S_Roberto
2020-02-10 06:21:30
📊[FrenkieStats] |Frenkie de Jong vs. Real Betis
90 minutes
1 goal
66 touches
52 passes(90%)
2 dribbles
8 duels won
1 long ball
2 interceptions
1 tackle
Great bounce back game from Frenkie. Moved really well around the pitch, made some nice passes and avoided the press well.
S_Roberto
2020-02-10 06:31:34
You know the difference between this match and every other one under Valverde this season? After conceding the second goal I would lose all hope, but with Setien the team was supported until the end, confident the right ideas were in place.
This will be the new normal for us: a one legged final every weekend until the final rounds. Real Madrid are not letting up and the officiating is conspicuously on their side as VAR develops sudden blindness every match for them. It’s one get out of jail card every match for them, not the case for us. That penalty on Messi was ridiculously ignored… like the penalty on De Jong vs Athletic. Dodgy.
The team pummelled the adversary with goal after goal attempt, holding the ball close to the box and creating chances, how refreshing. If Robles had a normal match this would have been a lot easier. Betis seemed satisfied with the draw and only woke up again after Lenglet’s goal.
The positives from the midweek match were evident: Crisp passing, lots of penetration and great attacking plays. It’s not free flowing total football yet, we might not even see it this season at its best, but it’s the right way, and that has me thrilled for the upcoming matches. Messi, Frenkie, Arthur and all the other key players, none of them are in real good form. It’s a consequence of Valverde’s pathetic training regime, but it’s a hole Setien will get us out of.
Messi bringing his teammates on pitch before the match and rounding them up for a speech was excellent. He didn’t have a fantastic match by his standards, but damn! He still gave three assists and could have had two goals and a clear penalty in the final minutes.
Defensively, the team is a wreck and it’s hard to see the team going far into the Champions League like this. Umtiti looks like he retired from playing professional football after the 2018 World Cup, Fekir’s goal an embarrassment. Lenglet isn’t doing much better lately, nor is Pique, but it’s what we have for the heart of the back line.
Sergi Roberto was the worst player on pitch by a landslide tonight. Shockingly awful, didn’t make a single right decision and it’s better to start giving one of the B team players more playing time than insisting on him for the rest of the season. Keeps living off the goal vs PSG and that run vs Real Madrid. He’s done, been for years.
Vidal, Semedo and Firpo weren’t much better either, but says a lot that this was another match many players put in bad performances but Barça still finished the match on the winning.
Getafe is next, we are seeing progress and that’s all it matters.