i agree that fear played a part in the loss. maybe the penalty miss got to the players but i think what they feared the most was the speed at how dortmund hit them in the opening minutes.
to defend in a narrow shape is normal. that is how you close space and force the opponents to go to the flanks, where damage can be limited. the defenders would have more chances defending crosses. that said, BvB still found their way through (mikhtaryan miss) and that shows you how good BvB is. we made it easy for them because of the 2 mistakes, lapse in concentration. reus is a quite underrated player. to finish by going between the legs of ramos is no easy thing.

contrary to what you believe, BvB did exceptionally well in their season considering the injury blight that they have. their game has a philosophy, much like Everton under roberto martinez. philosophy is what is eluding real madrid right now, for the time being. caught between mourinho's team and possession game they want and aspire to.

the general reception of the fans, they prefer solid defending high pressing counter attack of mourinho or possession game, quick pass and counter attack of don carlo?

i think the fans in this thread prefer the latter. actually i think the fans want it all. press high, quick passes, the 1-2s, solid defending and the lightning fast counter attacks like in previous seasons. those counter attacks were really a thing of beauty. very quick and precise. but there is only so much a team can do during a transition year.

in my opinion, there is 1 obstacle for real madrid to be playing possession game. i think the players they bought emphasized that they want to play possession game. players like isco and illaramendi came in and they play their passes neat, from what i saw in the under 21 games. modric seems suited to the style.

real madrid performed much better when xabi alonso returned from his injury. he is the player who thrives on the longer passes which kicks off the counter attacks from the front 3. the recent decline in real madrid's performance is due to his fatigue. but at the same time, i think real madrid should slowly phase him out because i thought he is slightly hampering madrid in possession play. i think he is rather slow and a little clumsy but his reading of the game more than made up for his weaknesses. personally, i would like to see ancelotti try playing illaramendi by himself in the base of the midfield trio. it might not work out well, but i think you will see more controlled passing in the midfield. you dont quite often see illaramendi going into tackles but he snaps at those with the ball in his zone, if you know what i mean.

another is the front 3. they are playing so high up, except for crucial games where they need to put in a shift to defend, that their mindset is ready anytime to pounce on counters. slight exception to benzema who could move quite well off the ball. what this creates is a very big and empty area in between the front 3 and middle 3. there is something like a disconnect there to be playing possession football. that is where isco could come in, in place of benzema. ancelotti has mentioned of isco playing the false 9 before.

and then, when real madrid is doing all these maybe one day, the club would then be accused of playing like barcelona, the arch nemesis, and become unhappy as well. pun intended.

This post has been edited by kevraul: Apr 10 2014, 11:50 AM

because high pressing game and possession game cancel out each other..it also required different players to do it..and yes..the way Madrid buy players look like that they want to change to possession game..with Isco and Illara..but after that they bought Bale which more like a player for past paced counter attack..so that is why i'm not sure about how Real want to play..because possession game need time to open up space and will slow down the attack..agree with you that thats why Xabi Alonso is the catalyst for the counter attack play..he can cannon shot to the wide area and let the wingers do it.

me.. personally I prefer fast paced counter attack type of play.

i dont think high presses cancel out possession game. pressing high means you can win balls further up the pitch, which limits the opponents to track back and hence more space to work. see barca, they press high and still play possession game. there is a risk as well to this high press, where good teams can just bypass your pressing players and hit the defenders straight. BvB does it well, as well as real sociedad.

yes, bale is very efficient on the fast paced counter attacks. he is very direct in the sense that he's made up his mind whether to run or pass or shoot. no showboating and that makes his game efficient. with showboating like what ronaldo does, his mind cannot be opened to the players making good runs into spaces. its a love hate thing i guess.

This post has been edited by kevraul: Apr 10 2014, 12:14 PM

Let's leave the formation talk and tactics to Ancelotti, he'll know what to do.

So how do you guys think the Semis will pan out? I have an irking feeling we'll draw Bayern

I have a feeling we will meet our neighbor.. no way UEFA will allow 2 Spanish team in the final.

chelsea without hazard n ivanovic looks ok for me.. they dont have strikers tat can trouble pepe n ramos.. we havent played them in ucl for a long time ..... we can play atletico n bayern in the final... two legged ties against them are just tiring

Athletico won their tie might turn out to be a bad thing for them
It give advantage to barca in the league

If..if we can't win la liga
I rather have our neighbor winning it than barca

But now they don't have Champ league distraction as opposed to us and athletico

we need Barca to drop points this weekend against Granada.... if not, surely they must b favourites for league with no UCL...if we cannt win the league, i hope atletico wins it..

bayern for us.... hmm 3 German teams back to back...

Dejavuuuuuuu

I called it!

wtf schalke - dortmund - b.munich. talk about luck.

i guess this is the worst german curse madrid have had in their entire football history. if we do managed to win this, i really believe la decima will be ours

well , if we win . . you guys hope for Madrid Derby or Reunion our Ex-Manager ?

i prefer a madrid derby because that would be like the first time in european football history right? a derby final

barca lost... no way we should finish behind them in the league ..

Superb younglings. Illara impressive at the base. Isco did very well and superb goal from morata.

still got chance!!