the league because he had the best player at his disposal . there is no cohesion in his team . to be honest i would be surprized if he is kept in the psg job but then he may win the ucl cause stranger things have happened in football . 

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.