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**OFFICIAL OMT** Barca vs Tottenham Hotspurs

Man of the match

  • Total voters
    77
  • Poll closed .
What a night last night! The tension over that last 10 minutes was unbelievable particularly after we scored. I didn't know whether I wanted us to attack and score the 2nd goal or to defend and hold onto what we had and not sure the players did either. The trouble was we only had 3 defensive minded players on the field by then!

The 2nd half performance was as good as I have seen in many years but it just seemed we were destined not to score. I thought Lamella coming on made all the difference as he constantly found space in front of their back four which they couldn't handle. All the players were excellent but big shout out to KWP who played really well after his nightmare first 15 minutes and also to the support he received from the other players.

We should have won by 2 goals really but just happy to be through.
 
I want to throw in how bloody brilliant Dele Alli was last night from a tactical pov.

The guy seemed to be covering so much ground and popping up everywhere! Up top supporting Kane; in the box when Kane was forced out wide; on edge of Barca area playing the intricate passes with Son and Eriksen; deep in midfield to pick the ball up and support Winks when Sissoko was covering for KWP.

But for me the key point was when Poch started making changes on the hour. Alli dropped back a little to help Winks and Sissoko when Lamela came on. Then when KWP came off and Sissoko dropped to more RB, Alli sat even deeper with Eriksen.

And lastly, when Winks came off for 'Nando. It essentially meant both our starting CMs were either off or in a different position. And more worryingly it was only moments before Messi was bought on to presumably exploit that space. But again Alli filled in perfectly and allowed Eriksen the space needed to stroke those beautiful passes around (including the key pass that took 4 of their mids out of the move for the goal).

Alli, that was a wonderfully disciplined performance young man. Not that we should be surprised given you've been showing signs of it all season. But this last month particularly, your all-round game has rocketed IMO. I'm fed up with justifying to rival fans how good he's been just because some of the goals have dried up. He's so much more than that.
 
As others have said, to outplay even Barcelona’s second XI at Camp Nou is no mean feat; considering their legendary Masai youth academy combined with spending over half a £billion on transfer fees over the past 3 seasons plus over treble what we do a year on wages!!

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Yea would be very interested to see how much their matchday squad cost compared to ours or just the first XI. Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against. (Also ignoring all the injuries we had to our squad, so we effectively played a part reserve side as well).
 
Whatever about it being Barcelona’s first or second team doesn’t matter so much although taking Messi and Suarez out of any team is massive. They had nothing to play for and you could see the difference in hunger levels after half time.

We did great. The whole squad should be proud and so should the manager. But let’s not overstate our achievement. If this was Arsenal or Liverpool, we’d be quick to bring them back to earth.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Yea would be very interested to see how much their matchday squad cost compared to ours or just the first XI. Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against. (Also ignoring all the injuries we had to our squad, so we effectively played a part reserve side as well).
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It was predominantly their backups playing mate, just because the team they put out cost a lot of money doesnt take away from the fact this was a shadow Barca XI. Just shows their strength in depth....
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Yea would be very interested to see how much their matchday squad cost compared to ours or just the first XI. Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against. (Also ignoring all the injuries we had to our squad, so we effectively played a part reserve side as well).
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Coutinho plus Dembele’s transfer fees alone are in excess of a quarter of a £billion and both probably on higher wages than anyone at Tottenham.
 
You can only play what's in front of you, and we created enough chances in that game to have won it two or three times over. As usual, we couldn't convert the majority of them, but for once, events elsewhere went our way. Well done to the team, but we HAVE to be more composed and ruthless in front of goal if we are going to achieve the things Pochettino talks about.
 
harr1984 said:
It was predominantly their backups playing mate, just because the team they put out cost a lot of money doesnt take away from the fact this was a shadow Barca XI. Just shows their strength in depth....
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I know it was partially a second XI team, everyone does, I’ve not seen 1 person mention otherwise.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
Yea would be very interested to see how much their matchday squad cost compared to ours or just the first XI. Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against. (Also ignoring all the injuries we had to our squad, so we effectively played a part reserve side as well).
Click to expand...

I was hazarding a guess during the game and thought that Dembele or coutinho alone cost more than our whole first 11
We had 3 players who were free
2 CBS that cost £20m between them
Rose was £1m
Hugo £10m
Dele £5m
Sissoko £30m
Sonny £23m I think
Eriksen £11m

So a grand total of £100m I think.... with some guesses of course
 
Regardless of whether it was "only" a Barca second string, we went there under huge pressure, played incredibly well, and in the end did enough to finish 2nd in the group.
I don't really care whether anyone downplays the achievement. I'm still ecstatic about it and more than happy to see it as a great result won at one of the hardest places and hardest teams to play against.
There's plenty of time for reality checks, but not today.
 
Gazza Dazzla said:
I know it was partially a second XI team, everyone does, I’ve not seen 1 person mention otherwise.
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'Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against.' Implies you're saying this was more than a reserve team because they cost a lot of money. They made eight or nine changes from their league game at the weekend, its was more than a partial second team, they just have a very strong set of reserves....
 
Glenda's Legs said:
Regardless of whether it was "only" a Barca second string, we went there under huge pressure, played incredibly well, and in the end did enough to finish 2nd in the group.
I don't really care whether anyone downplays the achievement. I'm still ecstatic about it and more than happy to see it as a great result won at one of the hardest places and hardest teams to play against.
There's plenty of time for reality checks, but not today.
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Absolultey, we are through and I couldnt care less what standard of Barca team we got a result against to do so. Im just happy we dont have any Thursday nights this season - even if we get knocked out in the next round of CL.....
 
harr1984 said:
'Think it might surprise a few of the people saying this was no more than a reserve team we played against.' Implies you're saying this was more than a reserve team because they cost a lot of money. They made eight or nine changes from their league game at the weekend, its was more than a partial second team, they just have a very strong set of reserves....
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That’s exactly what I’m getting at, saying it was “just their reserve team” is very different for a club like Barca, their reserve team would probably qualify for the CL in their own right. How many other clubs can put out a reserve side costing so much?

It’s just a way to try and take the gloss of last nights result/performance by some people. As others have mentioned, you can only play whose in front of you and it’s widely reported by impartial commentators that we deserved to have won last night. Check out Ballague’s tweet from last night, he knows a thing or two about Spanish football and he’s heaping praise on the performance.
 
Bedfordspurs said:
I was hazarding a guess during the game and thought that Dembele or coutinho alone cost more than our whole first 11
We had 3 players who were free
2 CBS that cost £20m between them
Rose was £1m
Hugo £10m
Dele £5m
Sissoko £30m
Sonny £23m I think
Eriksen £11m

So a grand total of £100m I think.... with some guesses of course
Click to expand...

And whilst Messi didn’t cost them any transfer fee, he probably earns more in wages than Kane + Eriksen + Dele put together!
 
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