my thought on madrid vs psg .

not only did rafa benitez changed the players but he changed the system and tactics from the last time they played PSG . last time real played a very line and congested PSG but this time around both teams played a very deep defensive game both defensive centre backs were stationed deep in front of their box and were not ready to come out of their positon and go with their opposite number that is why ibra had such a free time on the ball . while the opposite was also true for ronaldo . thiago was ready come out to close down jesse but was letting ronaldo scott free . the game was very stretched there was a lot of space to play .
now coming to the game i was intrigued about PSG sometime they spent too much time on the ball . i think blanc was trying to make a point that he can coach a system where he can play beautiful small passing game . they were passing out from the back but at time were taking risks with their passing .madrid did tried to press psg with kross particularly coming out of the midfield to press motta . similarly madrid did tried to make it a man vs man in the midfield with modric dropping on matuidi and casmiero dropping on rabiot but the real problem was that madrid's back four never came out to press ibra and then he would drop in the midfield and take out all the steam out of the pressing and help move the ball forward .
PSG's whole attack were based around two wingbacks who were the creator of chances for psg . psg were moving the ball through the middle but there was nobody who was there to run beyond ibra . now cavani was playing down the left side and he was coming inside to move the ball and defend and danillo coming out of the defense to close him down . so there was space behind danillo to explore but psg never tried to explore that . there was no channel running to stretch the real madrid defense . secondly when the fullbacks were having the ball they were crossing the ball even though it is good move but at time they could had tried to work that zone and try to open madrid .
madrid were over run in the midfield but psg were never able to explore that advantage . in this match the madrid's shape was totally crumbled . at one time you could see 6 madrid players in line waiting for the cross in the box . the middle was totally gone . psg did made some intelligent cut backs but were unable to finish it . the reason madrid were overrun in the midfield because madrid's two front players ( jesse and isco ) didnt bother to track back with their opposite numbers . had psg's finishing been better then we would had seen a different scorelines . in this game madrid were totally shadowed and it was only psg's inability to finish that saved them .
now i dont like to do this but then i cannot help myself . why is cavani even in the team when he cannot finish simplest of the chances that were created for him . he cannot do the half turn his touch is poor , his passing is hopeless .i mean is even worth it .
ronaldo this week said that he is the better player than messi . is he even day dreaming . he cannot beat a player in one on one . hopeless free kick taker . i mean other than heading goals and finishing chances created can he do anything . 

CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL 1-3

now yesterday liverpool played chelsea at stamford bridge . chelsea and liverpool both started the game with same formation with a 4-2-3-1 . the formation might be same but the approach to the game was different . chelsea tend to sit back and attack on the counter . they tend to soak up attack and exploit spaces left by the opposition on counter . while liverpool have a very different approach to chelsea from the time klopp has taken over they play a very energetic game . they press hard and try to start the offense from the position they win the ball . the system has its plus and flaws that i will talk later .

now from the time klopp that taken  over he has changed the liverpool's formation and style but with that you can see that the players positioning and their understanding of the game has become better . the second thing that has changed is that they are now passing the ball more they are not spending time on the ball . under brendan rodgers tenure atleast in this season players were spending too much time on the ball allowing the opposition to dispossess them or the move would find hard to have any continuation . the offense was getting bogged up and it was getting easy for the opposition to stop liverpool . this liverpool team is playing a very good forward going offense .
now chelsea didnt had matic and fabregas in the centre that they usually had last season instead they had mikel and ramires . now even though liverpool like to press but they dont like to do it over commit . they wait for the ball to come into the midfield and then they start pressing hard . chelsea yesterday started pressing just to give liverpool the taste of their own medicine and test them as to how do they hold up when they are pressed . now chelsea had oscar  and hazard who keep swapping postions . now i had said that the liverpool system has flaws and it was exposed very early if you look at the first goal you will see it . chelsea played the ball quick and played a very quick one two and oscar was released in the space behind clyne and this because of the over committment of the players on pressing and some players inability to read the situation . if you could see then after oscar was released in the space behind clyne skrtel was reluctant to come out of the back two to come and deal with oscar and his initial reluctance gave oscar time and space on the ball . now moreno is being blamed for the goal but he was keeping tab with his opposite number plus he had to worry about the cross so he cannot see ramires who came storming into the box if anybody is to be blamed then it has to either lucas or can not moreno .
FIRST HALF .
now liverpool started the first half with firmino in the no.9 position with adam llalana behind him . now as i had talked already chelsea started the half by pressing liverpool but as the half progressed they eventually settled to hold their positions and soak liverpool attack . now majority of the liverpool attack were from the right side .the reason for that because oscar and hazard both like to come inside and were getting stuck inside so clyne was getting good amount of space to go up unapposed on the right flank . when liverpool had the ball they moved the ball better but they clearly lacked two things . firs thing was that they lacked a clear no.9 or physical forward around who they can play or to whom they can cross . second they clearly lacked no.10 who would orchestrate the attack who would find the fluidity in the attack they were finding spaces they were not able to make any incision or somebody who tick the team . clearly the first problem was seen by klopp so in the middle of the first half he asked both can and lucas to go and join the attack and get in the box trying to be at the end of something which liverpool were crossing or passing in the box .
now as i had talked about the flaw in the liverpool system well there were instances in the first half when they could had been in trouble but it is the lack of chelsea's incohesive offense which is at fault . now both lucas and can were coming forward to press chelsea but indoing that they were leaving the space between the back four and then and if somebody had observed closely then you could see  couple of time hazard and costa both had time and space on the ball . now when lucas and can are going foward to close down at that time the back four too should follow the suit but skrtel was reluctant to come out of the back four and at time it was giving players time and space in the hole and it could had proved costly .
LIVERPOOL GOAL .
chelsea this season had been leaking goals and the reason being that the teams have found a way to open chelsea . they are trying to get behind chelsea back four instead they try to use the chelsea back four as the wall and get around them . the real problem for chelsea had been terry and cahill . they are typical english centre backs who dont like to come out of defense and like the players come out on them. they like to hold their positions and are more comfortable in air than on floor . they are the ones who had been the major problem for chelsea this season. now liverpool's first goal was because mikel in the chelsea midfield is a stupid player ( i dont know why mouriniho choose him ) . he is very lazy and if you looked closely then it is his zone which ramires is trying to cover where coutiniho is . mikel is seen jogging and not making enough effort to come to his position and deny coutiniho time and space on the ball and that resulted in the first goal .
SECOND HALF .
in the second half the game changed for liverpool when they introduced benteke for firmino .as soon beteke was introduced they changed the approach they started going direct to benteke . but with they also changed benteke's position he didnt went on against cahill and terry but he started to go bit wide and trying to drag either of them out of position . since both of them are reluctant are to come out of defense he won the header easily which lead to the second goal . the third goal was nothing but the reluctance of terry and cahill to come and close benteke . klopp is playing players in their favourite positions and most importantly he is playing to their strengths and that is why they are working for him . when benteke came he went direct rather than passing the ball around .
conclusion .
if jose mouriniho keeps on playing cahilll and terry together then he is going to have trouble at his hands . when he plays cahill and terry he has to play deep since both dont have space and he doesnt want team to exploit that space behind the back four . as i had said that teams dont go on challenging terry and cahill in the air but ask questions of them on the floor and try to exploit their weakness . mouriniho needs to change this . another thing that he needs to change is that he needs to create cohesion in the offense . the only way that his team can play is on the counter . when teams sit back and ask mouriniho's team to open them up then they come short and this he needs to address .

MY TAKE ON UTD VS CITY .

now the anlysis of the game is on  espn and the lineups are all there so i would just present my take . now first of all you had said that schneiderlin and schweni were passing the ball sideways . now the central area was very congested . now only fernandiniho and fernando were there but you could see that toure too was dropping deep and trying to congest the space in the middle . infact it was the first time that city were giving utd respect but sitting back and playing on the counter or else it would be other way around on all times untill now . the numbers were not there for utd in the middle and more so utd had better player at the wings like martial and valencia who are better runners and are good in one on one situation . if you had seen utd tried to release to rooney in the channels but rooney just couldnt keep the ball . part may be because he has lost considerable weight compared to time when he used to play there so the physical battle wasnt his strong suit plus i agree he is technically very poor ,cant use two foot and let an open ally for the defender to nick the ball off him .
 second was that mata was having very less area to work with . if you had watched closely then you would had seen that mata was closed down very quickly by fernandiniho  or toure whenever he had the ball . they were not letting him anytime on the ball . but i do have reservations about mata on the offense he never sticks on the wings so that wing he plays  is compromised so that utd cannot fully stretch their opponents . he needs too many touches and too much time on the ball . in the match he even once conceded the possession and had to take the card to stop the counter .
now about rooney who was awful . yes no doubt that he was awful and yes technically hopeless but van gal also knows this . now if you had watched real this season why not make rooney play ronaldo why not let him move and join the attack and stretch the defense . secondly why keep martial binded to one postion i mean mata has the lisence to come inside and join the attack then why not martial . just think how dangerous he will be if he is the lisence to roam . the defense will be on  its toes as to whether he will remain wide or cut inside and that in turn can create space for player like schweni and herrera who are good enough to use it .
now about city . you have  to note that schneiderlin was kepping good tap on toure and did disposses him a couple of times so an individual battle was going in the middle over there .  you blamed toure but i think the plan was correct to take the ball wide and then try to find toure or bony on the cross but credit has to be given to rojo and valencia. who just didnt gave any joy to KDB and and sterling on the ball . .  they  just eat them in the tracks .  i think playing valencia was a very good decision by LVG . he must have watched or taken suggestion from giggs who must had told had him as to how valencia had eaten sterling previously and i havent found  any player who had beaten valencia . for me toure was playing too deep and was mainly concerned with utd rather than thinking about city's offense . plus utd kept good tab on bony who was coming wide to help the offense but smalling didnt offered him time on the ball and came out of the defense and didnt let any time on the ball for bony . but little blame can be put on toure because he wasnt able to properly help sterling and KDB . 

MY TAKE ON CELTAVIGO VS REAL MADRID .

now yesterday celtavigo played madrid . now before i start the analysis i just want to say that the real president florentino perez is very fond of beautiful football but the three big name managers that he had appointed under him had  the team playing on the counter rather than playing beautiful football which perez desires . mouriniho' team was all counter attacking and when opposition sits back and asked them open up then they struggled to open them up . ancelotti's team was no different and can be put in that category . while i had watched real this term and i find that they are not going to any different . the tactics are different which i will talk about next .

now yesterday celtavigo and real madrid started the the game with the same formation with both playing 4-3-3 . let me be honest but i was watching celtavigo for the first time do it was difficult for me to get to know their players . i only knew aspas a couple of times at liverpool while i had watched nolito in the spain game . so those players with wass who was the only pure blonde on the pitch was disctinct to me . now real had danillo,varane,ramos and marcelo in the back four . while casmiero in the front of the back four with kross on the left while modric on the right side . jesse,ronaldo and vasquez were the front three . while for celtavigo nolito,aspas and orellana in the front with hernandez ,wass and fernandez in the middle three while the back four consisted of mallo ,jonny ,cabral and gomez in the back four .
the game started with real starting to press celtavigo and hitting them on the counter . now even though real's midfield and the front three were pressing but the real back four were not coming that high they were much deeper than the paris game . they would come with the player but were not trying to play a high line and let celtavigo have space behind the back four to explore since both aspas and nolito do have decent space . while on the other hand celtavigo also were playing deeper . they like to stretch the game since the space they can create they can use and they use it well . celtavigo players are very good on the ball . they are very comfortable on it and dont get bogged in one on one situation . madrid on the other had wanted to press celtavigo and start the counter immediately.now under benitez the team has really started to take shape . what real were doing in this match was that real were moving the ball from the flanks . there preference was on the left since jesse, kross and marcelo there with ronaldo dropping to stretch the back four and get one of the centre backs to come with him and disrupt the back four . while lucas vasquez too would come and cross over and join attack trying to overload the flank . now on one such occasion real were lucky to get the ball from back to front  since celtavigo were pressing  intensely . jesse moved the ball from the left while ronaldo made a channel run from centre to wide and crossed the ball to ronaldo who finished brilliantly fooling the defender with his run.
celtavigo too had a good offense . nolito was remaining high up the pitch on the left . he first set up orellana in the space between the line . now when  you watch the game you could see that there was considerable amount of space between real back four the middle three which celtavigo were not able to explore . nolito at times can be said that he gets over selfish and tries the shot rather than crossing for the player who are in  better position . orellana was constantly coming inside and getting in the position in between the line  where on he was constantly causing trouble for real madrid . at times aspas was coming deep to help in moving the ball . but none of the back four were coming out with him . i think casmiero's game reading needs to improved since he constantly trying to press but should also conside whether he is leaving space which can be explored by the opposition .

the second goal from real madrid was the same like the first but the addition was vasquez had moved into one zone and  it left the right zone completely open which let to danillor running clear of nolito his opposite number and scoring the goal . real moved the ball very well in triangles wth marcelo and jesse being in top form . danillo wasnt getting proper defensive attention from nolito who seem to very lazy on defensive duties . after the first the goal real had dropped deep while after the second goal real just relaxed and allowed celtavigo the ball and instead of pressing sat back and hold the shape and countered . celtavigo had some decent chances and navas made some very good saves but the game was over on 57" min when cabral saw the red card for protesting . i think the ref just lost it and made the game hopeless .
now aspas was playing as the centre forward for so the aerial battle was lost . he cannot outjump varane and ramos on any day . while real moved the ball perfectly as a team .celtavigo were dependent on orellana and nolito majorly to open up the oppostion while orellana showed flexibility in his positioning and nolito kept on stretch real i think aspas should had done more . i think real countered celtavigo and aspas very well . they played deep and played aspas in front of them rather than letting him on the shoulder for his trademark run . by playing deep they denied him the space to run. now this is where aspas has short comings and that is why he never was successful at liverpool because he cannot link properly with his wingers and create space for them . i think it would be perfect that they look for plan b other than aspas when he cannot be effective . 

MY TAKE ON ARSENAL VS BAYERN MUNICH 2-0

now yesterday arsenal played bayern munich at their home . arsenal started with a 4-2-3-1 combination or say 4-4-1-1 on defense while munich started with 4-1-4-1 or 4-3-3  . now even though munich started with 4-3-3 their formation was quite fluid .
arsenal had bellerin,mrtasacker,koscilny and monreal in the back four with czorla and coquelin in front of the back four . sanchez ,ozil and ramsey started behind walcott who was playing as a lone striker . while bayern started with lahm,boetang,alaba and bernat in the back four with alonso in front of the back four . while muller,thiago,vidal and costa played in behind lewandowski .

now bayern started by playing a high line while arsenal started the game by sitting deep with two banks of four and even ozil dropping to help the middle four to make the numbers . so arsenal were trying to sit deep and soak munich's pressure and hit them on the counter .arsenal were playing pretty compact but still bayern were able to find space between the lines plus bayern had space on the flanks since bellerin and monreal were not told to go and chase costa and muller since they let kosicelny and merta
sacker exposed . so they were very conservative on the defense.  they had the first meaningful chance of the game at 7 min when on walcott scuffed his shot from inside the box . now in the bayern formation muller was hugging the touch line trying to stretch the defense while thigo was dropping in besides muller with lahm   on the right flank trying to overload it and carve out an opening through that zone . another thing that bayern were doing was that lewandowski wasnt staying on shoulders of the last defender but instead was coming deep and collectiong the pass and trying to run on the defenders . he was particularly doing this against mertasacker who is not good and on occasion was saved by bellerin when lewandowski had nearly runed in the box and was ready to pull the trigger . now lewandowski was coming deep but mertasacker wasnt coming out of the defense to close him down but staying in his position and maintaining the shape and discipline. now thigo and lewandowksi and thiago were constantly finding space between the lines and on such space he and muller nearly carved out an opening . bayern were all over arsenal in the first half .
another angle of bayern attack was through costa and his direct running . now costa's crosses had been one of the success for bayern this season but here he wasnt crossing in behind the back four but was trying to cross between the lines and find somebody in between the lines . now arsenal were trying to play on the counter attack and even in the first half bellerin was one who was on the forefront with his running on the counter with him getting beyond ramsey on the counter .
the important aspect of bayern game was way they controlled the tempo of the game .now on 35 min arsenal created the best chance of the half through monreal crossing to walcott who's shot was blocked by neur .  now after this bayern just slowed the game and made just steamed the flow of arsenal's counter . now arsenal took the initiative after this and were trying to press bayern for the first time in the match first time and nearly caught neur .
now in the second half bayern changed the formation with muller trying to run behind the back four with arsenal playing slightly up . now in the second half bayern changed their personal with vidal going wide and costa coming in and trying to run on the back four while muller making runs behind the back four from wide positions but they were content on shooting from distance . they were blessed with some chances with individual mistakes by some arsenal players who were not ready to release the ball early  and nearly paying for it .
bayern changed alonso and vidal on the 71  min and arsenal sensed a chance in that . with the change arsenal started pressing more and got the success on one of the free kicks and the second one was result of good game reading by bellerin who intercepted a pass to bernat and started the counter on which ozil scored .
now let me talk about the game in general although arsenal won the game but i think munich were the better team they controlled the tempo but were unable to penetrate arsenal's defense . arsenal need to do more if they are to show that they are a good team then they need to play good offense when they have the ball . they try to go too direct when on the counter when there in no continuation to that offense . instead when they have the ball they should try to make good decisions on the ball and should try to keep the ball and move the ball better and show that they are good ball playing team when they have the ball .there is no bad in sitting back and hitting on the counter but when you have the ball you need to show your class . there are some arsenal players who wont release the ball early which in turn helps the oppositon who can close them down or dispossess  them or they allow the opposition to regroup since the time you spend on the ball .  you slow down the game and in turn allow the opposition to regroup or dispossess you or the player whom you pass the ball . sanchez  gave the ball 3 times in his own half and could have cost arsenal the game . czorla too at times too is guilty of spending time on the ball and in turn giving up the possession or slowing the game . the best player in the game was ozil who made very good decisions on the ball he showed his class . let me tell on 65 min instead of going direct arsenal could have played the ball around and carved something out . atleast could had showed that they could play and keep the ball and can create chance when they have the ball . most importantly arsenal have the players who can pass and keep the ball and create problem for the oppostion . all and all a moral boosting win for arsenal but bayern will have to find answers and i think they will in the return match   .

MY TAKE ON INTER VS JUVE .

now yesterday inter played juventus at the san siro . inter had 4-2-3-1 formation with icardi leading the line while jovetic,brozovic and perisic behind the icardi . melo and medel were in front of the back four which consisted of jesus,meruillo ,miranda and santon . while juventus started with the 3-5-2 formation with moratta and zaza upfront . while evara and cuadrado were wingbacks . marchisio played in front of the back four while pogba was on the left while khadeira was on the right . while the back three consisted of brazagali,bonucci and chiellini .

now the game started with a good pace with inter trying to press juve and start the counter . inter showed a good amount of energy for the first 20 min . they were playing a high line trying to press juve and making them play from the back . in this pressing the best chance of the first half to juve when inter tried to press juve worked the ball through zaza and passed it to cuadrado who he took  one too many touches to shoot the ball and scuffed the shot . while inter were pressing the ball and trying to  win it back juve werer sitting back and letting the ball come into the midfield and then press it . they were allowing inter's centre backs time and space on the ball and were not pressing them . instead waiting for the ball to come into the midfield and then press it aggesively . juve also were playing a deep line . but the real hero of the game was jovetic who was the real instigator and  creator of all the inter's offense . he was playing behind icardi and was combining very well with perisic . they were trying to overload the left flank since cuadrado was coming back on defense to mid line and then letting brazagali take on perisic rather than going on with him . jovetic was very good yesterday . he won all his individual battle . his positioning was very intelligent . he would start upfront but will come deep to collect the ball and start the offense . he was dribbling well and was the thorn in the juve's side . marchisio was the man who was suppose to mark him but not one time did marchisio  could win a one on one against jovetic . secondly jovetic's movement was the real headache for juve . they were uncertain as to whether he would come inside or go wide . his movement created space for perisic and inter's offense was all about him. the only drawback in the game was that jovetic didnt got the proper support from icardi . had icardi showed a little intelligence and imagination with his movement and ball playing quality then jovetic would had been able to have more penetration . while at time he had to be contend from taking the shots from out of the box .

now inter continued to press aggressively for the first 20 min but after that they too started to sit back and defend with numbers behind the ball . now on juve's offense cuadrado was getting the space on the right flank just because his defensive duties were shared with brazagali who would take his man when he  would come beyond half line . cuadrado was having the space because perisic was getting caught high on the pitch on offense while juan jesus was reluctant to come out of the back four so cuadrado had all the space and time on the ball . so when cuadrado had the ball allegri tried to stretch the defense by asking khadeira to go beyond cuadrado on the right flank and overload it . although juve were able to bring the ball upfront but they were unable to penetrate inter's defense . since inter had started to play deep . their middle line  and back four played a very good  defensive game and denied juve any space between the lines when the ball came deep on the flanks . in the first half miranda and co. not coming out of the back four to close down moratta who was coming deep and start the offense and help his midfield on possession and get it upfield . both of the teams were cancelling out each other in the midfield so at times they were going direct . in that muriello hit some good passes from the back four  to find jovetic .  but he could had payed for his smartness where he tried to dribble his opposite number and got caught early in the 2nd half .

now in the match for me inter lacked a smart centre forward who could had linked with jovetic and perisic while  juve lacked a proper no.10 ( tevez) . the 2nd half was like the first half and cuadrado's time spending on the ball was getting frustating . secondly he wasnt able to find a juve player in the box . because all of the juve's offense was from the right side . the best chance or move constructed by the juve was however from the left side by pogba and evara who combined nicely to get the ball deep into inter's box but again failed to find the finish .

now juve are playing 3-5-2 which they had been playing at the start of the season but they lack the quality in the side . khadeira is playing in vidal's position but to be honest he hasnt got the quality or guile while going forward because vidal  wouldnt just cross the ball but instead would look for alternatives and make better decisions . cuadrado needs to stop spending time on the ball while zaza has the energy but looks  more like a sasullo player . while juve too needs to help zaza they need to have player around him quickly when he has the ball and lesser his burden on the ball .
all and all the game was about jovetic who was the most electric player in this game . he was the player who carried inter and was the reason why inter had a decent offense and caused all the problem for juve but he lacked support from other players . if he could have that support from other players then i dont doubt that inter can be in the UCL next season .

MY THOUGHTS ON HOLLAND VS CZECH REPUBLIC .

untill now the team had been carried by robben but his injury had been the major factor in dutch meltdown since he was the one responsible for all the dutch offense . while anybody would credit or not but absence of nigel de jong had too been one of the factors . now the dutch style of play had been long gone . to be honest from the days of van basten being incharge of the team the team had been playing on counter and it had been carried on by some individuals with inform players like sneijder ,van persie and robben so the style was long gone . the dutch playing the flowing passing game was all gone . here it was all dependent on the individual qualities of the players rather than the team playing and once the individuals were absent or on decline the teams fortune dwindled . in the last 10 years the dutch just looked at the results rather than the team play and that is why they find themselves in this situation .
now on tuesday netherlands played the czeck republic for a place in the uefa uero play off . now their fate wasnt in their hands and the result in the match between turkey vs iceland was also important . now this one match isnt the one that was real cause of dutch meltdown . to be honest when i watched the dutch play in this match then i thought that i was watching the irish play in dutch orange . they played the same long ball game that the irish were playing .
now lets start of the match . now let me clarify that i would be able to describe the czecks as clearly as i can with the dutch team . the reason being that i was watching the czecks the first or second team and the players in the czeck team ( except cech ) are not that much seen or dont play for big team . so for i cannot descirbe their game very precisely . now the dutch started the match with a 4-3-3 formation but it also had its loop holes . tete,bruma,van dijk and riedewald were the back four with danny blind in front of them . while sneijder was playing just ahead of blind but playing deep . weijnauldum was playing behind huntellar in the hole while depay and al gazi were on the wings . the dutch wanted to play a very open game and wanted to stretch their opponents . while on the other hands the czecks were very conservative they formed two banks of four when they lost the ball and attacked on the counter . the most surprising thing was the complete lack of style and the hurry that the dutch had on getting the ball forward and crossing it in the box or getting the ball towards czecks goal . now the dutch centrebacks were quite some time on the ball . now since blind and at times sneijder man marked out of the game huntellar tried to come deep and collect the ball and start the offense but he too was very much very well marked by the czeck players and was nullified . plus when you put the ball to centre forward then you need to have players around him to whom he can pass but huntellar wasnt couldnt do that and the dutch couldnt provide him the proper support . now the second point of attack was to pass the ball to depay or al gazi . now here lies the problem . they had time on the ball but they were just content on crossing the ball rather than trying to take the ball much deeper by passing the ball and have more penetration . the postions from where they crossed it could had been much more better and more deeper than the ones they crossed . they crossed from the edge of the box while they could had taken the ball much deeper or even tried to get themselves beyond huntelllar which sadly nobody tried . the dutch were just in  a hurry . they were just crossing the ball in the flurry . to be honest had it been the earlier dutch team then the wingers would had been patient they would had passed the ball far more times and would had tried to open the opponents with their passing  and movement which was very much lacking over here . plus i rarely saw a move which had more that  passes in the game and the dutch didnt shoot or crossed the ball .
now daley blind did realised that danny blind was getting man marked in the game and secondly huntellar didnt had any support around him . so he made the necessary change by bringing van persie in place of reidewald and getting support of hunellar . he brought weijnauldum deeper in support of sneijder who started to play in place of blind . after this the dutch  game just became  a long ball game and they just lobbed the ball on the heads of huntellar and van persie . the czecks were holding their last line just beyond the box and the dutch were determined to exploit this space but they never tried to out pass their opponents and the team looked devoid of direction and tactics . when van persie scored an own goal through header in the second half i stopped to watch the game and slept .
now in the opening 30 min what the czecks were doing what was that when they lost the ball they would form 2 banks of four and wait for the dutch to bring the ball forward . they man marked blind so that he cannot start the offense they were very much successful in marking him out of the game . now the dutch problem was that they were too much open both al gazi and depay were hugging the touch lines and were very high up the pitch while weijnauldum was just behind huntellar with sneijder joining them . so what it meant was that on the counter there wasnt enough protection for the dutch on the defense coupled with their individual errors which led them to being down 2 goals inside 30 min . another reason being that the czecks outplayed their opponents on the floor . they passed the ball better . they excelled in one on one situations and they had a better organisation than the dutch . all and all the dutch were outplayed and out muscled out of the game and the better side won .