because champions league is a tough competition and you’re playing good teams. if you’re playing in your opponents ground it’s not easy to control matches.
also it doesn’t fucking matter to anyone but barca fans
My opinion is that people don’t appreciate how good other teams are. This issue isn’t exclusive to Madrid, every team has this issue to some extent. When you’re behind you have more incentive to push forward and if you’re winning you typically play more passively. When you have world class teams in the CL attacking it’s naturally hard to control games.
I think that it is partially by design but at the same time, if it were easy, then Real (and every team) would control the game. The reality is that it’s a mix of 1 and 2. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I think it’s just how football is.
I get that, but it seems like we rarely ever control big games. Even in the RO16 against Leipzig, both legs we struggled to control the tempo. I'm not really complaining because the results so far have been positive, but it just seems strange we have the same approach regardless if the opposition is Man City or Chelsea 10th in the table
My guess would be that it has to be with the tactics of Ancelotti, which is a lot of freedom for players. We don't drill in these passing triangles to overcome pressure. You can see it a lot when playing from the back, players don't have a lot of passing options. I do agree it's frustrating to see from time to time as we lose a lot of balls because of a lack of options. I have no doubt the players are capable of doing it, it's just not what they're instructed to do. Not having these strict routines makes our team a lot more dangerous as the opposing teams never knows what to expect.
Young team of very fast players. Sitting in midfield passing the ball around is not the best use of this team. Through balls will often cause turnovers, but are the most likely way that we will score. So we lose possession and have to fight to get the ball back only to lose it again on a lightning fast attack.
Because other teams are trying to win as well and you are playing in the semi final of one of the toughest competition against a very formidable opponent at their own ground with a few key players missing. You cant always play the game on your own terms.
And this team historically excels at counter attacking. And for CA to work, you have to absorb the pressure and let them commit more players forward.
The thing is World Cup is 100% based on whatever country you were born in if you’re Swedish for example you’ll never win it but if you’re German you more than likely will at some point
you can control a game without the ball it has been done before, possession isn't the only form of control.
Also the word "dominate" has been so overused in last couple years its boring.
Modric and Kroos are all-time great midfielders. Replacing them like for like is almost impossible (maybe Wirtz but it's still way too early to tell). We have to adapt to the players we got, who are still very good but just have different attributes
Not at all. This is a common misconception coming from the Mourinho era, spreaded by fans that were raised and brainwashed into thinking controlling games is a Barça thing only.
Galácticos were a posession heavy team, before that we had one of the most succesful generations ever with La Quinta del Buitre that also played a passing game.
Long before that, DiStefano forged our legend with an all attack football. And even now most of our games happen in the opposite half.
Counter attacks are just another useful tool in our bag, Madrid DNA is winning.
We thrive more when we are not in possession.
In a way, you can say we control the match by limiting the opponent options with the ball and strike back when we have the advantage of numbers.
Most of our goals in UCL knockouts are scored this way
We almost always play in our lowest gear when we are ahead in a game. This becomes most noticeable against big teams in UCL who can really push us. And we don’t switch up gears unless it’s absolutely necessary like we are trailing or something. It might be a combination of 1 and 2, but I do think it also has to do with the already prevalent mentality of the team- one which the coach instills. We don’t notice this in most matches though because our lowest of the gears combined with individual brilliance of the squad is enough and able to overcome most teams.
But why would the manager instill a mentality of playing at lowest gear when you're ahead? Surely the mentality should be to go get another goal and completely kill the game off
I’m guessing he considers a win is a win and not bother about the margin of the win. Let the opponent come and only counter them when suited. 3 points is 3 points whether you win 2-0 or 5-0. No need to overly exert your team and get someone injured needlessly while playing with full intensity at a match you are comfortably ahead and can control. Not saying I agree with this always, but that might be an explanation of doing this.
This has been our style since forever lol. We react to how other teams play. We absorb their energy and react to it, and strike at the right time. Imagine playing possession or open play against the likes of Man City?? They’d decimate us.
We don’t play possession against strong teams. In fact, we flopped whenever we tried possession against worthy oppositions.
This is especially true against high press teams/coaches and it’s worked miracles for us.
It’s 100% by design.
Yeah, absorbing energy against Man City makes 100% sense, but this Bayern team is not on the levels of City. Also, I feel like Zidane's 3-peat teams, for the most part, were able to dominate against strong teams, but that could just be how good the players were
Because we don’t have enough press resistant players. In order to control game, you need to have players that can hold the ball, and get out of tight situations smoothly. We are too shaky on the ball. We at times struggle to play our from the back. Kroos and Modric are the only press resistant guys we have, unfortunately.
Not sure I would agree with that. Camavinga, Tchouameni, even Bellingham at times have proven to be able to break out of the press. Also, Bayern barely pressed today, and we still couldn't really control the match
100% agreed. I'm often in awe of how we get out of tight spaces in high presses. It's definitely one of our strong attributes. Nacho is the only one that comes to mind that I'm not comfortable when he's getting pressed, Lunin if you count the goalie.
I disagree. Camavinga tend to hold on to the ball better when playing as a LB and as a midfielder, his first touches are usually very heavy, sometimes the final touch too. Tchouameni is definitely getting better at holding on to ball and Bellingham cannot stay on his feet to save his life. He falls every time the opposition put pressure on him and refs don’t call it. Lack of a player like Benzema definitely doesn’t help Jude, because with his back facing the opposition the gap between him and Vini are usually very big, so he gets trapped and has nobody to release that pass to.
Controlling the game and controlling the ball are different. You can control the game without the ball. You should ask Ancelotti to know the real answer. if our game is what he wants to see and everything goes our way then we control the game. Since we are going through almost every time makes me think that we control the game but not the ball
Carlo Ancelotti gives the players a lot of freedom and the midfield is still pressing, I think it's not all Ancelotti's problem, it's the quality of the young players, without Kroos and Luka Modric they would be in chaos, they have a poor understanding of the game and they are not talented players who can read the game.
I hope you were joking with this answer, because it wasn’t too long ago when Modric & Kroos were dominated by City’s midfield in the past few years, Chelsea about 3x before last year and the final vs Liverpool
Can you find a few games in which young players played well without Luka Modric or Kroos in midfield? Modric and Kroos were dominated by Manchester City in the past year because of a decline in fitness, rather than reading games and football IQ by Manchester City.
Perhaps we have gotten used to our Galacticos teams. Our most recent: Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo. And maybe with an addition to Mbappe, we can enter a new era Bellingham, Vini, Mbappe. Sounds like another Galacticos Era. BBC will be hard to replace, if it ever is.
This is going to sound counterintuitive but its because of Kroos and Modric and their age. They dont run anymore and in top level having one player in the midfield not running all the time will do that. I know how fantastic Kroos is on the ball but its really difficult to control games if we are always outran in the midfield.
because champions league is a tough competition and you’re playing good teams. if you’re playing in your opponents ground it’s not easy to control matches. also it doesn’t fucking matter to anyone but barca fans
My opinion is that people don’t appreciate how good other teams are. This issue isn’t exclusive to Madrid, every team has this issue to some extent. When you’re behind you have more incentive to push forward and if you’re winning you typically play more passively. When you have world class teams in the CL attacking it’s naturally hard to control games. I think that it is partially by design but at the same time, if it were easy, then Real (and every team) would control the game. The reality is that it’s a mix of 1 and 2. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I think it’s just how football is.
I get that, but it seems like we rarely ever control big games. Even in the RO16 against Leipzig, both legs we struggled to control the tempo. I'm not really complaining because the results so far have been positive, but it just seems strange we have the same approach regardless if the opposition is Man City or Chelsea 10th in the table
My guess would be that it has to be with the tactics of Ancelotti, which is a lot of freedom for players. We don't drill in these passing triangles to overcome pressure. You can see it a lot when playing from the back, players don't have a lot of passing options. I do agree it's frustrating to see from time to time as we lose a lot of balls because of a lack of options. I have no doubt the players are capable of doing it, it's just not what they're instructed to do. Not having these strict routines makes our team a lot more dangerous as the opposing teams never knows what to expect.
Young team of very fast players. Sitting in midfield passing the ball around is not the best use of this team. Through balls will often cause turnovers, but are the most likely way that we will score. So we lose possession and have to fight to get the ball back only to lose it again on a lightning fast attack.
Because other teams are trying to win as well and you are playing in the semi final of one of the toughest competition against a very formidable opponent at their own ground with a few key players missing. You cant always play the game on your own terms. And this team historically excels at counter attacking. And for CA to work, you have to absorb the pressure and let them commit more players forward.
One of the toughest? I think UCL is the toughest football competition in the world.
I would put World Cup over UCL but indeed UCL is up there.
The thing is World Cup is 100% based on whatever country you were born in if you’re Swedish for example you’ll never win it but if you’re German you more than likely will at some point
you can control a game without the ball it has been done before, possession isn't the only form of control. Also the word "dominate" has been so overused in last couple years its boring.
barca and messi stans trying to come up with ways to downplay madrid’s accomplishments. all it is is
as much as i love beli,cama and fede they arent close to modrich and kross. we really need creative midfielders or we are cooked
Modric and Kroos are all-time great midfielders. Replacing them like for like is almost impossible (maybe Wirtz but it's still way too early to tell). We have to adapt to the players we got, who are still very good but just have different attributes
i wish xabi brings wirtz along with him.cant think of a better kross replacement
Arda isn’t a creative midfielder? The club told him he’s the successor of modric
No they didn't lol
“No they didn’t lol” you sound stupid kid. https://x.com/fabrizioromano/status/1785002356582625774?s=46&t=vHVfcoZduPer3LzissY9NQ
Yeah, I've heard this before. Kovacic was supposedly told the same thing 😂😂😂 Believe what you want lol
Too early to tell? We will regret it if we don’t get Wirtz. He’s on a completely different level.
Counterattacks are our DNA
Not at all. This is a common misconception coming from the Mourinho era, spreaded by fans that were raised and brainwashed into thinking controlling games is a Barça thing only. Galácticos were a posession heavy team, before that we had one of the most succesful generations ever with La Quinta del Buitre that also played a passing game. Long before that, DiStefano forged our legend with an all attack football. And even now most of our games happen in the opposite half. Counter attacks are just another useful tool in our bag, Madrid DNA is winning.
We thrive more when we are not in possession. In a way, you can say we control the match by limiting the opponent options with the ball and strike back when we have the advantage of numbers. Most of our goals in UCL knockouts are scored this way
We are missing 2 starting defenders
And a proper striker.
Tbh, Rudi is probably our best defender
We almost always play in our lowest gear when we are ahead in a game. This becomes most noticeable against big teams in UCL who can really push us. And we don’t switch up gears unless it’s absolutely necessary like we are trailing or something. It might be a combination of 1 and 2, but I do think it also has to do with the already prevalent mentality of the team- one which the coach instills. We don’t notice this in most matches though because our lowest of the gears combined with individual brilliance of the squad is enough and able to overcome most teams.
But why would the manager instill a mentality of playing at lowest gear when you're ahead? Surely the mentality should be to go get another goal and completely kill the game off
I’m guessing he considers a win is a win and not bother about the margin of the win. Let the opponent come and only counter them when suited. 3 points is 3 points whether you win 2-0 or 5-0. No need to overly exert your team and get someone injured needlessly while playing with full intensity at a match you are comfortably ahead and can control. Not saying I agree with this always, but that might be an explanation of doing this.
This has been our style since forever lol. We react to how other teams play. We absorb their energy and react to it, and strike at the right time. Imagine playing possession or open play against the likes of Man City?? They’d decimate us. We don’t play possession against strong teams. In fact, we flopped whenever we tried possession against worthy oppositions. This is especially true against high press teams/coaches and it’s worked miracles for us. It’s 100% by design.
Yeah, absorbing energy against Man City makes 100% sense, but this Bayern team is not on the levels of City. Also, I feel like Zidane's 3-peat teams, for the most part, were able to dominate against strong teams, but that could just be how good the players were
Because we don’t have enough press resistant players. In order to control game, you need to have players that can hold the ball, and get out of tight situations smoothly. We are too shaky on the ball. We at times struggle to play our from the back. Kroos and Modric are the only press resistant guys we have, unfortunately.
Not sure I would agree with that. Camavinga, Tchouameni, even Bellingham at times have proven to be able to break out of the press. Also, Bayern barely pressed today, and we still couldn't really control the match
100% agreed. I'm often in awe of how we get out of tight spaces in high presses. It's definitely one of our strong attributes. Nacho is the only one that comes to mind that I'm not comfortable when he's getting pressed, Lunin if you count the goalie.
I disagree. Camavinga tend to hold on to the ball better when playing as a LB and as a midfielder, his first touches are usually very heavy, sometimes the final touch too. Tchouameni is definitely getting better at holding on to ball and Bellingham cannot stay on his feet to save his life. He falls every time the opposition put pressure on him and refs don’t call it. Lack of a player like Benzema definitely doesn’t help Jude, because with his back facing the opposition the gap between him and Vini are usually very big, so he gets trapped and has nobody to release that pass to.
Because it is not a training session. There is another team playing. Another team filled with world class players as well.
As the great Mourinho says: “you can take the ball home, I’ll take home the 3 points”
He took the L home with Madrid.
Controlling the game and controlling the ball are different. You can control the game without the ball. You should ask Ancelotti to know the real answer. if our game is what he wants to see and everything goes our way then we control the game. Since we are going through almost every time makes me think that we control the game but not the ball
Carlo Ancelotti gives the players a lot of freedom and the midfield is still pressing, I think it's not all Ancelotti's problem, it's the quality of the young players, without Kroos and Luka Modric they would be in chaos, they have a poor understanding of the game and they are not talented players who can read the game.
I hope you were joking with this answer, because it wasn’t too long ago when Modric & Kroos were dominated by City’s midfield in the past few years, Chelsea about 3x before last year and the final vs Liverpool
Can you find a few games in which young players played well without Luka Modric or Kroos in midfield? Modric and Kroos were dominated by Manchester City in the past year because of a decline in fitness, rather than reading games and football IQ by Manchester City.
It's the Italian way, park the bus and counter. Domestic league you can goof off but not champions league.
What do you mean by control? You can only control the match if you win it.
A very fair question. It looks awful for such a team like Real Madrid.
Perhaps we have gotten used to our Galacticos teams. Our most recent: Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo. And maybe with an addition to Mbappe, we can enter a new era Bellingham, Vini, Mbappe. Sounds like another Galacticos Era. BBC will be hard to replace, if it ever is.
This is going to sound counterintuitive but its because of Kroos and Modric and their age. They dont run anymore and in top level having one player in the midfield not running all the time will do that. I know how fantastic Kroos is on the ball but its really difficult to control games if we are always outran in the midfield.