MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN PSG VS MAN CITY .

 on wedenesday man city played PSG in the uefa champions league s/f . now nobody will even question pep gaurdiola because he is the master of tactical games . whatever he does is just beyong question by ordinary people . i want to ask this did he played a negative formation . its not about him playing de bryune in the no.9 position cause he had done this before but it is the kind of game that they played . it doesnt matter who plays where but who was there to be in the box . who was supposed to be at the end of the crosses . the thing was there was nobody who trying to get in the box .whatever the play was that was outside the box . doesnt matter how much you dominate the possession but if you cannot threaten the opposition goal then that possession and domination has no meaning at all . ciritics might say that man city scored two goals but both those goals were on free kick and a cross not by interplay . other than a foden solo run which he made on his own there was not a single shot on goal by man city. they were outplayed in the first half . they came back in the second half and i would credit them for that cause PSG should have had some confidence in them and coach should had calmed them down . they lost that plot and are down from the first leg but they are not out and if they can play the way in the first half of this tie then i think they are still in the tie and it has many a twist and turns and if gaurdiola keeps on playing negative then i think that he may come to regret about it . 

the game started with psg playing a 4-4-2 formation with mbappe and neymar upfront . while man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation . gaurdiola selected cancelo as the left back while he has two left backs at his disposal . the reason of playing cancelo as the left back is that he is right footed and him facing di maria who is left footed makes the match up even cause di maria likes to cut inside . cancelo being right footed as his strong on di maria's strong side so he can very well counter di maria . the game started with similar pace with both team trying to dominate whenever they had the ball and press upfield when they loose the ball and if the opposition can beat the press then sit back in shape and try to absorb the offense . there is definite reason why neymar was coming deep to help out his side move the ball upfield . neymar is very good on the ball and even when pressed can dribble the ball out of the press and can really open the opposition up . while mbappe has the pace and man city were scared of it and they were playing and not letting have any space behind the back four to exploit . so man city were stretched vertically . in the first half man city were not trying to close down neymar they were letting come deep and have the possession and he was causing all sort of problems for man city . veratti and di maria were coming inside which was allowing the fullbacks to come forward and cause many problems to man city defense because they were getting stretched . 

i had seen people talking about man city and psg's press . to be honest most of the teams are very well prepared against the press they can be pressed on one move but the managers make the necessary positional changes to beat the press .when any team gets pressed they just move the ball from one flank to other . so even in this game whenever teams were spread they would just spread the ball and try to stretch the game and get some time and space on the ball . in the first half man city were playing deep and were getting torn apart by psg . if somebody watches the first half of this game then the interplay between neymar and mbaape and other psg players was like pro's playing against school children . the only thing lacking and for which they must be cursing was the finishing which even they lacked in the bayern game . they were just causing man city from all sides . i think psg would score more than two in the first half and the tie would be over . 

i dont know told this but i think in the second half and i would credit this to the commentators who made the right spot . man city started to play more compact . they started to play more upfield and started to press and started denying the space that neymar was getting . the game changed when de bruyne scored of the equalizer for man city . city scored the second just minutes later and psg started to chase the game and in that they lost the concentration and discipline that is required to chase the game and they lost . 

the most important thing that i said in the first para was that whether gaurdiola played negative . man city had three in the middle and three upfront with debruyne in the middle . i dont mind de bruyne not playing as an out and out forward . but then there has to somebody who has to at the end of the cross in the box . but then if gaurdiola doesnt wants it then its his choice. but then there are other alternatives in opening the opposition defense where on you can have a very good interplay and open the opposition or midfielders can go beyond the striker or that the wide players can make diagonal runs in the box but the problem was that none of this was happening . they were having possession but the movement was all outside of the box . even when the ball was pass wide there was nobody inside the box for the cross . there are no good interplay nor were they taking shots from outside of the box . other than the two goals man city didnt present with any threat to the psg goal . i would like to commend the commentators that they were calling for a proper no.9 to be in the match or they wanted gundogan to go beyond de bruyne who was dropping deep . there were no diagonal runs by mahrez or foden . they were staying wide trying to stretch the defense but there was  no great interplay trying to bring the ball inside . i dont think that man city were ever threatning in the match . it doesnt matters whether they dominated the possession but they just didnt threatened psg goal . i think the tie is very much alive and hope to see a good match . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN REAL VS CHELSEA .

 real madrid played chelsea at home in the ucl semi's . both the teams started the game with the same formation 3-5-2 . for the first time i think i saw zidane's team play with a back three . while chelsea was 3-5-2 real madrid were 5-2-3 . the fascinating thing was that zidane taking  a page out of gaurdiola's book of bringing the left back in the central position and trying to have an extra option in the midfield which is an advantage when you have numbers in any position . the game wasnt that great it was slow game compared to the other game . both the teams were not ready to commit too many men forwards since they could be caught on the quick counter . 

you cannot say for sure that real madrid were sitting back and chelsea were playing the counter attack . they both were playing both and compared to chelsea real played a bit of a high line in the first half . in the first half real were light in the midfield . chelsea particularly were exploiting this . the interesting thing was that real were playing in a twisted mindset .when the ball was upfield they wanted to press but then there back four or back five didnt want to come too up so as to close . they were playing relatively deep and this was creating quite a bit of space between the back line and the midfield and as soon as chelsea could beat the real press they were through on real goal with just back four defending. this was the feature of the first half . the midfield was crowded because both sides forward player would drop deep to support their mdifielders in trying to winning  the ball back and congest the spaces between lines . real were five at the back now the thing is that whenever chelsea were on the counter their one fullback had quite a bit of space to run on the real back line . childwell specially had this luxury time and again . since modric was upfield and carvajal was sliding besides the back four childwell had quite a space to run on the back four and had he made some intelligent  runs then things would be different .  the other thing was that had werner had the intelligence to pick his team mates with the pass  then chelsea would had caused real more problems . the more you cause chaos in the opponents minds the more you get the opportunity to defeat him . the thing in the first half was that both the teams players were getting time on the ball for both the teams  . there was just light pressing where on they didnt caught on the wrong side of the defense.

 

the thing that impressed me but which real didnt do enough was that benzema and vinicius had good inter play between themselves but what intrigued me was that they pulled the trigger just a bit too early where on they could have tried a better penetration and more deeper in the opponents half . the other thing was that they should had brought others in the play which would had made it threatning .in the first half real had two in the middle and they were getting run over by chelsea especially kante who is more athletic than any of the real's midfielders . the main thing was that there was a vast space between midfield and back four . this was because real were afraid of pulisic's pace and his dribbling ability . so they were not keen on coming forward to press . instead they held their positions which allowed kante and pulisic time and space on the ball. time and again in the first half chelsea had chances to run on oppositions defense but they didnt capatalized the chances and wasted with thier poor choices of passes and trigger pulling .  

 zidane saw this and he bought modric in the middle along side kross and casmeiro in the second half but then you take one from the front and put in the middle that reduces the threat that you have . the game wasnt that great in the second half . both the team just played through the motions but i was exicited about chelsea when they introduced havartz on 65 min who me is the future of chelsea and should be the one that should start instead of werner . he will be combine very well with pulisic and is technically better than  werner and has a good common sense as to when to shoot and when to pass plus his passing is very good . 

the guy that i was disappointed with most in the match was jorghiniho . his passing was bad and most importantly he is one who sets up the tempo the game . a good midfielder not only passes the ball but also he plays himself and finds spots in move from where he can be more effective . a midfielder needs to find the spot from where he can be effective .jorghiniho was very pedestrian in this game and even his passing was not that good . i think mendy for real madrid who will come in the second leg will make major difference for real madrid . last but most important chelsea centre were not very comfortable whenever the ball came upfield and there is no cohesion between them which is needed . 

MY TAKE ON THE EL CLASSICO.

  //OM//

real madrid played barcelona which can be a title decider and can have big implications on the title race . first and foremost i dont reason why koeman should be coaching barcelona next season . but first i am amazed as to why there idiots doing commentary on the match . i had never seen a more idiotic commentrator than these ones . 

now barcelona started the game with 3-5-2 formation . while real madrid started the game with 4-3-3 formation but let me tell you it was 5-4-1 till valverde was on the pitch . when i am to write about the game i try to find a pattern in the offense and needs to be one . you need to have a clear approach why attacking the opposition and then you try to improvise on the go . the coach is there to change things to make changes to improvise things not sit in the dugout . you play a certain foramtion beacause you want to acheive something from that . barcelona were just hopeless for the entire match . most importantly as i had said before the players are the ones that carry out the coaches plan and make the formation work . 

real were set up to play the counter and they were sitting deep and absorbing barca pressure . barca were trying to play dutch football trying to pass the ball around and try to create gaps in the real defense . why does koeman thinks that the opposition is stupid and it will fall into his plans . any team that thinks that the opposition will fall to plan a are either fool or living in dream land . zidane must had seen how barca operate and that is why he bought valverde who was supposed to playing up field along side back four and made it back five . secondly is that they didnt went overzelous with their defending instead they let barca come on them and defend properly . you can create in the oppositions defense only when you are playing properly and you have a proper plan A and you execute it and then improvise it . 

barca started the game with 3-5-2 combination but in the first half they didnt had much of the joy . to counter alaba's run zidane asked valverde to play alongside the back four and he did his job deligently . barca were trying to play tiki taka but it didnt had any direction as to what they wanted to achieve. they couldnt find the space to release dembele behind the back four .messi wasnt able to open up the defense with his runs cause real defended well . most importantly when messi is making the run he wants players around him to be open so that he can pass on to them if he cannot find the space . here there wasnt that much help from other players . so in the second half he changed the things . he bought griezman on and changed the formation from 3-5-2 to 4-2-1-3 . he pushed de jong up front which he had done that this season . he pushed dembele on right and griezman on the left . demble did alright on the ball but griezman was poor . now even the goal which was scored because messi just passed the ball to alaba who must had crossed the half heartedly since he knew that messi wasnt in the box . the commentrators made a meal of it crediting griezman of playing a dummy for letting mingueza to score . they were saying that as if the defense was sleeping and they were just going to let the ball crawl to mingueza to score . btw he scored in desperation not a clear strike . none of the formation or changes were going to work because they lacked the plan and the proper cohesion that is required to open the opposition . 

my biggest complain is not how about barca operate but how they defend . first off real were defending deep so they had to cover a lot of grass to get to barca's goal . you should play as such that when you play offense at the same time you should be thinking defense that you can loose possession anytime and how can you defend or can recover the possession . barca were pressing initially but the first goal was a total idiotic defending by the barca defenders . first off look at just look at barca left back who is hopeless and shouldnt be played and is only played because messi likes him or else he is a hopeless defender. just look at the ease with which valverde got passed him like a kid . he should had known that instead of trying to recover the possession off valverde he can just stick with him and just put him pressure and limit his passing angles . the another was araujo who was stupid he should be the first to the ball . you have be a striker in your own box and try to be the first to the ball . 

now my complain is that if you ask the chess players is that they dont just do offense . while constructing a move they make sure that they dont leave spaces for the opposition to exploit and put his offense in jeopardy so that like barca your players ( pieces are caught on wrong side of the board ) . in this barca side sergio busquetus is  one the most senior player and plays in front of the back four . when he is making the distribution at the same time he should be reading as to what spaces are being left and read as to how the opposition can counter cause the opposition is doing the same to you .  they too are reading the spaces that you are leaving behind and thats how they counter . busquestus is the most important peice of the puzzle and he should instructing players as to what they need to do . he needs to take positions where on he can stop those counters in track or slow that flow so as to get players behind the ball and defend in numbers . he was just hopeless just look the number he was caught high up the pitch with his team needing him and he is just jogging back not caring about them . he should be the one who should be the one who should be running the game both on offense and defense for the team while defending he should be thinking about countering quickly and while on offense he should thinking about the way opposition can counter and stop it in track . barca should had replaced him in the summer instead of rakitic .

you cannot expect to open the opposition with your plan a . instead its just an opening sequence or you can call it a feeling process as to how the opposition reacts . you improvise it and then you can open them .the other complain about barca's defense is just not about reading the play but also if you dont defend individually then you cannot win as a team . passes are coming for more than 15 yards or more and you are not closing down players and allowing the opposition time and space on the ball is very criminal . all and all i dont think that i dont think that koeman has done anything great with this team and even though he may just win the league but it will be pure luck than his coaching accomplishment . 

the only positive for barcelona is the young kid pedri . he looks assured on the ball and looks technically good and hope that the coaches will let him dictate the play and let him have some more freedom with the play . 

let me get something off my chest and it is very vital to the game also . i was watching the fulham vs aston villa game . i appreciate scott parker very much . i think while idiots like steven gerrard and lampard are receiving all the plaudits he was the most underappreciated one . he was a true midfielder for me the other one being carrick . both gerrard and lampard never played midfield they played as number 10 never as a midfielder and whenever they played as midfielders the team lost badly . thing is that i was watching the half time comments and it was bothroyd who was commenting . he was asked as to why fulham are playing tiki taka and why dont they try something different . this is where your knowledge of football is seen . he replied that the manager believes in that philosophy and he is entitled to that . yes you should play any style but should be flexible in that you should be able to read the game and the opposition and make changes on the go and then adopt those changes in the game . every style has its plus and minuses . i had watched bothroyd  under 21 team they were utterly hopeless . also roy kean's comment on fred that he would miss an open goal is stupid . i am disappointed in keane . he was a midfielder and he should understand or appreciate a good player . fred does all the dirty work for man utd and he is good at that and plus if you do understand football then he has the best pass completion rate and if solskjaer can let him have some freedom then he can really show that he is good in scoring too . 

MY TAKE ON BAYERN VS PSG

  //AUM//

bayern munich played psg in the first leg of the ucl . just a few months back they played in the finals . the game was very good but a few things intrigued me but first . there are coaches that specifically design their teams to play on the counter like conte and mouriniho but their teams struggle when their own medicine is given to them and they struggle to open the opposition . but when the opposition really has to sit back that means the opposition has the quality and that is why team has to sit back and get numbers behind the ball and play deep . now i dont know whether the substitutions made in the game were forced or whether they were made keeping in mind the need of the game . even though bayern lost the game the tie is far from over and if hanzi flick can make some changes to personal or the way they operate then i think bayern can still bounce back and win this tie while psg still have neymar and mbapper there two main trump cards and if they can combine or there individual quality can change the game single handedly . 

both the team started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . the game started with psg sitting back and bayern in the ascendancy . psg scored in the first 10 min and it was because of neymar's brilliant run but somebody forgot to see that bayerns second midfielder groetzka who was supposed to be along side kimmich failed to read the play and just couldnt see that psg could use the space that he had left along side kimmich . groetzka was caught high up the pitch and when good interplay between di maria and fullback released neymar in the space between the back four and midifield . even though bayern were a goal down they were controlling the possession and tempo of the game . 

obviously psg were afraid of bayern's offensive ability that is why they had a very compact back four with full backs tucked alongside of the centre backs . they played deep and had two central midfielders in front of them . the reason for this might be that they were afraid that if the full backs come out of their natural positions then the space that is left will be exploited by muller and even chipo moting so they kept a very compact shape but that means that they allowed bayern winger time and space on the ball . both the bayern wingers were kept high on the pitch . even though bayern wingers saw most of the possession and every move was through them they were not able to capitalise the time and space on the ball . this is why i said that even if your tactics are right its the players that get them executed . 

for me that is why i said that bayern missed some of its players . koman is good player . he has a good space and beats many a full backs in one on one situations but he lacks that final pass . he is very poor in that . even during the game there was pass in which he would had released muller or sane behind the back he failed to pass that ball perfectly which lost that chance to put that player in a scoring position . majority of the attacks were from his but he failed to produce that final chance . if he can improve that final then i think he can be very big player . the other one was sane . i was baffled by him . his first touch is not refined . the ball always bounces off his feet . hansi flick needs to work with him . there were positions where on the could try a curler which would put the defense on alert . most importantly he needs to work on his game to make himself pronouced . 

why i said that bayern missed lewandowski is that he links up very well these wingers . he comes deep and lets muller runs beyond him so that the centre backs cant come out and close him down . the other player who bayern missed was gnabry who runs and link up play makes the offense that much potent . most importantly in the run of play bayern went one dimensional they would let these wingers have a run on the defense and then try to cross which were finely dealt by the psg defense . if bayern are to successful in the second leg then they need to get create some chaos in the opposition and try to disturb the oppositions defense and use it to their advantage . 

when psg had the ball they were pressed by bayern and they were not able to find neymar and mbappe . they were struggling with their possession . they need to bring neymar and mbappe more in to the play and try to keep the ball more or else if bayern were to take the chances that they missed in the first leg then they would be in trouble .

i would commend hansi flick was making the substitutions . he saw that groetzka wasnt up the speed of the game and was finding it difficult .most importantly his game reading was poor which had led to the first goal so he sent alphonso davies and bought alaba in the middle . kimmich was very good in the whole game his distribution game reading was very good . what bayern are lacking is a leader on the pitch . for the second goal they just completly switched off and failed to read that the ball could come back and the di maria was having time and space on the ball and that they were letting space between defense and the goal keeper which marquinihos very well explored . they need somebody who would keep them on their toes and they can have a chance . 

MY TAKE ON MADRID DERBY.

 the madrid derby was played on sunday . the matches have big implications in the title race and a win for simeone's side would had made them clear favourite for the title . while the win for read madrid would had brought them back in the reckoning . the match was of two shades for both simeone and zidane . the game was of  two different tactics in two different half's . first off if you are simeone's team then the real threat comes from either carrasco and llorente who are good but other than that simeone still  has not shown as to how he will carve out the opening when the opposition is sitting back and asking them to try to open their defense . zidane's team in first half was not back while whoever would had watched his team in the second half would just be amazed as to why doesnt he do this in the first half itself and why wait for the last quarter of the match . 

before i write about the tactical stuff let me tell you that after i watch these players most of them are just technically hopeless and even the coaches dont understand the importance of it . when they talk about the technical stuff they are always concerned about passing the ball long or good first touch or bringing the ball down acrobatically . but the most important things are the ones that are simple that are the ones that matter . just look at the passing why do they pass from the out of the boot ( i will post pic of that over here . instead practice to play to play from inside the boot stop using that part of that boot . it causes the ball to jump or gets the ball off the surface . the best passes are the ones where on the ball just rolls on the surface and never leaves it . just look at the ath mad passes in the first half. the ball just keeps on bouncing and you have take an extra touch to control it and pass it . these players are paid millions to play and coaches are paid the same but i havent seen a single coach shouting or rebuking his players for not passing properly . yours tactics goes off in smoke if you are good technically . 

real started the game with 4-3-3 formation while ath mad started the game with 4-4-2 formation . in the first half ath mad were in the ascendency . the real reason for ath mad resussergence is carrasco . he has been good taking on players running on them beating them in one on one and creating chances for the team but to be honest simeone is not the coach who is able to fully utilize the ability that carrasco has . in the first half because of carrasco real had to sit back and absorb the pressure and play counter attack because they were afraid that if they go high up the pitch then there are two reasons . first off ath mad are a counter attacking team . secondly carrasco would had exploited the space that would had been available behind the back four and would had created problems for real so zidane was right in sitting back and hitting ath mad on the counter . in doing so what zidane did was that he got ath mad out of their comfort zone . ath mad are counter attacking team . they like to absorb the pressure and then hit the opposition on the counter . 

in the first half anybody would see that ath mad are crisply passing and playing a good flowing but to be honest they were just one dimensional . the out ball was only for carrasco . he was supposed to take on lucas and then create the opening by crossing or scoring himself . real did very well . they played deep and they doubled up on him and were lucky . carrasco was pressing from one side so the other flank had space so ath mad transferred ball from one flank to other . the thing is that team just go through motions of moving the ball from one flank to other . while doing this why dont they see that whether there are opening in the middle or one the same side that they started the offense on . if they do this then  i think that they are more effective and are more dangerous in their offense and the opponents will scramble and more gaps will open up . the goal that was scored by ath. in the first half was on counter counter attack where on they found marcus llorente and he released suarez to score . everybody will hail suarez as the hero but for me he is a loser . because of him ath lost two points and had he passed properly to joao felix in the second half then i think that ath would won that match easy and that is why suarez is not playing for barcelona . 

the game changed as soon as carrasco was subbed in the second half . real who were sitting back now sensed an opportunity . most importantly simeone caught the italian bug and he wanted to preserve that one goal lead so he bought all the player behind the ball when he lost the possession . ath who were dominating in the first half now started to sit back and play on the counter . now when you are playing with five at the back with three in the middle there is a problem . first off late in the match the intensity dries down . you dont close down as you would do in the first half of the match . secondly with three at the back the trouble arises as to who would pick the lone centre forward . there are some positions where on the zones cross and the centre forward are in the quandary as to who is going to go and close down the forward . another thing is that in the last quarter the players are drained and the sharpness is not there so players find time and space on the ball and can cause problems which benzema did for the equalizer . 

there are two major differences with real playing in the first half and real playing in the second half . in the first half mendy was playing as wing back while in the second half he was instructed to join attack with benzema and others . i think zidane trusts mendy with ball playing skills . now benzema likes to drop on the left side and operate from there . since ronaldo has left he is playing ronaldo's role but one thing that zidane needs to understand that once he leaves that no.9 positions and moves on flank there is another one who takes that position and most importantly benzema is a good header of the ball . he just needs to play around the box . the major improvement that zidane did in the second half was that he asked benzema to stay in the middle . ath mad should had sensed the trouble because before the equalizer cause instead of his defensive position casmeiro was storming in the box and nobody was picking him up . even before the equalizer similar move had happened and benzema had failed to pass the ball to casmeiro . if somebody is just shown that move then i dont think that they would ever doubt his managerial credentials . 

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 .