Essential The Official Football (Soccer) Thread - We are SO back, the Premier League returns!
Atlanta did well but Giovocio goal was world class. He's elite for a reason.
Ricardo Oliveira has been balling ever since people started calling him 
Four goals in the last five games, and he's been carrying us on his back. Pastor making them haters look real foolish right now :ricardoumad:
Four goals in the last five games, and he's been carrying us on his back. Pastor making them haters look real foolish right now :ricardoumad:
I would have handed him his pink slip as he was walking to the locker room. That game yesterday was an embarrassment.
All that money spent this Summer just to be in a fight to avoid relegation
He was hurt, he out of shape too. His finishing has been abysmal, I'd bench him to prove a point and get him in the gym. But Messi's greatness aside. It's amazing how much the role players have stepped up this season so far. Inesta looks 25 again, Busquets is back to his form, Umtiti is maturing to one of the best defenders in Spain, Paulinho is like "wtf I'm good?" and Semedo is proving he fits into the system perfectly.
IDK what Lucho was doing but Valverde is getting some quality shyt out of players like Alcacer, Dinge and Denis Suarez...its strange as fukk but I'm enjoying it.
This is more of the issue than Ozil or Sanchez ever was. Ozil can't be the type of player he is when our best holding CM is fukking Granit Xhaka. You saw when Rambo was dropping back and covering and not trying to score...Arsenal scored. I like him but not as a compliment to Xhaka. This team misses Santi Cazorla more than it ever knew. There's literally not ONE player in the side that can intelligently transfer the team from defense to offense, in the middle of the park.
This guy here made arguably one of the worst moves in recent history.
At Valencia he was the central figure to their attack who would have grown to be one of the great Valencia strikers of old e.g. David Villa, Soldado etc.
At Barcelona he's a perpetual bench warmer. Whereas Valencia played with a single "poacher" type striker who was fed many balls to finish, Barca is more diverse in their attack. It's a front three that finishes rather than one single striker.
Look at Zaza now at Valencia. He's hit his stride and has the goals to back it up. I think 6 or 7 so far this campaign.
I totally agree. I didn't think Barca needed another striker at all. Suarez is for the most part durable and Messi can play up front if need be. Valencia I think doesn't have the shyt season they had last year if they still had him. But then we wouldn't be seeing the stellar start that Zaza is having either.
I can't wait to see that match this season...I haven't seen Valencia that dynamic in seasons.
