AjanleKoko:

Pique didn't play well. He was beaten for pace repeatedly, by Villa, and even Felipe Luis, on a number of occasions.
Mascherano played far better, and put in a number of well-timed interceptions.

Agree on the ref though. Athletico was quite rough in their approach. Clearly they intended to hold the lead until the second leg.

Barring any injuries or form issues, we should administer the usual Camp Nou pill next Wednesday

eluquenson:

Invariably, we need a full CB, bt I can't fathom the work of Puyol in dis team, after trying to lure david luis to camp nou failed Tata declared he only awaits the return of Puyol as our CB.
[b]We have a serious problem at d back}/b]

dmcdad:
You are very much correct! indeed you watched the match. Anyone who says Pique did well did not watch the match. Mascherano is a saviour. I wonder why a narural DM would play a CB role more than a natural CB. Gosh!

Hopefully like you rightly stated, we will give them what they deserve at the Camp. But on a more serious note, we need a CB. If we play Madrid the way we played last night, they will exploit the heck outta us.

honeric01:

Neither was he a natural CB, he was an ST before being converted to a CB

dmcdad:
You are very much correct! indeed you watched the match. Anyone who says Pique did well did not watch the match. Mascherano is a saviour. I wonder why a narural DM would play a CB role more than a natural CB. Gosh!

Hopefully like you rightly stated, we will give them what they deserve at the Camp. But on a more serious note, we need a CB. If we play Madrid the way we played last night, they will exploit the heck outta us.

Johnpaul88: Did you watch Madrid's match against Betis and how Cedric and Verdu ran Madrid's "invincible" defence ragged? I don't think it's only Barca that needs a defender.
You need a defender, Mr. AJ needs a defender. I need a defender! Lol! Everybody needs a defender!

AjanleKoko:

So you don't think Barca needs a defender?

Johnpaul88: I don't.
With the right training, these lots will be fine. It's not as if extra defender will stop us from conceding. Manu with all there top notch defenders, still leaks goals. Even Bayern leaked 4 against BVB the other day. I know it doesn't justify anything, but right training and staying fit is more important than any world class defender we can get. Who is even this world class defender that is not prone to one mistake or another, here and there? The days of world class defenders are sadly behind us. Even at there prime, great defenders like Maldini and Nesta still conceded.

Does the fans now expect Barca not to concede a goal again? Any goal conceded now means a world class defender is needed more than human needs air.

Barring any other set back, we'll continue wit wat we have now until december. This will help us to know if Bartra and Bagnack will be a solution or not.

And what with this defender market! The players are way too over priced. The clubs have noticed that barca wants to buy a defender and then they will do everything possible to make sure they milk them dry. What is so special with Luiz that he'll cost €50M? Or old Agger dt now goes for €40M? Is that not crazy to pay these amounts? It'll be us the fans that will be first to critisize the club should these defender go the way of Casceres or whatever he's called and the Ukraine guy?

Johnpaul88: I don't.
With the right training, these lots will be fine. It's not as if extra defender will stop us from conceding. Manu with all there top notch defenders, still leaks goals. Even Bayern leaked 4 against BVB the other day. I know it doesn't justify anything, but right training and staying fit is more important than any world class defender we can get. Who is even this world class defender that is not prone to one mistake or another, here and there? The days of world class defenders are sadly behind us. Even at there prime, great defenders like Maldini and Nesta still conceded.

Does the fans now expect Barca not to concede a goal again? Any goal conceded now means a world class defender is needed more than human needs air.

Barring any other set back, we'll continue wit wat we have now until december. This will help us to know if Bartra and Bagnack will be a solution or not.

And what with this defender market! The players are way too over priced. The clubs have noticed that barca wants to buy a defender and then they will do everything possible to make sure they milk them dry. What is so special with Luiz that he'll cost €50M? Or old Agger dt now goes for €40M? Is that not crazy to pay these amounts? It'll be us the fans that will be first to critisize the club should these defender go the way of Casceres or whatever he's called and the Ukraine guy?

A-40:

Starke and Daniel Van Buyten where in that back line combine those two and disasters are bound to happen!

Your scouts are just lazy! There are a lot of cheap/reasonable priced defenders across Europe but you guys seem to only be after the big names. You guys don't necessarily need someone that's world class just a serviceable and reliable option! You might get away with Pique,Puyol and Mascherano in Spain but in Europe its a sure shot yall would be exposed

dmcdad: Lionel Messi underwent tests this afternoon and the diagnosis is a post-contusional intramusuclar hematoma on his left femoral biceps tendon. Effectively it’s an inner muscular bruise. FC Barcelona lead doctor Ricard Pruna confirmed the injury is a result of a physical collision during the game, i.e. being kicked at, rather than a muscular issue. Certainly not
an injury to worry about, though it’s not assured he will participate against Málaga. Pruna however did not rule him out, saying that the healing time for this type of bruise makes his availability on Sunday possible.

A-40:

Starke and Daniel Van Buyten where in that back line combine those two and disasters are bound to happen!

Your scouts are just lazy! There are a lot of cheap/reasonable priced defenders across Europe but you guys seem to only be after the big names. You guys don't necessarily need someone that's world class just a serviceable and reliable option! You might get away with Pique,Puyol and Mascherano in Spain but in Europe its a sure shot yall would be exposed

Pharoh: Neymar is still seriously lost, unhappy and still cannot fit into this tiki taka system except he commits himself like fabregas.

A-40:

Starke and Daniel Van Buyten where in that back line combine those two and disasters are bound to happen!

Your scouts are just lazy! There are a lot of cheap/reasonable priced defenders across Europe but you guys seem to only be after the big names. You guys don't necessarily need someone that's world class just a serviceable and reliable option! You might get away with Pique,Puyol and Mascherano in Spain but in Europe its a sure shot yall would be exposed

dmcdad: ^^^^ I wonder why someone would be advocating for the calamity himself... Piqué is one of the worst defenders in world football.

Johnpaul88: ^^^
You talk this way because apparently it is not your money that is being spent to keep a cancer risk player, who has no reason not to have another relapse, the next day after you have extended his contract.
That gabage article by goal.com carefully avoided this fact, so as to achieve their whatever desire to have a dig at the administration.
Alves talked on personal grounds only not on professional grounds. The club did all they could for Abidal. They gave him contract when he had his second relapse and he ended up playing only 2 or 3 matches and all you want is for them to give him another one because the club has become a charitable organisation? People should be fair in argument.

That he's playing now for Monaco does not mean he's cured totally. He's become a liability, sadly. What should have been the question is why we couldn't get a replacement?

logica: How is Abidal's situation different from Puyol; and why does Puyol stay on the payroll?

AjanleKoko:

A muscular injury and an organ transplant are not the same thing bruv.

logica: When you add the keyword RECURRENT, then the muscular injury could even be considered worse. And by the way, Abidal is now back in action and even played for France, Puyol still cannot even train.

dmcdad:
But bruv let's be sincere with ourselves, you can't compare them. Abidal's case was a matter of life-and-death and Puyol's case ain't. Please don't put them side by side. I understand where you are heading to, yet you can't compare the gravity of Abby's injury to that of Puyol.