FA Cup R6 & Champions League R16 L2

[Mame Biram Diouf]

Michael Carrick misplaced just four of his 58 passes tonight & had the best pass completition rate on the pitch (93%)

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

Carrick (verb) to loiter ineffectually. As in: "there was nowhere to sit so he just carricked awkwardly"

93% - Michael Carrick misplaced just four of his 58 passes tonight & had the best pass completition rate on the pitch (93%). Control.

Carrick>>/Chicha>>>

[Guest Portuguese]

Felix Magath sacked

[Drift]

[Guest FIat Eric]

creasing at so many things on that pic

[MrJibbles]

Felix Magath sacked

Thought they were waiting till the end of the season.

[Davicious X]

creasing at so many things on that pic

________ >>>>> me tryin to hit the listen button

[Guest Portuguese]

Felix Magath sacked

Thought they were waiting till the end of the season.

They wanted him out ASAP which is madness aleast wait until they get KO in UCL

[Guest Portuguese]

Attacking from deepLuiz is a modern day sweeper, if you like. At Benfica he played at left back or in the centre of defence, but regardless of his starting position invariably looked to forage at any given opportunity. Scheidts Football Miscellany points out if Luiz was English there is no way he would be a defender; he is far too good on the ball for traditionalist British coaches to see him as a defensive player. He has the skill and flair of a trequartista, not to mention the hairstyle. Nonetheless a place in the back line suits him well as he can attack from deep and cause havoc, as nobody will be quite sure who should be picking him up as he moves between the lines. Teams facing The Blues could do worse than designate a forward player to keep an eye on Luiz’s rampages and track him back when he does.Other such players include Daniel Agger of Liverpool, Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal and Tiago Silva of Milan, but none of them go forward with the same frequency as Luiz. For a team employing one of this breed of attacking defender it is essential they include at least one midfielder who is capable of slotting into the vacated position during a game.Midfielders’ responsibilitiesChelsea have an abundance of defensive midfielders (Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Ramires) who can all cover at centre back, and this is probably why Ancelotti was so keen to utilise this tactic. While John Terry likes to stride out of defence to good effect, he is losing his pace (which was always average at best) and stamina, and will probably not cross the half way line in open play too often when playing alongside Luiz.This season Arsene Wenger employs both Alexander Song and Jack Wilshire in defensive midfield positions in a 4-2-3-1 structure, which allows for the creative instincts of Thomas Vermaelen as well as freeing fullbacks Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna. At Liverpool, Daniel Agger is commonly regarded as one of the best ball-playing centre backs in the Premier League. He too is helped by a duo of defensive players shielding the back four, in the form of Lucas Leiva and A N Other. Unfortunately we have not yet seen Liverpool unlock Agger’s potential as an attacking force, as their poor couple of seasons along with the Dane’s injury record has hindered the development of this tactic at Anfield. Meanwhile, Milan’s typically Italian outlook includes not two but three defensive minded midfielders, who can all step in to play in Silva’s position.Which came first?We are faced with something of a chicken-egg situation: some teams have bought in an attacking defender because they have defensive midfield players, while others sign defensive midfielders to protect their team when their sweeper fancies a stroll into opposition territory. With Chelsea it’s the former. For Arsenal, Wenger has a history of signing defenders who have the talent to play further forward, in fact William Gallas was so eager to join the attack and score goals he even wore the number 10 shirt. However, when the Frenchman was at the club Arsenal were often vulnerable to counter attacks, as they only employed one holding player (Song). This season it is no coincidence that despite Wenger’s refusal to sign a recognised world class centre back, The Gunners have been far more dependable at the back (if we ignore their horror show against Newcastle, anyway).ImplicationsThe ramifications of an attack-minded centre back could be significant. Does the opposition assign one of their centre forwards to track a sweeper’s advances? Or does the midfielder who is usually tasked with picking up the holding player have to be shrewd enough to notice when the two have swapped roles?Employing the sweeper as an attacking threat usually only reaches its full potential when facing an inferior side who are likely to cede possession and field position happily. Alternatively, a strong team who has gone a goal up in an important game may look to defend their lead in numbers – see Liverpool’s surprise victory at Stamford Bridge. Luiz was brought to make at right back in an effort to combat Liverpool’s retreat but spent most of his time in The Reds’ half.Not such a new conceptWhile the position of the sweeper has been around for decades, since the advent of the Premier League in 1992 and the domination of the basic 4-4-2 it has rarely been employed in England. Spain’s international supremacy has seen many international teams adopt their 4-2-3-1 formation, which allows defenders and midfielders to switch much more freely. By protecting the central defenders much more deliberately and effectively than a 4-4-2, defenders are granted the liberty to join attacks.Chelsea have been playing with at least one defensive minded midfielder since they signed Claude Makelele in 2003, while Liverpool adopted the double defensive midfield formation under Rafael Benitez’s tutelage. But until Luiz’s arrival Chelsea depended far too much on their fullbacks to support attacks. Negating Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa was a failsafe way of stifling Chelsea under Luis Felipe Scholari, and his over-reliance on the Brazilian tradition of fullbacks providing thrust down the wings saw him sacked. Now Branislav Ivanovic is the incumbent right back, although he is a better player than given credit for, he does not have the pace or dribbling ability of a true wing back. Luiz gives Chelsea a plan B – but will it be enough for them to usurp Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester City and claim a top four finish?

[Guest Portuguese]

Jose Mourinho has yet to reveal if Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit for Real Madrid's vital Champions League last 16 second-leg clash.The £80million striker, 26, damaged his hamstring in the 7-0 thrashing of Malaga on March 3, and at the time of the injury the club stated he would be sidelined for between 10 and 15 days.Mourinho must now decide whether Ronaldo is ready to feature for the nine-time European champions, with the tie well poised at 1-1 from the first leg.He told marca.com: "I don't know whether he is going to play or not. We'll wait until the final training session to decide. I'm not a doctor and I'm not the player so I will leave it to the medical department to decide."I do not like to decide anything on game day - I like to be clear a day earlier. I have nothing to hide. If he is well, he will play. But you will have to wait a little."Madrid's recent record in the competition is in stark contrast to their position as the most decorated team in the tournament's history, having been dumped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage in each of the last six seasons. Lyon were the team who eliminated them from last season's competition, denying Madrid the possibility of playing in a Champions League final on their home Bernabeu pitch.Mourinho, who won that final with Inter Milan, refused to read too much into Madrid's own poor recent record or his own impressive form in the competition, having also won it as coach of Porto in 2004."Everyone has a past, positive and negative. But the past does not play a part," he added."I usually have good results in the Champions League and have reached finals and semi-finals. But neither my good results and play for Madrid's poor results in recent years play a part. They are unique matches. The tie is open, although we have a tiny advantage when the game starts."Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called on the Bernabeu crowd to give the team their full backing.Spain's World Cup-winning captain said: "We know that the environment in the Champions League is different and we need them (the crowd)."The best moment I remember from the Champions League was a Real Madrid-Bayern in which we had to overcome a 2-1 deficit. The crowd turned to the team."We know the Champions League environment is different, we need the public to get behind us. People have to help us and, together, be in the quarter-finals."Lyon reached the semi-finals last year, with Miralem Pjanic scoring the vital goal at the Bernabeu last season.The Bosnian midfielder, quoted in his home country's media, said: "We have travelled to Madrid to score a goal, to advance to the quarter-finals. We have quality and if we continue with our level of play will achieve a new success."Most importantly we must resist the early pressure. Also our coach will prepare the appropriate tactic."Lyon have never lost at the Bernabeu, having drawn in all three of their previous visits to the Spanish capital.On the injury front, aside from Ronaldo there is a question mark around Pedro Leon, who missed Madrid's weekend win over Hercules after straining a knee in training.Sami Khedira and Ezequiel Garay both returned to the substitutes bench against Hercules, with the Germany midfielder coming on before the hour mark. Kaka has not played since suffering a knee injury on February 26, while Fernando Gago is out with a torn adductor. Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuain is set to miss the rest of the season with a slipped disc suffered in November.For Lyon, full-back Aly Cissokho (knee) missed out against Sochaux at the weekend, as did playmaker Yoann Gourcuff with a bruised toe.I would be very surprised if Real go with a 3 man midfield. I would prefer a 4-4-2 we have played recently and leave Ronaldo on the bench for this one. That might be too attacking for Mourinho's liking as it would leave Gourcuff with space between midfield and defence and he can be quite influential . Even if it is a 3 man midfield it could still be controlling if we use Alonso-Granero-Lass. Otherwise we might struggle with keeping the ball if we use both Lass and Khedira. We should be pressing them heavily in the first half as we did in last years game where we had the game plan right but missed crucial chances. Then we can relax in the second half and sit back more and hit them on the counter.Hala MadridIf OL knock Real out again then I have mixed feelings (torn between my love for Lyon and hatred for Puel's negative tactics)

[TF S4DK]

You do yourself no favours...

[Guest Portuguese]

IkerRamosPepeCarvalhoMarceloAlonsoKhediraDi MariaOzilRonaldoBenzema

[DRC]

Carrick (verb) to loiter ineffectually. As in: "there was nowhere to sit so he just carricked awkwardly"

93% - Michael Carrick misplaced just four of his 58 passes tonight & had the best pass completition rate on the pitch (93%). Control.

Carrick>>/Chicha>>>

Stats like this annoy me - they don't tell the full story.Congrats he misplaced 4 passes.....when you get a chance have a look at the passes throughout the game.At a push he had maybe 3 mid to long range passes forward - over 45% of the others were short sideways passes. He had a good game but if anything Scholes>>>

[NiNES.]

mockingwhat were people shouting?

[Black Ant]

OOOOOOunlucky

[Guest Lens]

if ref saw that again he'd give a red. carvalho's lucky

[Guest Portuguese]

Marcelo>>>

[Guest Lens]

Real madrid 1-0 upMarcelo

[Wavant]

Marcelo>>>

Was sick

[Lieutenant]

Sick goal

[Guest Lens]

the 1-2 was a lot!

[Guest Lens]

Lyon need to leave someone forward when they haven't got the ball. whole Madrid team within 30 yards of their goal because they've got no 1 to worry about

[Guest Lens]

good header, right decision though, unluck

[Lieutenant]

Portuguese why do you support Real?You was born in France with Portuguese/Angolan ancestry and you now live in England...