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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MY THOUGHTS ON MAN UTD.

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

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

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

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

MY TAKE ON THE CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL GAME .

 the new seasons has started . liverpool played chelsea also there were other games also . i will take one game at a time . before i write about the game i will continue with my prelog as i had done i the past . what is the similarity between badminton and defense in football or positional awareness in football . in the game between liv vs chelsea two goals were scored and both were because of the lack of understanding of positions on defense . what do they do in badminton . badminton player tries to be in the centre after any shot he plays . that is the same in football on defense you should be aware of your position and it is not respect to your team but also with respect to opposition . i will try to explain in coming para . 

chelsea started the game with 3-5-2 while liverpool started the game with 4-3-3 . for chelsea james was the difference maker while for chelsea salah and diaz's pace were the ones causing chelsea problems . both teams lacked some things first off  chelsea they should had seen that liverpool like to counter thrrough salah  . disasi or colwill was marking him . now he was left exposed by chelsea . first off silva should had moved closer to either of them to better salah . secondly both silva and colwill should have the awareness and reading as to what salah can do . it not what salah can do but also which team mate he can link up with  and the way he can exploit the defense . for the first goal disasi was going to mark salah he cannot get too close to him but still remains near him. at this time chelsea were playing a bit too high defensive line . first off silva and colwill should had checked their body shape as well as their defensive positions . they got it all wrong and ended up one goal down. colwill should have that awareness not only of the players around him but also the spaces around him. 

the game continued and chelsea equalized . chelsea's goal was the reason as to why i am writing this post . chelsea were having the corner . what is the first thing that the defensive team should do when they are facing the corner . they should try to nullify the threat . starting the counter is second thing  and it comes only when you can safely deal with the corner . when the oppostion takes the corner at that time special positions are taken by players depending upon the height . the goalkeeper needs to take control of the situation and should ask his players to first defend the corner and then think of starting the counter attack . what had been seen is that the players just leave the positions as soon as they clear the ball on the first instance but the ball is in oppositions possessesion and its is coming back . the goalkeeper needs to shout to his players to keep their shape and deal with it till the ball is out of play on the possession changes. 

i would had loved that mudryk started the game instead of sterling also if i am pochettino i wouldnt ever play childwell . hopeless english player spends too much time on the ball hasnt got the positional awareness more interested in his hair than his football skills . now that chelsea had signed caicedo so enzo will have more freedom to go forward . 

there were other games that were played amongst them were psg and bayern games were there . i really cant understand the footballing world . i had been shouting about danny olamo. he was superb in this game i still baffled as to why his name is not at the top of the desired player in every top clubs wish list. i had already said when touchel was oppointed that bayern had shot themselves in the foot. just as bayern have shot themselves in the foot so has psg by appointing luis enrique as their coach . unless psg can keep mbappe and have one or two more flair players in their squad or else they will struggle . 

i think there is lot of transfers left and we can expect to see lot of players changing clubs . 

TRANSFERS .

 let us start conversation on transfers . i want you guys to contribute and i will also express my opinion on it . hope you keep me busy. 

both liverpool and man utd are interested in romeo lavia but i think he is still a work in progress . he is young athletic and strong but his first touch still needs to be sorted out and that is one of the most important aspect for whoever wants to be a good player. liverpool releasing fabiniho was a mistake they should had kept him . i think for utd amravat can be a better signing compared to lavia . 

TRANSFERS .

 since the season has completed or will get complete in a week or so . the teams had started looking for players that improve their squad and can add depth and quality . i will start with man utd since i had posted about man utd in december of last year . man utd are linked with mason mount and declan rice . first off mason mount a player who cannot secure place in his own team and is more interested in his hair than his football . what is his position isnt a wide player hasnt got pace hasnt got the creativity and wont do the defensive work that is required of midfielder utterly hopeless .  ten heg should remain clear of this player . on the other hand rice is quite decent . the only drawback is that he will need carving out by ten hag but has good defensive sense so can be a buy is absolutely require is  not the case . if declan rice has some sense then he should sign up for utd . the other player that is linked with utd and will be hot this summer is kane for who madrid will too try to sign him . kane is definitely the player whom utd should sign because he is quite a good alround player and good striker but dealing with daniel levy is big headache and i think kane will have to force a move to sign for utd. utd dont need centre backs or full backs but they can cull the squad wan bisaka is better than dalot and he can be sold with maguire lindelof and many others . man utd need a midfielder and can they pursue 

lets talk about chelsea what had happened at bayern has happened at chelsea . the result of this chaos was at the start of the season when stupid players were brought in where as they just needed one or two players they brought one too many. why was sterling purchased while he is just washed out player. to add to that misery they brought a lot in december . some of the players are ok but it takes time to gel plus a good manager not some one like lampard who is idiot . pochettino should do good . he has a good squad and if he makes proper choices and keeps proper players and releases medicore ones then i think next season chelsea can challenge the title which will be expected of them . 

i like to talk players . now messi is leaving psg and whether mbappe will follow the suit is there to be seen . first off i think if psg are wise then they should not pursue and get head over heels for him to play next season for them . instead they can get some very good players for his price like randall kolo nuani or rafael leao who are good . atleast kolo nuani had impressed me and he can be player that real madrid will go after if they cant mbappe . i think there is a season or two with benzema but they need to have a good player in place who can do things for them and kolo nuani or rafael leao can be one of them . there are some good players who should be looked at is salemackers of ac milan and strasbourgh striker habib diallo. 

i think that the reason dortmund lost the title was because there is something wrong between edin tedric and bellingham . why didnt bellingham played in the last two matches . he wasnt even brought on as the substitute . i think he could be the next one to be fire just as touchel has . i had already called for kahn head which has happened . if tottenham have any sense then they will appoint potter at the next manager . 

MY TAKE ON S/F GAMES .

 real madrid played man city in s/f of the ucl first leg . real madrid started the game with 4-2-3-1 allthough on paper it would look like 4-3-3 but valverde was played in a more defensive role along with kroos to give him cover and that they dont expose . man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation. the game started with city dominating the possession and real playing on the counter offense . both the team had 3 players upfront for counter attack. . now when you see man city attack at that time you can see that while grealish and de bruyne were direct gundogan and silva would take the ball deep and would prefer to pass the ball rather than crossing the ball or doing something with it . to be honest there are some thing which the managers miss . rudiger was getting very tight on hallanad and you cannot complain about that .but at the very start of the match if you had notice then halland got the better of rudiger . he could outmuscle rudiger and was able to turn on him. i think that gaurdiola should had played more balls to halland and try to play through him. 

the game had good pace to it . both the teams started with three uptop trying to put pressure on the opposition . both the teams played a very cautious game . they never tried to a high line both the teams had respect for the opposition and both the teams centre backs stayed on the goal side . city had experimented with stones playing as a extra player in the middle of the park when they are on offense but he swithches to his centre backs role when they loose possession . the thing is that city are not able to fully exploit this advantage unless they can exploit this advantage . grealish was very handy and most importantly he needs to work with halland as to what he will do and where should halland expect the ball in the box if he is going to cross . the most interesting fact about this game is that what man city did in first was used by ancelotti in the second half . in the first half stones was coming into the midfield from defense to help move the ball and help dominate that possession . in the second half ancelotti did that . he brought camavinga from left back into midfield to dominate that possession . while doing that had he given some freedom to valverde then i think the game would had been more interesting . 

both the teams struggled to score . there are multiple reasons for that . first off city now as i had said that silva and grealish were playing wide to halland . the trouble with city is that gaurdiola hasnt taken into consideration as to what halland needs to do when the ball is with which player and how should he position(halland) and against whom . this is the main reason that even though city dominated the possession they were not able to create clear cut chances . let me tell you . garudiola hasnt made clear as to what halland needs to do . halland nees to make better reads of the situation first off when the ball is with de bruyne he tens to cross the ball as to what hallands positions . so when the ball is passed to de bruyne then he needs to take the best position and let de bruyne sees it so that he can cross it . de bruyne will the get the ball to you . most importantly what gaurdiola needs to work is what positions halland should take inside the box . whether he shoudl try to be first to the ball or try to outjump the centre backs . gaurdiola needs to work halland positions to make city more potent . 

real madrid played with 4-2-3-1 . now why do i say that is because valverde was played along side kroos . real madrid relied on slick crisp passing to open up man city and they were good . ancelotti had really drilled his team on how they would his team would counter . most importantly man city had specifically played walker to counter vinicius's pace . but i think he had learnt that he didnt need to engage in running battle instead kept on cutting inside and most importantly benzema linked with him very well . the only think that was lacking was that they couldnt bring valverde more into game . he is the most underrated passer and finisher . real needs to drop kroos and bring valverde into the game and play Tchouaméni in place of kroos . 

inter vs milan was good game what ac milan lacked inter had that . ac milan just didnt had that necessary cohesion which was required and inter had that . inter were playing on the counter but they had that necessary cohesion  which is required on counter attack or in football. the game can be summed up by the battles between inter's forwards vs milan's centre back and milans forwars vs inter's centre back . just look at the number of duels that dzeko won compared to the number of duels that giroud won against inter's centre backs particularly acerbi. the game is not over yet and if milan can just get that necessary cohesion then they can reverse the fixture and we can have interesting game on our hands . between city and madrid i think that halland's position and valverde's involvement into the game will deceide that tie .  

MY TAKE ON MADRID AND MAN CITY GAMES .

 i really dont know as to what the owners think . i dont know who there advisers are . i dont know what sort of advices they give them . just think of the situations at chelsea and bayern munich . both of these clubs are in tatters . they made moves even without thinking of future of the club . graham potter was bought in to replace touchel. now even when touchel was brought in  what was his track record . he didnt complete tenure at any of his previous clubs . potter was brought in and wasnt even give time to get the to gel and  make a mark too  many players were brought in . i dont think he was consulted when players were brought in . 

there is japanese term called harakiri which bayern munich did when they sacked julian nagelsman and similar stupidity was done by chelsea  .  i wont criticize  them for sacking nagelsman because the team was not getting the results that they were suppose to get . but they were not getting over run but they were just getting unlucky . bayern's affairs are looked after by kahn who knows the game . he sacked nagelsman and whom did he bought touchel . when appointing the new manager kahn should had considered the playing styles that these coaches deploy and the changes that they make . how do these managers try to change the game .kahn should had done a meeting with naglesman and tried to explain his concerns regarding the playing style and the changes that he needs to make . nagelsman was sacked but who did they bring on . they brought on touchel . touchel is a defensive counter attacking manager . what bayern were playing under nagelsman were they were playing a very aggressive game . they would just cram up the opposition and start the counter as soon as they win back the ball . he had built a team for that. he had a very athletic team for that . the trouble with nagelsman was that lately teams had started to figure them out . although in europe he was still winning. what kahn did with bayern was harakiri . what the players had been doing for the last years and half suddenly they were told to opposite . they were pressing the opposition under nagelsman while touchel would just want them to sit back and then counter attack . the second thing is what didnt the bayern heirarchy looked at the touchel's history . the most annoying thing is that the coach should be able to change things when he sees that his plan is not working or his players are not doing things as to what he wants to do . touchel took too much time to change most importantly he should had told musiala to change his style of play and try to pass more of the ball rather than trying to dribble . 

the game started with gnabry as the no.9 role . now how would he perform the role as to whether he would come deep and let musiala and coman bomb beyond him or will he try to test the man city centre back's by playing on their shoulders . what touchel had come and done is that he has slowed down the game . secondly he has increased the distance between lines . thirdly he has starting to play deep on defense which gives the opposition to press him. nagelsman team played a very high tempo game under touchel that had fallen . earlier bayern would go and press the oppostion . now that is not possible because they are playing a cautious game that gives the opposition time and space on the ball . touchel had just come and destroyed the team . nangelsman had assembeled a team which was able to play a very high tempo . a team which is very athletic and energetic . touchle had come in and tried to impose his will on the team . just look at what had happened to bayern .

what happened against man city was nothing but the stupid tactics by touchel . bayern had started to play counter attacking game under touchel . this allowed man city to press them most importantly playing deep allows opposition to press you and you have to . the most important thing is the distance between line . under nagelsman they were playing compact game . the difference between the lines was not more than 10 or 12 yards . touchel increased it and its more than 15 yards now .second is the way they take the ball forward . earlier it would very quick passing and most importantly just as soon as they would recover the possession they would start the counter attack but not the team looks directionless . they are trying to take the ball forward through the wings but if you want the wings to work then you need to dominate the centre and i think that where man city choked bayern . 

now gaurdiola like to make opponent dance to his tunes . he had seen that bayern dominate the centre and from his past matches he had seen that players like sane, musiala likes to drop deep and help recover the possession and then start the offense . touchel just dismanteled every thing that nagelsman built . he slowed down the game . the team which was dominating and would had been favourite was dominated and just folded . although man city dominated the game still they are not using halland very much . they are not playing through him which they need to improve but gaurdiola teams dont necessarily play throught their no.9's 

chelsea were already a mess even before potter took over . football club buying is just hilarious . if you just buy then you need to buy players and spend big whether you need or not . i dont think that potter was taken into confidence but i do feel that he should had been given the chance to take charge of the madrid games . the person that they brought to replace potter was lampard which is stupid . 

when you play offense then you need to be like a well oiled machine if you are that then you can open any defense . in the first game against madrid they started with 3-5-2 system . they were playing felix and sterling upfront . now when you play two fast players upfront it is assumed that you are trying to explore the space behind the back four .but its stupidity the opposition too is ready for what is you are going to do . its like a chess game . they want you to do that because they had prepared for that . every time there is fast forward it is thought that he plays on the shoulder balls are played to get him on goal . instead use the speed to your advantage . use that speed to draw the defenders out of their positons . why were barcelona or spain successful . they were playing 3-5-2 so there were two fullbacks who are going to have space but there was no plan as to how they were going to bring the ball inside and create chances or how they are going to cross and how they will trouble the opposition . 

in the second game he changed the foramtion from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3 . the thing with lampard is that they move the ball but there is little movement of players . really dont understand as to why gallagher was played when he just looks naive .the second thing is he played havertz upfront who is not known for his headind ability . the most important mistake in terms of positional aspect of the players is that he played hernanzed in the no. 6 role instead i would had played him in the no. 10 role where on he would had combined very nicely with havertz . on the other had madrid were just very good . most importantly earlier it used to be just vinicius and benzema combining together but now they had added rodrygo to the mix and he looks good . his techinique is good but most importantly is the understanding of the shape and spaces of defense and how he can explore them . his decision making is also very good . madrid have just assembeled a very good team and they have valverde already who must be one of the best underestimated player in the world .