Koeman sticks with his double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Lineup:
Ter Stegen
Dest
Araujo
Lenglet
Alba
Busquets
De Jong (sigh)
Griezmann (cry)
Messi
Coutinho
Braithwaite
Have to say, i'm very disappointed that Koeman is persisting with the garbage like De Jong and Griezmann. The pair of them play every single week and do zero! Two total nothing players who cost a fortune!!! What do either of them do, or offer for the team??
Speaking of strange, why are Barca starting two holding players, Busquets and De Jong, at home to Levante? Very negative. I could understand if a big team were in town, but Levante are relative minnows compared to Barca.
I'd also love to know why Koeman is so reluctant to play Alena and Puig? Alena is brilliant every time he plays, yet Koeman never uses him. Same with the young lad Puig. Unlike De Jong, they offer creativity and drive from midfield instead of pathetic 5 yard passes. It's a big surprise too to see Clement Lenglet start at centre back, given his horror show against Juve. I thought Umtiti would partner Araujo tonight.
I fancy Barca 3-1
Barcelona Vs Levante 8PM K.O
posted on 13/12/20
Messi's worst shot ever
posted on 13/12/20
comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 15 minutes ago
Messi's worst shot ever
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Haha yeah the referee did half get in his way though.
0-0 HT and it's no surprise that Barca's two best chances fell to Griezmann who wasted them. The guy is a fraud.. 100+ million and he is just cr@p.
posted on 13/12/20
I like Griezmann
posted on 13/12/20
Messi, 1-0. Assisted by De Jong after Griezmann dispossesses a Levante player
posted on 13/12/20
Braithwaite, not Griezmann
posted on 14/12/20
Decent result in the end, but hard work made of it. On another day it could've been 3-0. Just a shame Griezmann missed so many chances. I struggle to believe that he's a £100+ million player when he misses so many sitters.
posted on 14/12/20
Press in Barcelona was pretty upset at Koeman for subbing off a striker for a CB to defend the result. Truth is, it was odd to see Barcelona pinned back like that in the closing minutes and putting 11 men under the crossbar.
Barcelona are lucky that games are being played behind closed doors. It doesn't bear thinking how the fans would've reacted if they'd been subject to the past few months of football and results.
Messi bailed you out, as he almost always does, although he also missed just as much as Griezmann. The one-on-one he did put away was virtually unmissable by his standards.
On Griezmann - he's very slowly coming good, imo. He's more and more involved in the attack, constantly finds space and creates it for his team mates, and even looks to be enjoying himself more despite things not quite working out yet. Yes, he remains cursed in front of goal, but it's not for a shortage of chances and you can certainly see he isn't giving up. Other players in his situation would be shying away from chances, but he keeps plugging away. Sooner or later he is going to start hitting the back of the net, and once he gets into a groove he will score a lot of goals.
He's also both an intelligent and a very hard-working footballer. He hasn't stopped looking to change and adapt, and even though it's taking a long time, he is gradually getting there.
Compare to Coutinho. Now, that's a frustrating footballer, and the very definition of a one-trick pony. His inability to evolve or adapt his game is simply astounding. He just keeps on trying the exact same move he´s been working on since he was a teenager, and keeps running into the space he ought to be vacating when Messi sets off on his run. He still drifts in even when Alba isn't overlapping and doesn't seem to realise half the time that he needs to give the attack more width. Not that he is much use on the wing anyway. Barcelona are lucky that Alba looks to be back in form, because Coutinho has no idea of what to do with that wing.
posted on 14/12/20
comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 10 hours, 24 minutes ago
Press in Barcelona was pretty upset at Koeman for subbing off a striker for a CB to defend the result. Truth is, it was odd to see Barcelona pinned back like that in the closing minutes and putting 11 men under the crossbar.
Barcelona are lucky that games are being played behind closed doors. It doesn't bear thinking how the fans would've reacted if they'd been subject to the past few months of football and results.
Messi bailed you out, as he almost always does, although he also missed just as much as Griezmann. The one-on-one he did put away was virtually unmissable by his standards.
On Griezmann - he's very slowly coming good, imo. He's more and more involved in the attack, constantly finds space and creates it for his team mates, and even looks to be enjoying himself more despite things not quite working out yet. Yes, he remains cursed in front of goal, but it's not for a shortage of chances and you can certainly see he isn't giving up. Other players in his situation would be shying away from chances, but he keeps plugging away. Sooner or later he is going to start hitting the back of the net, and once he gets into a groove he will score a lot of goals.
He's also both an intelligent and a very hard-working footballer. He hasn't stopped looking to change and adapt, and even though it's taking a long time, he is gradually getting there.
Compare to Coutinho. Now, that's a frustrating footballer, and the very definition of a one-trick pony. His inability to evolve or adapt his game is simply astounding. He just keeps on trying the exact same move he´s been working on since he was a teenager, and keeps running into the space he ought to be vacating when Messi sets off on his run. He still drifts in even when Alba isn't overlapping and doesn't seem to realise half the time that he needs to give the attack more width. Not that he is much use on the wing anyway. Barcelona are lucky that Alba looks to be back in form, because Coutinho has no idea of what to do with that wing.
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OP here.
Griezmann to me is just a damage limitation exercise. Not good enough for an elite club like Barca. Bin off asap.
Coutinho to me is a top player, but he's a confidence man and he loses confidence SOOO easily in a Barca shirt. I rate him and know he can be a top player at Barca.
posted on 14/12/20
Oh well, starkly opposing views then. In Griezmann I see a player trying it all to find his place, against someone who cannot imagine any other way of playing or developing his game.
Regardless of which, I think you are going to be stuck with AG for some time, unless you manage to engineer some kind of deal that brings some other big name in the opposite direction who has also struggled to adapt to his club.
Also, as hard as he works and as hard as he tries, I don't know how long a club like Barça can allow themselves to go on with someone like Braithwaite as their main striker.