FC Barcelona Thread

Well this season they're better. They don't have Flappyhandski in goal and Silvestre at CB, so I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you.
 
To me Arsenal are favorites. I already said they could easily beat us at the Emirates. They were lucky, we wasted many chances and the ref didn't help, but Arsenal is a very very dangerous animal that can beat us with our own weapons.

I expect a very intense match and it will all depend on our stars. If Messi, Xavi and Iniesta have a good night and we start the game well and score first, then we can go on.

But if not, if we don't score early, I can see Arsenal getting confident and getting a good result. Don't know why, but I'm convinced they will score, so we will need a hell of a good game to go on.

Maybe the hardest match of the season for us, and for them as well.
 
yes it seems the hardest match so far... for me it mainly depends on Leo. if he was in form and not wasteful like in the few last matchs then I'm quite sure we'll pass them. The problem is that he seems tired.. I wished he hasn't played against Zaragoza.
 
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That surprised me to be honest, surely he should have been rested or at the very least after setting up the first late in the half being taken off for the 2nd.

I think you'll squeeze through as I think without Song theirs not enough protection for the back four.
 
VanderVoort said:
All the keepers are the same against Messi.
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It's not that simple. Some keepers are better than others in a variety of situations. This new Gunners' keeper (sorry, I can't pronounce his name :LOL:) seems a very good one, finally they've found a safe and secure golie.

But there's no need to worry you're lot are the favs to this match. Arsenal is in a better shape than last year but Barça is Barça. My guess? 3-1.

Someone here talked about the tactic Pep is currently using with only 3 defenders. I just don't think he is going to use it in this game. Dani Alves should go back to his standard position as a RB (Arshavin/Walcott are dangerous in the left) with Busquets helping the defense when it comes to the defensive part, between the CB and MDF position.
 
some in here may hate Arsenal after this match, maybe the whole forum will, "FA CUP FINAL `05" :COAT: younggunUK is right w/o Song it could be unpredictable . If I was LeBoss I would put Djourou to partner up w/ Jack and maybe Miguel at the back , Im not sure about squillaci
 
come on messiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

messi_arsenal.jpg
 
todays's 11

------------Valdes---------
Alves---Busi--Abidal----Maxwell
---Xavi-----Mascherano---Iniesta
---Pedro-----Messi------Villa

in the last matches Villa was the 9..but i think that this game is Messi.

my doubt is maxwell/adriano and Mascherano,keita
iniesta----xavi---keita
or
xavi---busquets--iniesta
and milito with abidal in centerback
 
Barca are 1-4 to beat Arsenal.

Bloody terrible odds, I think this must be the biggest odds-on shot that any team has been to beat an EPL side in the CL (actually probably Europe).


FD
 
Yeah the odds are extreme!

For me, Barca are favourites but it's not exactly impossible for Arsenal to beat them especially with the problems in center of defense today.

I think Barca will take care of business today and expect them to, but those odds are crazy!!

I noticed really tasty odds for OM and Lyon on their away trips in CL as well though, those seem rather extreme too. But I haven't seen something as one-sided as this by bookmakers in awhile! They really have no faith in Arsenal in this match it seems. :P :LOL:

I hope Arsenal players and Wenger do though because they NEED that belief!
 
Well, that's odd and I think people don't know a f#@k of football. Arsenal is great and can easily beat us today. I think it's 60-40 to Arsenal now, mainly because of that second goal they scored.

I don't understand people who really think that Barcelona can easily beat a team like Arsenal, probably one of the top 5 in europe. We have to score 2 or 3, which is bloody hard to do. Maybe people has lost perspective on how difficult things really are.
 
But we're being too slow. We try to do over-complciated things instead of finishing the chances.

Messi is playing poorly, yet he does another historic goal. This guy is amazing. If he wakes up a little more and recovers a little his form, Arsenal will have a tough time in the 2nd half.

I've been quite let down by Wenger, though. They're playing ultra-defensive. I didn't expect that from Arsenal, so they deserve the result at halftime.
 
Was too close... we wasted too many chances. We really need to focus on finishing plays.

The ref was abysmal, a red card like that is just childish. But on the other hand, the ref also missed a penalty to Messi in the first half.

I don't think the ref can be of any excuse, specially after the refeering on the first match. Arsenal had 0 shots on goal in the full match, that's the reason why. They were lucky to have the draw undeservedly, and unlucky with that card.

I was expecting an attacking Arsenal side. It's the only way to hurt us, to play us with offensive power.

I have the feeling that was Wenger who lost the match today, the same way he won the first one against all odds. All in all, much will be written about VP red card, but I think Wenger played too deffensive. I really think we were the better team, by far, in the overall and deserved to go through.

PS: By the way, Kocielny and Alves didn't deserve to finish the match in my oppinion.
 
F'n wasteful Barca AGAIN!!!

This match should've been 7-1!

Barca and Messi and even Villa!! Missing TOO many chances and NOT shooting.... instead pass pass trying to score the PERFECT goal.

Against better teams, it will cost them to waste SO many chances!

But for now, the much better team over the two legs won. So congrats.

Abidal was great. He\s really enjoying himself in Barca shirt. Fans love him and he loves them and playing with so much confidence.

Iniesta = GOD!
 
Yes, PLF, we're wasting too much. It will definitely cost us something in the long term. Too much "perfection" when we should be closing the matches earlier. This is our main weakness now, it seems.
 
Chelsea are the only team that can stop Barca in my opinion, but having said that, the referees would probably gift the game to Barca somehow.

It's hard not to admire the way Barca play (especially off the ball), but I was a much, much bigger fan when Rijkaard was in charge and Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco and so on were playing, much more exciting to watch.
 
matherto said:
Chelsea are the only team that can stop Barca in my opinion, but having said that, the referees would probably gift the game to Barca somehow.

It's hard not to admire the way Barca play (especially off the ball), but I was a much, much bigger fan when Rijkaard was in charge and Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco and so on were playing, much more exciting to watch.
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2nd Bold Ridiculous speech. Please, enlighten me to where was Barcelona benefited this evening?

1st bold Care to explain why?
 
Though I agree with the red to Van Persie being extremely harsh and out of place, it seems that fans forget too quickly that a ref disallowed a legal goal to us and ignored 2 penalties (one of them shoudl have been a red card too to Kocielny) at the Emirates. So, after 2 matches in which the refs have had mistakes for both teams, saying things like "gift the game to barça somehow" seems a bit extreme.

Specially when barcelona has shot more than 30 times in th overall and Arsenal has shot 6.

Really, I think blaming the ref it's the wrong conclusion of the match.
 
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1st bold They almost did it last time it happened it, they have the team and the manager capable of executing a plan similar to Mourinho's Inter last season, they're the only team that could do it, the only problem is they're in terrible form, but I'd still give them more of a chance than anyone else left in the competition.

2nd bold Van Persie was booked for kicking the ball away exactly 1 second after he kicked it, these things happen all the time, the player carries on after the decision has been given. It would never have been given if Messi had done the same thing.

Clearly the refs are on the look out for teams making mistakes against Barca.

I don't even need to bring up the Chelsea game of a few years back, with four clearly denied penalties to know that Barcelona get very favourable treatment from referees, domestically and in Europe.

I'm well aware this could all sound like huge jealousy and it wouldn'tve made any difference to the outcome of the game, but hey, no-one ever likes the team that wins all the time. :P
 
matherto said:
Clearly the refs are on the look out for teams making mistakes against Barca.

I don't even need to bring up the Chelsea game of a few years back, with four clearly denied penalties to know that Barcelona get very favourable treatment from referees, domestically and in Europe.

I'm well aware this could all sound like huge jealousy and it wouldn'tve made any difference to the outcome of the game, but hey, no-one ever likes the team that wins all the time. :P
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Here is where I loose all respect for your oppinions, mate. You're being ridiculous. You don't know jack about domestic competition and you don't even watch Barcelona matches if you dare to say that childish things.

About The famous Chelsea match, with 4 penalties (I only saw 2, anyway, and yes they were clear), you forget that Abidal was sent off without even touching Anelka, or that the ref absolutely ignored a penalty and red card done to Henry by Ballack at the first match? Or those things don't have to be wieghted in? Or you simply have selective memory?

Why do fans have to take things out of context and apply general rules like "Barcleona gets the favourable treatment" without any kind of reasonable facts to show it? Are you a beliver of the "Villarato"? Just for your interest: we're the team with less penalties in the last 2 seasons and the team that spends more time with the ball in the opponent area. We're the team with more disallowed goals. That shouldn't happen in your "Villarato" universe, isn't it?

Do you know why, amongst other things, Inter beat us last year? Quite easy, just watch the ref at San Siro. You don't remember it, of course. The thing is, the refs will make mistakes all the time. They're humans. But believing in complots and conspirations is quite absurd. Why did we loose at the Emirates, then?
 
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I wrote it in the Arsenal thread and I'll say it here again, on the balance of both legs, if you look at the incidents, Barca have not only NOT been favored but they've even been screwed by referee decisions.

One silly red card which is debatable and everyone's coming up with theories.

What about the disallowed Messi goal in first leg?

What about 1st half penalty on Messi?

What about no 2nd yellow card for Koszcielny on the penalty?


Barca didn't need any help from ref. If anything, they could do without them as they cost them a couple goals over both legs.
 
Besides PLF's arguments, arguably Van Persie should already have been sent off at the moment he got that second yellow.
And about that second yellow.
In circumstances like that players should always have the benefit of the doubt. That is if they deserve it. At that moment Van Persie did not deserve it...he had lost it since the incident with Abidal (both Abidal and Van Persie could have been sent off for that incident). I'm prety sure that the ref also considered Van Persie's behaviour in the minutes before that fatal moment.

I refuse to to think that refs are biased.
I hope FIFA, UEFA and national FA's learn a lesson or two from all the discussions about referees. There is need for more referees and they need technological help.
Besides that: protect referees by giving much more post factum sanctions for players who are diving, for things that referees didn't see (Rooney's elbow against Wigan and Carraghers's tackle on Nani for example) and also for all the coaches that are influencing referees (as much as i admire Wenger, yesterday he behaved like a 5 year old).
 
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