MY TAKE ON BAYERN MUNICH GAMES .

 before writing let me tell you that little things make the biggest of differences in football. barca played bayern munich in which they had to win. the destiny was in barca's hand win the game and you get qualified for the second round of ucl . barca had changed their coach in between . xavi had been brough in a bid to stop that slide which was happening when  koeman was the manager . in this blog i had already pointed the players that barca needed to change but they stuck with those players and for that they are paying the price . xavi is brought in because he has played under gaurdiola and the club thinks that he can emulate garudiola and coach the team as the was gaurdiola was doing . bayern was the acid test that xavi had to face in his short time as a manager . to be honest i dont think that xavi is going to do any miracles . he should just watch the bayern as to what the short coming were in the game against bayern and he can correct those then i think he can become good but if he keeps on believing that the system that he is playing is going to bear fruits for him then he is day dreaming . a team is like any cycle or automobile which will only function very optimum  when all the components function to the best of their ability . most importantly even if when messi or a ronaldo has to shine he needs to have the support players who need to play at the same level as the other . a team only performs very well when all the players contribute not just certain players or else the opposition can read that and can stop the team in tracks and the offense falls apart . 

bayern had appointed nagelsman in place of flick as the bayern manager . i think what he had done is that he has tweaked the formation and also he wants to play a very high tempo game and as soon as they receive the ball they are ready for offense . they like to press the opposition and as soon as they recover the ball they just start attacking . they dont waste time in  moving the ball and getting the players in position . under flick the bayern used to   play 4-2-3-1 but they were doing the same thing as to what they are doing under nagelsman . what naglesman had noticed that bayern were offering too much space in the middle of the park under flick so he has three in the middle plus he has alphonso davies playing a bit high than his natural position . he is more of a left winger than a left back . daives playing high up is brought from gaurdiola's play book who use his fullbacks to move the ball but nagelsman has improvised it . he knows that davies is very fast and can recover quickly . secondly with him bayern has an extra and a very fast player high up the pitch who can press as well as counter very quickly . 

while writing about the formation you do have to take into consideration the players that are there cause that is what is very important . i had written about this that for any formation to work the players are the most important ingredient . for defense and offense nagelsman is using very athletic and good technical players . although i have reservation about sane and tolisso . what nagelsman is that he doesnt want the opposition to have time and space on the ball . for that they play a high line and most importantly they press very hard but its just not the pressing they recover the ball and start moving it upward very quickly which puts the opposition on the back foot. the one thing that i want to give them credit is the cohesion that they have in the team . the other important thing is the technical ability of the players . most of them are very good in one on one situations . the most important ingredient is the way the ball is played . just look at the way ball is passed to the feet of the receiving player . it is passed on the most perfect side with perfect weight on the ball . all these qualities had been developed in flicks time at bayern and not they are used by nagelsman . 

bayern faced dortmund . win over dortmund would be a stamp on nagelman's tactical acumen . dortmund started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . as i had said that players make all the differences with their qualities in an average and a championship team. dortmund had emre can and doud in the middle of the park . had emre been that good he wouldnt had been let go by two good sides like liverpool and juventus . his passing and game reading is both horrible . but on the other had the plan that they had to counter bayern was very good and it could be the one that would give bayern the problem in the future . dortmunds plan was to sit back and hit bayern on the counter . their plan was to release halland  behind the back three and then the three behind him will support him for the offense . the plan was very good to take advantage of the chaos that is caused when the opposition is back peddeling . once the opponents is backpeddeling it is not able to track the incoming players . but for that you need to keep a high tempo and get as many passes as possible . if the defending can make the offensive team spend time on the ball and slows down its tempo then the whole offense can derail and you may surrender the attack . dortmund had a good plan on counter but at times it was one dimensional . it was like reus to halland who would try to find bradnt . 

there are two things that i had said first emre can and mahmoud were poor in the middle of the park . the reason being that when the team goes deep in their half then you should try to press them and try to win the possession back . the front line will press but its the middle line who should try to win the possession .for that you need to have a good game reading . second thing is that you should be able to recycle the possession and should be a threat with your passing ability . both are not that good . their passing ability is just poor . i had said earlier that little things make big changes in the game. munier was joining the attack because the middle was getting congested and he didnt had a direct opponent against him. his decision making is very poor . at times when he should had crossed the ball early he held on the ball which resulted in chances being missed . i had already said that small things make big changes in football and these are the small things . decision making is one of the biggest aspect in football and the dortmund coach needs to improve it . his players make poor decisions . 

bayern played barca next and this was acid test for xavi . i had already pointed the flaws in barca's team . they needed to change the players but they had been sticking to those for the last 3 seasons and they had been paying price for that . they needed to get rid of pique who had been hopeless . why dont they change busquestus position and play him forward and play somebody younger in his position . now xavi started the game with 4-3-3 formation but when you play the game you do have to take into consideration the opposition and the type of football that they play .  you can really read as to what barca are going to do when they have the ball and the opposition can stop them in tracks . depay coming deep and then trying to play to release one fo the wide players or midfielders but to be honest certain players are given preference over others . while de jong saw little of the ball . gavi was given more preference . he is still young and still needs to develop physically and still has a lot of things to learn . to be very honest some of the barca players are purely casual . dembele's approach to the game is not that good . secondly when you take the ball to the final third or near the opponents box then you need to make sure that you need to be very responsible with the ball . you need to make sure that you need to make the opposition work and try to create chance so that the opposition will respect you . barca were just poor it was like men playing against boys and toying with them . i hope xavi looks at the tapes and makes the necessary changes to alleviate his teams performance . 

MY TAKE ON PSG VS MAN CITY AS WELL AS LIVERPOOL .

 man city played psg in the uefa champions which is their second big game of this week . before i write about the game let me tell you that in the chess world the deeper the thinking the better your game and your rating . in the game versus psg gaurdiola showed that he has thinking power but was not really convinced that he has got a serious depth to it . in football it is very important that you just do it right never under do it nor over do it . i think in this game gaurdiola's team just did a little than what they should had done . on the offensive front even though man city were a little bit short but on the defensive front i think that they did a good job but i would say that psg were poor . gaurdiola can pat his back that he put psg under pressure but just came short . 

psg started the game with 4-3-3 while man city had the same formation . sterling started the game as the no.9 with mahrez and grealish besides him . man city conceded the first goal before the game could settle down . man city were trying to determine as to how mbappe was going to operate when he made a diagonal run and was left unmarked in the box and psg scored but aafter the goal the game kind of settle down to a familiar tune . psg were sittind back and trying to hit on the counter while city were trying to press psg and win the ball back . the one thing that intrigued me was and was novelty for me was that that when man city won they didnt tried to hit psg with a counter counter attack . but instead they slowed the pace of the game allowed psg to get their shape back as well as get its own shape as to what they wanted to acheive on the offense . they got their both wide players really wide and then they started the offense . for the first 25-30 min psg were playing a high line and trying to press man city also . they too wanted to control the tempo of the game but as soon as city tried to release sterling behind the psg back four they dropped back the other thing for dropping back was that maybe they didnt want to give mahrez the space to operate because he getting to the byline and whipping crosses . meanwhile on the defensive front man city were able to keep psg at bay and it was because the three psg front players are still not in cohesion with each other . man city on the offensive front were poor and lacked ideas . they knew that they would get that space in the middle so they were dependent on the wide players to create something for them . grealish and mahrez were the wide players . first to grealish the opposition is not there to give him space and time on the ball they are going to be tight to him and will be physical with him . instead of complaining when he is fouled .he should just dust up and get along with the game . he is not bad since he can read the game and slip the ball but he needs coaching because his game is one dimensional and the commentators wanted his to take the fullback and run on the outside but he hasnt got that pace and guile to do that like mahrez . what i found intriguing in the first half was that they were just poor . they didnt show any cohesion or tried something different with the ball . the players movement could be read by the opposition . mahrez and grealish stayed wide and saw most of the ball and they just tried to keep coming inside but there was no crisp passing and most importantly as i had pointed out in the last post that man city didnt had a plan as to what they would do when they had the ball in the psg final third . in the first half they were just poor but came the second half . 

in the second half he changed silva and de bruyne's positions . they both came into their natural positions . he kept the shape of the attack the same but what he changed was that he asked de bruyne to make runs in the space between the fullbacks and the centre backs and atleast a couple of times de bruyne had the ball at  his feet but he was not able to find anybody in the box nor was he able to find the back of the goal . this is where gaurdiola was lacking . he found the space that was there to exploit but couldnt complete moves as he needed atleast two or three passes to complete the move . he needed to have a proper no.9 who knows as to when to make moves and what position he should take so that if he is not the target then atleast he keeps the centre backs tied and gets space for other players to exploit inside the box . i think gaurdiola is thinking but not doing it fully . his team is still struggling in the final third . just having ball and dominating ball doesnt counts for anything unless you have a shot at goal and create chances . his team are short of that . although i would credit him that his team did stopped psg in the tracks on offense and did a good defense and most importantly in that rodri's role was very good . 

psg has the three best players in the world as their forwards . but for me they struggled against both psg and club brugge who should had won the match had they taken their chances neatly . i think that they were over confident that is why they were trying to showboat and playing in some hollywood passes . either of neymar or mbappe should really help out his defense because they are getting outnumbered in the middle of the park and that is where the opposition is trying to stretch them and exploit them . i think as far as psg tactics are concerned i think that he has got the players in the right position. neymar drops deep to help his midfield and move the ball while messi stays as a link up between them . but the most important facet of the game was that for the majority of the game man city were able to stop psg in the tracks . they tried to fancy at times and that cost them the possession . if psg are to be the title contenders then i think they need to be more better than that . they couldnt control the tempo of the game and were dependent on playing counter rather than controlling the tempo the game and putting the opposition on back foot . 

i also the game between liverpool vs man city . now it wasnt a great game with man city again playing decent but both all the goals came on the counter attacks . while  cancelo was very good on the offense he was very bad on defense . first off whenever a fullback goes out to press his opposite number and the distance between him and the centre backs then its his responsibility that he doesnt gets beaten . he shouldnt get beaten because if he gets beaten then the shape and the organisation collapases and then for that his centre back has to leave his position and that creates spaces in the defense and it can be exploited . cancello while in the first half was very good because he was conservative in the first half but in the second half he got overconfident which led to two goals against his team . foden is decent but his decision making needs to be better . 

last but not the least there are youtiya's in pakistan who keep on backing their pm and keep on sugarcoating him while he may be doing idiotic things and doesnt understand anything about the world  . same thing can be said about football coaches in england . southgate is the best that is to offer for england . he has no clue as to what is going on the pitch . the journalist or the so called pundits keep on writing plaudits about him . they are just idiots that is why they are there in the idiot box not on the pitch . england were hopeless against both andorra and hungary . well best of luck to them . 

MY TAKE ON CHELSEA VS MAN CITY .

 man city played chelsea in the epl . a few months ago chelsea had defeated city in the ucl final . they had completely outclassed man city in the final although they played on the counter attack but playing counter attack too takes a lot of smart thinking but what was present at that time was absent in this match . when touchel was appointed as the chelsea boss in december i had reservations about him . the thing is that not that he cannot lay  out the team but the thing is that when the things dont work out for you and you have make changes or find that chink in the oppositions armour there is where i think he lacks . gaurdiola's team was a winner in this duel but am i impressed then certainly not . his team dominated the possession but in the first half till the game was not that opened his team was not able to penetrate chelsea and was not able to muster a shot at goal . all his efforts were just shots from beyond the box and if the ball came in the box it was very well dealt by chelsea . let me tell you as to why i am not impressed with gaurdiola . lets say that for the first 10-15 its a feeling out process but after that you should be able to start playing your game and start exerting and play out the game that you had mind . now a coach does has to take into consideration the players that he has as well as the opposition and he has to play and imagine as to how the opponent will responds to his moves and how he can outsmart them . now why was i not impressed with gaurdiola is that there was a break in the first half and he was talking with walker ,rodri and diaz . now its not wrong but for its half as to what he should be doing . yes he is correct in asking walker and rodri to spot something which they had been missing or make adjustments in their positions or asking them to spot the players which they are not seeing but them at the same time he should be asking the front players that when walker,rodri diaz has the ball that they should start the move . they should make these movements and the try to  combine to have a better shot at goal and try to open the opposition . opposition will only give you spaces when you create chaos in their ranks . 

chelsea started the game with 3-5-2 formation while city started the game with 4-2-1-3 formation with foden starting in the no.9 position while de bruyne just behind him . chelsea had two up front with new man lukaku  with werner. the game started with the fimiliar note with chelsea sitting back and hitting city on the counter attack . in this game compared to the ucl final chelsea played deeper . touchel's idea to play upfront sounds very good theoratically but the execution needs to be correct .  first off the way chelsea were just way too one dimensional in their counter attacks . what they wanted to do was that whenever they have the ball they would try to find lukaku who would try to combine with werner where on he would try to release werner beyond the city back four . city could read this game from a long distance and could take the necessary moves . most importantly what was important was that lukaku tried to back into laporte . instead try to bring him out of the comfort zone . make him chase you . in that way the man city's defense does gets disjointed and gaps are created . most importantly even lukaku's touch isnt that good as it should be . the important defect that i found in the chelsea's formation was the lack of no.10 . somebody that would connect between the forward line and the midfield . what he does is that he makes those passes smaller and make it more crisper . he can release a player beyond the back four or can just go beyond lukaku . most importantly the distance between the lines for chelsea was just little more than what was needed . it meant that the ball needed to travel that much more and that allowed the opposition to close you down . most importantly chelsea player one too many touches on the ball and that allowed the opposition to close them down . he chose to substitute the wrong players . he should had replaced jorginiho instead of kante . i had already written in my earlier posts that when jorginiho struggles when he is put under pressure and city just did exactly that. chelsea players like alonso spend too much time on the ball and most importantly their game reading is just poor . touchel needs to teach them that cause the honeymoon period is over . 

                                                        

city dominated the game not because they were superior but because chelsea were poor . in the first half city just couldnt penetrate chelsea . gaurdiola thinks theorotically well but to be honest he is dependent on individual players to open the opposition defense . he has got good player in the side but he hasnt got a flair player in the side who can threaten the opposition defense . man city purchased jack grealish for 100 mil . i mean the money just has got no value because if you purchase an average player like grealish for 100 mil who has no pace,no flair and nothing great about him then i think that players like bergkamp and crespo . he is just one dimensional and plays one footed only . i would like him to be coached . he just plays in one zone and operates over there and most importantly he needs to understand that he slows down the game when he takes too many touches and stops the flow of the game which makes it easier for the opposition to stop his team and him. de bruyne was playing behind foden but his trouble is that he is a good player but he needs to move the game around him . the thing is that he passes the ball very well to other players but he needs to play himself cause he has a good shot from distance and that is a very good threat which can create cracks in opposition defense . man city didnt had a great time in the first half they didnt had a clear shot on goal . i had said that gaurdiola was talking with walker and silva but at the same time he should talking with jesus,foden and others who play upfront . man city were just one dimensional in their offense . people expect bigger things from gaurdiola team . where on they expect playing slick crisp tiki taka football and the cohesion between players is exceptional but here it just looks another ordinary team who beat another below ordinary team . 

FINALE.

 italy played england in the final of the euro tournament . first off leading upto the tournament i was reading about gareth southgate and the adjectives that were attached with him . ruthless,intelligent and what not . i was finding that very funny ( people may say that i am taking potshots because he lost then let me tell you i had lauded shevchnko even though ukraine lost . ) to be honest let me ask as to how many suitors will gareth southgate have if he decides tommorow to resign as the england manager and decides to enter  club management . let me tell you let alone the premier league he wont find suitors in the championship and even if some brave sould decides to take a risk then i bet he will be gone by december .  mancini on the other hand may find some suitors but still he still needs to work a little bit more on the game . to be honest i am amazed that a manager who is standing on the sidelines wont utter a single word even after watching getting outplayed . i havent seen such a dumb manager but whose luck is like a mountain where on he is getting there where his predecessors failed to reach . i dont know but certain players were given precedence over the others . why wasnt sterling replaced when he was utterly hopeless in the whole match . i am sorry but i dont think grealish is any good and just another average english player . while for me ben white looks good and should be playing in the middle of the field than in the back four . 

now i dont know as to why he wanted to switch from the working 4-2-3-1 formation to the 5-2-3 formation . may be he had watched the danes as to how they outplayed england for the majority of the match and how beautifully it worked for them and borrowing ideas is southgate's proffession . italy kept the same formation and the same players that had got them in final . the game started with england taking the lead in the first 5 min . the move was the same as to what kane had been doing . he would drop deep and passed the ball to trippier who came into the side because of the change in formation . trippier picked out shaw who was left unguarded by italians because they  hadnt even settled into the game and england seized the chance and scored the goal . the thing is that after they scored the first goal they should had been ascendency . they should had played with more confidence . but the italians adjusted to the game and they started to dominated the game . now i was going to write that england should play a high tempo game so that jorginiho just cannot settle in the game . but to be honest i dont think changing tempo or setting tempo of the game is not what southgate specializes in . his team is just a counter attacking team . after the goal the italians dominated the ball . now just look at the difference between mancini and southgate . mancini was animated and was passing instructions as to what his team needs to do . while southgate seems to be lost as to what was happening before him . england started to sit back as soon as they scored the goal . the italians started to take control of the game and most importantly england was severly pegged back . the reason being that they would bring every player behind the ball and that would hanmper the counter attacking ability . the other thing had been that counter attacking also requires very good cohesion of the team . 

the reason why i am criticizing southgate is that his team was playing counter attacking football but are dependent on individual players . there had been no cohesion between them . let me tell you when you attack then you start thinking about defending because if you loose the ball then you should be able to stop the counter and when you are defending then you should be able to counter and exploit the spaces that are left by the opposition . england were sitting back and when defending  they had all the player behind ball .so when they would regain possession they didnt had a plan . when countering you need to have cohesion and most importantly you need to be coached as to how will you exploit the opponents formation and the coach needs to make the adjustments on the go . southgate was just standing there like a statue . i am wondering if southgate is the best option that england then i am wondering as to how degraded coaching options for england are . that is why in premier league not a top six club is managed by a english man . last but not the least if southgate is ruthless then why didnt he substituted sterling who was hopeless . why did he bought rashford and sancho in the last minute of the game. why didnt he gave them enough time so that they could try but then the man is just has a rabbit foot and nothing more . 

italy may have won but they were playing an average team against a hopless boss who has no footballing knowledge . jorginiho who was completely clueless and was blown away by the tempo of the game versus spain was pulling the strings here . mancini had rightly seen that england and what he did was that he congested the play . what happens with this is that not only you play congested ( you can play if you have good cohesion and the opposition is foolish ) the opposition too has to do the same and the thing is that you can press the opposition and regain the possession . while mancini got one thing right . he couldnt improvise to open the english defense . he was dominating the possession but he wasnt troubling the opposition . for me veratti is one of the best in the world . the kid if he gets the best coach then he has the technique and brains to control the game and he could the future ballon dor for me . 

last but not the least this is my final post . while the football has gone rich i havent . i would love to coach a real team and hope to get in the near future . 

                                                                                                          THANK YOU ALL .  

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN BELGIUM VS ITALY.

 belgium played italy in the q/f of the euro 21 . lets start the game . belgium started the game with 5-2-3while italy started the game with 4-3-3 formation . before i write about the game let me talk about one player on whose shoulder the entire belgium's offense was depended . lukaku was playing as the no.9 for belgium . we had two lukaku's these season . first off lukaku who was struggling with his first touch when aerial balls were delivered to him. but the same lukaku was unplayable when teams delivered the ball to his feet . the opposition was struggling to contain him . plus lukaku has good legs which makes him really unplayable . while thinking about tactics martinez should had taken this into consideration .

the game started with the belgium sitting back and trying to absorb the italian offense . this is kind of a novelty when the reverse was happening with italins on the offense and controlling the game tempo and dominating possession and doing the pressing which is against their dna . belgium was sitting back and was trying to hit back on the counter with the front three . now the novelty was that the italians who are considered very defensive minded shed their own image and took a new approach . mancini very correctly designed his tactics he rightly thought that belgium are very big side but not very mobile . he knew that he can press them . they are not very mobile and they can be pressed . they conceded the second goal because they wouldnt just come out of their comfort zone to press insigne because they knew that they cannot chase italians .  

the reason for writing the review is about belgium tactics . now belgium played a 5-2-3 . to be honest for me the formation dont make any sense . its how you make it work . so belgium started with 5-2-3 . on the paper it seemed very right . the reason was that they had lukaku in the middle and the fullbacks  can cross the ball and lukaku can be the end of it . as i had already explained as to how lukaku reinvented himself . italy were going to press because they are having one of the most mobile sides and the belgium sides are not very mobile . now my point is that most of these coaches based their tactics on the things that had happened in the past . belgium were keeping lukaku high of the pitch . now these tactics were more like ariggo sacchi's milan who would employ it with van basten but the thing is that what works for milan at that time may or may not work for belgium and it will require some ticking and improvisation which roberto martinez was not able to do . now when martinez kept lukaku high off the pitch he was given aerial balls to contest with two of italy's finest . secondly he was a bit more high off the pitch more than 20-25 yards so the defenders could get tighter on him and would just squeeze him out . thirdly he dint had anybody near him to pass . doku was on the left while de bruyne was dropping deep to help his midfield . 

whenever  the ball was passed the ball he was backing up in to the centre backs trying to draw out a foul but the centre backs are used to that . they are infact thankful to the player who does that because whoever does that cannot do a quick turn and run with the ball . when lukaku is backing up he is in fact getting in the defenders range and in his territory . more so lukaku was getting pinned by two defenders . the point of keeping lukaku high up the pitch is to stretch the opposition but in trying that they themeselves were getting stretched . what i would had wanted is that i would asked lukaku do drop somewhat deep and he would be fed with floor balls . in this process if the defenders comes out to press him then the shape of the opposition gets disrupted and doku and KDB can explore those spaces . if the defenders doesnt comes back then he can have time and space on the ball and that is what is important . i thought that martinez would do that adjustment in the first half but he didnt . belgium always troubled whenever they kept the ball on the floor and passed the ball around and believed in their ball playing ability . 

in the second half i think martinez asked belgium to press italy but it didnt bear any fruit . belgium got a  goal but it  made  them more one dimensional . they relied more on doku to open up italian defense who had dropped deep in the second half and defended in numbers . belgium depended more and more or doku instead they should had played a whole team  game . 

also i watched the game between england vs ukraine . first and foremost " allah meherban to gadha pehelwan ". gareth southgate is just lucky guy . well the thing that i like about the game is the way sancho operates . the way he passes and moves along with the ball is the way you need to play . but my question is whether southgate can design that offense that way . when jaden sancho moves with the ball the players need to feed the ball to him but at the same time the others need to make the run which sancho can spot . the way sancho plays is what makes football beautiful . other thing is that even though ukraine lost but i think that shevchenko's stock must had gone up . his team was passing well and the movement of the players and their understanding of the game and this comes from the coach who forms those tactics and teaches his players the movement and the way they keep the tempo of the game . the way they could up the tempo of the game and come at england was very pleasing and it does shows shevchenko's understanding of the game . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN MAN CITY VS CHELSEA .

 man city played chelsea in the final of the ucl . before i write about the game i would like the viewers to read the earlier post about man city's games . 

i had been reading a lot of news about gaurdiola over thinking and touchel staying simple . to be honest why is always thought that gaurdiola does the thinking . let me tell you a simple story before i write about the game . there  was a great painter and the paintings that he would do had a lot of great meaning in them . people would scratch their heads trying to extract the meaning out of the painting that he would do . one day he did something which had no meaning just plain simple but the people kept on scratching their heads trying to find meaning in the piece that he had painted . similar is with gaurdiola i wont say that the team was without any thought but if it is not able to carry out the plan and the coach is not able to make adjustments then i think he hasnt thought through . the changes should had been made earlier . he could see that the plan wasnt working but he kept on having faith in the plan . the best way to describe the game is that chelsea played like a team while man city played like a disjointed unit where on not all the pieces were not in cohesion with each other . the lack of cohesion is evident when you spend time on the ball . 

before talking about the game lets talk about the player selection . gaurdiola selected sterling and mahrez in the wide positions . the idea was that they would run on the defense and would cause chaos in the ranks and players like de bruyne and foden and take advantage of that . but touchel was prepared for that . i dont know whether he prepared the team sheets after seeing man city's team sheet because he played james who is quite good runner and can match sterling in stride was selected . similarly chilwell was man marking mahrez . the instructions were very clear that they should not give sterling and mahrez time and space on the ball cause if they do that then they can cause a lot of problems . 

chelsea started the game with 5-3-2 formation while city started with 4-3-3 formation .instead of rodri or fernandiniho gundogan was selected to play in front of the back four . the game started with the familiar pattern because both the teams play opposite kind of football . while chelsea are set up for counter attack city play possession football ( it is said that way). city had sterling and mahrez in the wide positions with foden in the middle . although chelsea were playing were playing on the counter attack they were not defending deep . they played a relative high line and he had a good thinking about that . even if city were able to open chelsea they had an extra player who could cover for them . playing high means that city would have to cover that extra 10 to 20 yards to the goal to have a good shot in that a defender can do something plus there is the goalkeeper . playing deeper means that you are allowing them to have a direct shot at the goal .  touchel had thought that instead of having a deeper line lets play a high line and its benefit was seen when sterling was released on the goal by a long ball by ederson . james who was guarding sterling could make amends because sterling had to dribble the ball a further 10,20 yards and he could come back and make an interception . 

chelsea were playing a game with a good plan in mind . they were determined not to give sterling and mahrez any time and space ont the ball . secondly they played a very compact game . there was a very little space between the lines . whenever the ball in the midfield they would go on to press the ball . they read the city game very good and were able to stop city's attack most of the times . now chelsea were playing on the counter attacks . there were two thing that were noticeable in the first half . werner was told to run in the space which was left by the fullback who was coming forward to join the attack . his finishing was poor but he kept the ball very well . now whenver city lost the ball they would press and chelsea knew that so they moved the ball very well . but in this one thing was very visible first off rudigers passing from the ball . rudiger played some  very good 40-50 yards pass from back to the front . his passing range was the reason that chelsea were able to create so many chances . the second thing that was very much noticable was that the second balls that were won by chelsea . chelsea would pass the ball from back to the front but the man city centre backs would win the headers but chelsea would win the ball back and thus the counter was on . most importantly chelsea played as a team and they had ngolo kante who was just superb . 

city's defense was just hopeless in the first half especially zinchenko who just wasnt able to read the game . the ball was on the left flank so zinchenko should had just congested the back line  . he should had read the game better and stones should had given him the ball about the danger that would arise if he is caught sleeping . he should had seen that havertz was getting direct run to goal and had zinchenko then he wouldnt had been caught on the wrong side of the ball . had zinchenko been inside and havertz had been outside then the ball reaching him would had taken that much more time . he would be much more wider to the goal with an acute angle  shot at goal. city were sixes and sevens when defending they just couldnt decide as to whether they should mark zones or go for man to man marking and they were getting stretched all over the field and chelsea was taking good advantage of that .  

now city's plan with the ball was to stretch the offense with sterling and maharez and the spaces would be exploited by de bruyne,foden and silva but if you had read the earlier post then you might seen the shortcomings in gaurdiola's plan . he doesnt have a proper no.9 around whom his team would play . secondly all the players that i mentioned are no.10's they all like to come deep and then advance with the play . the trouble is that none of them didnt want to run beyond the back line . i really dont know as to why gaurdiola is so much adamant with his plan or whether can he really see the game . there are space behind the back five to explore but not a single pass was played in that direction . both sterling and mahrez were pretty tightly gaurded . i think that garudiola was more dependent on sterling who is just one dimensional and even gaurdiola . sterling just likes to go one way and it was easy for the defender to read that and defend him . this is stupid by sterling he needs to mix things up and keep the defender guessing .he should had moved inside if he doesnt sees the space on the outside . i was wondering as to why even gaurdiola didnt asked him to do that . to be honest i think i would give credit to chelsea's good defending who closed down very well and denied man city too much space for city's players . 

city's best chance came when sterling instead of trying to run passed the ball inside to de bruyne who foxed azipilicueta ( a rare thing)to set up a cross foden who was through on goal . what i find here is interesting . both foden and werner just couldnt sort there feet and scuffed their shots .they should had realized that the ball was going to come to them and should had prepared for that . they should positioned so that they should be ready to take shot without taking an extra touch . 

in the second half gaurdiola realized that his plan wasnt working so be bought fernandiniho who can read the play better and stop the counter in the tracks . secondly he asked his fullbacks to be more conservative but still there wasnt a proper no.9 who would be there in the box . he bought aguero but he likes to run bith the ball rather than be in the box to be at the end of the cross . to be honest in the second half gaurdiola's was out of sorts and didnt had a proper plan to open up the chelsea defense . in the second half chelsea had even dropped deeper because they knew that the energy levels that are in the first half arent there in the second half so they started to play deeper . except for one or two good crosses city couldnt muster anything significant . 

last but not the least man utd had become a medicore club its managed by a manager who has a medicore mentality . if utd are to challenge for the title then they need to change the manager and bring somebody who has fire in the belly and sell some of the worst players in the team like pogba,martial ,mctomminay and many others who are just hopeless . big names but lack the hunger for win.

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN MAN CITY VS PSG .

 psg played man city in the second leg  of the ucl . psg had to score two goals to reach the finals . mbappe was injured in this tie and so psg selected icardi in place of mbappe to lead the line. even though it was shown 4-2-3-1 it was 4-4-2 . i had already said that players are the ones who execute the coaches plan and the coach has to take into account their weakness and their strength's . icardi is not that mobile he is a good header and finisher of the crosses . for man city they selected zinchenko in place of cancelo who also i like but zinchenko takes nod because i think he is technically a bit better than cancello who is also very good . in midfield fernandiniho came in place of rodri  . i think compared to rodri fernandiniho is bit more mobile even though the age has caught with him . 

the match started with psg chasing and trying to close down man city and in that process they conceded the goal . here the game reading is very important . i had already said that while you go on attack you dont keep your back door open to let the opposition creep through that . that is what is exactly happened in this game . psg went on to press but in that process they forgot that zinchenko was there unmarked and he could open up psg defense . the game then started with man city trying to frustrate psg and play around and keep the ball and if they get out of shape try to exploit it . when psg had the ball i think neymar and veratti were there preffered ball players . just like first leg neymar would drop deep to help his midfield move the ball but here was the catch . now man city could play a high line because icardi is not mbappe who could out run dias and stones . so man city could play a high line and press psg . man city could congest psg and psg didnt had proper plan as to how they would open man city's defense cause whenever they would come near the man city box they would ran into a man city wall who defended very nicely . pochettino had a good plan in mind he brought both wide players di maria and veratti inside so that the full backs can bomb forwarded . the other thing was that by bringing both wide players inside you have advantage and disadvantage both . the advantage is that you can play a crisp tiki taka  game and it can be very fast and the second advantage is that since you congest the opposition too has to congest so when you loose the possession you can press them quickly and try to recover the possession. these are the advantages but there are obvious disadvantages . first thing is that the opposition can read your moves and can stop you in the tracks . pochettino made the right plan but there was wrong execution . first off icardi was not seeing any of the ball and he had little on the game . when you make a plan you need to have a balance of all the sides not just one or two . only neymar,veratti and di maria were preffered on the ball and this hampers the moves because if the opposition can shut you main players then you are blocked . man city knew what they had to do and they just literally shut down neymar and di maria and frustrated them which is what gaurdiola wanted since that would had let to the breakdown in the shape and that is what had happened for the first goal and that is what was gaurdiola had set his team up for . most of the psg's shots were from distance they didnt the necessary compsure . they should had hold on the ball more and should had worked man city more . there desperation cost them the match .

man city had two upfront they were prepared as to what psg were going to do . they knew that psg were desperate and would come hot and would try to close them down . they could play a high line and press psg since they knew that psg didnt had the pace upfront . whenever man city would recover the possession de bruyne or silva either one of them would take positions which had been left open by the fullbacks . the centre back couldnt come too wide since they knew that would put quite a bit of space between them and de bruyne and silva are very good on the ball as well as with pass . once the pressure was released by man city they would pass the ball around frustrating man city and in process eating time . the difference from the first half was that man city were ready this time . they were getting players in the box and were ready to pounce as soon as psg was to make mistake but the onus on psg . 

pochettino just couldnt change things and when he should had . till icardi was on the field he wasnt trusted with a pass . instead of playing a team game psg were dependent on individual skills to open up opposition defense . only veratti,di maria and neymar were trusted with the ball . he should had realized that the forward wasnt coming much into the game . he could have asked di maria to go forward and try something new to confuse the opposition defense . di maria's pace would had caused some worry to opposition . pochettino should had played his team as whole instead of relying on the individuals . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN PSG VS MAN CITY .

 on wedenesday man city played PSG in the uefa champions league s/f . now nobody will even question pep gaurdiola because he is the master of tactical games . whatever he does is just beyong question by ordinary people . i want to ask this did he played a negative formation . its not about him playing de bryune in the no.9 position cause he had done this before but it is the kind of game that they played . it doesnt matter who plays where but who was there to be in the box . who was supposed to be at the end of the crosses . the thing was there was nobody who trying to get in the box .whatever the play was that was outside the box . doesnt matter how much you dominate the possession but if you cannot threaten the opposition goal then that possession and domination has no meaning at all . ciritics might say that man city scored two goals but both those goals were on free kick and a cross not by interplay . other than a foden solo run which he made on his own there was not a single shot on goal by man city. they were outplayed in the first half . they came back in the second half and i would credit them for that cause PSG should have had some confidence in them and coach should had calmed them down . they lost that plot and are down from the first leg but they are not out and if they can play the way in the first half of this tie then i think they are still in the tie and it has many a twist and turns and if gaurdiola keeps on playing negative then i think that he may come to regret about it . 

the game started with psg playing a 4-4-2 formation with mbappe and neymar upfront . while man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation . gaurdiola selected cancelo as the left back while he has two left backs at his disposal . the reason of playing cancelo as the left back is that he is right footed and him facing di maria who is left footed makes the match up even cause di maria likes to cut inside . cancelo being right footed as his strong on di maria's strong side so he can very well counter di maria . the game started with similar pace with both team trying to dominate whenever they had the ball and press upfield when they loose the ball and if the opposition can beat the press then sit back in shape and try to absorb the offense . there is definite reason why neymar was coming deep to help out his side move the ball upfield . neymar is very good on the ball and even when pressed can dribble the ball out of the press and can really open the opposition up . while mbappe has the pace and man city were scared of it and they were playing and not letting have any space behind the back four to exploit . so man city were stretched vertically . in the first half man city were not trying to close down neymar they were letting come deep and have the possession and he was causing all sort of problems for man city . veratti and di maria were coming inside which was allowing the fullbacks to come forward and cause many problems to man city defense because they were getting stretched . 

i had seen people talking about man city and psg's press . to be honest most of the teams are very well prepared against the press they can be pressed on one move but the managers make the necessary positional changes to beat the press .when any team gets pressed they just move the ball from one flank to other . so even in this game whenever teams were spread they would just spread the ball and try to stretch the game and get some time and space on the ball . in the first half man city were playing deep and were getting torn apart by psg . if somebody watches the first half of this game then the interplay between neymar and mbaape and other psg players was like pro's playing against school children . the only thing lacking and for which they must be cursing was the finishing which even they lacked in the bayern game . they were just causing man city from all sides . i think psg would score more than two in the first half and the tie would be over . 

i dont know told this but i think in the second half and i would credit this to the commentators who made the right spot . man city started to play more compact . they started to play more upfield and started to press and started denying the space that neymar was getting . the game changed when de bruyne scored of the equalizer for man city . city scored the second just minutes later and psg started to chase the game and in that they lost the concentration and discipline that is required to chase the game and they lost . 

the most important thing that i said in the first para was that whether gaurdiola played negative . man city had three in the middle and three upfront with debruyne in the middle . i dont mind de bruyne not playing as an out and out forward . but then there has to somebody who has to at the end of the cross in the box . but then if gaurdiola doesnt wants it then its his choice. but then there are other alternatives in opening the opposition defense where on you can have a very good interplay and open the opposition or midfielders can go beyond the striker or that the wide players can make diagonal runs in the box but the problem was that none of this was happening . they were having possession but the movement was all outside of the box . even when the ball was pass wide there was nobody inside the box for the cross . there are no good interplay nor were they taking shots from outside of the box . other than the two goals man city didnt present with any threat to the psg goal . i would like to commend the commentators that they were calling for a proper no.9 to be in the match or they wanted gundogan to go beyond de bruyne who was dropping deep . there were no diagonal runs by mahrez or foden . they were staying wide trying to stretch the defense but there was  no great interplay trying to bring the ball inside . i dont think that man city were ever threatning in the match . it doesnt matters whether they dominated the possession but they just didnt threatened psg goal . i think the tie is very much alive and hope to see a good match . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN REAL VS CHELSEA .

 real madrid played chelsea at home in the ucl semi's . both the teams started the game with the same formation 3-5-2 . for the first time i think i saw zidane's team play with a back three . while chelsea was 3-5-2 real madrid were 5-2-3 . the fascinating thing was that zidane taking  a page out of gaurdiola's book of bringing the left back in the central position and trying to have an extra option in the midfield which is an advantage when you have numbers in any position . the game wasnt that great it was slow game compared to the other game . both the teams were not ready to commit too many men forwards since they could be caught on the quick counter . 

you cannot say for sure that real madrid were sitting back and chelsea were playing the counter attack . they both were playing both and compared to chelsea real played a bit of a high line in the first half . in the first half real were light in the midfield . chelsea particularly were exploiting this . the interesting thing was that real were playing in a twisted mindset .when the ball was upfield they wanted to press but then there back four or back five didnt want to come too up so as to close . they were playing relatively deep and this was creating quite a bit of space between the back line and the midfield and as soon as chelsea could beat the real press they were through on real goal with just back four defending. this was the feature of the first half . the midfield was crowded because both sides forward player would drop deep to support their mdifielders in trying to winning  the ball back and congest the spaces between lines . real were five at the back now the thing is that whenever chelsea were on the counter their one fullback had quite a bit of space to run on the real back line . childwell specially had this luxury time and again . since modric was upfield and carvajal was sliding besides the back four childwell had quite a space to run on the back four and had he made some intelligent  runs then things would be different .  the other thing was that had werner had the intelligence to pick his team mates with the pass  then chelsea would had caused real more problems . the more you cause chaos in the opponents minds the more you get the opportunity to defeat him . the thing in the first half was that both the teams players were getting time on the ball for both the teams  . there was just light pressing where on they didnt caught on the wrong side of the defense.

 

the thing that impressed me but which real didnt do enough was that benzema and vinicius had good inter play between themselves but what intrigued me was that they pulled the trigger just a bit too early where on they could have tried a better penetration and more deeper in the opponents half . the other thing was that they should had brought others in the play which would had made it threatning .in the first half real had two in the middle and they were getting run over by chelsea especially kante who is more athletic than any of the real's midfielders . the main thing was that there was a vast space between midfield and back four . this was because real were afraid of pulisic's pace and his dribbling ability . so they were not keen on coming forward to press . instead they held their positions which allowed kante and pulisic time and space on the ball. time and again in the first half chelsea had chances to run on oppositions defense but they didnt capatalized the chances and wasted with thier poor choices of passes and trigger pulling .  

 zidane saw this and he bought modric in the middle along side kross and casmeiro in the second half but then you take one from the front and put in the middle that reduces the threat that you have . the game wasnt that great in the second half . both the team just played through the motions but i was exicited about chelsea when they introduced havartz on 65 min who me is the future of chelsea and should be the one that should start instead of werner . he will be combine very well with pulisic and is technically better than  werner and has a good common sense as to when to shoot and when to pass plus his passing is very good . 

the guy that i was disappointed with most in the match was jorghiniho . his passing was bad and most importantly he is one who sets up the tempo the game . a good midfielder not only passes the ball but also he plays himself and finds spots in move from where he can be more effective . a midfielder needs to find the spot from where he can be effective .jorghiniho was very pedestrian in this game and even his passing was not that good . i think mendy for real madrid who will come in the second leg will make major difference for real madrid . last but most important chelsea centre were not very comfortable whenever the ball came upfield and there is no cohesion between them which is needed . 

MY TAKE ON THE EL CLASSICO.

  //OM//

real madrid played barcelona which can be a title decider and can have big implications on the title race . first and foremost i dont reason why koeman should be coaching barcelona next season . but first i am amazed as to why there idiots doing commentary on the match . i had never seen a more idiotic commentrator than these ones . 

now barcelona started the game with 3-5-2 formation . while real madrid started the game with 4-3-3 formation but let me tell you it was 5-4-1 till valverde was on the pitch . when i am to write about the game i try to find a pattern in the offense and needs to be one . you need to have a clear approach why attacking the opposition and then you try to improvise on the go . the coach is there to change things to make changes to improvise things not sit in the dugout . you play a certain foramtion beacause you want to acheive something from that . barcelona were just hopeless for the entire match . most importantly as i had said before the players are the ones that carry out the coaches plan and make the formation work . 

real were set up to play the counter and they were sitting deep and absorbing barca pressure . barca were trying to play dutch football trying to pass the ball around and try to create gaps in the real defense . why does koeman thinks that the opposition is stupid and it will fall into his plans . any team that thinks that the opposition will fall to plan a are either fool or living in dream land . zidane must had seen how barca operate and that is why he bought valverde who was supposed to playing up field along side back four and made it back five . secondly is that they didnt went overzelous with their defending instead they let barca come on them and defend properly . you can create in the oppositions defense only when you are playing properly and you have a proper plan A and you execute it and then improvise it . 

barca started the game with 3-5-2 combination but in the first half they didnt had much of the joy . to counter alaba's run zidane asked valverde to play alongside the back four and he did his job deligently . barca were trying to play tiki taka but it didnt had any direction as to what they wanted to achieve. they couldnt find the space to release dembele behind the back four .messi wasnt able to open up the defense with his runs cause real defended well . most importantly when messi is making the run he wants players around him to be open so that he can pass on to them if he cannot find the space . here there wasnt that much help from other players . so in the second half he changed the things . he bought griezman on and changed the formation from 3-5-2 to 4-2-1-3 . he pushed de jong up front which he had done that this season . he pushed dembele on right and griezman on the left . demble did alright on the ball but griezman was poor . now even the goal which was scored because messi just passed the ball to alaba who must had crossed the half heartedly since he knew that messi wasnt in the box . the commentrators made a meal of it crediting griezman of playing a dummy for letting mingueza to score . they were saying that as if the defense was sleeping and they were just going to let the ball crawl to mingueza to score . btw he scored in desperation not a clear strike . none of the formation or changes were going to work because they lacked the plan and the proper cohesion that is required to open the opposition . 

my biggest complain is not how about barca operate but how they defend . first off real were defending deep so they had to cover a lot of grass to get to barca's goal . you should play as such that when you play offense at the same time you should be thinking defense that you can loose possession anytime and how can you defend or can recover the possession . barca were pressing initially but the first goal was a total idiotic defending by the barca defenders . first off look at just look at barca left back who is hopeless and shouldnt be played and is only played because messi likes him or else he is a hopeless defender. just look at the ease with which valverde got passed him like a kid . he should had known that instead of trying to recover the possession off valverde he can just stick with him and just put him pressure and limit his passing angles . the another was araujo who was stupid he should be the first to the ball . you have be a striker in your own box and try to be the first to the ball . 

now my complain is that if you ask the chess players is that they dont just do offense . while constructing a move they make sure that they dont leave spaces for the opposition to exploit and put his offense in jeopardy so that like barca your players ( pieces are caught on wrong side of the board ) . in this barca side sergio busquetus is  one the most senior player and plays in front of the back four . when he is making the distribution at the same time he should be reading as to what spaces are being left and read as to how the opposition can counter cause the opposition is doing the same to you .  they too are reading the spaces that you are leaving behind and thats how they counter . busquestus is the most important peice of the puzzle and he should instructing players as to what they need to do . he needs to take positions where on he can stop those counters in track or slow that flow so as to get players behind the ball and defend in numbers . he was just hopeless just look the number he was caught high up the pitch with his team needing him and he is just jogging back not caring about them . he should be the one who should be the one who should be running the game both on offense and defense for the team while defending he should be thinking about countering quickly and while on offense he should thinking about the way opposition can counter and stop it in track . barca should had replaced him in the summer instead of rakitic .

you cannot expect to open the opposition with your plan a . instead its just an opening sequence or you can call it a feeling process as to how the opposition reacts . you improvise it and then you can open them .the other complain about barca's defense is just not about reading the play but also if you dont defend individually then you cannot win as a team . passes are coming for more than 15 yards or more and you are not closing down players and allowing the opposition time and space on the ball is very criminal . all and all i dont think that i dont think that koeman has done anything great with this team and even though he may just win the league but it will be pure luck than his coaching accomplishment . 

the only positive for barcelona is the young kid pedri . he looks assured on the ball and looks technically good and hope that the coaches will let him dictate the play and let him have some more freedom with the play . 

let me get something off my chest and it is very vital to the game also . i was watching the fulham vs aston villa game . i appreciate scott parker very much . i think while idiots like steven gerrard and lampard are receiving all the plaudits he was the most underappreciated one . he was a true midfielder for me the other one being carrick . both gerrard and lampard never played midfield they played as number 10 never as a midfielder and whenever they played as midfielders the team lost badly . thing is that i was watching the half time comments and it was bothroyd who was commenting . he was asked as to why fulham are playing tiki taka and why dont they try something different . this is where your knowledge of football is seen . he replied that the manager believes in that philosophy and he is entitled to that . yes you should play any style but should be flexible in that you should be able to read the game and the opposition and make changes on the go and then adopt those changes in the game . every style has its plus and minuses . i had watched bothroyd  under 21 team they were utterly hopeless . also roy kean's comment on fred that he would miss an open goal is stupid . i am disappointed in keane . he was a midfielder and he should understand or appreciate a good player . fred does all the dirty work for man utd and he is good at that and plus if you do understand football then he has the best pass completion rate and if solskjaer can let him have some freedom then he can really show that he is good in scoring too . 

MY TAKE ON BAYERN VS PSG

  //AUM//

bayern munich played psg in the first leg of the ucl . just a few months back they played in the finals . the game was very good but a few things intrigued me but first . there are coaches that specifically design their teams to play on the counter like conte and mouriniho but their teams struggle when their own medicine is given to them and they struggle to open the opposition . but when the opposition really has to sit back that means the opposition has the quality and that is why team has to sit back and get numbers behind the ball and play deep . now i dont know whether the substitutions made in the game were forced or whether they were made keeping in mind the need of the game . even though bayern lost the game the tie is far from over and if hanzi flick can make some changes to personal or the way they operate then i think bayern can still bounce back and win this tie while psg still have neymar and mbapper there two main trump cards and if they can combine or there individual quality can change the game single handedly . 

both the team started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . the game started with psg sitting back and bayern in the ascendancy . psg scored in the first 10 min and it was because of neymar's brilliant run but somebody forgot to see that bayerns second midfielder groetzka who was supposed to be along side kimmich failed to read the play and just couldnt see that psg could use the space that he had left along side kimmich . groetzka was caught high up the pitch and when good interplay between di maria and fullback released neymar in the space between the back four and midifield . even though bayern were a goal down they were controlling the possession and tempo of the game . 

obviously psg were afraid of bayern's offensive ability that is why they had a very compact back four with full backs tucked alongside of the centre backs . they played deep and had two central midfielders in front of them . the reason for this might be that they were afraid that if the full backs come out of their natural positions then the space that is left will be exploited by muller and even chipo moting so they kept a very compact shape but that means that they allowed bayern winger time and space on the ball . both the bayern wingers were kept high on the pitch . even though bayern wingers saw most of the possession and every move was through them they were not able to capitalise the time and space on the ball . this is why i said that even if your tactics are right its the players that get them executed . 

for me that is why i said that bayern missed some of its players . koman is good player . he has a good space and beats many a full backs in one on one situations but he lacks that final pass . he is very poor in that . even during the game there was pass in which he would had released muller or sane behind the back he failed to pass that ball perfectly which lost that chance to put that player in a scoring position . majority of the attacks were from his but he failed to produce that final chance . if he can improve that final then i think he can be very big player . the other one was sane . i was baffled by him . his first touch is not refined . the ball always bounces off his feet . hansi flick needs to work with him . there were positions where on the could try a curler which would put the defense on alert . most importantly he needs to work on his game to make himself pronouced . 

why i said that bayern missed lewandowski is that he links up very well these wingers . he comes deep and lets muller runs beyond him so that the centre backs cant come out and close him down . the other player who bayern missed was gnabry who runs and link up play makes the offense that much potent . most importantly in the run of play bayern went one dimensional they would let these wingers have a run on the defense and then try to cross which were finely dealt by the psg defense . if bayern are to successful in the second leg then they need to get create some chaos in the opposition and try to disturb the oppositions defense and use it to their advantage . 

when psg had the ball they were pressed by bayern and they were not able to find neymar and mbappe . they were struggling with their possession . they need to bring neymar and mbappe more in to the play and try to keep the ball more or else if bayern were to take the chances that they missed in the first leg then they would be in trouble .

i would commend hansi flick was making the substitutions . he saw that groetzka wasnt up the speed of the game and was finding it difficult .most importantly his game reading was poor which had led to the first goal so he sent alphonso davies and bought alaba in the middle . kimmich was very good in the whole game his distribution game reading was very good . what bayern are lacking is a leader on the pitch . for the second goal they just completly switched off and failed to read that the ball could come back and the di maria was having time and space on the ball and that they were letting space between defense and the goal keeper which marquinihos very well explored . they need somebody who would keep them on their toes and they can have a chance . 

MY TAKE ON MADRID DERBY.

 the madrid derby was played on sunday . the matches have big implications in the title race and a win for simeone's side would had made them clear favourite for the title . while the win for read madrid would had brought them back in the reckoning . the match was of two shades for both simeone and zidane . the game was of  two different tactics in two different half's . first off if you are simeone's team then the real threat comes from either carrasco and llorente who are good but other than that simeone still  has not shown as to how he will carve out the opening when the opposition is sitting back and asking them to try to open their defense . zidane's team in first half was not back while whoever would had watched his team in the second half would just be amazed as to why doesnt he do this in the first half itself and why wait for the last quarter of the match . 

before i write about the tactical stuff let me tell you that after i watch these players most of them are just technically hopeless and even the coaches dont understand the importance of it . when they talk about the technical stuff they are always concerned about passing the ball long or good first touch or bringing the ball down acrobatically . but the most important things are the ones that are simple that are the ones that matter . just look at the passing why do they pass from the out of the boot ( i will post pic of that over here . instead practice to play to play from inside the boot stop using that part of that boot . it causes the ball to jump or gets the ball off the surface . the best passes are the ones where on the ball just rolls on the surface and never leaves it . just look at the ath mad passes in the first half. the ball just keeps on bouncing and you have take an extra touch to control it and pass it . these players are paid millions to play and coaches are paid the same but i havent seen a single coach shouting or rebuking his players for not passing properly . yours tactics goes off in smoke if you are good technically . 

real started the game with 4-3-3 formation while ath mad started the game with 4-4-2 formation . in the first half ath mad were in the ascendency . the real reason for ath mad resussergence is carrasco . he has been good taking on players running on them beating them in one on one and creating chances for the team but to be honest simeone is not the coach who is able to fully utilize the ability that carrasco has . in the first half because of carrasco real had to sit back and absorb the pressure and play counter attack because they were afraid that if they go high up the pitch then there are two reasons . first off ath mad are a counter attacking team . secondly carrasco would had exploited the space that would had been available behind the back four and would had created problems for real so zidane was right in sitting back and hitting ath mad on the counter . in doing so what zidane did was that he got ath mad out of their comfort zone . ath mad are counter attacking team . they like to absorb the pressure and then hit the opposition on the counter . 

in the first half anybody would see that ath mad are crisply passing and playing a good flowing but to be honest they were just one dimensional . the out ball was only for carrasco . he was supposed to take on lucas and then create the opening by crossing or scoring himself . real did very well . they played deep and they doubled up on him and were lucky . carrasco was pressing from one side so the other flank had space so ath mad transferred ball from one flank to other . the thing is that team just go through motions of moving the ball from one flank to other . while doing this why dont they see that whether there are opening in the middle or one the same side that they started the offense on . if they do this then  i think that they are more effective and are more dangerous in their offense and the opponents will scramble and more gaps will open up . the goal that was scored by ath. in the first half was on counter counter attack where on they found marcus llorente and he released suarez to score . everybody will hail suarez as the hero but for me he is a loser . because of him ath lost two points and had he passed properly to joao felix in the second half then i think that ath would won that match easy and that is why suarez is not playing for barcelona . 

the game changed as soon as carrasco was subbed in the second half . real who were sitting back now sensed an opportunity . most importantly simeone caught the italian bug and he wanted to preserve that one goal lead so he bought all the player behind the ball when he lost the possession . ath who were dominating in the first half now started to sit back and play on the counter . now when you are playing with five at the back with three in the middle there is a problem . first off late in the match the intensity dries down . you dont close down as you would do in the first half of the match . secondly with three at the back the trouble arises as to who would pick the lone centre forward . there are some positions where on the zones cross and the centre forward are in the quandary as to who is going to go and close down the forward . another thing is that in the last quarter the players are drained and the sharpness is not there so players find time and space on the ball and can cause problems which benzema did for the equalizer . 

there are two major differences with real playing in the first half and real playing in the second half . in the first half mendy was playing as wing back while in the second half he was instructed to join attack with benzema and others . i think zidane trusts mendy with ball playing skills . now benzema likes to drop on the left side and operate from there . since ronaldo has left he is playing ronaldo's role but one thing that zidane needs to understand that once he leaves that no.9 positions and moves on flank there is another one who takes that position and most importantly benzema is a good header of the ball . he just needs to play around the box . the major improvement that zidane did in the second half was that he asked benzema to stay in the middle . ath mad should had sensed the trouble because before the equalizer cause instead of his defensive position casmeiro was storming in the box and nobody was picking him up . even before the equalizer similar move had happened and benzema had failed to pass the ball to casmeiro . if somebody is just shown that move then i dont think that they would ever doubt his managerial credentials . 

MY TAKE ON TWO GAMES .

 first and foremost i really want to know as to who reads my blog . so comments from them are welcomed . so please introduce yourself if you can. 

three good matches were played last week . first was barca against psg while the other two were liverpool derby and the milan derby . the biggest of these matches was the match between barca against psg . psg beat barca by 1-4 and the pundits were calling as to how psg rolled over barca . i have a different take of that match . i think the rubber is still alive only thing that they need a good coach who has good understanding of the tactics and most importantly he needs to change the players that were playing . i think that koeman is under pressure  from barca board to play griezman and dembele . they are utterly hopeless . to be honest barca's decline started 2 or 3 season ago . from the day that they started to play around messi and messi only the team has gone on downward spiral . they just bought players just to show their financial might as well as on clubs past  glories . i really dont know as to why they bought dembele and griezman . both had come from teams of different backgrounds ones that are counter attacking team and then fit into a system that like to play somewhat slow possession football . most importantly if i am to be blunt then they are both technically  and tactically hopeless . kike setien was right and that is why he wasnt starting either of these two . the important factor of barcelona's demise had been messi . messi should had realized that he is not young anymore . although the class is still there he has lost a yard of speed but the accuracy is still there and will always be . for me barca still is in the tie and if they have the heart they can change things around . most importantly he needs to change many a personal from the first match to give his team a chance . i am tired of criticizing pique so wont do that here anymore although i may have since i will explaining the play . 

the most important game this was the milan derby . inter beat milan comfortably . they were just unstoppable on the counter attack and there were reasons for that . inter started the game with their pet 3-5-2 formation while milan started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . to be honest i think peoli just didnt thought about inter's threat nor did he do anything to try to shore up his defense . he was clearly watching that both his centre backs were struggling against inter's forward . nor did he tried to change things neither he tried to pass suggesstions as to how his centre backs can deal or should deal with inter's forward . 

in this match lukaku was unstoppable . in the past lukaku had struggled whenever defenders had closed him down and denied him time and space on the ball . his first touch is not his most bankable quality . he struggle with close control when somebody just gets physical with and will show heart to compete with him . it is because of this struggle that he had to leave man utd and come to inter . even i had heard that conte too was very upset with lukaku . earlier he had been used very upfield and had been used as a target man and the team had tried to play off him . he struggle in those aerial duels . even he is a big man he still lacks that clean first touch making it easier for the defender to snatch the possession of him . the other thing was that he was playing way too upfield in his earlier matches and going for aerial duels . here i think conte changed the things and this may be due to his performance in the napoli game . lukaku reminds be somewhat of heskey who was too wasnt that good in the air but was very good on the floor but coaches never  ever created that kind of play for him or played him that way so that they can get the best out of him . here he was allowed to come deep and most importantly he took positions as such where on he was able to receive balls at his feet rather than on his chest or head . the other thing that helped  lukaku was ramaniogli's reluctance to involve in physical duel with lukaku . for the first goal lukaku just out paced the milan defender and that created a fear in his mind and he started to back off him . what kind of defender is he who is afraid of physical duel . no defender has always won the physical duel but for that he doesnt needs to back off . the ac milan defender just gave lukaku time and space on the ball and actually giving the opposition to continue with their counter attack and beat the hell out of them . the score line just doesnt do justice to inter's dominance because they could had scored on every counter had they had some sense in them . 

untill now serie a  was considered the most technical best league . but lately it has lowered its standards . the players are not upto the standards . about the game i dont understand milan's tactics as to what they were trying to play in the first half . they had ibramovic in the centre . what were they trying to do trying to play from one flank to another and in trying to do so loose the possession . most importantly what milan was trying to do was play slow trying to draw out inter out of position and then play the ball which is hazardous because in doing so the opposItion can read you play and can close you down . i really dont understand pieoli's  team selection and his tactics . at the very first play he should had made changes to his structure to give his defenders some support to deal with inter's rampaging forwards . most importantly i dont understand tonali's selection who just look a pedestrian in a high speed game .  i think the ac milan coach needs to have a clear view of his tactics or his job is on the line . 

barcelona started the game with 4-3-3 as too psg . psg was happy to sit back and absorb the pressure and then hit barca on the counter attack . as i had said that barca's all offense revolves around messi . if messi comes deep then i think nowadays the team just gets relaxed since they know that there in nobody upfront who can give them headache . the one thing that koeman can do is that he can ask messi not to drop deep . he just needs to play on the shoulder of the last defender or just off him but not bother to come deep and help in moving the ball upfield . the second thing is try playing griezman and dembele off messi or just close to messi . even in this match in the first half they combined very well on one or two occasions which is a good sign . for me this barcelona team is playing way too wide . they should just narrow down and play one touch football . if possible should play somebody in place of dembele and pique . the tie is still not dead but if he doesnt changes his personal then i think that koeman's job is on the line .  

MY TAKE ON LIVERPOOL VS CITY .

 man city played liverpool in the league . the game was very important for liverpool's title challenge. while it was equally important for city since they can just steer clear of the pack of chasers . this was no different that the games between city and liverpool . both the managers have opposite idealogies . while klopp likes to sit back and do counter attack . gaurdiola likes to dominate the possession . occasionally he too like to do the counter attack but he needs to get his basics clear while he is doing the counter attacking . football is about all the small things and if you get those small things correct then you have the desired the result and if you do them wrong then you can be left red faced . these are two most techincally best sides in the premier league and both the managers make sure that there players are technically the best . they have several training sessions which are dedicated to the technical aspect of the game . but still i find them to be technically deficient . i think that they need to be straightened out like we do our clothes . the other aspect of the game is the decision making as to what we need to do in that particular situation . here too i thought that both the teams need to take some drill session as to what they need to do after they had analysed the match because there were instances in the game where on thought they made the wrong the choices and had they made the better one then things would be different and the even the outcome would had been different . 

both the team started the game with 4-3-3 formation . but there is  a difference in which city operate there 4-3-3 . right back cancelo comes into the midfield to play alongside rodri to give cover to the back three plus to move the ball from back to front plus provide an alternative in the midfield so rodri doest gets choked up . this frees gundogan and silva  like winger/midfielders and they can join the front three . so basically without the ball man city is 4-3-3 but with the ball they are more of 3-4-3 . both teams like to press but while liverpool like to counter as soon as they win the ball city are more  patient with their offense . for liverpool firmino even though he wears the no.9 shirt he more of a midfielder and he tries to release salah and mane behind the back four . 

i had heard klopp said  that he thought that liverpool played a good game and i  think that he is correct . liverpool were the better team in the first half . they were more threatening and when they had the ball they looked good . but the trouble is that if they cant counter and if teams can bring enough players behind the ball or that if the opposition can reduce their tempo  speed or make them slow down then they struggle . klopp needs to work on that game where on the teams are sitting back and invite them to open up . what city did good in this game that they just slowed liverpool a bit and it allowed them to bring players behind the ball and it kind of derailed liverpool's offense . although liverpool won most of the long ball that were played by them from back to front . this slowing of pace meant that city were able to press them up and win possession back . 

as i had said that city were able to slow liverpool down but liverpool too brought some players forward . since liverpool committed players forward city tried to play a counter attack on liverpool thorugh sterling and foden . when you are playing counter attack then not only your technical ability needs to be good but also your decision making has to be good . you need to realise as to when to throw the pass and whether you can complete the pass and keep the attack going or else in trying to counter you try to play the pass but loose the possession because the opposition will always try to read your intentions and will try to stop you . when city tried to counter attack liverpool i think foden and sterling didnt had that necessary cohesion that is needed for counter which salah and firmino has . the most important thing is that at time it felt that holding on to the ball was the better option than trying to play the pass and continue the counter . i think gaurdiola still needs to take some drills regarding the counter attack because liverpool were not play too high of a line as to leave too much of a space behind the back four that city could exploit . now in the first half i was disappointed by city because even though liverpool were not playing that kind of a high line but there was space and city just couldnt play a ball to release sterling or foden behind the back four . city need to keep adding new arsenal to their attack so that they become more potent . 

now city were playing stones in the back four and liverpool were playing fabiniho and henderson in the back four . fabiniho and henderson are both midfielders and they dont have that refining skills to play as centre back and it was evident in the first goal . foden found the space in front of the back four and he passed the ball to sterling . when you play in the back four you cannot be presumptuous . alexander arnold became that . he thought that sterling instead of coming inside would go down the line and in doing so he shifted his weight on the wrong side . because of this when sterling cut inside he couldnt shift his weight and was dribbled past by sterling . the reason i said that fabiniho cant play in the back four because fabiniho needs to realise that alaxander arnold needs his help. if sterling beats him then he should be there to stop sterling . so for that he needed to just get closer to sterling . instead he stayed on his position which allowed sterling time and space on the ball to pick the pass for goal . earlier too when he gave away the penalty he tried to fool the referee by putting his back leg to bring sterling down. henderson's defending in the third and fourth goal was very well seen and i dont need to comment on that . 

while henderson and fabiniho were not brilliant i was afraid of stones in the city's and there was moment in the match where on i thought that this was going to cost them . first off if a defender come out of the defense to press somebody then there are two things that need to be done . he shouldnt get beaten in the dribble . secondly he should make sure that the ball is passed back and that he shouldnt just leave the player and back off  . stones came out of the defense to close down mane . stone tried to press mane but mane has good ball control and when stones saw that he couldnt get the possession back he back off . this is dangerous because he is giving mane time and space on the ball and that sets off a chain reaction . if there is one free player near the box then the defense does gets stretched because they have to leave their normal zones to close down the player and it creates cracks in the defense and stones still hasnt learnt that trade finely . secondly gaurdiola likes to play out of the back . stones creates jitters . its not that he cannot pass but at times he spents too much time on the ball and has that tendency to play wrong pass . but in this game he got caught just once and didnt had to pay for that .