A Cule's Words

 Just a quick prediction.  It'll be 3-0 to FC Barcelona against PSG in Barcelona.  RB Leipzig (4) - (1) Liverpool Sevilla (3) - (2) Dortmund Porto (1) - (1) Juventus Atletico Madrid (2) - (0) Chelsea Lazio (1) - (3) Bayern Atalanta (3) - (1) Real Madrid Monchengladbach (0) - (4) Man City   That's it then!

 Yes, I heard it somewhere, but it clicked something. Let's get into it.  Goalkeeper-   Ter Stegen. There really is no question about this. Ter Stegen is by far the better player between him and Keylor Navas.  Right Back-   Sergino Dest. Dest is a great player. Certainly better than Florenzi.  Left Back- Jordi Alba. Still one of the top 5 left-backs in the world, Alba strolls into this lineup ahead of Kurzawa.  Center Backs- Araujo and Marquinhos. Marquinhos is a beast. He could play in the midfield and still be a decent competition to De Jong, but at centre back, he is the best in this tie. Araujo and Kimpembe are very close, and I think I am biased, but I prefer Araujo over Kimpembe.  Midfield- De Jong, Busquets, Verratti. Gueye and Paredes are good players, De Jong and Busquets are much better. Pedri is very talented, but I think he doesn't have the experience compete with Verratti.  Forwards- Messi, Griezmann and Mbappe. If Mess...

 We won, we won emphatically, and we conceded. But it was all great.  And I even got my prediction almost right, apart from the ambitious clean sheet. A 5-1 is always great and I think this was just the match we needed before PSG, as I mentioned in the preview. And we have achieved it!  The match started a bit slow, but we did create a few chances before scoring. Also, we were a bit unlucky and as great a match as Messi had, he did let a few chances go away. Anyways, we got off the mark with Trincao scoring the first goal after Messi missed the chance. Also, the second goal that Messi scored in the dying moments of the first half was the most crucial in the match, and arguably the most difficult too. We did however concede in the first ten minutes of the second half, which really worries me. It is again an individual error and these are the goals that cost us in the champion's league.  We saw it both against Roma and Liverpool and we do not want to repeat those feats...

FC Barcelona face Alaves after disappointing loss to Sevilla.  Although we might find it hard to swallow that we deserved to lose by two goals, we definitely did. Now, we need to focus on this game and make sure we win it emphatically. Because, as we know, for the big games, the mental status matters much more than the rest given to players, at least in my opinion.  So, predicted lineup- Ter Stegen, Mingueza, Umtiti, Lenglet, Alba, De Jong, Puig, Pedri, Dembele, Messi, Trincao.  Busquets and Griezmann get a break and hopefully will be unused substitutes.  Just destroy them. That would be my take and hopefully the team's too. We need a three or more goal difference win.  Prediction- 5-0. A clean sheet, 5 goals and a hattrick from Messi. Trincao and Dembele with the other two goals.  That's it then!

It's a semifinal and we have to win it ! The only realistically achievable trophy that is in our hands. We need to win it ! Sevilla is a great club and are currently fourth, not anything to laugh at. Lopetuigi is doing a great job, they are surely a good side, but, I think Barcelona are much better than them, and Sevilla is an ideal team for Barcelona. They also like to have the ball, but Barcelona does it better. They like to attack all the time, and Barcelona does it better. That's the reason Barcelona is so good against Real Sociedad and teams like that, why Bayern were so dominant against us.  Lineup prediction- Ter Stegen, Mingueza, Umtiti, Lenglet, Alba, De Jong, Busquets, Pedri, Trincao, Messi, Griezmann.  Trincao needs this boost in my opinion. He scored, if he plays well in this one, he'll be fine. Dest, Araujo, Roberto, Pique, Ansu are all injured.  Again, there's not a game plan for this match, we just have to dominate. Both possession and chances. We need to...

 Of Course, I thought the world would be normal again and Paris would've won the title by now, but 2021 has been quite a sequel.  My predictions when I thought Messi was going to Man City- Here My detailed la liga predictions + Messi staying- Here Let's start.   Bundesliga.                 You would think this would be the easiest, given that Bayern have been the best team in Europe for the last year, and you'd be wrong. They are top now, and will win the title, but if they had one competitor who was there to win, they would be far from the top. Alright.  1st- Bayern Munich.  My Top 4- Dortmund, Leipzig and Leverkusen.\ Real Top 4- Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Frankfurt.  My Europa League- Frankfurt. Real Europa League- Leverkusen. My Relegation- Arminia, Augsburg. Real Relegation- Mainz , Schalke Top Scorer- Robert Lewandowski.  Top Assist- Joshua Kimmich.  Killed it. 4/9. Ligue 1.     ...

 Barcelona currently sit third with a game in hand and a possibility to go second today.  Are Barcelona still in the title race ?  What Barcelona can do, is that win every game that comes next. Every game. And hope that Atleti loses ten points. That's hard. Both of these things sound impossible. But, we have got to do this, just to make sure we don't get annihilated in the race.  I think Real is nowhere near the level of either Atleti or us to compete right now, but anything can happen. This is Real Madrid after all. But, if we don't slip up, we'll be alright.  I hope Atleti slip up if Barcelona  go through all the games, and if not, Atleti would be my preference. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. That's it then !

 Like the start of the season, another tough series of games are coming. Starting tomorrow with Real Betis, up until 11th March, second leg against PSG. We play Sevilla thrice, PSG twice, Alaves, Elche, Cadiz and Osasuna once. A really tough month.  But today, let's focus on Real Betis.  They haven't been the same this season, scoring very few goals, and letting many in. But, we know that if a team has a player like Nabil Fekir, they have a chance. A good chance at that.  Lineup Prediction- Ter Stegen, Dest, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba, De Jong, Riqui Puig, Pedri, Dembele, Messi, Griezmann. Not really any changes, but I think sticking to a lineup is better.  How should we play? I think we need to concentrate on defense and make sure this is a clean sheet. This is where we ned to start. We know we can score goals. We need to stop them too.  Score ? It will be 3-0 to Barcelona. One for Messi, Puig and Griezmann.  Let's hope we win ! That's it then !

 F.C. Barcelona is in a debt of more than a billion Euros.  Will they ? I really do not know how it all works, but I know somehow, it will work out.  After the stadiums open up, some more players are sold, a few trophies, and I think we will be out of bankruptcy. I hope they do, and I would say even Real Madrid would want Barca to survive.  What can we do ? Apart from buying some stuff from them, nothing. And that stuff is expensive. So, if you can, buy it.  Photo by Ruth Enyedi on Unsplash That's it then ...

 Ah, a great match at last.  Barcelona come back from two goals behind in the second half, to winning 5-3 ! Doesn't that sound great ? Of course it does.  Now, this wasn't a perfect match by any means. The defense was poor, to say the least. But the attack, it gets me out of my seat. A whopping 36 shots. More than 25 on target. three or four on the bar. Barca should have killed the game long before. A great, great display from all the attackers. Griezmann was by- far the most decisive and Messi was the reason of three of the five goals we scored. Trincao was unfortunate to not score himself. Again, a brilliant display.  The most important thing of them all is the way Barca fought back. Tens of shots on target but none of them went in. And still, we did not give up. Hats off to Griezmann for reaching that first ball from Lionel Messi. That was sheer determination right there. And a minute before the end of time, a very similar ball from Messi over the top to griezmann...

 FC Barcelona take on a great team in Granada for the Copa Del Rey Quarter Finals.  As much as I admire how Granada have improved, I do not think there should be any reason to not go through. Barcelona are still way ahead.  Alright, Barca lost to them an year ago, but I think we should win here comfortably.  Expected Lineup- Ter Stegen, Roberto, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba, De Jong, Busquets, Pedri, Dembele, Griezmann, Messi.  Game Plan- I don't believe we need a 'game plan' for Granada. We just need to find a way to break them down. We did it against Getafe, we need to do it again. A win is necessary primarily because Copa Del Rey may well be the only trophy we win and for that, we must try our hardest.  My Prediction ? I would say a 4-1 to Barcelona, with Messi scoring 2, griezmann and Dembele getting one goal each.  That's it then !

 A recent leak from El Mundo claimed to have a photo of Lionel Messi's contract, which was allegedly worth 555 Million Euros. That is huge.  First of all, let's get this out of the way, leaking a contract is not ethical. Whosoever did it should be ashamed. And of Messi at that ? Real or fake, this should be the last time this happens.  Also, Messi has not received 555 million already. He has received 'only' around 300 million, which is way lesser than 555 million.  Now, Is it worth it ? From Monetary standpoint, a kid would understand that it's not. However, Messi is the best player in football's long history and an undisputed club legend. Would I have paid this amount of money to keep Messi ? In 2017, yes. Right now ? No. Also, the bonuses were much lesser than what Barcelona made from the titles. Not to mention the 200 million euros worth of shirt sales with the name Messi on it. He has more than made up for it. Have you ever met a guy who wants to watch a Bar...

 This is the first post in almost two months, and a lot has changed. Barcelona are finding their stride, Messi has jumped back to form. We have lost a final. We are second in La Liga. And much, much more.                                                  Photo by Daniel Giannone on Unsplash                                                     But, this is a match review, so let's get into it.  The lineup-  Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba; De Jong, Pjanic, Pedri; Dembélé, Messi, Griezmann (4-3-3).  I thought it was a great lineup. Umtiti is way more responsible with and without the ball than Lenglet. Also, Pjanic deserved a start. Nothing to complain about here.  POTM- Dembele. I know that Messi wa...