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I liked that conclusion, and it can make the caption of my post, actually my whole talking since the game.The way we played the game yesterady was wrong. it wasnt the players.
So I cooled a little bit, watched besides the highlights of the tuesday game, Lyon - Man Utd, Arsenal - Milan, Celtic - Barcelona, and it is official that if anybody can find me any other team who played as tremendously, horibly, wrong away from home as we did, then...
The best way is to look at all those games, all of them. If all of you, at least watch the highlights, there is no way you would stand by Mancini defending this guy. No team, has dropped back so much as we did on tuesday. Noone, has suffered as you say this reds rush at the beginning, I won't even say that some say it is ok it lasted for whole freekin 30 minutes. Every team, was fighting for themselves, trying to go forward and to score if there was a chance from the first minute(Real scored in 7'th minute, Sevilla got a corner in 4'th etc. etc.), even if some like Milan, where playing deffensively, they still got some periods where they attacked on the opponent half playing possesion football.
Let me get again on this midfield issue. Let's take a look at the games with Milan from past 2 years. Just humour me for a second here:Because its not, its because our midfield isnt skillfull enough to handle the constant pressure there is in away games in the CL. The players are too similar in strengh/weaknesses like ive said 10 times now.
Dec 11 2005 We won 3-2.
Possesion:
22:03 - Inter
20:07 - Milan
Shots
13(3) - Inter
7(4) - Milan
Fri, Apr 14 2006 We lost 1-0. Away
Possession:
25:00 - Milan
26:56 - Inter
Shots
7(3) - Milan
13(5) - Inter
Oct 28 2006 We won 4-3 Away
Possession:
29:11 - Milan
25:20 - Inter
Shots
12(10) - Milan
10(8) - Inter
Mar 11 2007, We won 2-1
Possession:
23:32 - Inter
22:35 - Milan
Shots:
11(5) - Inter
9(3) - Milan
Dec 23 2007, We won 2-1
Possession:
25:41 - Inter
24:11 - Milan
Shots:
11(3) - Inter
10(3) - Milan
I guess my point, and my question actually, is...
Why Milan never played against us, like they play in europe? Why they never do it, if according to you, their midfield is so much superior to ours? Why they never use their "fast passers", to outplay us like Liverpool did, if as you said, the way to keep possession is having better passers in midfield? Why it didn't happen in past 2 years? Why? What is the difference, when you play against Milan in CL, and when you play against Milan in Serie A?
Here I completely understand h2o and I agree with him ofcourse. And it is a clear evidance that you're theory is wrong. It is the evidence, that we are able to play possession football, against more techniqual teams. But the lack of those "Pirlos and Kaka's" in our team is only affecting how the team is playing on the opponents side, because there is more players from the opponents, thus making less space, and there is where you need technique, and as you say quick passers. That's why Barcelona can play great on the opponent's half, but that is not why the sides who play Barcelona, can also create a good chances, and as we've seen many times, even win. If they push back too much, like we did on tuesday, they are being pined down by Barcelona, and they are destined to lose, as we were on tuesday.
But when you want to keep possesion in your own half of the pitch, you need a strong midfield, who can fight for the ball, and you need your deffensive line be in the right place on the field, not "5" yards from the Goalkeeper as it was in the Liverpool game. We pushed to much to the back, so Liverpool could pressure us on our own half of the field, and that is why we couldn't pass the ball, because we were playing too deffensively. If we were pushed more up front, the Liverpool side couldn't close us down so effectively on our half of the pitch, because they would be afraid of us expoiting their open spaces, that were created when those players tried to close us down.
My conlusion is as follows. If we were pushed more up front, we could retain possession, it would be difficult to create as clear chances as Milan or Barcelona, or Arsenal are doing, because we lack those players you mentioned, but we would still be able to play with some ball and exchange a few passes, even in our own half, because we have top class midfielders, who are great at what they are doing, and that is fighting and hard working in the midfield.
I hope that clears everything up, I don't know how much clearer I can put it. Just watch other teams play away and notice, how they are set up on the field. They might still lose, but they are definetly trying to create some chances in the game, and score some goals, as those are indispensable in the CL knockout stage.
ps. I congratulate to anyone who lasted so long

ps2. Inter Liverpool the first half:
Possession
Inter 36%
Liverpool 64%
Inter Liverpool the whole game:
Possession:
Inter 32%
Liverpool 68%.
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