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[Post-Match Thread] Real Madrid C.F. v.s. Arsenal F.C. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

Having just watched the extended highlights (I couldn't watch the full match live due to having to work), some thoughts:

That ref was definitely operating under the thumb of the home fans and the intimidating venue. Initially didn't give a penalty for the foul on us. Initially gave a penalty for that Mbappe flop in the area. But fair play to him, he had the balls to do the right thing and refer to VAR.
I'm sure the Madrid fans disagree, but VAR was on point today!
Very poor penalty from Saka. Not sure what he was thinking.
Huge cock-up by Saliba for their goal. Not sure what he was thinking with that complete lack of awareness around him. But credit to Vini Jr because that was still a tricky shot to pull off. Raya could really do nothing on that one.
Saka's run and finish for our first goal was absolutely perfect. And he was a constant threat. If only he'd fine better with that penalty it works have been pretty much a perfect performance from him.
Kiwior was excellent in defense, as was MLS. Seemed like Timber was pulled out of position a bit, but Madrid were stronger down their left, so fair play to him. And he did okay overall.
Odegaard did very well, aside from not having his shooting boots on (again). Rice and Partey also did very well in the middle of the park. We win this match in the middle of the pitch.
Fast Gabi is back, baby! Burned their defender out and put a very calm, clinical finish past Cortois.
That atmosphere was intense! Full credit to the lads for getting the job done there.
Honestly, I am genuinely shocked by that result. I was hoping for a draw, or at least that maybe we'd squeak out a narrow loss.
Madrid did not live up to expectations, but they are still a very good team. Thankfully their finishing was generally off. Overall a 2-1 win for us was a very fair result.
PSG will be very tough. But if we can beat Madrid both home and away, we can beat PSG.

Come on you Gunners!!

[–] merc 4 points 1 week ago

I don't think Saka's penalty was that bad. It was a bit slow and a bit low, but T-Bone only got it because he guessed the right side and was able to make a huge adjustment in the air.

Even when Martinelli isn't passing or shooting well, he's such a threat because they can't just let him get behind him. It reminds me a lot of Theo Walcott. For years he wasn't much good at crossing, wasn't much good at shooting, and didn't have the trickery to get around a defender, but was insanely fast. We all wanted him to either become a great striker or a great winger, but except for a brief half-season or so, he was mostly just fast. But, being mostly just fast is still incredibly unsettling. I love it when Martinelli can combine his speed with shooting. But, even when he doesn't have his shooting boots on, he forces defenders to stay a bit deeper just so they don't get burned. That opens up options for players who want to play between the lines.

As for PSG, they don't scare me like Madrid and Barcelona do. I don't think they'll be the pushovers they were in the group stage, but I don't think they're quite an elite team anymore. I think they're more at the Borussia Dortmund / RB Leipzig / Newcastle / Nottingham Forest sort of level. They just barely got past Aston Villa, and I don't consider Aston Villa to be elite either. That isn't to say it will be an easy game, or that Arsenal will definitely beat them. But, I think they're the weakest of the 4 remaining teams and there's no question that Arsenal can beat them.

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