Well a much better display than in the Clasico. Yet notably off the team's best. The good news is that even with both teams full strength we created some nice chances. I personally would have preferred Atleti were full strength as I still think we'd have won, but Atleti should have had multiple red cards. Fortunately for them the UEFALONA refs stepped in.
Atleti were an absolute disgrace. They didn't kick our players around the park as much as usual, but they did enough and the embellishing (which has gone laughably unmentioned in this thread) was ridiculous. Simeone is a disgrace and I'd love for nothing more than to see him go to Chelsea and fall flat on his face. His tactics weren't working and he made poor substitutions down the stretch. To be fair Suarez was a disgrace as well with his two incidents. I'd have sent him off at 1-1, but not sure he'd have got that yellow had he been booked for the first incident.
I would note Koke's assist on the Torres goal. Two players closing in and a nice little loop over to Torres. Underrated player on this forum much less in general I'd say.
Really hoping we score first at the Cauldron.
Torres you dumb ****. But these UEFALONA refs are so old.....
Sooo much UEFALONA comedy gold in this thread, but this was a real winner. So Torres is a dumb **** yet still UEFALONA? OK.
Simeone would do himself and his team a favor to act against his instinct and try to calm things down a bit from here. Escalating things further will not help.
Problem is that this is Atleti. This isn't some isolated incident. From a dirty play/tackles standpoint I'd call this match a tame performance from them. The embellishing helped make up for that. Gotta love the "we wuz robbed" mentality all match long as well.
The second was a borderline booking, you don't give a booking for running into the back of someone.
Also, its the double standard, Busquets does essentially the same thing as Torres' first booking literally less than a minute after Torres is sent off with no booking. It's not the fact decisions go against teams not called Real Madrid against Barcelona. It is the fact their is a clear double standard.
It wasn't remotely a borderline booking.
Busquets foul is very different from Torres first booking. Busquets doesn't go in nearly as hard and is actually attempting to the play ball.
Yeah, if we're going to take that approach give a yellow card for every foul and move on. Except that doesn't happen. Consistency is what determines the reffing, as each ref really has their own way of approaching the game, or at least it certainly seems that way despite the rules being the same for everyone.
At least in this game the refs has chosen his side.
Yeah, rules weren't the same for everyone and the ref definitely chose his side and it wasn't Barça.
Yeah Busquets milked the crap out of that; it was barely contact and he put himself in the position to have the contact in the first place.
Like I said, it's akin to when people set themselves up for boarding just to try and get a call. Pure cowardice really, but this is nothing new for Busquets.
Barely contact? Put himself in the position to have the contact in the first place???
Cowadice???
Neymar hits the post than has the worst dive of teh game so far.
That wasn't a dive. He was clearly pushed over by Saul. I noted the first time I saw it and before reading your respective comments and have watched it again since. UEFALONA gave another one to Atleti there.
Look how quickly Busquets is down and writing in pain from that faint brush of legs.
You'd think he'd stop getting calls because of his reputation for doing this all-the-time, but we all know that won't happen...
Faint brush of legs? Doing this "all-the-time"? Where were you when Pepe, the worst offender in the game for years and years now, was pulling the real thing from both ends at the weekend? Oh yeah, I forgot that you didn't watch that match.
Yeah I play football and get fouled worse than that without leaving my feet on a weekly basis.
Wow. You're probably better than Messi.
Busquets doing Busquets things. That's all it was, and even though Torres was being wreckless it was deserving of a warning not a red, but it is what it is. Busquets should also be a on a red, but eh.
It was deserving of a yellow which is what he got. That's on top of already having been warned when he got his first yellow which was also warranted. Only thing Busquets did was get fouled.
...and yes, that's a 'faint brush of legs', Torres barely touched him, though you wouldn't be able to tell the way Sergio jumps to the ground afterwards.
"Faint brush of legs"? Jumps to the ground? Oh boy.
UEFAlona can thank the refs for that victory. That 2nd yellow on Torres seemed lame. Hopefully Madrid wins the next leg 1-0 at home.
"Lame"?
"Madrid"?
Torres made a completely idiotic play and the ref had clear that it was a 2nd yellow.
Atletico did play an incredible game defending and Luis Felipe specially was world-class.
Atletico should be happy with the result they got... and it could have been better if not for Torres brainfart.
PS: Yes, Suarez should have been sent off
Disagree on a couple of points. I wouldn't call Atleti's defending "incredible" and Filipe Luis wasn't even good much less "World-class." Parking the bus like that isn't incredible defending (I would note that at one point they had their entire team in the box) and when your team is doing that then for the most part you should be defending well. Filipe Luis was at best Atleti's third best defender and the fourth best fullback on the pitch. He had basically two good plays, one of which was partially fortuitous as he was on his butt and the ball was close enough for him to get to it. He also spent some time on multiple plays running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He was better than Hernandez, but both Godin and Juanfran were better than Filipe Luis.
I agree they should be happy with that result. Still I think it would have been nominally better even if Torres had stayed on. Both of our goals came when they were still packed at the back.
Haha I have no horse in this race. I don't have a preference between Atletico or Barcelona I'm just having some fun.
Whatever you say. I love watching Messi/Suarez/Iniesta and co. Neymar too most of the time.
Barcelona vs. the world.
I don't dislike Barca at all.
I hope he can reel it in. I'd rather see him play than be banned forever.
Though that doesn't fit my agenda.
It does because he's a former Liverpool player. Unless of course you're referring to your Liverpool agenda which would only make it arguable. Torres definitely doesn't fit that agenda though.
