Real Madrid vs Barcelona - Match Thread

The Talking Bread

chalkitdown1 wrote: »

I've never seen anyone quite as buttmad as you are right now. What are you even babbling about?

He is a strange kid who thinks these posts are funny and that he may catch a naive poster who thinks he is being serious or funny.

GavRedKing

Brilliant for Barca but the game hand is still leaving it in Reals hands.

The loss to Malaga the other week is looking even more critical now.

Quazzie

Jan_de_Bakker wrote: »

Real Madrid should just score own goals between now and end of season as a protest ..

A protest to what exactly?

Ulysses Gaze

Messi again proving that he is far and away the best player of his generation. Everyone else just follows him.

Gbear

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

Shocking from Zidane, cruising at the top and they could throw away the league now

He is thinking as a player wanting to win rather than a manager looking at the bigger picture

He makes the sub that draws the game level.

He can't make Sergio Ramos not act like a dickhead nor did he have a direct hand in all the chances Real missed.

At a certain point you just have to say Messi's brilliant and there's only so much you can do to win a game when he's on the opposite side.
And then Rakitic wallops one in from nowhere as well.

Tactically I thought they were fine and they had Barca completely at their mercy for most of the 2nd half on the break but they were woefully discomposed in front of goal.

elefant

Quazzie wrote: »

A protest to what exactly?

Don't encourage him.

He spams and derails every Spanish football thread with complete nonsense, in what seems to be an effort at humour.

MisterAnarchy

I'm looking forward to pique and ramos on twitter later,should be entertaining.

Dirty Dingus McGee

ERG89 wrote: »

Could still win the league & Champions league this year :rolleyes:
If Ramos stayed on they could have avoided defeat & Messi doing that ain't easy to stop with 11 men.

Robert Di Matteo won the champions league as a manager.

It's an easy enough job for Zidane with the ridiculous amount of talent he has at his disposal.All he has to do is manage egos and not **** things up.

monkey9

SlickRic wrote: »

There is nobody like him and there never has been.

You can take your Pel?s, your Maradonas, your Bests, your Ronaldos, your Zidanes, your Ronaldinhos...whoever...it doesn't matter.

Messi eclipses the lot.

That team is a broken docket. It's in need of major surgery. Players are woefully out of form. The coach is tactically flawed. The recruitment policy has been atrocious. Yet through it all, Messi is dragging this team, potentially, to another La Liga title.

And he wins tonight's game with an ice cool finish to bring up goal 500.

Kroos' face at the end said it all. A smirk came across his face as what just happened sank in.

All you can do is laugh.

The word 'genius' isn't enough.

You know the way people say Messi has to drag Argentina to a World Cup like Maradona did, i've always found that arguement to be nonsense. Messi does this every year in La Liga and Champions League which is a higher standard than the 1986 World Cup.

Andersonisgod

GavRedKing wrote: »

Brilliant for Barca but the game hand is still leaving it in Reals hands.

The loss to Malaga the other week is looking even more critical now.

That's true but this could have a psychological affect on the Madrid players. Just the manner in which the game played out at the end, with Madrid thinking they'd all but won the league (a draw would have pretty much ended it) only to lose and reignite the whole race again with the last kick of the game to their fiercest rivals. Looking at the Madrid player's reactions after that goal went in, it was as though Messi had stuck a dagger into the heart of each man wearing white.

Rezident

sugarman wrote: »

What a game, what a player:eek:

The greatest.

Osmosis Jones

Madrid still have the CL to worry about, they're not exactly an unfit group of lads but fatigue might set in.

Jan_de_Bakker

Thing is , you say I just post twaddle, but look at my posts from weeks back saying it was still 99.99% certain Barca would win the league ..... well ???

you see , at the end of the day my predictions about them are always right - not that it?s difficult to predict such a dead cert result.

mickmackey1

monkey9 wrote: »

You know the way people say Messi has to drag Argentina to a World Cup like Maradona did, i've always found that arguement to be nonsense. Messi does this every year in La Liga and Champions League which is a higher standard than the 1986 World Cup.

The point they're making is that Napoli and Argentina were two average teams whereas Messi is surrounded by stars. But he's a genius no doubt.

Rayne Wooney

Gbear wrote: »

He makes the sub that draws the game level.

He can't make Sergio Ramos not act like a dickhead nor did he have a direct hand in all the chances Real missed.

At a certain point you just have to say Messi's brilliant and there's only so much you can do to win a game when he's on the opposite side.
And then Rakitic wallops one in from nowhere as well.

Tactically I thought they were fine and they had Barca completely at their mercy for most of the 2nd half on the break but they were woefully discomposed in front of goal.

There were about 7 Barca players v 4 Madrid players in the 93rd minute of a must not lose game.

Maddness.

The Golden Miller

Catalonia's army marched to the gates of Madrid and plundered it into oblivion.

SlickRic

monkey9 wrote: »

You know the way people say Messi has to drag Argentina to a World Cup like Maradona did, i've always found that arguement to be nonsense. Messi does this every year in La Liga and Champions League which is a higher standard than the 1986 World Cup.

It's the argument of a generation who only watched Maradona a couple of times a year - maybe even once every 4 years.

It's an outdated metric for judging greatness, and angers me something fierce.

Notorious

Notorious wrote: »

Someone get this man a lemon.

He seems to be Dutch. Needs to head to a coffee shop.....

fullstop

Jan_de_Bakker wrote: »

Thing is , you say I just post twaddle, but look at my posts from weeks back saying it was still 99.99% certain Barca would win the league ..... well ???

you see , at the end of the day my predictions about them are always right - not that it?s difficult to predict such a dead cert result.

U ok hun?

Rezident

Andersonisgod wrote: »

That's true but this could have a psychological affect on the Madrid players. Just the manner in which the game played out at the end, with Madrid thinking they'd all but won the league (a draw would have pretty much ended it) only to lose and reignite the whole race again with the last kick of the game to their fiercest rivals. Looking at the Madrid player's reactions after that goal went in, it was as though Messi had stuck a dagger into the heart of each man wearing white.

Did you see ronaldo's reaction to the winner? He'll be great craic and totally supportive of his team mates for the next while now :eek:

asteroids over berlin

Rezident wrote: »

The greatest.

nearly. Maradona still reigns! More or less won Napoli and Argentina trophies

marklazarcovic

i hope he has 5 years at least left,if you love football you have to be in awe of leo messi,nothing or nobody compares to his skillset

Quazzie

Jan_de_Bakker wrote: »

Thing is , you say I just post twaddle, but look at my posts from weeks back saying it was still 99.99% certain Barca would win the league ..... well ???

you see , at the end of the day my predictions about them are always right - not that it?s difficult to predict such a dead cert result.

Ok. I'll play along. So you reckon that the game was fixed? How was it fixed? Was it a real player(s) or was it the officiating?

GavRedKing

Andersonisgod wrote: »

That's true but this could have a psychological affect on the Madrid players. Just the manner in which the game played out at the end, with Madrid thinking they'd all but won the league (a draw would have pretty much ended it) only to lose and reignite the whole race again with the last kick of the game to their fiercest rivals. Looking at the Madrid player's reactions after that goal went in, it was as though Messi had stuck a dagger into the heart of each man wearing white.

Well Ramos being suspended is a big loss when theyve few options at the back.

Is it a 2 game ban or 3 hes going to get?

irishman86

I went to get the wife some food came back and its over and 3-2
This is why I dont do stuff for people :mad:
Looking at the goal, what were Madrid at. It was 5 against 3, suicidal defending

Andersonisgod

GavRedKing wrote: »

Well Ramos being suspended is a big loss when theyve few options at the back.

Is it a 2 game ban or 3 hes going to get?

Neymar got a 3 game ban for exactly the same thing. So it should be 3, but we'll will wait and see how it plays out.

Dirty Dingus McGee

irishman86 wrote: »

I went to get the wife some food came back and its over and 3-2
This is why I dont do stuff for people :mad:
Looking at the goal, what were Madrid at. It was 5 against 3, suicidal defending

What a weird ****ed up marriage you have.

Andersonisgod

Rezident wrote: »

Did you see ronaldo's reaction to the winner? He'll be great craic and totally supportive of his team mates for the next while now :eek:

I'm sure they are all getting an earfull of it in the dressing room right now, not from Zidane, but from Ronaldo. My favourite reaction was Casemiro's face on the bench, such meme potential.

irishman86

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

What a weird ****ed up marriage you have.

Shes sick, now shes sick and Im angry at her

irishman86

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I'm sure they are all getting an earfull of it in the dressing room right now, not from Zidane, but from Ronaldo. My favourite reaction was Casemiro's face on the bench, such meme potential.

Hes thinking I would totes have kicked Roberto.

irishman86

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Neymar got a 3 game ban for exactly the same thing. So it should be 3, but we'll will wait and see how it plays out.

Different context though, Neymar said it to the refs. Ramos said it to Pique.

GavRedKing

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Neymar got a 3 game ban for exactly the same thing. So it should be 3, but we'll will wait and see how it plays out.

Losing your best CB is seriously damaging for the run in too.

If messi overturns this lead and Barca win the title itll be his greatest achievement IMO.

Yu may nnot agree but this Barca side is levels below whats gone before it but Messi is carrying this side, even with Suarez off form Messi has managed an "average season" of nearly 50 goals.

Hes the G.O.A.T. and ill never be convinced otherwise.

Ulysses Gaze

Rezident wrote: »

Did you see ronaldo's reaction to the winner? He'll be great craic and totally supportive of his team mates for the next while now :eek:

Well I'd point the finger back at him and ask him. What did you do tonight, bud?

The Golden Miller

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I'm sure they are all getting an earfull of it in the dressing room right now, not from Zidane, but from Ronaldo. My favourite reaction was Casemiro's face on the bench, such meme potential.

Wouldn't call it so much an earful as opposed to whinging and whining

Andersonisgod

irishman86 wrote: »

Different context though, Neymar said it to the refs. Ramos said it to Pique.

It's the clapping part that should land him the 3 game ban. He seems to clap the ref then directs his attention to Pique. I only half expect him to get the 3 game ban though so...

ERG89

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote:

Robert Di Matteo won the champions league as a manager.
It's an easy enough job for Zidane with the ridiculous amount of talent he has at his disposal.All he has to do is manage egos and not **** things up.

Zidane is looking to retain it, that didn't go well for Di Matteo.
Managing Real ain't easy either as you don't see many last 3 years there. You also have to balance the happiness of the president and fans above all else; along with the squad while also beating Barcelona.
He made good changes tonight I felt. James scored & Asensio gave Barca a lot of trouble.
Ronaldo could have scored & Ramos kept his cool which would have led to a load of delighted fans on here posting about who's the best & bizarre bets.

The Talking Bread

ERG89 wrote: »

Zidane is looking to retain it, that didn't go well for Di Matteo.
Managing Real ain't easy either as you don't see many last 3 years there. You also have to balance the happiness of the president and fans above all else; along with the squad while also beating Barcelona.
He made good changes tonight I felt. James scored & Asensio gave Barca a lot of trouble.
Ronaldo could have scored & Ramos kept his cool which would have led to a load of delighted fans on here posting about who's the best & bizarre bets.

I don't think there are many serious posters on Boards, to be fair, who claim Ronaldo is better than Messi. Many (rightfully) defend him from other haters but it isn't to seriously say he is better than Messi. They are also 2 very different players, no matter what way you compare them.

Andersonisgod

GavRedKing wrote: »

Losing your best CB is seriously damaging for the run in too.

If messi overturns this lead and Barca win the title itll be his greatest achievement IMO.

Yu may nnot agree but this Barca side is levels below whats gone before it but Messi is carrying this side, even with Suarez off form Messi has managed an "average season" of nearly 50 goals.

Hes the G.O.A.T. and ill never be convinced otherwise.

On the contrary, I'd absolutely agree with you. For example tonight, Real Madrid didn't even bring on Isco even when Bale went off. They brought on Asensio, they brought on James, they didn't even have Lucas Vasquez in the match day squad. In contrast, Barcelona brought on Andre Gomes...

Trophy-wise, I always thought his best achievement was the 2015 treble simple because of how poor we were in the first half of that season and how his turnaroud in form was the catapult for that success. This league would probably equal that year, maybe even top it. He's been immense this season. It's one of his best ever.

The Golden Miller

Still far from their best, Barca seemed much better tonight in terms of being a cohesive unit. Something they've been hit and miss with all season

Dirty Dingus McGee

ERG89 wrote: »

Zidane is looking to retain it, that didn't go well for Di Matteo.
Managing Real ain't easy either as you don't see many last 3 years there. You also have to balance the happiness of the president and fans above all else; along with the squad while also beating Barcelona.
He made good changes tonight I felt. James scored & Asensio gave Barca a lot of trouble.
Ronaldo could have scored & Ramos kept his cool which would have led to a load of delighted fans on here posting about who's the best & bizarre bets.

they were very naive at the end.Surely he has to get an instruction on to his players to suck the life out of the game.He's is doing well I just have a feeling that you put him in a more challenging job with lesser players you might see how good he really is.Truth is top level management these days is a large part keeping the players happy and managing egos (particularly at Real Madrid) , which he seems to be good at.


Also although not Zidanes fault, Marcelo should have cleaned Sergi Roberto out during his run for the last goal.

The Golden Miller

The Golden Miller wrote: »

Still far from their best, Barca seemed much better tonight in terms of being a cohesive unit. Something they've been hit and miss with all season

That was pretty much all Messi tbf
And not for the first time this season

The Talking Bread

M!Ck^ wrote: »

That was pretty much all Messi tbf
And not for the first time this season

Ter Stegen and Rakitic and maybe just about Busquets were the only others who came out of it with "above average" performances. It was a strange game though

Andersonisgod

Only down side of a game being on that late is that I'm on such a high from it that I can't possibly be expected to sleep. Peak Messi.

NIMAN

It really is a pleasure to watch Messi play.
The man is on a completely different level, and that's him supposedly past his best?

I think we seen a genius past his best ok tonight, and he was wearing white.

MisterAnarchy

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Ter Stegen and Rakitic and maybe just about Busquets were the only others who came out of it with "above average" performances. It was a strange game though

Iniesta played well too ,looked more like his old self.

I thought the Barcelona midfield played well as a unit,much more high tempo than usual away from home .
Played some very nice football .

Real were average overall ,they were outplayed in midfield for large periods .
They don't really play like a traditional Real Madrid side, they are largely a counter attacking side .

Thoroughly enjoyable game though ,end to end stuff ,could have been a cricket score but for the two keepers making numerous excellent saves.

The Golden Miller

Incredible the amount of points Messi has saved for Barca with late late moments of magic this year. He's really starting to give off an aura of leadership from midfield this season, something I thought he may have lacked previously. He's still getting better imo, always improving as a roaming playmaker while adding a bit of steely grit to his personality and play to general the game from midfield. Always thought he lacked that in comparison to Maradona, but it's not the first time he's proved me wrong

The Golden Miller

M!Ck^ wrote: »

That was pretty much all Messi tbf
And not for the first time this season

True, but there were some promising passages of play from certain midfielders who were often bypassed this season

Andersonisgod

The Golden Miller wrote: »

Incredible the amount of points Messi has saved for Barca with late late moments of magic this season. He's really starting to give off an aura of leadership from midfield this season, something I thought he may have lacked previously. He's still getting better imo, always improving as a roaming playmaker while adding a bit of steely grit to his personality and play to general the game from midfield. Always thought he lacked that in comparison to Maradona, but it's not the first time he's proved me wrong

I've seen others say that 2015-2017 Messi is basically a hybrid of Messi and Xavi. He's playing the role of himself, and also the role that Xavi would've played in the build up phase too. He's got everything in his game, and tonight may have been one of the great individual performances of any player in a big game. It was so complete.

The Golden Miller

The Golden Miller wrote: »

True, but there were some promising passages of play from certain midfielders who were often bypassed this season

I used the term pretty much
Defensively awful as usual but tbf Iniesta showed an improved performance in midfield

Suarez was brutal, his form has been off for weeks and a lot of cynical ****e creeping back into his game

The Golden Miller

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I've seen others say that 2015-2017 Messi is basically a hybrid of Messi and Xavi. He's playing the role of himself, and also the role that Xavi would've played in the build up phase too. He's got everything in his game, and tonight may have been one of the great individual performances of any player in a big game. It was so complete.

I thought he was coming along really nicely as a playmaker until Guardiola left; himself, Xavi and Iniesta running games from their midfield triangle. Under the next two managers he scored buckets of goals, but his overall game and influence suffered as he was playing too far forward. Under Enrique he showed huge improvement as he moved back deeper into midfield, and has been getting better and better since. This season in particular though, for me anyway, he's becoming a real leader, not just in the sense of his actual playmaking and involvement in deep build up play, but actully forcing his will onto the game. I'd never really seen that from him before this season. That's what separates the true greats for me, dragging a team to greater heights through nearly a determined aura alone.

Edit: I was always hesitant to put him alongside Maradona before this season, as he raised Napoli to become the best team in the world single-handedly with that presence, but Messi is now starting to get it