MY TAKE ON TWO GAMES .

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

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

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

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

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

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

MY TAKE ON LIVERPOOL VS CITY .

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

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

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

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

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

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

barcelona vs valencia.

 barcelona played valencia at the nou camp . barcelona had three main signings in terms of offensive players after neymar left . they had dembele,coutiniho and griezman to fill that void that neymar had left . now last year kiki setien was incharge but greizman wasnt playing regularly even when barcelona had payed a staggering sum to sign him . while another of the big signing coutiniho was send out on loan to bayern and dembele has injury issues . under setien the main criticism of the team was that it was messi centric . the reason being that as soon as the ball crosses in opponents half it would be all messi . he would be the one who would be the instigator,creator and finisher . other players in the team didnt see much of the ball . it was as if every other player in the team was just in the supporting the role with messi in the lead role . come this season both griezman and coutiniho have got a fresh start . i think this was game where on koeman gave them the chance to shine and gave them the ball to prove their worth as to why they should be start or even that they should be at the club. to be honest after watching this game i dont that they are bad on offense . if he makes some adjustments and most importantly he needs to change and chop his squad . i dont think that both coutiniho and griezman can warrant their place in the starting line up they are just not that good to start in the team . 

barcelona started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while valencia started the game with 4-4-2 formation .the game started with very familiar note with valencia sitting back and barcelona in the ascendancy . valencia had a definitive plan in mind with them sitting back and hitting barca on counter . while defending they were also very compact and they were just defending the 18 yard and they had given the wide spaces to barca . in the first half barca were not bad but they had one main flaw . they didnt had a definite no.9 around who they would play . secondly only two players were involved in the play at the time and there wasnt a lot of movement from the players . 

in the first half i think griezman and mainly coutiniho was given the chance to show their class on the ball . the main criticism from last two seasons had been that messi is the one that is dictatating everything . other players were really not comfortable with that .they thought that they didnt get the chance to show their ability on the ball and influence the play . here i think koeman might had instructed messi to let coutiniho start things and play according to him. in the first chance coutiniho had a lot of ball touches but he couldnt make it worth most importantly he was poor on the ball and didnt looked like the played who would cost 100 million plus . similar can be said about griezman who too looks poor on the ball . even for the first goal when the won the penalty he was lucky cause elsewhere he would had been carded for simulation . barca were poor in their movement . they were afforded time and space by valencia who were contend to defend their box when they lost the ball . the perfect example of barca's poor movement can be seen on alaba's crosses . barcelona were getting spaces on the flanks and their fullbacks were able to move forward especially alaba who was delivering crosses in the box . none of the crosses could find the desired target . the reason being that there was no movement from coutiniho and griezman who were the players leading the charge and were supposed to be at the end of the cross . on the other hand just look at valencia on gaya's cross . you have to be the first  on the ball or that you have to find space where on the ball can reach you . barcelona just didnt that . their players seem arguing about the quality of crosses . while alaba was telling them to make some movement and be available for the ball . bacelona were just poor in the first half . 

in the second half koeman changed the things . he had realized that he didnt had a proper no.9 who can operate upfront . so he changed thngs and got braithwaite to play as no.9 . messi is the default no.9 but he keeps on dropping deeper so at that time i think its griezman's opportunity to get in that position and show his true worth . messi has lost his speed although the ability is still there . he keeps on dropping deeper and in this formation the players are not that good that they are able to play around him . instead i would want him to stay upfield and let the play roll around him . the big problem for barcelona is defense who are sixes and sevens whenever the ball comes upfield they seem  to be sleeping and wait for the ball to come to them instead of them being proactive and try to get to the ball first . for the first goal barcelona were in 3-2 situation and araujo or mingueza should had told dest to get to cheryshev quickly . he should had closed him down early making it hard for him to cross . barcelona defense just keeps on forgetting their positions . they are not good at tracking and koeman has to organise them better or else had valencia finished better they would had been out of sight in the first half . 

 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN SPURS VS MAN CITY .

 spurs played man city in the premier league . day by day i think that the gaurdiola bubble is flattening and unless and untill he reinvents himself he may become untouchable since he kind of budget he works with cant be financed by many a teams in europe . i think that this season he has the worst team that gaurdiola coached in a good league . what he thinks on paper is not been able to put it into frutition . its like he had been theorotical than practical . he has a good plan but to bring that plan to reality and most importantly tweaking it real time in the real matches rather than in practice is very important . planning is one thing and executing is another one .also while making plan he should think about the flaws and the shortcoming that he has and the way that the opponent can exploit his system and the way that he can cover them up . while gaurdiola is struggling mouriniho is flying high and i think that he has done a very good business in the transfer window . i think this is the team that can deliver mouriniho the title . 

man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation but he would bring cancelo in the midfield to make up numbers in the midfield so that he can send silva upfield to join attack . while mouriniho's team started with 4-4-2 . both the managers have a preffered playing style while gaurdiola like to dominate possession and play with width . mouriniho likes to sit back and play counter attack . gaurdiola likes to stretch the opposition and try to explore those spaces that he thinks the opposition will leave . the most intriguing thing that i found about gaurdiola is that he just believes in his own plan and just doesnt tries to see as to whethere there is flaw in opposition's formation and how he can exploit that flaw . there was certainly a flaw in spurs formation and i think that gaurdiola didnt do enough to exploit it even though he had a player to exploit it . he has de bruyne who he could had told that there was a space between hoiberg and sissoko and he could had told him to take position over there and exploit that space that was there to offer . there were certain things that gaurdiola team did correct . where on after losing possession they pressed a bit which is necessary because what it does is that it stops that immediate counter attack . the opposition has to pass the ball back and when pressured enough the opposition has to go for a long ball or a punt and you can win the ball back . if after losing possession you back track instead of pressing then you had left spaces which the opposition will explore and you have trouble . the other thing is that he was playing torres and mahrez in the wide position . garudiola wants to stretch the opposition so that de bruyne and silva can explore those spaces but i think his team lacks the cohesion that is needed to explore these spaces . one more important thing that i think is that they are playing way too wide because whoever plays football knows this that 10 yard pass comes quickly than a 15 yard pass . for me the space between his players is way too wide and it is more than 15 yards . by playing this wide i think he is trying to get space for his players so that they can run on opposition but while doing so he is not taking in consideration the oppositions formation and players . the other thing about being too wide is that when the ball is passed the opposition player who is marking can close you down quickly and at time force into going on the wrong side . the other thing is that the opposition can close down spaces and you can loose possession . the other thing that had been missing from gaurdiola's team is the intricate one touch tiki taka play that had made him famous . instead his team look like the argentinian team where on everybody with the ball looks to drive on the opposition and do the job single handedly . i think he need to look at his tapes as to what he is doing wrong and how the opposition are milking him and when and what he needs to do as to improve his team . 

i take in to account the two games that city had played . now michael owen was analysing the tactical side at what led to the spurs goal in the first half . before i cross michael owen and try to put my own opinion in both the matches gaurdiola 's team played a high line for the first 20 min and then they dropped back . in the both the matches the opposition was able to that space that was left between the back line and goalkeeper . i really dont understand the logic of playing the high line when the opposition is playing on a counter since they have obviosuly prepared for counter attack . secondly man city dont do a high and tight pressing no more then what is the use of playing a high line . atleast they can start dropping back as soon as the ball is in their half . 

now to analyse the goal which was explained by michael owen . first off laporte is correct in coming out of the defense and trying to close down kane since he is in laporte zone and it has to somebody from either dias or laporte has to close him down . consider this that either laporte or dias dont come out of their position and hold their position and allow kane time and space on the ball . he can run these defenders and in process he can release either bergwin or son or can even shoot himself . the thing is that laporte is not wrong in coming out of defense but it is cancelo who is sleeping and not reading the situation . when laporte came out of defense at time cancello should had moved inside and closed that gap between him and dias . atleast he should had stopped son's direct central run . fine he would had given him space on the right but then the angle on right is much acute than the central one and the goal keeper has a better chance of it . it is not laporte's fault it is cancello's fault . 

mouriniho has set his team up very nicely and this is the team with whom he has the chance to win another title . 

MY TAKE ON THE BAYERN MUNICH VS ATH MAD GAME .

 bayern munich played ath mad in the ucl . this is the first game in the group so everybody wants to make an impression . bayern  started the game with their usual 4-2-3-1 formation while ath mad as always play a 4-4-2 or 4-6 combo . first off this was luis suareaz's first game for ath mad in the ucl . messi had made his disgust known public about the way suarez was hauled off at barca . this was the game where on suarez needed to show the kind of player he is . first off form is temporary and class is permanent . class is not limited to the age it will always be there . suarez failed to redeem himself . sometimes a striker can misfire in a game but his game knowledge and his ability on the ball is always there . first off suarez's positional knowledge is poor as a striker you should know as to where the ball can come or where the pass can be played . you should know as to how much time you have on the ball and whether you need to pass the ball or you can shoot . secondly his passing ability is absolutely hopeless . he should realize that he is top man on the pitch and any loose pass from his or loose play from his will result in his team loosing the possession or getting crammed and that may result in loss of possession or the move may have to reset . he was absolutely hopeless . offside countless time . he should remember that they play a counter attacking system and the ball comes very quickly to him that he may want to that he would anticipate . most importantly good strikers create chances for themselves . they know how to read a position and they try to position themselves that the ball can be crossed to them or that they can receive the ball . 

the game started the very much anticipated notes . ath mad would sit back and try to absorb the attack and then hit bayern on the counter . most of the ath mad attacks were from the left side because both carrasco  and lodi are good dribblers and have good pace . the game had the usual notion about it with bayern pressing and ath mad hitting on the counter attack . i think that when simeone looks at the game and analyses it he would say that at time they would play theball just because the move needed to be moved forward while at times it would had been better to hold off the ball and play it around and try something different . ath mad just tried to play forward football trying to take advantage of bayern munich players caught upfield . 

suarez's position in the box for carrasco's cross . he cannot expect the ball to ball to come to him when they are so deep and the back four and goalkeeper would just let it roll .

he needs to here in the box trying to be as close to pass as possible .

this post is mainly about what suarez should had done and what he lacked . he was poor in positional approach his link up play as well as his finishing . a player of suarez's experience should really have a great knowledge about the positional aspect of the game . the one moment that i particularly wanted to point is when carrasco had the ball and he was giving a hard time to pavard , muller and kimmich . he was very good . had suarez got his positional sense right then both of them could had made the difference for ath mad . for this i have made the diagrams . when the ball the comes in to box the back four tries to get to the ball and tries to get the possession back or just clear it . they cannot let the ball get rolled over in the box and expect the ball to go out of play . they have to be the first to the ball when it is in their zone . the thing is that when the ball is crossed in the box the striker needs to make himself available so that the ball reaches him . he needs to calculate as to where the ball can reach him . secondly at times he is the ones who needs to engage the back four so that the others can find the space in the box . he has to calculate at every moment of the game . he cannot think that the ball will evade defenders and reach him because the defenders too are thinking like him . they too are thinking as to where the danger is and from where the ball can be crossed and how they can reach there first or at least try stop  the cross . suarez for me was hopeless in his positioning and finishing and it would be better for siemeone if plays somebody other . 

MY TAKE ON THE WEEKEND GAMES .

 liverpool played everton in their home . everton are top of the league and many of them had started predictions that this may be the blues year . this was an important game as to how everton approaches it and whether they are good enough to win the league . well i dont think so . leicester had been in the similar position and they had won the league . but let me tell you leicester were playing way better football than what everton are doing . if everton are to improve then they need to do improve drastically on both the fronts . they are having deficiencies on both ends and they need to address that and if they can address that then they stand a chance of having surprising many and if others keep on dropping points then may be they have a chance . 

everton started with 4-5-1 formation while liverpool start with 4-3-3 formation . the game had high energy to it . everton were trying to play on the counter attack while liverpool too try to do the same they try to break at pace as soon as they get the ball . everton were sitting back and were trying to play on the counter attack . most of the liverpool attack were from the wide because everton had three in the midfield . while liverpool had the ball they tried to play through salah who having the better of digne in the physical match up while on the left side robertson was causing everton all sort of problems . now the trouble with everton formation on defense is that rodriguez is not a hard worker and he was suppose to mark robertson who is a willing runner . everton didnt had three in the middle in the same line instead gomez and dacoure are higher up the pitch trying to press liverpool midfielders while allan is more of a sweeper who tries to read the play tries to win the possession back and start the attack . 

the trouble started when liverpool spotted that rodriguez wasnt tracking back robertson and i think that he isnt fully match fit or is not a hard worker . the thing was that dacoure was trying to press thiago while mane had moved inside so coleman couldnt go out and press robertson since that will leave mane free and create problems . the other thing was that robertson wasnt that wide as the fullbacks usually are . he was quite inside so what that does is that the pass that he makes reaches the players faster compared to the pass from the wider areas . thirdly because of firmino the back four couldnt come out and mark mane . while back four were trying to defend the six yard box and firminiho allan was the only player who was present in front of the back four and so there was a lot of space on his left and right to exploit and thats what mane did . he found the space between the lines and score . the thing is that ancelotti should had made sure that as soon as the ball comes upfield then atleast one of the two midfielders should be along side allan . so that he can step up and be assured that there is somebody who is marking the space that he is leaving . liverpool kept on exploiting this space for the entirity of the match . in the second half ancelotti read this and ancelotti had made the changes . he changed the system from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 and made dacoure go mark robertson but as soon as everton saw that liverpool were exploiting the spaces in the middle they got dacoure in the middle . liverpool should had seen that change and should had told robertson to exploit that freedom again . 

whenever everton has the ball they should have a plan a,b and c since it may be possible that the intial plan may not work . everton when they had they the ball they had only one play they were trying to play the ball to calvert lewin . the obvious problem with everton's formation was that both james and richarilson were wide . secondly they were trying to go direct and they were trying to release calvert beyond the back four but liverpool could read that . most importantly when everton had the ball in the first half they just didnt know as to how they need to take the ball upfield . when a player spends time on the ball that means that either he has too many targets to choose from or has none . in terms of everton the players were not in cohesion with each other . secondly when calvert was played the ball he didnt had anybody behind a no.10 to roll the play . there was nobody who was there to go beyond calvert so that he can play him and that threat can create the space for calvert . both rodriguez and richarilson who are threats were wide and by the time they would come in liverpool would have players in defensive positions . so everton has to learn to keep the ball and pass it around as calvert has shown that he is an aerial threat and digne is a superb crosser . for me rodriguez looks out of shape . he has the quality and has the eye for the pass and can thread a defense splitting pass but he needs to take control when everton have the ball and he need to work harder . most importantly ancelotti needs to create an offense which can suit rodriguez who can be a real gem . 

i think the injury to van dyke was the most important thing that happened . untill vasn dyke was there calvert wouldnt get time and space on the ball . he cannot out jump or say he would get the space to jump as freely as he did for those two headers that he had in the box . van dyk would be tighter to him and can read the game better to joe gomez . joe gomez allowed van dyke time and space on the ball . he was ball watching and allowed him to jum freely and score . he should had got the warning in the first half when calvert miss a similar chance in the first half from a similar cross . gomez should had been tighter to him . most importantly when liverpool loose the ball they play with one intent of trying to win the ball back and that can back fire since the team can just play out and when the ball is in the box they dont have that disciplined approach as like the other team have to keep the formation and try to defend their zones and keep tight disciplined unit . this thing can be their down fall and if teams can exploit that then they can have problems . 

there were two other games that were played on saturday . arsenal played man city while the other was the milan derby . arsenal lost against man city . there was only one goal scored and the reason for that was that arsenal just allowed man city to play . arsenal were pressing man city . the goal that was scored was because when arsenal were pressing man city teirney who was pressing maharez allowed him time and space on the ball . had teirney not allowed maharez time and space on the ball then i think the goal could had been prevented . there are two things first off teirney was afraid that maharez would turn on him and he would leave his back four collegues exposed so backed off a little . but also there is another angle to it . maharez is far off from the goal . even he had turned then teirney has the pace to catch maharez . the others when  seeing the danger would had rushed off and would had brought more arsenal players on defense . for me arsenal just allowed man city too time and space on the ball . they might had been scared of city's ball playing ability or the players possessing pace . arsenal should had backed themselves . the only arsenal player that impressed me was young saka who looks good at this time . 

the other game that was played was the milan derby . a substandard game with old horses . conte should had seen the game and analysed it . what did he find . after looking at the game what did he find . looking at the team didnt he remember of the argnetina team . everybody playing for themselves . he should look at the team and see at how much his team was undisciplined when they had the ball . they just wanted to the heroes and were not ready to play their team mates . while nothing great can be said about milan they were equally or say more hopeless than their counterparts . juventus already had the league in the bag . 

MY TAKE ON LEICESTER VS MAN CITY .

 now man city played leicester at home in the epl . i had been reading all the headlines in the english media about the game . even in the match commentary there were too many things about the project restart . gaurdiola had accused the other team of not playing and just sitting back and not coming out to play football . what does he expect that the opposition should match him while he purchases the best player in the world and the opposition should play as he wants . to be honest this is the type of team that i wanted him to coach and lets see as to how he manages to get the result . to be very honest the football that is played right of now is very hopeless . they are devoid of any creativity while trying to open the opposition defenses . i havent seen a team which has good cohesion and is playing a good football and players have a proper plan when they are going forward . bayern who were playing good football had been not that good after the restart . now about gaurdiola this team hasnt got a flair player . earlier they had silva who was very good in passing the ball as well using the spaces himself and could tick the team around him . there is only player in the team who is good but he is more useful on the counter attacks or crossing the ball but not in playing those intricate one two passes in the close cordons. graham souness had already said that liverpool will have the trophy not because they are good but because the opposition is very poor . 

city started the game with their 4-3-3 formation while leicester started it with 5-4-1 . city had sterling in the no.9 role while leicester had 3 at the back and they were very compact and rodgers had drilled them very well and they worked in tandem with each other . now there is lot that is made about city's defense . yes that a point but the real point is the city's offense . in the entire game city didnt created a single chance from open play . they were poor . for me the real problem was not city's defense but city's offense . the team wont come out and play if they are afraid of the opposition and its offense . city started sterling in the no.9 position . the idea to start sterling in the no.9 position is theorotically very good but the trouble is executing it . the three leicester centre backs were very compact and they tracked the runs from players very nicely . 

the game started with leicester sitting back and city in the asendency . leicester played deep knowing that any space that they offer behind back four can be exploited by city . since there was no space in the middle city had to get the ball wider to the fullback positions in trying to stretch leicester . the idea was correct but the thing is when you are trying to execute you need to do it correctly . city were taking the ball wide but they were not able to bring the ball inside . leicester should be commended for their defensive effort . the real reason that i blame gaurdiola is he  should had read the situation . they were not able to string four passes together near . they were hurrying on and were crossing the ball to sterling who i dont thing can win an aerial duel against any leicester's  centre backs . city were not able to work there passes in an around the leicester's defense or between the lines . just look at the crosses that were coming to sterling they were coming from atleast 20-25 yards and leicester's defense could see the danger coming . city should had been able to put four passes together in between the leicester's lines . they should had played the passes crisply . most importantly when you play sterling as a no.9 you cannot play off him . city were just too monotonous and one dimensional in their offense . they were just kept on crossing the ball from wide areas. they should had tried to control they should had moved the ball around and done more passess in and around the box . didnt you see the movies where on the coach tell them to make atleast 5 passes before you take the shot . city were not able to string three passes together inside the box which it should because the leicester had good shape to their defense and they wouldnt be penetrated or peircsed  by just two pass moves . while it can be  claimed leicester's good defensive effort but at the same time its city's poor offense . just tell as to how many chances did city create from open play and how many saves did schmichael had to make . 

most importantly  while trying to stretch leicester city over stretched themselves . the distance between two players when playing a ground game matters . if the distance between two players is more that 8-10 yards then the ball takes a bit more time to reach the player and that time can be used by the opposition to close down the player or can make adjustments to their shape . for me the distance between two city players was a bit too much and city should had played a more closed game which would had allowed them to make crisper passes and open leicester defense . secondly they should kept the ball instead of crossing and city's fullbacks should had been instructed to not cross the ball and keep the ball passing and rolling trying to stretch leicester's defense . city's crossing the ball after few passes made it easier for leicester to defend .somebody had watched the first 30 minof this game then they would had thought that city were just going to roll  over leicester . but i think rodgers had a good plan in mind . he knew that the pressing eventually would get laxed and that they can play the ball out after 30 min . most importantly the confidence that mendy got after he turned over to  pass barnes was the game changer because teilmens is a very good player but he wasnt getting the support from mendy . but once mendy got that confidence over the ball leicester looked like a different side and i think that was the key moment in that match . at times i think barnes spend too much time on the ball and i think rodgers need to make him aware of the moment and not waste that because it can  cost them in other games . 

barcelona are playing tonight and i wont be surprised if they get a reality check . they are just playing the same thing that they were doing last season and the same formation and the same players . they were lucky against villareal but if celta vigo can play correctly then they can pose a problem for barcelona .