MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

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

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

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

MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

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

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

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

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

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

BAYERN AND DORTMUND GAME .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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