Zidane's Midfield WORRIES

Since Zinedine Zidane took over the managerial post at Real Madrid in January,he has led Real to an impressive run of form winning both the Champions League and the Uefa Super Cup in his first season.

Zidane's Real Madrid after equaling Pep's record of 16 game winning streak in the Liga they were on the verge of breaking the record but were halt by Villarreal after a 0-0 draw.They went on to draw their next two matches against Palmas and Dortmund.

     Real Madrid have been struggling with balance in the Defensive midfield position since Casemiro got injured in the 2-0 win against Espanyol on september 18.Casemiro struggled to get enough playing time under Rafa after returning on loan from Porto but was reborn under Zidane.
Real Madrid have a lot of midfielders that can come in like James,Isco or Kovacic but none of them can really provide the balance and strength that Casemiro provides.Sure every player gets injured at a certain point but I think Zidane failed to plan for this.

Real does not have any one to replace Casemiro like for like,which is why whichever player he puts in that position,they won't play it as well as Casemiro.They will still win games but when they play teams that can exploit that weakness then they are in trouble.

      "Casemiro is an important player and we hope he will recover soon,we have good players to overcome this, although not in his position" Zidane said."You can notice Casemiro absence  but we played well against Dortmund".(Source:Real Madrid website).

         After the back to back draws in the Liga and Champions league,Zidane will have to tinker his midfield line probably playing with Kroos-Kovacic/Isco-Modric or he can try playing 3-4-3 with James-Kovacic-Kroos-Modric in the midfield but Zidane knows best. This is Zidane time to rubbish rumors that he is just a lucky Coach and tactically weak. Zidane's Real Madrid is known for always playing average football but somehow getting the results.

     I believe Real Madrid will bounce back from this run of form because they have a great squad and the BBC always coming to the party.
Real Madrid host Eibar on October 2nd.

‘I FEEL SCREWED’ – ZINEDINE ZIDANE

        Real Madrid manager says he felt screwed after his team conceded a late equalizer in the champion’s league group F game against Borussia Dortmund which ended 2-2.  This was the second time in just four(4) days after his team conceded a late equalizer against Las Palmas in their Liga clash on Saturday.

        Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a brilliant goal after a Bale back-heel assist, but their joy was short lived after Aubameyeng  equalized just minutes to the end of half time after a Navas error.Midway through the 2nd half Varane made it 2-1,just 3minutes to the end of the 90 Andre Schurrle equalized to break champions hearts.

           After recent draws to Villarreal and Las Palmas in the League and now a draw to Dortmund all in just a space of eight (8) days..After the match Zidane had this to say,'I am proud of this team and we deserved to win this match'.

'I feel screwed as we played a great game,made huge effort everyone in attack and defense" Zidane said.'We played the game we hoped to but in the end, the same again, it is the third game in a row".

'I feel bad for the players,they do not deserved this, it is not a bad result but being 2-1 up with three(3) minutes left,You feel screwed".

   


Real Madrid and Zidane will hope for a win this weekend as they take on Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu.

UCL REVIEW: BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs REAL MADRID

Group matches rarely get any bigger than this: Borussia Dortmund, 2013 finalists were back and more stronger than ever after a year away from the competition, hosting Real Madrid, 2014 and 2016 champions.

Draw was a more positive result for Thomas Tuchel's side than it was for Real Madrid, As they bounced back twice in the game.

Top Stats-

           Dortmund- Real Madrid

                Goals: 2 - 2
          Possesion: 60% - 40%
         Total shots: 20 - 14
Accurate Passes: 578 - 361
     Pass Success: 89% - 83%
                   Fouls: 16 - 10



Match Summary-

Real Madrid stole the opener on the 17th minute with a clinical counter from Madrid, as Bale feeded up Ronaldo with a terrific backheel before Ronaldo sends the ball back of the net into the bottom corner.


Navas has had an absolute nightmare, as he made a terrible mistake by punching back a free-kick into a danger area from where Aubameyang made no mistake to score the opener for the host side.

Real Madrid restored its lead by the 68th minute when Varane knocks the rebound from Benzema's volley that hit the post and crossbar.

Schurrle came in substitute for Mario Gotze on 58th minute and helped Borussia Dortmund to bounce back the second time in the game on the 87th minute from a difficult angle with a half-volley.



Who said what-



Navas: "It took me a bit by surprise, i took the wrong decision and it cost us a goal. We will work on those details so it doesn't happen again.

"I felt calm during the whole game despite the long months i've been out.

" My mentality doesn't change. I have to train hard and it is the coach's decision [Who plays]




Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel was happy with their comeback against Real Madrid, but feels there is still more to come



Thomas Tuchel: "We are not completely happy because we feel we can still play better," told Tuchel after the game.

"It does not feel like a victory just because we equalised so late. Maybe there was more in it for us. But we are happy to have at least salvaged a point. I think its a deserved draw."

"It is always difficult to come back from a deficit, and it is even harder to back a second time. That's why I am satisfied."



Dortmund visits Bernabeu on December 7.
Thomas Tuchel would expect a lot more from his players to finish the chances they get, And Zinedine Zidane would expect his defense to not repeat the mistakes they did in their latest meeting.

UCL PREVIEW FC BARCELONA vs BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

Barca square up against Monchengaldbach at the Borussia-Park on 28^th.

BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

While for the German side that already had quite a serious welcome to their European campaign this year against Manchester City who quashed them 4-0 defensive part of the game is still a problem. While among the injuries the prominent one is of Raffale their star player. Playing against Barca will see them sit deep and depend on the chances they get to counter tactic that Alalves used effectively in their 2-1 win over Barcelona weeks ago.

BARCELONA

For the Catalan giants it still could end up not being a swift victory one might expect. They are playing without Messi but Neymar and Suarez are making a brilliant front two with likes of Iniesta,Rakitic,Busquets all available to act as their suppliers from mid-field. Also Alba who did not feature against Sporting is expected to be back in the lineup. Aleix Vidal the unfortunate candidate so far too can get a chance ahead of the new Alves for Barca :Sergi Roberto.

Lineups- 

FCB: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Mascherano, Pique, Alba; Rakitic, Iniesta, Busquets; Turan, Suarez, Neymar

MGD: Sommer; Elvedi, Christensen, Vestergaard; Traore, Dahoud, Kramer, Johnson; Stindl; Hahn, Hazard

While things can turn interesting if Gladbach score first to put pressure on Barca. Given the form they are in expect an easy victory for Barcelona here.

UCL PREVIEW: BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS REAL MADRID

     It feels as if we have seen this match a million times in recent years but here is another one. Dortmund and Real Madrid are facing each other for the seventh time in the last five years.

2 matches in group stages,

2 matches in quarter final,

2  matches in semi final,

Real Madrid never won a single away game against Borussia Dortmund (D2 L3),Mean While  Borussia Dortmund have won their last 4 home games against Spanish opposition in European  competition scoring at least twice in each games,While Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 22 matches (W18 L4).

Real Madrid and their worries

Madrid is as shiny and as crazy as it has ever been. Los Blancos still assembles a starting XI of some of the world greatest footballers of our generation.

With the return of Alvaro Morata during the summer who was bought for a transfer fee of 30 million euros from Juventus.

Real Madrid’s  power has been attack and speed.They like to dominate their games,this has been practiced since the Ancelotti era.Their charismatic bald headed coach Zidane has been able to change their weakness in midfield with Casemiro providing balance.Also the form of Ronaldo is a big worry for the team as he is  recovering from a recent injury which he sustained in Euro final and he will be less confident after he was substituted by Zidane in 72nd minute of their weekend game which ended in a 2-2 draw against Las Palmas.

Borussia Dortmund form

Dortmund’s back line will be worry for them with Marc Bartra missing due to injury.it would not be too daunting to see a Dortmund side mostly working against Madrid build up play rather than to dominate the whole game.

With the likes of Ronaldo and Bale Dortmund should avoid to over commit and being befogged due to long possession periods,Dortmund attack revolves around the lightning fast Aubameyang .

Players to miss the game

For Real Madrid Marcelo,Casemiro. 

And for Dortmund Marc Bartra,Sven Bender,Durm.

Expected STARTING LINEUPS

 Real Madrid XI: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Danilo, Kroos, Modric, Kovacic, Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.

  Borussia Dortmund XI: Burki, Piszczek, Sokratis, Ginter, Schmelzer, Weigl, Pulisic, Castro, Guerreiro, Dembelé, Aubameyang.

 BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS REAL MADRID

 Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Group Stage Match Day 2 @19:45pm GMT

Enjoy this masterclass match,expected to be explosive.

 

UCL PREVIEW: ATLETICO MADRID VS BAYERN MUNICH

Atletico Madrid face off against Bayern Munich in this crunching UCL group D encounter(Match-day 2) with both teams winning their first matches.
With Atletico amazing defensive record and Bayern Munich prolific goal scoring attack.
This game promises to be a very tactical affair between two brilliant coaches Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti.This two teams met in last season UCL semi-final clash with Atletico qualifying on away goals against Munich.With Carlo Ancelotti taking over from Pep(Present Man City Manager),the Munich fans will hope for a better outcome in the UCL.
Head to Head:
April 27,2016: ATL 1-0 BMU.
May 3,2016: BMU 2-1 ATL.

TEAM STRENGTH:
    Atletico Madrid are the best defensive team in Europe as they boast of five(5) clean sheets in seven(7) games in all competition this season only being breached twice.With Godin and Savic at the heart of the defense and Gabi,just in front of the back four(4) holding the midfield. Atletico can also boost of a good attacking line with Griezmann leading the attack alongside Carrasco,Torres,Correa and with the addition of Gaitan and Gameiro in the summer,they score a lot of goals.
   Bayern Munich,since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti have looked more of a balanced team than there were under Pep but sometimes things are not always as it seems.With Lewy and Mueller picking up from where they left off last season,and an injury stricken Ribery back to his best,they will definitely cause Atletico defense some problems.They will also look a little solid at the back with the addition of Hummels.

Team News:Injuries 
   Atletico are likely to be without Jose Gimenez and Augusto Fernandez as both players were injured in their weekend game against Deportivo,But other players are expected to be available according to reports.
  Bayern Munich will have all key players fit for the champions league clash on Wednesday.

Tactics: Expected Line-ups  

 Atletico Madrid:(4-2-3-1) Oblak,FilipeLuis,Godin,Savic,Juanfran,Gabi,Koke,Saul,Carrasco,Greizmann,Gameiro.
Bayern Munich:(4-2-3-1) Neuer,Rafinha,Hummels,Lahm,Alaba,Vidal,Martinez,Muller,Kimmich,Costa,Lewandowski.

Prediction:
 Team LaligaCafe predicts Atletico Madrid 1-1 Bayern Munich. 


ATLETICO MADRID VS BAYERN MUNICH
WEDNESDAY 28TH,2016 at 19:45 GMT
VICENTE CALDERON 

 It promises to be an interesting game,enjoy.

Diego Alves Makes LaLiga History

Valencia Goal-Keeper Diego Alves broke the record for numbers of penalty saves in laliga as Valencia beat newly-promoted Leganes 2-1 at Butarque. 

Leganes drew first blood by scoring through an Alexander Szymanowski's goal just after 21 minute.Nani equalised just 13 minutes after scoring his first goal for the club.

    Mario Suarez scored the second goal for the visitors with a Nani assist just 6 minutes into the second half.That was also Suarez first goal for the club after joining on loan from Watford in the summer.

       Alves quickly went from Zero to Hero after bundling Alberto to the ground but then brilliantly saving Szymanowski's penalty,which took his tally to 17 penalty saves in the Liga just one above the previous holder Andoni Zubizarreta a Barcelona Legend.

       Valencia finished the game victors making it two wins out of two for Vorro(caretaker coach) after a poor start to the season.They face Atletico Madrid next week at the Mestalla,lets see if they can hold their own.

André Gomes : The One For The Future

Addition of André Gomes in Barça squad came into existence from nowhere, but the coach was sure that Gomes can be trusted with the midfield command.


The games he played for full 90 minutes were first against Celtic in this seasons Barcelona's opening Champions League game on September 14 then latest against Sporting Gijón and the stats are nowhere around to be ignored.

André Gomes vs Sporting
2 shots
55 passes
91% complete
2 long balls, 100% accurate
1 chance created
5 balls recovered
4 tackles, 2 won
3 intercepts.




André Gomes vs Celtic
100 passes, 96 successful (96%)
4 long passes, 3 succ
1 chance created
5 ball recoveries
3 tackles, 2 won
1 intercepts.


Gomes’s consistency created no errors as he assumed all the three midfield positions over the course of 90 minutes against Celtic.

It was the first full game he played that even helped him boost his confidence for the games ahead.
Gomes took over for Ivan Rakitic on the right when Andres Iniesta came on for him, and then on the 61st minute took the position of Central Midfielder Sergio Busquets when he was subbed off for Rafinha and there being as the defensive midfielder he showcased his versatility to play with ease at any position coach places him at.

He is surely an investment for a long and a better future for the Barcelona side.

Atletico Madrid : The leaders In Defense

 With todays win against Deportivo La Coruna, Los Rojiblancos side have shown their defensive leadership once again with another clean sheet in 6 games that makes it 4 in La Liga so far this season.

   

 Diego Simeone has made sure that his defense doesn't get played against any attack and he has his full faith on his four defenders who have been the regular starters in almost every Liga game this season.
Juanfran, Savic, D.Godin and Filipe luis.

They have started 4 games out of 6 and only changes made by Cholo in 2 games were S.Vrsaljka in place of Juanfran against Gijón and Giménez in place of S.Savic against Deportivo.

As far as attack is concerned 11 goals out of 12 have been scored by either Griezmann [5], Gamiero [2], Torres [2] or Correa [2].


And against Barcelona it was very much evident that even the likes of Griezmann, Torres, Correa were all involved in defense making things difficult for the Catalan side.


Atletico plays Bayern on Wednesday. With the defense they have it would be a lot more interesting to see how Ancelotti plans to break their defense as it is the most powerful attack Atletico has in the most recent times.

Barca without Messi. 3 weeks.

A messi less barca

Messi  was in his prime form in the start of this season linking up with Neymar and Suarez and crushing the likes of leganes and celtic  but got injured at Camp Nou last Wednesday against Atletico Madrid in the 60th minute which led to the equalising goal for Atletico against within the next 2 minute. We all remember what  happened last year when Messi got injured for more than a month, Barcelona lost its total shape.This  time they are third in the Liga.

Messi  injury

At first glance it seemed that Messi faced the same pubis discomfort ailment, That  forced  him to leave international duty earlier this season  but the injury he sustained against Atletico was a new one . This means  that he will miss atleast 3 games for Barcelona and international matches for Argentina.

Replacements

Three players that come to mind are Rafinha, Arda and Paco ,While  Rafinha suits the position more, Lucho will prefer an in-form Arda. It wouldn't be a surprise if he starts the next game after getting a goal an assist against Gijon yesterday.

Also,Paco still has to find his place in the team.Pundits says 'give him some time,he will be back with goals'.More over I would be interested to see whether  the formation will be 3-4-3 or Lucho will stick with his traditional 4-3-3,well Lucho knows better. If Paco is given the chance to start, it will be a big opportunity for him as he is yet to hit the net for Barcelona.

Effect on Barcelona

Last  year they experienced  similar situation when Messi was out for two and a half month.Neymar showed his leadership in attack,so this shouldn't be much of a problem for them .

Expected starting line up:

(4-3-3)Ter stegen,Mascherano,Pique,Roberto,AlbaRakitic,Busquet,Iniesta,Suarez,Paco,Neymar.

OR.(3-4-3) Ter stegen,Mascherano,Pique,Mathieu,Alba,Busquets,Iniesta,Rakitic,Neymar,Suarez,Arda.

OR.(4-4-2) Ter Stegen,Roberto,Pique,Mascherano,Alba,Denis,Iniesta,Busquets,Rakitic,Neymar,Suarez.

SERGI ROBERTO; The Perfect Choice

A graduate of the La Masia academy to the First XI of Barcelona. Roberto made his debut for Barcelona on November 10,2010 as a substitute in the 5-1 home win to AD Ceuta. Roberto who plays as an attacking midfielder struggled to get sufficient game time under the legend Josep ‘pep’ Guardiola , Late Tito Vilanova, and Gerardo ‘TATA’ Martino.

Sergi Roberto failed to get any playing time in Luis Enrique’s first season(treble winning season) in charge, with Rafinha being favoured over him. After that season Sergi felt it was time to leave the club but as Barcelona was slammed with a transfer ban, Lucho convinced Sergi to stay one more season.

 

In the second season under Lucho, Sergi had enough playing time as he was used in both attacking and central midfield,RighBack and LeftBack and RightWingForward. He was known as the ‘Joker’ of the club who plays virtually every position and with injuries to key players he provided as a good enough backup. Lucho kept faith with youngstar. Even with the signing of Aleix Vidal as the backup fullback(RB position) which Roberto played so well. At the end of that season, Roberto versatility and incredible performance showed him to be a ‘Jack of all trade, Master of all’.

After the departure of Dani Alves, Lucho refused to sign another RB, naming Roberto and Vidal as his RB options. So far in the 2016/2017 season, Roberto has made his way to the starting XI of Barcelona at RB ahead of Aleix Vidal who is a natural right back.

 So far this 2016/2017 season Sergi Roberto has cemented his place in the first XI of Barcelona at RB spot after amazing performances against Bilbao, Atletico and Gijon registering five(5) assist so far in the LaLiga Santander. Lucho has praised the performance of Roberto and with Aleix Vidal recent Instagram post,he has fallen out of favour with the coach.