ATLANTA VS PSG .

 atlanta played PSG in the first Q/F of the ucl . this is the first knockout tournament . the game can be summed up in one sentence that the team playing better football lost to the team who had better individual players . although atlanta lost the game but gasperini's stock had rosen quite well . gasperini's team showed the way ball needs to be played and the style that led to their rise was the reason for their downfall but all and all they believed in their system and they stuck to that note for the full 90 min gasperini's only mistake that the some subtle changes that he needed were not done by him . when the game was in the last quarter at that time he needed to just change the gears because the way they were operating was going to cause them problems but then it was a good match . 

atlanta started the game with their usual 3-4-1-2 formation while psg started with 4-3-3 formation but sarabia kept on dropping leaving neymar and icardi upfront . in my last post i had talked the space between the lines and the understanding between the players . atlanta displayed that perfectly . the differene between their lines was not more that 12-15 yards . the players seem to know their roles and they even played better in one on one situation coming out on top in that one . atlanta play a very compact game which allows them  to press whenever they loose the ball but because of which they have to play a high line just so that they can apply a proper press to the opposition . now this can work both ways you can recover the ball and deny opposition the space but at the same time when the opposition can somehow beat the press or there are players like neymar who can dribble past players with ease it gives them spaces beyond the last line to exploit . 

the game was nothing but full atlanta team against neymar . psg's who offense depended on neymar getting the ball and then taking on the whole atlanta team . touchel was asked the other day by somebody as to why psg not scoring enough goals . i think the answer lies in the fact that the who offense depends on neymar and how well he can do against the opposition . i think touchel wants to recreate what  gaurdiola created for messi at barcelona  . the difference is the understanding by the players and the player himself . the education that gaurdiola gave messi in that time had helped messi to be the player he today is .  also the understanding of the situation and what he should do and the spaces that he can operate and the way other team mates would position themselves around him made that team special . here touchel has a player neymar who has messi's dribbling qualities but touchel hasnt been able to teach him the proper decision making process as to what the team should do and how they should help neymar operate better as well teaching neymar to how he should operate in various formations and situations . neymar was doing things alone but he and the other team mates didnt seem to be on the same page . in the first half he just tore atlanta apart by his dribbling skills but lack of finishing skill kept psg blank . 

atlanta just played their game . they played compact game . the reason that i said  they should had taken a different to the game in the second half was that .in the second half psg changed the approach with neymar coming deep and trying to release mbappe and others beyond the last line. in the first half itself neymar had shown that he can beat them in the foot race . so mbappe is a notch better than neymar in the foot race . when mbappe came atlanta had changed their approach and had gone conservative by substituting gomez for a defensive midfielder but they kept on playing a high line and trying to congest psg . instead they should had dropped deep let neymar and mbappe come on them and then try to contain them instead of trying to win ball off them . i had already written as to how deal with such good dribblers in my earlier posts . you have to be patient . against good players and if you make a mistake then they will punish you . 

why i laud about gasperini was that in the second half after taking the lead the italian in gasperini got awaken and he went conservative . but this approach was backfiring because zapata was all on his own upfornt  and he didnt had any support and psg kept winning the ball back easily off him . so he again changed the approach and brought muriel in support of zapata and changed to two upfront . this did change some things and they could keep and move the ball better . his tactical acumen is good and had a good brain for the game . while on the other hand i dont think touchel will be in his job for long .his tactical acumen is stupid and i dont think he has a good game sense . how can he keep his mouth shut and chew gum when he should be instructing his players as to what they need to improvise . 

BARCELONA VS NAPOLI .

 barcelona played napoli in the ucl  round of 16 . i had done barcelona ganes before and i dont think that anything has changed but i expected a fight from napoli . i dont know about gatusso but i dont think he had watched barcelona's game's much . the italian's are called the masters of tactical football but i didnt find any great tactical understanding from gatusso because he just couldnt gauge the length of pitch and the distance between his lines . 

both the teams operate with 4-3-3 formation but they can change depending upon the situation of the game . first off napoli with the team that gattuso selected barca knew that they couldnt get in the running game against napoli .secondly with the front three off insigne,mertens and callejon they knew that they couldnt play a high line to they dropped back deep and got numbers behind the ball whenever they lost the ball . barcelona played a patient game when they lost the ball and didnt went chasing trying to win the ball back . there things that i was disappointed with gattuso's napoli . they knew that they didnt had height in the ball and barca had dropped deep to deny them space behind the back four so they needed to change the way they tried to get the ball in the box . if you had watched the game closely then you would had seen that the distance between the lines was way more than 12 yards which gives the defender to take proper actions .it is very natural the bigger the distance between two players the more time the ball takes to reach to  the intended player and in that time the defense can take necessary actions . the distance between the midfield and front three should had been narrower that between 8 to 10 yards which would had enabled a slick passing game. secondly napoli were just not slick on the ball . the trouble with napoli is that barcelona could sense the danger and could take evasive action . 

the reason i am disappointed by gattusso is that the way barcelona operate . they are just messi and messi . the game just flows through him . griezman played in this game and i was reminded of oscar in the brazilian team  who use to play around neymar . his job was to fill in the blanks . he will go wide if neymar comes inside and if he stays wide then he stays in his midfield position . the reason barcelona lost the la liga this season was that they just couldnt offer anything new . it was just messi and messi . he operates from the right side and there is no left side offense from barcelona . there is no offensive build up from the left side . if messi needs to be effective then barcelona need to play like the way they played for their 2nd . barca build up from the left which left messi in a 1 on 1  situation with his opposite number. that is what they did when they won the treble when neymar was there . 

 

i think messi is mid 30's and i think he should have a game sense and he needs to let others share the ball and let them  combine . there were two instances in the game in the first half where on semedo and de jong made the runs deep in napoli's half . but they halted there runs just because first reason messi wasnt there and the second reason being that barcelona are not coached to exploit such situations . whenever you see somebody free up then you need to coach then as to how you can exploit that position . how do you exploit spaces and who will make runs and support the runner and how will they do it .  yes i know that messi is one of the best players and this little man is the best passer of the ball and most importantly even if he surrounded by two players then he knows how to work the space between those players and how to negotiate with them but then he too should realize that football is a team game and if needs to be effective then he needs his teammates to be effective . most importantly barcelona dont let anybody from the midfield to get beyond suarez and messi .secondly they need to let griezman and suarez combine which in turn will only help messi .

i was disappointed by gattuso because let me tell you i dont know what he was telling  to his players or what his instructions was he passing .most importantly what he should had realised at the half time ( which he should had realized earlier . had he done that we would had a better game ) that the game that he had set up the team wasnt  working . secondly he hasnt got any height in the box . he should have had bought milik earlier than later . the impact he had on the game could be seen .there was  a target man in the box at the end of the cross because of which the fullbacks couldnt cross the ball and when they tried to work the ball inside they were not getting successful . i was diappointed in gattusso for not changing earlier which he  should had done . 

THIS WEEK I WILL BE BACK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YEG9DgRHhA

MY VIEW ABOUT THE ELCLASSICO .

on sunday  real madrid played barcelona at the santiago barnebau . after the game the first thing that i read after the game was that of piques comment that this was the worst real madrid side that he had played . to be honest this is the game where on my criticism of pique that he is the weak link in their team was confirmed . there are many a questions that are left unanswered by this game . first off did barcelona got the right man in the form of kiki stein as their manager because i dont see real changes in the game play . now winners are not questioned and since real have won so zidane wont be questioned . but the way they played then i thought that they were looking for a draw . there is no game plan other than counter attacking .even on the counter attack they dont have a proper cohesion . if there is one player that i am so disappointed then it is  isco . isco had the best shot in the open play on barcelona's goal but to be honest there are several instances in the game where on he is found wanting .his positional understanding as well as decision making was absolutely hopeless and at times hopeless . isco is playing in the number 10 position  and he is given the freedom to move anywhere . so when he has the ball he should be talking to the players telling them as to where he does he wants them and also play himself in . he needs to talk with his coach about the tactics .most importantly he needs to be available for pass all the time in the attack . to be honest i am not at all satisfied with his positional intelligence . barcelona had one chance in the game at goal and it fell to griezman . now can a striker like griezman miss a shot like that but the answer lies in the barcelona's tactics . 
this is game from where i am going to divert from tactical to tactical positional analysis . i want to take some examples and since pique is the big mouth i want to show as to how he is responsible for the goal . the centre backs are considered to be the team organiser on defense and they are the one who have the command as who needs to do what and so lets take his example . here in the first thing kross has the ball and the positions are as shown . here pique should be readind as to what kross can do and the empty spaces that his team is leaving and he should be giving a  should to either braithwhite or semedo to drop a little deep because there was a big space between him and semedo and this is where pique comes short .he should had realised the danger and should had given the call to semedo in particular because it is his zone or he could had moved a bit more towards semedo so that he could had narrowed the space in which kross released vinicius so that he wont have got that space and time on the ball to get the start and made things difficult . another instant is of the second goal that real scored here too umtiti went out wide to closed down mariano who turned on  him . here pique should had read the danger and should had shown him the outside and most importantly he should had gone quickly to close mariano down . while doing so he should had shouted to his other players to close down the gaps and look out for runners who would come at the end of the pass that the player that pique is closing  . this is how pique is .

there is another thing i want to talk about and this time i am able to show it in the pics . isco released vinicius in the space with benzema in support .now vinicius was surrounded by three to four players . now this is what intrigued me . instead of getting near vnicius and tryin to have some interplay he pulled away from vinicus leaving him to deal with those players surrounding him .now his thinking is trying to get in a goal scoring position but then there are lot of variables come into play . first off can vinicius deal with them .secondly the air time or the time the ball travels is the most important thing because the longer the pass the more time the opposition gets to do something and take preventive measures . now instead of going wide if he stays in close proximity to vinicius then not only there can be interplay but half of the players gets benzema's attention which in turn gives vinicius to do something . coaches need to creats such plays and they need to teach their players as what they need to do .they have to take moch drills teaching them as to how they can work these situations and get something out of it .

MY TAKE ON ATH MAD VS LIVERPOOL

ath mad played liverpool in the first leg of ucl round of 16 . i was reading the headlines and the news and i was not surprised . before writing this article i was watching bhau torsekar's video on journalism and when i was reading the news about this game i can see as to why the journalist are sold out . did the journalist saw the same game  saw . every other journalist had lauded ath mad and sort of criticized liverpool . well if i am jurgen kloop then i would be holding my head high after this performance .this match showed as to why liverpool are the best team in europe and how they outplayed,outclassed and totally dominated one of the best team in the europe . if i am jurgen klopp then i will show this game as a case study of how you play and dominate your opponents . now about simeone if i am simeone then i will not cherish this win instead i will do a brain storming as to why was i outclassed and outplayed and what should i do so that this will not happen again . i will not criticize him for his tactics but then when you deploy them then you have see that they are effectively deployed . most importantly when you see that your tactics are working then you need to tweak them . the fact about coaches like simeone , mouriniho that they are so rigid that just dont change .
liverpool started the game with their usual 4-3-3 system while ath mad started with their patented 4-4-2 formation . the game started with the usual story like . the players are fresh especially ath mad's who like press francitcally at start of each half . in this frantic pressing liverpool conceded a goal . but after the chaotic 10 min the game settled to its real script . ath mad started to sit back and absorb the pressure and hit liverpool on the counter . ath mad play a very narrow defense so liverpool moved the ball from flank to flank and trying to gauge the response and the movement of the players as well trying to see the opening in the ath mad' defense . although liverpool dont need it since liverpool with their ball movement can create that space . most importantly liverpool dominated the who half . they just knew when to up the tempo and when to slow the game down .most importantly they just strangled ath mad in their own  half and there is a reason for that . most importantly liverpool a little impatient with their shooting and taking shots . i am delighted by liverpool's performance and if they remain patient with their shooting and try to take their shots just a bit deeper in opposition half then they can be more potent . 
ath mad like to play on the counter attack . i wont criticize them for that . even liverpool like to play on the counter attack . now when you play on the counter all the components in the system need to work in tandem . ath mad for the major part of the match were poor on their execution of counter to liverpool's offense. first off i disagree with the shape that ath mad adopted . ath mad like to have all players behind the ball so the ath mad's front two will be in front of the opposition back four . so if the ball is passed they likely to be pressed and no opposition will give time and space on the ball and give the chance to have the counter on them . so ath mad had to move the ball very crisply . the forwards needs to understand that any time spent on the ball gives defense an edge in pressing them . most importantly the forwards that they have the responsibility of not only starting the counter but also of keeping the possession . they first need to keep the possession and then try to start to counter because both the ath mad forwards were not in tandem . they were flat . secondly i was disappointed by ath mad's midfielder's . the decision making by these midfielders was poor . they were trying to release the forwards or pass it to them where they were better off keeping the ball and passing it around trying to beat the press and then see the opening and make  a move . whenever ath mad moved the ball and made more than 3 passes in a move they pushed liverpool back and had they had a better coaching they  could had done something better with the ball .
 i am disappointed in simeone and his style of coaching . i think with time he hasnt evolved just like mouriniho who just struggle with the offense . if i was the ath mad coach then i would have had lost my voice after the match for the mistakes that his players were making . he removed lamar at half time and i dont know why but moratta stayed on . to be honest i would be  shouting my lungs out for his misadventures . most importantly when you are playing on the counter attack then the forwards should be ready to receive the ball and start rolling . i found and moratta and correa wanting . also the midfield they should be supporting the front players and only feeding them when it is possible . the reason why i said then is flat is because they were standing like midfielders while they need to be taking where on one is ready to make run behind the back which keeps their attention getting the other forward the time and space on the ball . they were just flat . when simeone will see the tapes i hope he corrects his mistakes . but all and all i would be disappointed if liverpool dont reach the next round .

MY TAKE ON GETAFE VS BARCELONA

barcelona played getafe at getafe's home .getafe had been high flying in the league and they had been playing some good football . spanish press love for high line continues because getafe's high line is the highest in the la liga and it is widely reported . while writing about getafe i am going to take their two matches into consideration .  getafe 's game against barcelona and valencia . getafe like's press high up and it looks like they have barrowed a page out of ariggo sacchi's tactical book . they play a 4-4-2 system but it more like 4-6 since all the men get behind the ball and try to help press . getafe played two different teams and two different tactically team's . most importantly they like to play on the counter just like liverpool where on they like to take advantage of the spreaded team .
the reason that getafe's plan worked against valencia was that valencia play similar to getafe . they too play a 4-4-2 system . so getafe could read as to what valencia were going to do when they have the ball and take proper actions . they limited valencia's ball movement in one zone and they successfully could strangle them in that zone . most importantly valencia's midfield just couldnt support their front players and parejo just couldnt cope with the pace of the game . barcelona's coach must had watched this  game and he knew what he needed to do . he knew that he needed to break that strangle hold that getafe applies in the midfield . getafe first bring all the players behind the ball .secondly they play shape in the middle of the park denying the space for the opposition so they have to go wide to move the ball . now it even more easier for getafe to press because on the flanks they cannot use the whole pitch and the number of players that get  imvolved in the play are limited so you can successfully press .against valencia this startergy worked .most importantly valencia played a very bad game and their player's just couldnt show their quality their on the ball . now barcelona knew what they needed to do .
  most importantly the system that barcelona deploy's makes it difficult to press . plus most important thing is the quality of players that barcelona  have got which are extremely important and the most important thing that nobody bother's to give credit is the quality that ter stegen possess . first bacelona's system they have three in the midfield plus messi too drops deep to get involved in the build up . most importantly once the ball gets to messi it gets very difficult to press because there is only one winner in one on one with him and once he beats his marker the defense had scramble to stop . so when this happens the whole defense can fall apart . still what getafe tried to do was they tried to make it difficult to get the ball to messi .they really worked hard and tried to press high up the pitch .but in this barcelona had one ace who deserve equal praise like the rest of the team and that is ter stegen . 
when you are pressed at that time the back four's distribution becomes   very important and there ability to pick  pass to a player who had time and space on the ball and can relive some pressure on the press . but when even the back four is pressed then at that time the goal keepers ability to  pass the ball and pick out of the back and pass perfectly becomes a very rare commodity . ter stegen has that i dont have the stats to show but he was absolutely hit .his ability to pick out a guy upfield is a very handsome quality he possess . his ability makes barcelona playing with 12 man on the field because the opposition cannot over commit for the fear of being hit back and ter stegens ability to pass is just the most important thing in that barcelona team .
getafe just couldnt over commit .first they couldnt bring the back four out of position because that would had let been disastrous . the other thing that barcelona did very good was barcelona pressed hard as soon they lost the ball they pressed getafe which was not what getafe expected and because of this getafe conceded possession many times . the thing is when you are so compact to press it is a boon as well as a curse because the opposition can give the same medicine to you which are trying to give it to them . most importantly i was not impressed by arrambari and maximovic who gave the possession cheaply many times . they should had the confidence and move the ball quickly cause they should read as to what barcelona were doing and should had tried to evade the press .  getafe's coach likes jurgen style of football but then kloop's team has a very distinct style of playing football and there offense is one of the most perfectly coreographed thing . each and every player in the play knows his role and they play to perfection so if getafe are to go anywhere it is the offense which has to be bettered that what is . barcelona just stopped them in the first half and only in the second half because of pique's idiocracy that getafe could have had a chance .
last but not the least but i am disappointed in barca coach's tactics . the team is not playing the flowing football that barca known for and most importantly there is over dependency on messi . i think that after 15 min once he guages the opponents as to what they are doing and their players he should try to improvise . they still are playing slow offense where on they are confused as to what to do next . most importantly if setien is a man's coach then he should tell messi that he needs to share more of the ball with other team members .for his team's sake and even for messi who would want to more of a threat the the other players need to combine because messi will always be a ace on the field but when others will combine then he will have that time and space on the ball and then he can do what he does best .

MY TAKE ON THE MADRID DERBY .

real madrid played ath mad in the madrid derby . when two big teams play then you need to some great intricate play's .great understanding of the situation and most importantly very good technical ability . even though there was a result the game was a stale one . how many clear chances did both teams created . it is expected that when two big team play then they try not to over commit . real started the game with 4-5-1 while ath mad started the game with their usual 4-4-2 formation . the game wasnt that great it was an ordinary affair .
i think its time ath mad need to find somebody and simieone's should move on . while i am critical of simeone i dont think very great about zidane . the reason being just look at the number of chances created by real in open play . while playing the game there are small things that make a lot of difference . like when should go solo or when should pass  .the commentators used a good phrase for it going down the blind alley and at times morrata and certain ath mad players were doing that and that needs to change. now ath mad like to sit back and hit on the counter . they like to play deep and this invites a lot of trouble because when you are playing deep and compact you can be conceding the possession as well as corners . thats what happened in the first 20min . real started the game with isco and valverde in the wide positions . real especially on the right side were doing good progress in taking the ball upfield but there are small things that need to be corrected . first thing when you had play then you need to have a good reading of your position(i.e you need to know whether you can have time on the ball ,can you do a half turn , which player is guarding you and many things .) there were two instances in particular where on i felt that the players made the wrong decisions . first off ramos who missed a shot in the box on real's corner. he should had known that he had time and space on the ball and should had taken a touch and then shot the ball .a touch makes a world of difference in football . secondly when modric ,valverde and casmeiro were moving the ball from right modric had taken the position between lines and there was no direct opponent who was guarding him . he had the time and space to make a half turn and  pass the ball.most importantly the reason i am saying this is that modric passed the ball outside to valverde but he could had passed it inside and taken the defense by surprise because that is what the team tries to do when they have the ball . another thing is real were moving the ball from wing to wing in a bid trying to find the space but how can you find the space if you dont work out a single wing . most importantly real players were trying to move ball from one flank to another in between a move and that is stupid and in that process they were conceding the possession . in the first half real were just poor they couldnt penetrate . their best chances came of corner's which they should had taken. 
ath mad likes to play on the counter and the reason i am critical of simeone is because  real were trying to press up  .but while doing so they were not that tight and  ath mad could pass the ball around . if you had seen real madrid matches then both varane and ramos dont get tight  on opposition and they were sitting allowing the opposition forward time and space on the ball. both vitolo and moratta were guilty of spending time on the ball and making poor decisions .while playing on the counter you have to seize the moment . you need to be aware at what time you need to release the ball and when to keep it . ath mad created good chances in the first half but poor decision making and solo ventures couldnt bring the chances to frutition .most importantly in football your chances double up for scoring when you keep the opposition guessing . if you go single minded that you are just going to just shoot or pass then it gets easy for the opposition to read you . the reason for this is most of the players are single minded but great players are hard to read because they can disguise their shot or pass which makes them more threatning . in the first half correa had the chance to pass the ball instead of taking shot then he would had made  himself more threatning and that would the team  overall .
the game changed in the second half .zidane made two substitutions he bought two wide players thinking that he didnt had speed on the wings . now you are lauded if you win and you are criticized ifyour move fail . in the whole match madrid created one good move when vinicius and mendy combined on the left wing and  vinicius released mendy behind the back four  . before that substitution had happened and lamar was drafted on the left wing while correa was sent forward to partner vitolo . untill that moment mendy had crossed some good balls in the first half . most importantly ath were caught napping and they didnt thought that real could muster that move . most importantly the back four fell asleep . since Vrsaljko was played out in the move felipe had to move to cover Vrsaljko's space . this led to entire defense moving and in that they lost benzema . the other thing was compared to other times ath mad were playing with a high defensive line which gave mendy the space between back four and the goalkeeper to cross the ball which led to real's goal .
the one player that impressed me the most was casmeiro . he performed his defensive role astutely and didnt let that ath mad work those traingles and his defensive work was the result that real dominated in the second half . he is not known for his offensive role but let me tell you he has a good reading of the game on that as well . in the first half he crossed a peach of a ball . he absolutely produced a great ball which should had  been read by benzema . a striker should a read as to where his team mates can cross the ball and should try to get there . casmeiro crossed the ball where the goal couldnt come and the back four couldnt  get there . benzema had the chance had he read casmeiro's intentions and tried to get there . this is what is called jellying where on teammates read other and it produces great football .
my criticism of simeone's is because when you make the adjustment then you should try play a different game . he replaced moratta trying to match real man for man . lemar is not correa who can run behind defense .he plays different game .so he has to make adjustments to the game plan as to how will now operate when they have the ball . most importantly even when real made the changes they didnt change the shape and had simeone tried to calm his troops he could have had something from the game . ath mad's offense just fell apart in the second half and simeone has to be held for the loss .