Jill Pill

@NealGardner_ This was my thought when I saw the red card against Eric. If we lose the tie, I'd want ATM to win. It'd be unbelievable!

Might be too soon to be saying this lol, but I want Atleti to go ahead and win the Champions League.

@NealGardner_ Courtois wouldn't have conceded the second goal in the first leg for sure, and maybe second legs Luis Diaz goal(Only Maybe coz it was a deflection)

Not that Lunin was to blame for this particular goal, but I’m pretty sure Courtois SOMEHOW keeps Madrid in it.

@Brinzth @NealGardner_ Sitting back doesn't work without proper defenders (like Araujo) and tall players. Yes, it might work in 1 match but elite teams will keep at it and break you. Whereas if you keep the ball, teams have less chance against you.

@NealGardner_ This match makes Flick’s decision to keep the high line so damn annoying. Had we just sat back a little I’m confident we would’ve held off Atleti

Well…..

@NealGardner_ 2 things. Real have too many difference makers and teams are under immense pressure when playing against them.

Bayern look all over the place. I can’t explain Real Madrid in game like these. It makes no sense.

@SamuelG80807982 @PanenkaPower @NealGardner_ Pace doesn't make any difference if there's no IQ. In fact, nothing would have helped yesterday if you still play Martin along side you.

@PanenkaPower @NealGardner_ Quality CB with pace can make a difference

I can already envision that red card in the KOs of next seasons CL. Poor fella, at least at this point the fans realise it isn’t wholly on the players.

@NealGardner_ Yea. Pedri was not anywhere near his best. Rare bad game from him, unfortunately, it came in the worst possible game. Can't run him to the ground again, especially now that Gavi is back.

Having watched how we ran out of steam in that second half last night, it becomes even more baffling to me that both Pedri and Lamine essentially played the entire game vs Espanyol.

@kevvwill @DKostanjsak This is what I've been thinking too. For all of Barca's firepower, we only scored 5 goals over 4 legs against ATM while conceding 7. This team needs a proper striker as much as it needs a CB.

@DKostanjsak It really did, as usual, come down to finishing. I often wonder if teams that create lots of chances don't value as much the chances they create. They miss one and think, "We can just create more." Wastefulness is part of the European legacy of Barça. Atleti, Roma, Liverpool ...

With all emotions settled, I do think Cholo Simeone has done an insane job with Atletico Madrid. He knocked out Barcelona both in the Copa & the Champions League despite being 20 points behind in La Liga. We have the quality to dismantle but also a lot to learn. And we will.

@NealGardner_ I mean the red card didn't do much damage coz it came in the 80th minute and they didn't score afterwards. It's entirely on us that we didn't score before.

Images that will be etched in every Barça fans meomery forever:

@Ursido_12 @whelans_mr @PedriOoc That's what I said, makes a move. When Gavi shoots, nobody does anything. In fact, it doesn't even matter if Ferran makes a move coz it was a shot on target until it was blocked by the hand. How is this hard to understand?

@Ferberizer @whelans_mr @PedriOoc No, en cuanto el balon sale en dirección del jugador que está en fuera de juego ya lo es. No hace falta que lo toque, de hecho se mueve hacia el

🚨Barcelona’s third goal was 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 for 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 after the ball came off Lenglet’s boot and 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 then Ferran Torres 👀 VAR checked the 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, but there was 𝐍𝐎 review for a possible 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 🤷‍♂️

@PremLeaguePanel CB or Striker? Or both? Coz I don't think signing one world class CB magically reduces their goal conceded,not by a lot anyways. Whereas a proper striker can score the goals they should be scoring. They only scored 5 goals against this Athletico in 4 games(over 2 two legged ties)

The red card in the 1st leg was the killer for Barca after they dominated 11v11. Flick’s game model will continue, you cannot change that about him. So the only option is that Barca’s hierarchy support him with a high line defensive leader to improve it & fix their weakest link.

@whelans_mr @PedriOoc I'm not saying it's penalty but what kind of silly logic is it. It's offside only if the player touches or make a move. When Gavi shoots, it isn't offside, it's a shot at target.

@PedriOoc Respect urself. Offside occurred before the handball, if it was a handball

@tawaksham @ReshadFCB All these kids were blaming Araujo for 2 years. Who r they going to blame now? Eric wouldn't have got red if Martin maintained the line. Can't fault Martin coz Pedri lost the ball, can't blame Pedri coz he was put under pressure. When will they realise scapegoating is pointless

@ReshadFCB Also, now don't blame Araujo for his red when every defender got a red in this competition.

Barcelona knows they need fresh faces in many positions, especially at the back. The problem? Financial..

@El_Titinn @NealGardner_ I've been thinking the same but a world class forward with good movement still lifts the team, so does a world class CB. If we can't get these, then spring for world class FBs. If we do get striker and CB then invest in promising full backs.

@NealGardner_ People keep asking for a foward but what this team truly needs is just a lw and rb. It’s so easy to double lamine because opposing teams will completely ignore kounde and there is also no threat from the lw position

So many opportunities to get this done. Incredible.

@NealGardner_ This was always the case. This City side was never good enough to win it this year even with the new signings. It's about Arsenal being sloppy and insisting with Gyokeres when they have a winning formula with Havertz

Funny as the Arsenal in April stuff is, I just don’t think this City side has it in them to win 7/7. This will have to be more about Arsenal being really bad than City being really good.

@kevvwill @NealGardner_ 100%. I know the Leo comparisons are getting old but is so magical to have another player who creates something out of nothing and with LY, the variety is beautiful to watch. Barcelona have been blessed again!

@NealGardner_ The thing I like most is how much and quickly he improves. One of his major flaws was showing too much of the ball when dribbling, making it too easy for defenders. Look at how tight his dribbles are now. It's weird watching him evolve in real time.

There’s one aspect of Lamine’s game that blows me away each time I watch him, yet barely anyone talks about it. Put simply, it’s how he receives the ball. A combination of the exceptional body orientation, the perfect first touch and immaculate upper body strength to evade contact. There are countless times each game where he receives the under immense pressure, yet his reception is so incredible that the magnitude of its difficulty doesn’t even resonate.

@adeya_benedict @NealGardner_ Not a player fan boy so I don't really care enough to say I told you so. b)Young players need guidance coz they don't know real life just yet. In this context, it is knowing that passing the ball in the box is better for him and the team overall after a slalom run than shooting

@Ferberizer @NealGardner_ what guidance? Y'all just say anything but have no idea what it looks like in real life. Like, wtf does "guides him right?" What does that look like in real life? You just say abstract things to prepare yourselves to be on the "I told you so" side in future conversations.

One of these days, Lamine is going to have his Messi vs Getafe moment. I’m sure of it.

@me_esso10 @NealGardner_ LY is in no way a better finisher than Messi even at 18. Messi scored a hattrick at 19 against Real Madrid & two of those goals alone at that age shows you how good his finishing was when ball is at his feet. LY scoring nice inswinging goals after 50 tries doesn't make him better

@Ferberizer @NealGardner_ Nowhere near Messi when it comes to finishing ? Are you talking about 18 y/o Messi ? Because Lamine is way better

@NealGardner_ @magnichtroh Lewa was 50M when he had 1 year left and Bayern are the worst people to buy from. Ferran is not getting half of that, especially when Barca are selling.

@magnichtroh That was before I realised he only has a year left on his contract. Pretty quickly changed to 50 once someone pointed it out.

I’ll be the first to admit Ferran can be frustrating, but we’ve seriously got to stop devaluing him. Easy 50m player in this market.

@EduardoHagn Duelling would be a better word. LY doesn't quite match up to Messi or Maradona in terms of absolute dribbling imo.

I don’t know if Lamine Yamal is far off Prime Messi in dribbling. Finishing is a different story.