[anekho]

What a match it was yesterday! Gunners got gunned down!!!

Absolutely brilliantly placed free kicks by Rooney and Nani's goal was classy - really a goal fest!

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by padikpanther

Although I'm a die hard Red Devils fan, I really like the way Arsenal play and it was painful to watch the slow death of a philosophy - yesterday was a major proof of it. Always loved the way Arsenal vs Manchester Utd matches created a buzz. For soccer fans like us tougher the competition the better, but looking at the start of the season, looks like the Manchester clubs are going to eat the London clubs raw…

Thanks! Thats the best part - the philosophy. Don't think it will die though. Faith.

Once a gunner, always a gunner.

[athul_S]

Spanish La Liga got off to a start with a flurry ofgoals by RM and Barca


RM beat Real Zaragoza 6-0 thanks to CR hattrick.

Barca beat Villareal 5-0 thanks to Thiago,Cesc,Alexis Sanchez and brace by Messi
Interestingly, Pep fielded only 1 pure defender i.e. Abidal and had a 3-4-3 lineup full of midfielders as Puyol/Pique/Adriano/Maxwell were injured and Alves suspended

While Xavi started off the bench, Thaigo-Cesc-Iniesta formed the creative mid, Keita doing the mop up work in midfield and Alexis Sanchez-Messi-Pedro on the attack

[figo_united]

CR7 and Messi score goals for fun there!

Rooney reached 150 goals for United in the match against arsenal, and CR7 has already crossed 100 for Real

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by athul_S

Spanish La Liga got off to a start with a flurry ofgoals by RM and Barca


RM beat Real Zaragoza 6-0 thanks to CR hattrick.

Barca beat Villareal 5-0 thanks to Thiago,Cesc,Alexis Sanchez and brace by Messi
Interestingly, Pep fielded only 1 pure defender i.e. Abidal and had a 3-4-3 lineup full of midfielders as Puyol/Pique/Adriano/Maxwell were injured and Alves suspended

While Xavi started off the bench, Thaigo-Cesc-Iniesta formed the creative mid, Keita doing the mop up work in midfield and Alexis Sanchez-Messi-Pedro on the attack

So does La Liga have any defenders at all???

Originally Posted by figo_united

CR7 and Messi score goals for fun there!

Rooney reached 150 goals for United in the match against arsenal, and CR7 has already crossed 100 for Real

What a performance by Rooney. Is there a better No. 10 in the world than him, when he plays like that!!! He could have had at least 3-4 more assists. How good was his delivery to Young the other day which Young glanced just wide of the far post against Tottenham.

I dont follow La Liga so cannot say how good Messi is, but Rooney is special. He has it all - he is probably the most complete player I have seen in last 10 years or so.

[figo_united]

Originally Posted by joslicx

What a performance by Rooney. Is there a better No. 10 in the world than him, when he plays like that!!! He could have had at least 3-4 more assists. How good was his delivery to Young the other day which Young glanced just wide of the far post against Tottenham.

He was my favorite player too, till his "I want to leave, United is not ambitious" saga
There was a point where I was praying that he leaves united!
Have moved on and started appreciating his performances again, but not with the same passion as I used to! :(

[athul_S]

Originally Posted by joslicx

So does La Liga have any defenders at all???

Its not about La Liga but rather about Barcelona.


While we usually play 4 defenders with Alves doing the job of a right winger as well, 4 defenders namely Puyol/Pique/Maxwell and Adriano were injured while Alves was suspended. Instead of playing youth defenders, Pep played the def mids in CB position and used the extra midfielders to control the game. This resulted in around 78% posession

Mascherano has been playing more or less as a CB in most of last season's matches and have been doing a great job at that.

As per Barca's football style, you need not play pure defenders as long as you limit the opponent from being comfortable with the ball.
The "attackers" turn into defenders as soon as the ball is lost. The work rate of Pedro and Alexis to track back and help out makes a lot of difference.
By playing Masch and Busquets as CB who arent pure defenders but has great positional sense and ability to play the ball, Pep fielded an attack consisting of all the creative midfielders barring Xavi.
I dont think pep will try this too often but since we were severly short of defenders, he chose the super attack mode.

[figo_united]

Originally Posted by athul_S

Its not about La Liga but rather about Barcelona.

It is about La Liga! Its become so predictable off late!
However they line up, Real and Barca thrash every other opponent throughout the year, scoring goals for fun.

Its become like 2 separate leagues, RM and FCB fighting for one, and the rest play in a different league!
There are only 2 big matches in the league, no prizes for guessing

[athul_S]

Originally Posted by figo_united

Its become like 2 separate leagues, RM and FCB fighting for one, and the rest play in a different league!
There are only 2 big matches in the league, no prizes for guessing

Yes, Barca and Real Madrid are currently the most consistent teams in Europe thrashing everyone on their path, be it La Liga or CL and the only teams that can beat them are one another!

Teams like Villareal, Valencia, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Malaga etc would have done well in any other league but with very little chance of slip ups by the top 2, its more or less 5-6 teams fighting for 3rd and 4th.

PS: Your stat about CR crossing 100 goals is wrong. He hasnt crossed 100 even after including Copa Del Rey and CL, forget La Liga
Meanwhile, yesterday Messi completed 100 goals in Camp Nou

[figo_united]

Originally Posted by athul_S

PS: Your stat about CR crossing 100 goals is wrong. He hasnt crossed 100 even after including Copa Del Rey and CL, forget La Liga
Meanwhile, yesterday Messi completed 100 goals in Camp Nou

My bad. remembered hearing it on some tv show.
Just checked and found that its 90 for CR7 and 152 for WR10 (including cups and ECL)

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by athul_S

Yes, Barca and Real Madrid are currently the most consistent teams in Europe thrashing everyone on their path, be it La Liga or CL and the only teams that can beat them are one another!

what have Real done in Europe for the last 5 or even 10 years!!! When was the last time they went far in cl?

the current CL heavyweights are barca and united, with united being the no. 1 ranked team as per UEFA.

[athul_S]

Originally Posted by joslicx

what have Real done in Europe for the last 5 or even 10 years!!! When was the last time they went far in cl?

the current CL heavyweights are barca and united, with united being the no. 1 ranked team as per UEFA.

I was talking on the CURRENT team, not the one of recent years.
They've rebuilt the squad last year, adding top players like Oezil and improving their defense.


They've hardly had any slip ups last year except against us and even won the CDR final. United, though strong have lost matches in EPL even against minnows if i remember correctly. This did not happen with them. Anyone who sees the way they play at the moment would have no doubts about their quality.


And yes, Mourinho's psychotic actions apart(when he faces Barca), i believe they are more balanced and better than the current United team.
PS: The last time they went far was a few months ago when Barca beat them in CL Semi final

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by athul_S

I was talking on the CURRENT team, not the one of recent years.
They've rebuilt the squad last year, adding top players like Oezil and improving their defense.

Anyone who sees the way they play at the moment would have no doubts about their quality.

And yes, Mourinho's psychotic actions apart(when he faces Barca), i believe they are more balanced and better than the current United team.

Completely agree with you. Barca and Real madrid according to me are the best teams now. Barca being the ultimate best. Real Madrid are more direct than Barca. Barca's play is ofcourse the best I will ever see in my life.

[JVH]

An article to reflect on the last 2 decades of United's domination. Will power and their red nosed manager...

Forget The Players, It's About Attitude | John Nicholson

Have been following them from the early 90s where the likes of Cantona and Keane were not even in the team. Have to give it to the team and the management.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by athul_S

I was talking on the CURRENT team, not the one of recent years.
They've rebuilt the squad last year, adding top players like Oezil and improving their defense.


They've hardly had any slip ups last year except against us and even won the CDR final. United, though strong have lost matches in EPL even against minnows if i remember correctly. This did not happen with them. Anyone who sees the way they play at the moment would have no doubts about their quality.


And yes, Mourinho's psychotic actions apart(when he faces Barca), i believe they are more balanced and better than the current United team.
PS: The last time they went far was a few months ago when Barca beat them in CL Semi final

My dear friend, football is played by 11 men with a ball on the GROUND and not on paper! On paper probably Man City are the strongest team on earth! Talk about Real only when they have won something substantial (like 2 CLs or few league titles). Till then they are just paper tigers!!! Last time they went till CL semis but before that for last 5 years they were completely lost in Europe.

The likes of Barca and United have actually won things.