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Celtic v Real Madrid

Discussion in 'Celtic Chat' started by Henrik 07, Sep 3, 2022.

Discuss Celtic v Real Madrid in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. Wllm Gold Member Gold Member

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    It was a good game of football played in the right spirit and some folk shouldn't be quick to dismiss it just because we lost to one of the best teams in the world.

    The game did show we still have a lot of work to be done but the fact we could put the European champs on the ropes for decent spells while playing quality football is a start in the right direction.
     
  2. horseshoe

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    That's it exactly, when the draw was made realistically you'd say Real are a clear level above the rest of the group and could win every game, but the first half we could have been a goal or two up and really went hard at them, Real's quality shone through in the end but every one of our players can hold their head high.

    Even some of the hun fans admit it was a good showing, after they meekly surrendered to Ajax. You can say we both got beat soundly in the end and got 0 points, but the difference in performance and effect on morale between the games was night and day.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2022
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  3. George Theodorou

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    We got beaten sure, but the frustrating thing was that we could have beaten them also if we were 2-0 up at half time. They would have been rattled and the crowd would have been a roaring force behind us, willing us forward to win in the second half. With some early subs we could have won this. Ange was down because he saw this as well.

    Looking back, how did Calmac not score ? At the angle he was on when he smashed that ball with power with his left foot, he had the goal at his mercy but hit the most extreme part of it at the left ! More placement and less power would have hit the net.
     
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  4. Dan Breen

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    I know we were beaten but what a first 55min, can be so proud.
    At this level, just have to nail chances when they come. I recon both teams had 5 clear cut chances each, they took 3.
    That performance will stand us in good stead on Wednesday evening next.
     
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  5. Patrick Bateman

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    At this level, you really have to defend a lot better to have any hope of doing anything.

    Okay it’s Real Madrid, but we’ve been giving away soft goals in Europe for many years now.

    That’s Ange’s next big challenge. We know this team can create good chances, but can he get us defending better as a team. It’s no easy task, considering we don’t get much practice defending in the spfl most weeks.

    I was a bit concerned in Ange’s post match interview, when he suggested there wasn’t many lessons to be learned from that game. But perhaps he’s just being coy with the journo. You would imagine playing the best in Europe is a great opportunity to learn and grow as a team.
     
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  6. Callum McGregor The Captain Gold Member

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    Are you claiming any of Madrid’s goals were soft?
     
  7. Patrick Bateman

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    Madrid sat back and counter attacked us for periods in that match. One of their goals on the break was actually beautifully worked.

    So no, I wouldn’t say their goals were soft per se, but they looked to exploit the space behind our high press when we tired with quick transitions and they succeeded. I could see shaktar doing the same to us.

    Our attacking play has gone up a notch from last season, but I have not seen anything so far this term to suggest our defending has improved. But time will tell, there’s plenty of football left be played.

    I know some people only care about attack, but the reality is that most of the teams that do well in this competition are those who know how to defend properly. History shows you this.
     
  8. honda Gold Member Gold Member

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    Teams that do well in this are teams that have around £1b in players if we're being honest. City, psg or Madrid will win. Nobody else. Infact City will win and win the majority of everything for years to come. Money talks. I'd much rather we play how we play with our tiny budget than play the old way of sit in and be a bus. I want to be entertained. We may have lost, but I was entertained beyond expectations. Ange does it right. Hope he keeps it up.

    #angeball for life.
     
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  9. elbhoydo

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    Would never have lost 3 nil if Starfelt was playing :fear:
     
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  10. Dannybhoy81

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    You could have said the same about Madrid, we had clear chances as well, caught them on the counter for Abada's chance. As @Dan Breen said above we had equal chances to score just that RM were a level above at taking their chances. I think the defence was fine considering who we were playing
     
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  11. PaddyJamieson

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    I find this properly mental. You really can't see improvements in our defending from last year? Not only have we only conceded two goals domestically all year (set pieces to a team that literally specialises in that) despite having played the three strongest teams in Aberdeen, Hearts and Rangers, but just compare the Real game with the Leverkusen one last year. On the surface maybe similar looking games, but the amount of space we allowed Leverkusen to cut through us was an embarrassment. Let's be honest, Joe Hart made so many saves that night, they easily could have scored 7. The game on Tuesday was totally different. We were so much better organised and defended as a unit, not really allowing them to cut through us except for two moments of true quality (first and third goal, for me the second was lucky with the bounces going their way). Also, it doesn't need to be said that Madrid are several levels above Leverkusen.

    I genuinely feel like you must not have watched us to say our defending hasn't improved.
     
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  12. straighttalker

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    Ether you can't read or a bit thick. Probably both you wee junkie.
     
  13. George Theodorou

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    Looking back to that first Abada chance from the GG back pass, if GG had held the ball turned and shot with his right instead, he probably would have had a good shot on goal and scored. No one was on him at that point.

    Abada's second chance from that great pass from Jota, was a weak shot towards Courtois.

    The 2 real chances to go 2-0 up were with Calmac and Maeda.
     
  14. celtic warrior

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    Ancelotti is an absolute master of the game who in some weird sense, I feel gets very little recognition for his achievements.

    For the way he set up Madrid against Liverpool in the final and the way he had them play against us...is slightly unusual.

    So far as to say that you'd expect with guys like Modric, Vinicius Jnr/Rodrygo/Velverde and Benzema...they'd have the speed and intelligence to play through teams from kickoff to final whistle.

    Yet they allow the other team to just play their game, almost lulling them into some false confidence that they are giving Madrid a serious game, then the inevitable adrenaline rush wears out...and suddenly the afterburners for Madrid turn on and they just brush past teams.

    The way they played I can't say say for sure I've ever seen a team play against us in Europe that way.

    I don't think we will suffer the same burnout in future games...I can't see our players falling into that trap again where the moment gets to them at that adrenaline rush runs wild.

    And I know it's all hypothetical but give Ange £100 million to spend and he'd have beaten them the other night.

    In the end the obvious difference in level won out against us and them, but by * was it the most electrifying performance from our team, it gives me so much hope about what we could maybe achieve
     
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  15. Patrick Bateman

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    Our attacking has improved, which will obviously overwhelm teams in the league. Meaning we have to do less defending.

    This doesn’t automatically mean we’ve improved defensively, as a great attack can mask our frailties. I wouldn’t get too obsessive over stats, as they don’t give the full picture.

    We obviously gave Madrid far more respect than we gave Leverkusen. But I still wasn’t that impressed with our defensive set up. It will be very interesting to see how we shape up against shaktar, and how much respect we give them next week. They have enough quality to do what Leverkusen did if we don’t defend properly.
     
  16. McChiellini..

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    * up *..
     
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  17. PaddyJamieson

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    It's not the stats I'm focusing on though, just the obvious improvements to the eye. We are so much more organised now, concede far less space in midfield and on the break, don't give away half as many silly errors, and our press has improved tenfold. We're not perfect yet, but we are so so much better defensively than last year.

    I was watching an interview with Graham Hunter earlier reviewing the game and he made a point about how in the first half we were swarming the Real players on the ball but miraculously not giving up space or angles for the pass around us. I'm pretty sure he described it as "physics-defying". Obviously we couldn't keep that up for the whole game but that's a world away from, say, Bodo last year where we'd press in spurts and easily allow them to play around us and through us.
     
  18. Patrick Bateman

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    I haven't really seen what you're seeing tbh. But hopefully you'll be proven right in the coming weeks.

    That's the beauty of European competition, there's no hiding place if you're not doing things right.

    I'm glad we've got the bravery and confidence to go out and create good chances against a team of the calibre that we know Madrid are. But we need to see big improvements defensively from what we saw in Europe last season.

    Shaktar should be a better gauge of where we are than Madrid tbh. They won their league last term, but also finished bottom of their CL group - they're a decent team judging from that leipzig performance, with players that could hurt us if we're not fully focused and well organised. A really good solid test awaits.