La Liga Superthread 2016/17

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 1:13pm

Incredible! Valencia almost concede several times in a few seconds via some suicidal defending, ball breaks to the middle of the pitch, Negredo makes a tackle and lobs Juan Carlos from near the half way line. They equalise, it isn't deserved but Neville won't care.

Headshot · 17-01-2016 1:25pm

Great 2nd half

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 1:26pm

Valencia don't even defend corners very well. A poor corner, bobbling along the ground isn't attacked, a line of Valencia players completely static allowing Llorente to strike it quite nicely high into the corner of the net. 2-1 and cue the Valencia fan outrage.

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 1:45pm

Drama, drama everywhere. The long ball down the pitch works! Rayo fail to deal with it, Bakali too strong, gets the cross in and Paco scores, a couple minutes after wrongly having a goal disallowed. Brilliant Sunday morning entertainment.

me89 · 17-01-2016 4:14pm

Magic from Madrid, 3 great goals

MisterAnarchy · 17-01-2016 4:16pm

me89 wrote: »

Magic from Madrid, 3 great goals

The BBC is working well.
I switched over from watching the utd Liverpool garbage.
Its like a different sport

MisterAnarchy · 17-01-2016 4:24pm

Four nil now, Real are playing some great stuff but Gijon it has to be said are diabolical.

NIMAN · 17-01-2016 4:26pm

Its like a training game in Madrid, and a chess game in Liverpool.

MisterAnarchy · 17-01-2016 4:35pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Its like a training game in Madrid, and a chess game in Liverpool.

The game in Liverpool is more like pinball than chess.

NIMAN · 17-01-2016 4:39pm

Either way, its dung.

Call Me Jimmy · 17-01-2016 5:15pm

Every single goal a thing of beauty. Not since Zidane's black and white adidas boots graced the pristine pitch of the Bernabeau have Madrid played with such confidence and class.

Grace, poise, confidence in movement - these are terms normally associated with ballerinas or the masculine form of someone who does ballet which doesn't happen to come to mind so easily! For Zizou was a ballet man at his core; his famous marseille turn was of course a pirouette and one cannot pirouette without believing one can turn three hundred and sixty degrees without falling. Similarly his Real Madrid believe they can score without conceding and so they spin on their toes to victories that leave audiences stunned.

Real lovers of the finer things like wine and really good cheese should unite in their appreciation of Zinedine's Les Blues Los Blancos. Order has been restored in the last bastion of footballing freedom that is La Liga!

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 5:26pm

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

Every single goal a thing of beauty. Not since Zidane's black and white adidas boots graced the pristine pitch of the Bernabeau have Madrid played with such confidence and class.

Grace, poise, confidence in movement - these are terms normally associated with ballerinas or the masculine form of someone who does ballet which doesn't happen to come to mind so easily! For Zizou was a ballet man at his core; his famous marseille turn was of course a pirouette and one cannot pirouette without believing one can turn three hundred and sixty degrees without falling. Similarly his Real Madrid believe they can score without conceding and so they spin on their toes to victories that leave audiences stunned.

Real lovers of the finer things like wine and really good cheese should unite in their appreciation of Zinedine's Les Blues Los Blancos. Order has been restored in the last bastion of footballing freedom that is La Liga!

They've beaten Deportivo and Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu, I think I'd be holding off on judgements till we see them truly challenged.

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 5:31pm

Just seen a vine of Ronaldo having a kick out at a Sporting Gijon player.......no card.

Call Me Jimmy · 17-01-2016 5:32pm

Andersonisgod wrote: »

They've beaten Deportivo and Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu, I think I'd be holding off on judgements till we see them truly challenged.

fair point, maybe i went a bit overboard!

NIMAN · 17-01-2016 5:53pm

Call Me Jimmy wrote: »

fair point, maybe i went a bit overboard!

Way overboard I'm afraid.

I watched the Depor game and it was a hard fought 5-0 !! Depor played well and created chances, their heads went down when the 3rd went in.

I also don't think Madrid were as good in that game as Sky would have us believe. I think there was an element of it being Zizou's first game in charge, so they had created the hype beforehand, and raved unnecessarily during it. I think the British player getting the hattrick helped them too.

They were saying things like "this is how Madrid fans want their team to play" as if Rafa had bored them senseless. He had recently scored 10 in a home game not too long before he was sacked. Hardly boring football.

callaway92 · 17-01-2016 7:46pm

Is it possible to NOT admire Simeone and Atletico Madrid?

This is awesome

irishguitarlad · 17-01-2016 8:01pm

callaway92 wrote: »

Is it possible to NOT admire Simeone and Atletico Madrid?

This is awesome

They are fantastic, and just saw Ronaldo's kick out, should have been a red. He has always had this petulence and this is why I never warmed to him.

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 8:32pm

On HIS stage, Lionel Messi accepts the applause, chants and admiration of his adoring public. He holds the Baron D'or aloft, his grip on the trophy as tight as his grip on world football.

GLaDOS · 17-01-2016 8:37pm

Comical defending from Bilbao there

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 8:40pm

Suarez is simply danger embodied. He causes havoc where previously there was none.

Messi scores! No doubt about it, perfectly placed. 1-0

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 9:06pm

Goal! The crown prince of Barcelona, the crown prince of world football delicately lobs the ball over the keeper. The set up is from Suarez. This front 3 should be required viewing for every football fan every single week.

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 9:07pm

Daaaaaam that touch from Neymar!

gimmick · 17-01-2016 9:36pm

This absurdly handsome presenter is absolutely awful. Stupid question after stupid question.

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 9:39pm

Ohhhhhhh no! Devastating, absolutely devastating! If Barcelona didn't score goals like that so often they'd be lauded more as wonder-goals, sublime combination move that more closely resembles basketball than football.

Harry Palmr · 17-01-2016 9:48pm

They are playing 10 men you know (since the 4th minute!) And the one I was interested in has just been subbed

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 9:53pm

It's genius! It's one for the highlight reel! Neymar has absolutely destroyed the Athletic defence, it's almost tough to watch, he lays it off to Rakitic for the finish. 4-0

GLaDOS · 17-01-2016 9:58pm

Suarez having an incredible game, unstoppable

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 10:01pm

Athletic Bilbao being put to the sword here. It's 5-0, Turan's pass is just right, onto the chest of Suarez whose finish is quite cheeky.

Glico Man · 17-01-2016 10:13pm

Immense hat trick from Suarez

Andersonisgod · 17-01-2016 10:13pm

It's 6! Suarez gets his hat trick. This is surely one of the greatest teams we've ever seen.

MisterAnarchy · 17-01-2016 10:31pm

After watching those two performances by Barcelona and Real Madrid today it further underlines the massive gulf in quality between these two teams and the top sides in the Premier league.
Barcelona and Real are getting better whilst sides like Man Utd ,Chelsea and Man City are getting worse ,the gap is widening .
Its like boys against men now .

If Barcelona maintain this form then Arsenal are going to be thrashed over two legs in the Champions league .

CSF · 17-01-2016 10:48pm

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

After watching those two performances by Barcelona and Real Madrid today it further underlines the massive gulf in quality between these two teams and the top sides in the Premier league.
Barcelona and Real are getting better whilst sides like Man Utd ,Chelsea and Man City are getting worse ,the gap is widening .
Its like boys against men now .

If Barcelona maintain this form then Arsenal are going to be thrashed over two legs in the Champions league .

Some of it is that the other 17 teams in the Premier League are improving while the equivalent teams in La Liga aren't really.

That isn't to say the gulf isn't obvious but I wouldn't necessarily go along with the view that it is getting bigger. At the point Barca added Suarez to Neymar and Messi and Real added Bale to Ronaldo and Benzema, both teams were always going to be on a whole different sphere of attacking threat and nobody else can compete with that.

Harry Palmr · 17-01-2016 11:07pm

The equality of the Prem is bad for the CL teams, the inequality of La Liga is great for the CL teams.

MisterAnarchy · 18-01-2016 2:33am

CSF wrote: »

Some of it is that the other 17 teams in the Premier League are improving while the equivalent teams in La Liga aren't really.

That is true ,the mid table teams in England have become stronger.
I don't think the teams near the bottom are any better than they were 10 years ago though ,the standard is really poor down there despite the huge amounts of money available.

Alot of the lower table teams in La Liga are surviving on shoe string budgets,its ridiculous .
There used to be a time clubs like Deportivo,Real Sociedad,Betis,etc could be a real thorn in the side for teams like Barcelona and Madrid but those days seem to be gone sadly.

When you see a team like Man Utd who have spent huge sums in the last few years struggle to score at home to lower league sides like Middlesborough and Sheffield Utd you have to question the strength of the top teams in England.
A peak Mourinho Chelsea,a mediocre Utd team under Ferguson or even the Gunners of ten years ago would mop the floor with any of the current teams who are technically very average.

Utd knocked out of their Champions league qualifying group,Liverpool embarrassed last year ,Arsenal barely squeezing through for their inevitable last 16 exit .

Madrid and Barcelona are on a completely different level to the English teams despite the English clubs having huge amounts of money available to them which they just seem to waste on overpriced players like Sterling and De Bruyne.

MisterAnarchy · 18-01-2016 4:43am

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Suarez is simply danger embodied. He causes havoc where previously there was none.

That was a blatant foul by him though, he grabbed the defender with both arms ,it should have been a free out .
Instead the ref gives a penalty and a red card.
That decision changed the game.

Yet again the big teams get all the decisions in Spain it seems nowadays.
Ronaldo kicks another player in the Gijon match,no action and Varane takes man before ball yet no penalty awarded.:rolleyes:

Andersonisgod · 21-01-2016 1:49am

Quite the night for Barcelona. A 2-1 win in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey tie away to Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames. On any night, coming away with a 2-1 win away to Athletic is a great result but to go there without Messi and without Suarez (and without Alba), play in the fashion that Barcelona did (first half performance was particularly excellent) and leave victorious is remarkable and a true testament to the advancement made under Luis Enrique. The level that he has brought this entire squad to, the different options which he has given this team is just incredible, tonight was probably one of his biggest results as Barcelona head coach given the circumstances. Enrique has proven himself a great Barcelona manager.

Also just to bring up some individual performances, Ter Stegen, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic all terrific tonight, each one outstanding.

Andersonisgod · 21-01-2016 1:49am

Quite the night for Barcelona. A 2-1 win in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey tie away to Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames. On any night, coming away with a 2-1 win away to Athletic is a great result but to go there without Messi and without Suarez (and without Alba), play in the fashion that Barcelona did (first half performance was particularly excellent) and leave victorious is remarkable and a true testament to the advancement made under Luis Enrique. The level that he has brought this entire squad to, the different options which he has given this team is just incredible, tonight was probably one of his biggest results as Barcelona head coach given the circumstances. Enrique has proven himself a great Barcelona manager.

Also just to bring up some individual performances, Ter Stegen, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic all terrific tonight, each one outstanding.

klose · 21-01-2016 9:46am

Barca and athletic seem to be always playing each other these days

Andersonisgod · 22-01-2016 3:48pm

How sad it is when the establishment can no longer compete with Barcelona on the pitch, they take the battle to the court room. Casillas, Alonso (and Rafael Nadal) all did the same as Mascherano, none stood trial, none were vehemently pursued by the media like the Barcelona players are. All paid a settlement, yet it's Mascherano standing in court and nobody else.

dr.kenneth noisewater · 22-01-2016 3:51pm

Andersonisgod wrote: »

How sad it is when the establishment can no longer compete with Barcelona on the pitch, they take the battle to the court room. Casillas, Alonso (and Rafael Nadal) all did the same as Mascherano, none stood trial, none were vehemently pursued by the media like the Barcelona players are. All paid a settlement, yet it's Mascherano standing in court and nobody else.

I'd say it more that he's not Spanish rather than his club

Andersonisgod · 22-01-2016 4:19pm

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

I'd say it more that he's not Spanish rather than his club

I'd say that the unfair treatment of Barcelona players by both the courts and the media in comparison to their Real Madrid counterparts has been clear as day and pretty darn disgraceful.

dr.kenneth noisewater · 22-01-2016 4:24pm

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I'd say that the unfair treatment of Barcelona players by both the courts and the media in comparison to their Real Madrid counterparts has been clear as day and pretty darn disgraceful.

I'd say your biased

Andersonisgod · 22-01-2016 5:44pm

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

I'd say your biased

Perhaps I am, but in this particular issue you'd need to have your eyes closed, your fingers in your ears and your nose pinched by a peg to not smell the stink of the rotten corruption that rises from Madrid and spreads across all of Spain.