closed Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea

[cosmicway 1,333]

3 minutes ago, Thor said:

Thought we played well. Barcelona hit us on the counter and played the right way. 

I don't know how Morata is getting the blame from some of you after coming on so late lol... Ridiculous. 

Can't blame Conte either. Came out and set us up to attack and I thought we played some nice looking football. Thought we were the better team over the two games, but just didn't go through. Happened to Tottenham too. It is what it is. 

Conte wanted to attack cautiously but he also went down in the first min !
Their second was a good counter, after Cesc lost the ball I think.
Their first was a joke of a goal.
Their third was again a good counter -against the run of play- but that too was ridiculous for a keeper of Tibot's (supposed) class.

Stiill Barcelona having scored twice in the first half were happy. If they did n't score I guess they could still hit us and score some better goals.
We were definitely better in the first game, yesterday you can't say.
But there are some sour grapes because this was a tie in which we were ultimately betrayed by silly defensive errors.

[Thor 2,472]

1 minute ago, cosmicway said:

Conte wanted to attack cautiously but he also went down in the first min !
Their second was a good counter, after Cesc lost the ball I think.
Their first was a joke of a goal.
Their third was again a good counter -against the run of play- but that too was ridiculous for a keeper of Tibot's (supposed) class.

Stiill Barcelona having scored twice in the first half were happy. If they did n't score I guess they could still hit us and score some better goals.
We were definitely better in the first game, yesterday you can't say.
But there are some sour grapes because this was a tie in which we were ultimately betrayed by silly defensive errors.

Not Conte's fault we went down in the opening minutes.

[cosmicway 1,333]

Just now, Thor said:

Not Conte's fault we went down in the opening minutes.

It was n't his fault but he had to change the formation.
I expected a replay of the first match, with Barca enjoying possession but stifled up front. Then the lucky man was going to win.
But we had to play the way we did out of necessity.

[Strike 7,300]

What is the point of 'We gave a good account of ourselves?'

Criminal defending and goalkeeping

[Strike 7,300]

3 hours ago, Jason said:

Our Champions League record since 08/09 season:

2009/10 - Last 16

2010/11 - Quarter-Final

2011/12 - WINNER

2012/13 - Group Stage

2013/14 - Semi-Final

2014/15 - Last 16

2015/16 - Last 16

2017/18 - Last 16

Only TWO semi-final appearances. FOUR defeats in round of 16. Very Arsenal that.

Well. Bit much no?

When were Arsenal even near the semifinals?

09/10 - Lost to a strong Inter side

10/11 - Fergie's United

12/13 - Well..

14/15 - PSG

15/16 - Shit had hit the fan by this time

17/18 - Barca

It took good teams to beat Chelsea.

and there were two good runs in there as well. Not all doom and gloom

[OhForAGreavsie 5,903]

5 hours ago, LAM09 said:

Have to hope Giroud only has a knock.

Morata shouldn't see the like of day otherwise.

The 'light' of day.

[Blue Armour 4,336]

One thing has to be accepted.

 

Some people might call this Barca team  'inferior' to Pep's but they are a lot more crafty and unpredictable.

They let us have so much possession after going up in this game, and essentially hit us on counters. Different story from Pep's Barca which would just mechanically keep coming back for more even after going up. 

Not creating an excuse for us, but we would have had a tough time anyway regardless of the tactic we used. The first leg result ruined us. 

[Blue Armour 4,336]

58 minutes ago, Strike said:

What is the point of 'We gave a good account of ourselves?'

Criminal defending and goalkeeping

Goalkeeping today was the worst.

 

We are a far cry from the winning team we used to be with Cech and JT at the back.

[communicate 2,703]

5 hours ago, WNDS said:

Decent display over the two legs; we were better than the aggregate scoreline would suggest at any rate (and better than quite a few of the other teams that were knocked-out alongside us). But this Barcelona side are just so clinical. Given that both Real Madrid AND Juventus have gone to the Camp Nou this season and lost in similar fashion, I don't think that there's any shame in going out this way.

It's pretty obvious that our problems lie primarily with Fabregas' complete lack of mobility (Bakayoko's sheer rawness compounds this issue in a big way), and the lack of a pacy, world-class wing-back. If we can sort these issues out, then I'll be pretty optimistic going into next season. It's also worth considering an upgrade at centre-forward if Morata doesn't start to show signs of becoming the player we thought we'd signed. As for Courtois....., I just don't know..... He's a better keeper than he's been showing himself to be at times this season, but I don't think that he wants to be here and I'm not sure he ever wanted to be.

This. Priority last summer was at least one world class wb. Instead, we signed Zappacosta and Emerson. How many times did you see today and pretty much all of our game, the amount of space that Moses and Alonso got that they fail to capitalize. 

[Jase 43,479]

3 hours ago, Azpinator said:

Excuse me, are you trying to rub it in or something?

Very Arsenal? Arsenal would KILL to be named Champions Legue winners.

 

1 hour ago, Strike said:

Well. Bit much no?

When were Arsenal even near the semifinals?

09/10 - Lost to a strong Inter side

10/11 - Fergie's United

12/13 - Well..

14/15 - PSG

15/16 - Shit had hit the fan by this time

17/18 - Barca

It took good teams to beat Chelsea.

and there were two good runs in there as well. Not all doom and gloom

You fellas took the Arsenal reference a tad too seriously. That said, the similarities are definitely there. I mean sure, we made it to the semi finals twice and won the whole thing once within the last 8 years - something that Arsenal can't boast about. But I guess my point is, on the whole, we have not been good enough in the last 8 years, have we? Between 2004-2009, we were one of the best sides in Europe, consistently reaching the latter stages of the competition and capable of beating anyone at any stage. Since then, we have been steadily going downhill. 2011/12 aside, every single defeat have been bad, bad in the performances and the manner of how we approached the games. Lost to one the worst United sides in history, parked the bus against Atletico and got overrun, didn't qualify from the group stage, parked the bus and f***ed up against 10 men etc. In fact, if we include 2011/12, we had bad performances during that season as well and the victory owed much to the desire, determination more than anything else. You can say that we lost to good teams recently, which the likes of PSG and Barcelona are, but the team that we had around 10 years ago would have stood up and beaten these lots today. Would they have folded so easily? These days, we're almost just hoping for the best and pray that we somehow get past the big teams. We're almost always afraid of drawing those big sides. Was this the case 10 years ago? The fact that we almost had no expectation going into the Barcelona tie - even before the first leg - says a lot about our current predicament when it comes to competing with the best in Europe.

[Johnnyeye 7,457]

this lot are just a bunch of gutless primadonnas, the old guard would shit over this current lot, the only ones i might consider Chelsea caliber ( who give their fucking all for the badge no matter what and actually love the club ) are William, Azpi and Kante, i still have high hopes for Rudiger and Christensen, the rest can fuck off.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

I think we were quite good overall, but lack of luck and mistakes ended us.

However the team need still needs some big improvement. Moses, Alonso, Cesc and Giroud/Morata have to be upgraded. 

Might even say the same for Tibo who is very unreliable. Makes good saves but also lets incredibly stupid goals like Messi first today. 

And I defended Conte alot, but IMO its time to go. He is becoming too defensive and lacks reactions. 

Its easy to say he pulled good tactic at SB and same tonight, but luck got the better of us, however IMO there is too much negativity about him these days. 

Last season he was manager who insipred us to be better than what we are, but this season he always just prepares for the worst.

I dont know its just my feeling when I watch that he doesnt have complete faith in this squad and doesnt motivate enough.

Its nothing to do with defensive tactics, its just that I dont see him as someone who could inspire players "you can do it" and actualy have the plan to execute it anymore. 

[Johnnyeye 7,457]

13 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

I think we were quite good overall, but lack of luck and mistakes ended us.

However the team need still needs some big improvement. Moses, Alonso, Cesc and Giroud/Morata have to be upgraded. 

Might even say the same for Tibo who is very unreliable. Makes good saves but also lets incredibly stupid goals like Messi first today. 

And I defended Conte alot, but IMO its time to go. He is becoming too defensive and lacks reactions. 

Its easy to say he pulled good tactic at SB and same tonight, but luck got the better of us, however IMO there is too much negativity about him these days. 

Last season he was manager who insipred us to be better than what we are, but this season he always just prepares for the worst.

I dont know its just my feeling when I watch that he doesnt have complete faith in this squad and doesnt motivate enough.

Its nothing to do with defensive tactics, its just that I dont see him as someone who could inspire players "you can do it" and actualy have the plan to execute it anymore. 

its clear as daylight the team is not at the level required to be at the top, but still with this squad we could and should do much better, like you mentioned the negativity surrounding Conte doesnt help either, and it shows on the players, Conte's days here are numbered unless something drastic occurs, like proper player recruitment and change of tactics and mentality within the squad, if he's still around of course, and with our incopetent board its a big ask, need to clear the deadwood, just like Pep did at City to make the team function as a whole, if player A or B doesnt want to stay here just leave. I just want the season to end to be honest, altough i still have a glimmer of hope we can actually pull off staying in the top 4 and maybe win the FA Cup, but it seems its asking a lot from this lot. Cheers

[LAM09 6,841]

The 'light' of day.

 

Called a "Typo"

 

 

[Cosmin 2,484]

We played quite well, but that's what happens when you don't have enough quality and your so called "world class" talent doesn't bother to show up. 

Can't beat Barcelona at Nou Camp with a striker who can't strike, two full backs who can't cross nor dribble and a "creative" central midfielder who can't create.

This team needs serious improvements. I wouldn't blame Conte at all at this point. he went in with the right tactics.

We tried to score, we had the right approach and I don't think another manager could do much better with this squad against the best teams in Europe.

We simply cannot compete against world class opposition unless we sign world class players. 

[Azpinator 2,325]

4 hours ago, Jason said:

 

You fellas took the Arsenal reference a tad too seriously. That said, the similarities are definitely there. I mean sure, we made it to the semi finals twice and won the whole thing once within the last 8 years - something that Arsenal can't boast about. But I guess my point is, on the whole, we have not been good enough in the last 8 years, have we? Between 2004-2009, we were one of the best sides in Europe, consistently reaching the latter stages of the competition and capable of beating anyone at any stage. Since then, we have been steadily going downhill. 2011/12 aside, every single defeat have been bad, bad in the performances and the manner of how we approached the games. Lost to one the worst United sides in history, parked the bus against Atletico and got overrun, didn't qualify from the group stage, parked the bus and f***ed up against 10 men etc. In fact, if we include 2011/12, we had bad performances during that season as well and the victory owed much to the desire, determination more than anything else. You can say that we lost to good teams recently, which the likes of PSG and Barcelona are, but the team that we had around 10 years ago would have stood up and beaten these lots today. Would they have folded so easily? These days, we're almost just hoping for the best and pray that we somehow get past the big teams. We're almost always afraid of drawing those big sides. Was this the case 10 years ago? The fact that we almost had no expectation going into the Barcelona tie - even before the first leg - says a lot about our current predicament when it comes to competing with the best in Europe.

It's downgrading to say we're Arsenal, even in the least serious matter. You cannot just throw this comparison out there. Our record in Europe in the last 8 years may be flawed but you have to remember the circumstances of this period, mainly having 7 different managers in those 8 years, Arsenal couldn't even reach our declining level despite having 1 manager.

If anything, we've been the best performing English team in Europe in those 8 years, or we can say in the Messi/Ronaldo era. It's just a reflection of this era: English teams have suffered from 2 big clubs with the best 2 players in the world duking it out while attracting the best talent in Europe in the process. Out of these 8 years only 3 times another club has won the competition besides those 2. It was Chelsea in one occasion and I cannot complain about that.

Once this era ends, we'll see.

[Jase 43,479]

17 minutes ago, Azpinator said:

It's downgrading to say we're Arsenal, even in the least serious matter. You cannot just throw this comparison out there. Our record in Europe in the last 8 years may be flawed but you have to remember the circumstances of this period, mainly having 7 different managers in those 8 years, Arsenal couldn't even reach our declining level despite having 1 manager.

It’s not 7 but we had 4 different managers between 2004 and 2010 and 2 of them were duds. But that did stop us from competing with the best? No.

17 minutes ago, Azpinator said:

If anything, we've been the best performing English team in Europe in those 8 years, or we can say in the Messi/Ronaldo era. It's just a reflection of this era: English teams have suffered from 2 big clubs with the best 2 players in the world duking it out while attracting the best talent in Europe in the process. Out of these 8 years only 3 times another club has won the competition besides those 2. It was Chelsea in one occasion and I cannot complain about that.

So because we have been the best performing English team, we should be happy with that record? Yeah, there’s Messi and Ronaldo but did that stop Bayern from reaching 3 finals in 4 seasons or Juventus/Atletico reaching 2 in 3? Did Messi and Ronaldo make us park the bus against 10 men? Did they make us do that against Atletico? Did they make us play poorly in the big matches? It’s not like we’ve been getting to the semi finals or final and getting foiled by Messi or Ronaldo. 

[Azpinator 2,325]

17 minutes ago, Jason said:

It’s not 7 but we had 4 different managers between 2004 and 2010 and 2 of them were duds. But that did stop us from competing with the best? No.

So because we have been the best performing English team, we should be happy woth that record? Yeah, there’s Messi and Ronaldo but did that stop Bayern from reaching 3 finals in 4 seasons or Juventus/Atletico reaching 2 in 3? Did that Messi and Ronaldo make us park the bus against 10 men? Did they make us do that against Atletico? Did they make us play poorly in the big matches? It’s not like we’ve been getting to the semi finals or final and getting foiled by Messi or Ronaldo. 

1. No because during the 2004-2010 period we still had a spine in the team that managers relied on. It was still the case until 2012.

2. We should not be ecstatic but at the same time we have plenty of things to be proud of, result-wise at least. You started talking about our results but now you've chosen to make it about our style of play. But since you've mentioned it, all of our negative displays were because of what Mourinho has done upon his return which was sticking to an outdated method of playing. It's only this season that we actually looked like a team that can produce something in a big match since 2013. I can easily make a case for Juventus and Bayern who have been dominant domestically with competitive boards, unlike us. I can easily make a case for Atletico who offered stability to their manager, unlike us, and whom we've beaten this season.