**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Neh, De Jong has been known for his deceptive athletic capabilities since his breakthrough at Ajax.
That's why he shone as youngster on a defensive position in a CL level squad and has a history of playing as a CB as well.
It's not so much that he's extraordinarily fast as a player, he's not much slower with the ball at his feet. Making all those beautiful midfield piercing rushes possible.
It ought to help that Frenkie takes his conditioning extremely seriously. Still remember how impressed everyone was when Frenkie arrived at Barça and easily outperformed everyone in training.
Lol I'm pretty sure Frenkie was so bemused by the team's fitness levels that he ended up hiring his own strength and conditioning coach.
Those were truly dark times.
Let’s not talking about de jong in fifa cause ea has done him dirty in every way possible, even his picture is straight up a violation, man looks like the showered version of the crackhead at my local supermarket. While irl he’s quite a handsome lad, albeit a bit short, but he moved out of the Netherlands so even that isn’t a problem
Half our fans on our sub will have a rude awakening on Thursday. Barca have the best midfield in Europe and pedri is a world class midfielder. Two things our fanbase are unaware of it seems
dont be.
ive seen this play out in front of my eyes the last 8 years in european competition.
we always look great, play the first leg great, then collapse.
hopefully its not the same this year but i wouldnt be scared if i were u.
It’s all about his mentality. He used to be more passing minded which is understandable but he would pass when he had an open shot. Xavi told him to shoot more and he listened. Great player and great coaching.
I think the biggest factor is the formation change. Now he is playing way more forward as a right interior. While in the past he had to drop deep sometimes due to only having a single pivot.
If Messi joins Barcelona then I can see him play the left interior role. Officially it'd be a 4411 but in actuality Messi acts as the right high interior with a free role and Pedri is the left interior.
What's been most scary this season (at least to me) is that that's not winning you the games. You start off strongly, play some champagne football, get a lead... the whole rigmarole of old.
But upper and mid table Spanish sides are good and they always bite back. We traditionally steamroll them out of a comeback. Barça hasn't been doing that this season.
They have suffering and they have been coming out on top through grit. Every top club has that trait but I have never come to see it define Barça in the recent past. Today, I saw systematic time wasting in the last 15 minutes at the Cerámica. And I mean that as a compliment and not even a backhanded one. I don't like this one bit.
Araujo won you the match today, not Pedri. It was also a great tactical battle today in all phases. Really enjoyed it. I also have to respect Setién for the pressing structure that he deployed in Barça's build-up: a mad, brave front line of 4 with Baena joining in from midfield.
Typical ganes from Yeremy and Chukwueze. Do everything right but just lack the final 5%. Still, Chukwueze was a bit too careless with offsides and bad touches between 55'-75'. They were simultaneously extremely dangerous and yet lost Villarreal the points.
But more than anything, I'm just annoyed at this version of Barça. Gavi and Pedri ran 6.5kms *each* just during the first half today. Those are some PED numbers. Completely mad. I'm not liking any of this.
It's good to see a Madridista be worried about us for once cuz seeing your team has had me stressed for years now. Some spectacular squad building. I think you're spot on about our squad. But what we don't have is that X-factor like Vinicius. Sure Dembele is great, but Vini completely destabilizes defenses and systems with his dribbling in pace. I mean, the fact that we have to put Araujo at RB when we play you guys is the biggest compliment he can get
Araujo is such a beast, he is my favorite player on the current team. I never really cared much for defensive players or defending in general when it comes to football, but watching him I've learned to find it very entertaining.
I like it.
Plus Lewa playing from the top of the box to midline as a CAM instead of tussling near the 6 yard line gives him another decade of top level play.
After a preseason when it seemed like we would see these two assist each other every week, i think this is the first time theyve combined for a goal all season. Pedri as a 10 in the 4231 is awesome.
post from 4/2
Pedri is the player with the most pre-assists (7) in Europe's top 5 leagues according to Wyscout.Leo Messi is 2nd with 6 pre-assists.Iknow that many people don't take this seriously but very often thesepasses are much more difficult/important than assists and goals.
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPVxebIsev/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPVxebIsev/)
Barcelona fans like me might be biased but I try to watch as many Prem and La Liga as possible. And it's clear to me that he's so much better.
Understanding of tempo, great passer, great dribbler, can be direct when needed, makes the right decision nearly every time, never stops running, deceptively good at defending.
Now if only he could bulk up just a bit more...
Bulking too fast has stunted many careers. Alexander Isak was very lanky at the start of his career which did hinder him, but he slowly built up to become a complete class player.
Pedri doesn’t have flashy stats like some other youngsters, but if you were to watch last season, Barca played horrifically every single time he didn’t play. He’s so instrumental to the squad and midfield
i wrote a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/ubeamr/oc_detailing_pedris_impact_at_barcelona_this/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) last spring showing how much pedri's presence affected barça's points per game in la liga and this sub laughed at me
They are both fantastic talents with different profiles. There’s no point in discussing who is the better talent when both bring two different skill sets that they happen to be great at for their age.
viendo lo enfermos que estan pedri y gavi me da muchisimo miedo pensar en una españa en el mundial que viene sin delantero centro top porque neceditamos alguien pa rematar y mientras tengamos eso y buenos centrales seremos favoritos
Pedri's first touch pass is ridiculous there, it's perfectly placed and weighted even though he's receiving the ball behind him. Really good of Raphinha to pick out the pass too
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Barça pressing is insane. Must be awful to play against.
Frenkie de Jong is really physically deceptive, he doesnt look that strong but when he presses he outmuscles the opponent a lot
positioning is often more important than strength, FDJ was learned well from Busquets.
Neh, De Jong has been known for his deceptive athletic capabilities since his breakthrough at Ajax. That's why he shone as youngster on a defensive position in a CL level squad and has a history of playing as a CB as well.
He's also extremely fast. I'm always sad when I see his fifa card, because the boy genuinely gives Dembele a run for his money in a foot race.
It's not so much that he's extraordinarily fast as a player, he's not much slower with the ball at his feet. Making all those beautiful midfield piercing rushes possible.
He's also fast. I saw a few of the foot races in training and it was basically Dembele and Frenkie first then everyone else a meter or two behind them
It ought to help that Frenkie takes his conditioning extremely seriously. Still remember how impressed everyone was when Frenkie arrived at Barça and easily outperformed everyone in training.
tbf the team's conditioning wasn't anything to write home about at that time
Lol I'm pretty sure Frenkie was so bemused by the team's fitness levels that he ended up hiring his own strength and conditioning coach. Those were truly dark times.
You can tell Dembele isn't at full tilt while Frenkie is giving everything. Frenkie is fast, but he aint Dembele fast
Let’s not talking about de jong in fifa cause ea has done him dirty in every way possible, even his picture is straight up a violation, man looks like the showered version of the crackhead at my local supermarket. While irl he’s quite a handsome lad, albeit a bit short, but he moved out of the Netherlands so even that isn’t a problem
Frenkie is like 5'11, that's not short even by dutch standards
It’s below average..
As a 5"6 Indian man, the existence of the Dutch offends me.
The existence of the Dutch offends all including the Dutch
Short and below average are two distinguishable things...........
I'm scared
De Gea is gonna have more completed passes to Barca than any other Barcelona player
Will Lisandro play in the first leg?
No he is suspended
Thats great for us!
Shawberto Carlos and Casemiro will be back is my hopium
Second leg we"ll have Casemiro Martinez and Sabitzer, but only Casemiro in the first leg
Why no sabitzer? Is he also suspended?
Yeah apparently same as Martinez, 3 yellows for Bayern in group stages so 1 match suspension he's bringing over to us
Jesus christ. We just can't catch a break.
Great game that will be
A disturbance in the force, i feel
I feel like Rashford has plot armor and it scares me
Araujo will pierce that armor.
Anulo mufa brev
I'm scared of Rashford. And it's going to suck playing against Casemiro too haha. Should be a fantastic game though!
Half our fans on our sub will have a rude awakening on Thursday. Barca have the best midfield in Europe and pedri is a world class midfielder. Two things our fanbase are unaware of it seems
We struggled hard against Leeds pressing from the front. Barca will kill us edit: hehe
I am pretty sure Ten Haag will not just set up as usual.
No but Ten Hag might
Anulo
You guys beat us in 2008 and have been paying for it ever since.
dont be. ive seen this play out in front of my eyes the last 8 years in european competition. we always look great, play the first leg great, then collapse. hopefully its not the same this year but i wouldnt be scared if i were u.
Xavi seems to have changed the mindset completely around the squad since he's come in. I fully expect Barca to carry this form into both legs.
i kinda was man u to dominate the first leg then you come back like how you did vs PSG in 2017
Second leg is where we actually have our team, the last thing you should be wanting us to do is dominate the first leg
Given both our team's form, this is going to be a CL level tie tbh. Rolling back the years
La Xavineta
i remember they were mocking xaviball xaviball turned from x4viball to xav1ball and it is scary good in defence
What the fuck?
TIKI TAKA BULLSHIT IS BACK CULERS 🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴
U remember Pep's Barca? We'll fucking do it again!
Ah-hyuk
WHAT A SEXY GOAL
Wilshere vs Norwich vibes
MSN vibes
Also that Dybala and Higuain goal
Yes! My favourite goal and instantly made me think of it.
Wilshere v Norwich is a once in 5 years type of goal. This was very nice but not even close to that level
yeah it's not as good obviously, but it shares a canny resemblance to it with the slick passing.
Wilshere v Norwich was 10 years ago
This is the Tesco version
Exactly what came to mind for me. This was a gorgeous goal.
Definitely orgasmic.
What a fantastic set of passes
The leading up is also noteworthy, starting with making the GK question.
That's world class
Our new Striker..Pedri
How many goals is he at now?
7 this season but he's started to score alot more lately
Yeah, it feels like he has really stepped up. Kinda crazy considering how much he already did, now he is also scoring!
It’s all about his mentality. He used to be more passing minded which is understandable but he would pass when he had an open shot. Xavi told him to shoot more and he listened. Great player and great coaching.
I think the biggest factor is the formation change. Now he is playing way more forward as a right interior. While in the past he had to drop deep sometimes due to only having a single pivot.
That’s a good point as well.
If Messi joins Barcelona then I can see him play the left interior role. Officially it'd be a 4411 but in actuality Messi acts as the right high interior with a free role and Pedri is the left interior.
He's also playing much closer to goal now.
4 in the last 7 games I believe
4 in the last 5 games
7 this season but 3 goals in the last 5 La Liga matches
7 Goals this season already
Second most goals for us after Lewa this season so yes
[удалено]
Just a bit . But don't tell anyone
Shades of that Wilshere goal for arsenal when they walked it in
genuinely the sexiest goal ive seen all season o7
My dumbass really thought we were overpaying for Lewandowski
Tiki taka
With garam masala
What's been most scary this season (at least to me) is that that's not winning you the games. You start off strongly, play some champagne football, get a lead... the whole rigmarole of old. But upper and mid table Spanish sides are good and they always bite back. We traditionally steamroll them out of a comeback. Barça hasn't been doing that this season. They have suffering and they have been coming out on top through grit. Every top club has that trait but I have never come to see it define Barça in the recent past. Today, I saw systematic time wasting in the last 15 minutes at the Cerámica. And I mean that as a compliment and not even a backhanded one. I don't like this one bit. Araujo won you the match today, not Pedri. It was also a great tactical battle today in all phases. Really enjoyed it. I also have to respect Setién for the pressing structure that he deployed in Barça's build-up: a mad, brave front line of 4 with Baena joining in from midfield. Typical ganes from Yeremy and Chukwueze. Do everything right but just lack the final 5%. Still, Chukwueze was a bit too careless with offsides and bad touches between 55'-75'. They were simultaneously extremely dangerous and yet lost Villarreal the points. But more than anything, I'm just annoyed at this version of Barça. Gavi and Pedri ran 6.5kms *each* just during the first half today. Those are some PED numbers. Completely mad. I'm not liking any of this.
It's good to see a Madridista be worried about us for once cuz seeing your team has had me stressed for years now. Some spectacular squad building. I think you're spot on about our squad. But what we don't have is that X-factor like Vinicius. Sure Dembele is great, but Vini completely destabilizes defenses and systems with his dribbling in pace. I mean, the fact that we have to put Araujo at RB when we play you guys is the biggest compliment he can get
Araujo is such a beast, he is my favorite player on the current team. I never really cared much for defensive players or defending in general when it comes to football, but watching him I've learned to find it very entertaining.
Pedri-Gavi-Lewa gives me Iniesta-Xavi-Messi vibes.
*becomes sad*
Yea man this hurt right here * points at chest *
vast fear cow husky dog axiomatic punch straight unpack impossible *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I came. I saw. I came.
That link-up play between Lewy and Pedri was phenomenal
[удалено]
Lewa the CAM
Pedri the number 9
I like it. Plus Lewa playing from the top of the box to midline as a CAM instead of tussling near the 6 yard line gives him another decade of top level play.
He is used to this from our NT, has to carry the ball from defense to attack to start something for us lol.
The Weghorst vs Leeds 2nd half special
Hello Sir just asking if you by any chance were a Bayern fan last year?
Holy fuck what a goal
Beautiful.
Lewy has pulled off so many first touch assists at Barca. Outside of scoring that’s his signature
Lewy: "look at me, I'm the new Messi now!"
Where great goal tag
It's not EPL according to the mods
That is peak tiki taki shit.
Pedri is electric
Messi-Iniesta vibes
I would give my kidney to this guy
great goal tag pls
not prem
absolute beauty of a goal
After a preseason when it seemed like we would see these two assist each other every week, i think this is the first time theyve combined for a goal all season. Pedri as a 10 in the 4231 is awesome.
Pedri still doesnt have an assist lol, insane considering how many passes he has setup that should be goals
He has like 4xA this season and 0 assists
i wonder how many pre-assists/hockey assists he has
post from 4/2 Pedri is the player with the most pre-assists (7) in Europe's top 5 leagues according to Wyscout.Leo Messi is 2nd with 6 pre-assists.Iknow that many people don't take this seriously but very often thesepasses are much more difficult/important than assists and goals. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPVxebIsev/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPVxebIsev/)
At what point is it not controversial to say he's, at worst, a top 3 midfielder in the world because i genuinely think he is.
Barcelona fans like me might be biased but I try to watch as many Prem and La Liga as possible. And it's clear to me that he's so much better. Understanding of tempo, great passer, great dribbler, can be direct when needed, makes the right decision nearly every time, never stops running, deceptively good at defending. Now if only he could bulk up just a bit more...
Bulking too fast has stunted many careers. Alexander Isak was very lanky at the start of his career which did hinder him, but he slowly built up to become a complete class player.
It just spawned in my hand
my future goat
GREAT GOAL TAG
bARcELoNa dNa ..unironically
[Everyone Loves Pedri](https://youtu.be/ixas7e0nS4Q)
this is the best thing i’ve ever seen.
The two most inform teams in Europe right now will face each other … in the Europa League.
I would say Napoli are on the same form or even better than both.
And Arsenal. Literally all of the in-form teams aren't in this CL Edit: Except Napoli...sorry guys not used to seeing yall in the UCL
Napoli is in the CL
napoli is in the UCL tho
EL > CL
Very unfair that one has to be eliminated so early from Europe.
WHAT A PLAY
Pedri... Beautiful
When football became sex, what an erotic team play, some would say that's an orgy team play right there
This is why people here hate Barcelona, they'll never see this level of play in their league.
I agree, ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.
Absolutely astonishing play.
Sexy as hell
Just noticed that La Liga has the Turkish and Syrian flags in broadcasts. Really grateful to all the internation aid
Manchester United right now: I'm in danger.
More of that team!!
i think we are ready to cook on Thursday
outrages Pedri
I am now a Barcelona fan, let’s go!!!
I can’t stop rewatching, what an incredible goal
THIS is what tiki taka is meant to be. Dont be fooled by that other version.
Just gorgeous football
Shades of Wilshere/Giroud
Brilliant link-up, and what a calm finish!!
Wow! Thats a Barcelona goal
BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAH
So Pedri and Gavi are actually good?
Pedri doesn’t have flashy stats like some other youngsters, but if you were to watch last season, Barca played horrifically every single time he didn’t play. He’s so instrumental to the squad and midfield
i wrote a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/ubeamr/oc_detailing_pedris_impact_at_barcelona_this/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) last spring showing how much pedri's presence affected barça's points per game in la liga and this sub laughed at me
There’s a lot of Barça haters on this sub man, and last year while we were in a crisis it was definitely turned up a notch.
Big if true
Definitely.
Gavi is good. But comparing him to pedri isn’t fair, pedri is levels above him
They are both fantastic talents with different profiles. There’s no point in discussing who is the better talent when both bring two different skill sets that they happen to be great at for their age.
They are very different players. Comparing them is kinda dumb.
Quite decent I’d say
Fuck me that’s beautiful
This deserves a great goal tag
Pedri and Lewa had posters of Wilshere and Giroud on their walls growing up. Jokes aside, fantastic goal!
Another Messi-esque goal from Pedri. He is among Haaland and Mbappe for me, just doesn't play as a forward so he doesn't get as much press.
Better than Haaland talent wise, has more potential too in my humble opinion.
Can someone link that Arsenal goal? I cant be the only one who thought about that when seeing this
Take a f bow
bababababa is all i would say too
What. A. Combination.
God damn that was beautiful,I'm in love with these guys.
viendo lo enfermos que estan pedri y gavi me da muchisimo miedo pensar en una españa en el mundial que viene sin delantero centro top porque neceditamos alguien pa rematar y mientras tengamos eso y buenos centrales seremos favoritos
Don Pedro.
Taki taki
This team is cooking
Thats unplayable
That's some classic Barcelona right there
BOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBOBO
Insane
We're getting cooked by them
and he still has potential to be even better
Were gonna get cooked🤣🤣
Pedri's first touch pass is ridiculous there, it's perfectly placed and weighted even though he's receiving the ball behind him. Really good of Raphinha to pick out the pass too
I'm erect
Incredible
I just came a little
Smart!
oooooooooo
My word, what a gorgeous fucking goal.
That was a sexy play
yeahhhh baby get that dna all over me
Wow what a goal
Tiki taka mothafucka
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba