Thecassanova:
Can’t blame no one that’s sensational

Especially when Kovacic was not on the pitch.

Jorginho had more touches, won more duels and made more tackles than any player in either Champions League game this evening.

◉ 97 touches
◉ 12 duels won
◉ 8 tackles made

Unlimited22:

Well, he won a lot as a starter even though he had to be played further forward with his country, simply because of the brilliance of Xavi.

At a point he was keeping a striker out of the Spain NT in a major Tournament.

Fab has his deficiencies especially on the defensive side, but to write him off totally is a no-no. There are very few players who are better on the ball and who have his vision and eye for a pass.

All he has is vision. Vision alone does not make a midfielder.

Fabregas was never able to control the midfield, there's the key difference between him and Xavi or Xabi Alonso. Don't confuse having eye for pass with midfield control. They are two separate specialties.

You can be deficient defensively if you can control the ball against most opponents which Xavi and Alonso could do. Fabregas can't do that. All he has is the assist.

That's why he was chased from Barca, and even a B level controller like Jorginho chased him from Chelsea.

He was not able to play AM in the modern game. That could have saved him, but a midfielder lacking controlling or defensive abilities sitting in the midfield two becomes a target for opposition managers. Most managers targeted him right from the Spurs game in Jan 2014, and that's why he became a liability and bench fodder right from the age of 27.

These are facts. You can romanticize all you want about his assists, but we are not here to worship one player but to see our team win consistently and no manager agreed they can win consistently with Fabregas in midfield since the age of 27. Even Matic was better for team consistency in the eyes of the manager and any knowledgeable football fan, and till date some Timbuktu niggas in Monaco are better for them to win consistently than worshipping Fabregas assists at the expense of midfield functionality and team success.

TalabiAudu:
Semi final.
I'm satisfied at this stage, but can still keep dreaming.

Real Madrid should finish the job tomorrow.

At least I won't be pained should we lose to RM.
I don't know about you

you and who will lose to Madrid? If Tuchel lose to Madrid I will not be happy with him.

Ibime:


All he has is vision. Vision alone does not make a midfielder.

Fabregas was never able to control the midfield, there's the key difference between him and Xavi or Xabi Alonso.

You can be deficient defensively if you can control the ball against most opponents which Xavi and Alonso could do. Fabregas can't do that. All he has is the assist.

That's why he was chased from Barca, and even a subpart controller like Jorginho chased him from Chelsea.

He was not able to play AM in the modern game. That could have saved him, but a midfielder lacking controlling or defensive liabilities sitting in the midfield two becomes a target for opposition managers. Most managers targeted him right from the Spurs game in Jan 2014, and that's why he became a liability and bench fodder right from the age of 27.

These are facts. You can romanticize all you want about his assists, but we are not here to worship one player but to see our team win consistently and no manager agreed they can win consistently with Fabregas in midfield since the age of 27. Even Matic was better for team consistency in the eyes of the manager and any knowledgeable football fan, and till date some Timbuktu niggas in Monaco are better for them to win consistently than worshipping Fabregas assists at the expense of midfield functionality and team success.

I like how passionate you are about midfield play and you make excellent points.

The problem is that you only seem to like players who can do everything in midfield excellently. And there are very very few of them. Which is what managers recognise and try to pair up players in midfield who complement each other.

There is a reason Fab has 1 WC with the assist for the winner, 2 Euro and 3 league titles while making significant contributions. You can't just write that off because he can't defend.

Havertz against Ramos would be an eyesore


Please lord, have mercy

airmark:


Especially when Kovacic was not on the pitch.

You got him. He would have blamed Kovacic.

Unlimited22:

I like how passionate you are about midfield play and you make excellent points.

The problem is that you only seem to like players who can do everything in midfield excellently. And there are very very few of them. Which is what managers recognise and try to pair up players in midfield who complement each other.

There is a reason Fab has 1 WC with the assist for the winner, 2 Euro and 3 league titles while making significant contributions. You can't just write that off because he can't defend.

He can't defend AND he can't control.

My favourite midfielder of all time Xavi can't defend, but he will control you to sege.

He wasn't played forward at Barca because of Xavi. Xavi was coming to an end and being phased out. He was played forward because he couldn't play midfield effectively.

The fact is Fabregas is not even functional as a midfielder even against the most basic midfield competition. He spent his Barca years and last couple years at Arsenal playing in the attacking phase, not the midfield phase. The pace of modern football ensured there was no more place for him as an AM so he tried to drop into a deep midfield to shambolic effect.

As I have said, to play in the deep portion of midfield, you must have either uber control or be defensvely competitive with decent ball control. It's not a matter of perfection, it's a matter of meeting minimum standards. When you don't meet minimum standards, you end up battling relegation and midtable for two years like Monaco did, fighting midtable like Chelsea in 2015, or taking the Champions of England to a pitiable 5th place position like in 2018. This is the effect of Fabregas in the deep midfield positions. Any manager will love to face him. They will just get someone to press him and run his channel all day to penetrate the defence. Football matches are planned and won on mismatches by targeting the area of most weakness in an opponents team and Fabregas is always the weakest link.

Ibime:


Some people only watch football for assist forgetting midfield work is multidimensional - creativity, control and defensive and Fabregas is abysmal at control and defensive aspect.

No wonder Monaco glued him to bench and he could only start 6 matches In Ligue1 this season as they challenge for title. Last season when they gave him shirt, he nearly relegated them.

Two Hojbergs will kill two Fabregas in any midfield battle.

Your own football is different. Fabregas and Hojberg are too different kind of midfielders. We are talking about the king of assists here.

Captain America. So unplayable when he's fit.

Returning the Favour

BikeMan:
Your own football is different. Fabregas and Hojberg are too different kind of midfielders. We are talking about the king of assists here.

Does King of Assists play in a vacuum with no defined position on the pitch?

Matic and Fabregas were two different kind of players but Conte also had to make a choice between them in 2017.

Since Fabregas dropped in the midfield two, he will be judged on the cost-benefit of playing there as opposed to Hojberg, Matic or those two Mali/Guinea niggas at Monaco. The benefit is beautiful assists, the cost is fighting relegation or midtable.

When Fabregas decide to play as an AM, we will compare the cost-benefit against other AMs. He didn't play AM for Chelsea.

So the reigning champions are out
I'm not sure anybody will be able to repeat madrid's incredible 3peat again.
Abeg make dortmund do an for us tomorrow.

I think Azpi, Thiago Silva and Kovacic are the only members of the squad who have played in a UCL semi

Another bad day for Raumdeuter's Aparisports family.

Bayern and Boathand dumped out

Chelsea into Semis

Pulisic - MOTM.

This April is already calling Dayo, a big FOOL.

Greatihex:
you and who will lose to Madrid? If Tuchel lose to Madrid I will not be happy with him.

Bro better don't get your hopes too high, just take it game by game, remember Lampard's time .

Tuchel don try sef abeg, Cl semis no be beans, if we lose against Madrid e no bad, make una no come dey #TuchelOut oh.

Griffon:
Returning the Favour

Lol... One did that winning the cup.
Let's see if neymar will fully return the favor

Ibime:


Does King of Assists play in a vacuum with no defined position on the pitch?

Matic and Fabregas were two different kind of players but Conte also had to make a choice between them in 2017.

Since Fabregas dropped in the midfield two, he will be judged on the cost-benefit of playing there as opposed to Hojberg, Matic or those two Mali/Guinea niggas at Monaco. The benefit is beautiful assists, the cost is fighting relegation or midtable.

When Fabregas decide to play as an AM, we will compare the cost-benefit against other AMs. He didn't play AM for Chelsea.

Not everyone wants to play with gidigbo midfielders that you admire, that’s why Fab4 had a great career. Some coaches actually prefer very intelligent midfielders like Fabregas.

I don’t need Fabregas to tackle for me, I need him to create goal scoring chances. The Xavi you’re raving about, at what point in his career was he playing like Hojberg?

airmark:
Another bad day for Raumdeuter's Aparisports family.

Bayern and Boathand dumped out

Chelsea into Semis

Pulisic - MOTM.

This April is already calling Dayo, a big FOOL.

No be Boatank dem dey console so?

Whereas Thiago helped his own team reach the SF.

I can already visualize how the Madrid game will be if they qualify.

James can match Vinicius pace for pace and out-muscle him.

Modric and Kross can't play penetrative passes because Chelsea will have no intention of playing a high line and our defending will be compact too.


Madrid will obviously go for crosses, but then, the only threat they have is Benzema.

Ramos and Varane will bully Havertz but he has the ad advantage of drifting across the forward line. ( That monkey post analyst that wants Giroud to start perhaps doesn't know that slow and static strikers give that Spanish mofo orgasm). Playing one dimensional attacking football against Madrid would immediately make me switch over to Tom and Jerry.

Madrid when dominant will immediately go crazy and play a very high line which our forwards can take advantage of. ( Werner would have been ideal for this game but I'm afraid his misses can make some fans commit suicide if it finally cost us the final).

Lastly, a simple mistaken pass might determine who wins the game, so Jorginho had better be ready because they will try to press him to extinction.

Seems Madrid is inevitable.

What me I sha know is that R.Madrid won't have a field day against us like they did against Barca, or even Liverpool. Our defence/midfield is certainly not open like that of Barca. Vinicius can't run James ragged like he did Mingueza/Araujo.

They thrive on counters, and they thrive when their two midfield maestros are given the chance to make things happen. Our impressive ability to shut down counterattacking channels (like we did against Atletico) and our press should ensure that they struggle with their usual approach.

Also gotta watch out for midfield runners like Valverde.

airmark:
Another bad day for Raumdeuter's Aparisports family.

Bayern and Boathand dumped out

Chelsea into Semis

Pulisic - MOTM.

This April is already calling Dayo, a big FOOL.

Imagine Dortmund eliminating that bald fraud tonight

BikeMan:
Not everyone wants to play with gidigbo midfielders that you admire, that’s why Fab4 had a great career. Some coaches actually prefer very intelligent midfielders like Fabregas.

No coach preferred Fabregas since 2016. Keep fantasizing on Nairaland while your man has been a bench fodder since 2016. All coaches bench him back-to-back. That's why they are coaches and you are a fan.

Ibime:


All he has is vision. Vision alone does not make a midfielder.

Fabregas was never able to control the midfield, there's the key difference between him and Xavi or Xabi Alonso. Don't confuse having eye for pass with midfield control. They are two separate specialties.

You can be deficient defensively if you can control the ball against most opponents which Xavi and Alonso could do. Fabregas can't do that. All he has is the assist.

That's why he was chased from Barca, and even a B level controller like Jorginho chased him from Chelsea.

He was not able to play AM in the modern game. That could have saved him, but a midfielder lacking controlling or defensive abilities sitting in the midfield two becomes a target for opposition managers. Most managers targeted him right from the Spurs game in Jan 2014, and that's why he became a liability and bench fodder right from the age of 27.

These are facts. You can romanticize all you want about his assists, but we are not here to worship one player but to see our team win consistently and no manager agreed they can win consistently with Fabregas in midfield since the age of 27. Even Matic was better for team consistency in the eyes of the manager and any knowledgeable football fan, and till date some Timbuktu niggas in Monaco are better for them to win consistently than worshipping Fabregas assists at the expense of midfield functionality and team success.

You nailed it. Fab got vision and a good goal scorer in his early age but he can’t dictate midfield play properly.

All of you analysing Chelsea vs Real Madrid semi final should remember that the tie is NOT won yet.

No Ramos, Cavajal, Vasquez, Varane for Madrid tonight. Their defence is a makeshift one. If Liverpool turn up tonight, they can put 3 or 4 past Madrid.

Liverpool have this European comeback spirit (remember vs Milan 2005, vs Dortmund 2016, vs Barcelona 2019) so anything can still happen.

I want to meet Real Madrid sha..... But the tie is NOT won yet.

Exonerate1:


Imagine Dortmund eliminating that bald fraud tonight

We need to ask a40 and Pkasso to stay close to raumdeuter, we don't want to lose him like Eruditor.

Ibime:


Some people only watch football for assist forgetting midfield work is multidimensional - creativity, control and defensive and Fabregas is abysmal at control and defensive aspect.

No wonder Monaco glued him to bench and he could only start 6 matches In Ligue1 this season as they challenge for title. Last season when they gave him shirt, he nearly relegated them.

Two Hojbergs will kill two Fabregas in any midfield battle.

Nobody is disputing the fact that midfield work is multidimensional but,you have to agree with me that very few midfielder has it all and not even your favourites has them all. Xavi sucks at defending,Lampard wasn't the very best at controlling. In fact the later treated the ball like hot fire whenever he was under pressure,he championed Chelsea in an era were we were been trolled as a boring and defensive team simply because of his inability to cool the tempo of game when necessary. He always found it difficult against the good defensive midfielders like Michael Carrick and xabi Alonso. So pls cut Fabregas some slack. His defensive frailties isn't a deficiency for his team with his numerous contribution to his side and as for Fabregas sitting on the bench at Monaco,there isn't anything to play for again, after all achievements across Europe. He declined early but that is the price he is paying for maturing early in the game.

Unlimited22:

He's in his thirties, his legs are gone.

Why did Bayern chase Hojbjerg away? Since he is a killer

Ibime:


Have his legs been gone since 2015 when he has been a bench player back-to-back for 6 seasons straight?

He only just turned 33 and been a bench player since 27. His mates are still starring in top clubs and he can't even make Monaco first eleven after nearly relegating them two seasons in a row.

There is a reason why professional managers keep benching him for 6 seasons while armchair romantics fantasize about his assists. There's nothing to discuss about Fabregas that couldn't even fill common Matic shoes.

The two rough Malian or Guinean niggas benching him at Monaco are not even Hojbergs level.

Fabregas like pep Guardiola is paying the price for maturing too early in the game .Tell me any midfielder that played actively in 2005 still playing in Europe till now?

Matic and Fabregas in the same sentence? No make me laugh abeg .

popizaino:


Nobody is disputing the fact that midfield work is multidimensional but,you have to agree with me that very few midfielder has it all and not even your favourites has them all. Xavi sucks at defending,.

Xavi dominates games while Fabregas gets dominated in games. That's the difference. If you can't dominate and you can't defend, you become a liability in a deep midfield position. We might as well raise Socrates from the grave to be giving assists and not dominating nor defending if that's the case. Just allow him drop 15 assists while conceding 30 because of his liability.

And it's not a case of playing too long. He's been a liability since 10 years after his career. Likes of Modric who started career same period are still going.

BikeMan:
No be Boatank dem dey console so?
Whereas Thiago helped his own team reach the SF.

Boathand greater than Terry. Silva

Ibime:


All he has is vision. Vision alone does not make a midfielder.

Fabregas was never able to control the midfield, there's the key difference between him and Xavi or Xabi Alonso. Don't confuse having eye for pass with midfield control. They are two separate specialties.

You can be deficient defensively if you can control the ball against most opponents which Xavi and Alonso could do. Fabregas can't do that. All he has is the assist.

That's why he was chased from Barca, and even a B level controller like Jorginho chased him from Chelsea.

He was not able to play AM in the modern game. That could have saved him, but a midfielder lacking controlling or defensive abilities sitting in the midfield two becomes a target for opposition managers. Most managers targeted him right from the Spurs game in Jan 2014, and that's why he became a liability and bench fodder right from the age of 27.

These are facts. You can romanticize all you want about his assists, but we are not here to worship one player but to see our team win consistently and no manager agreed they can win consistently with Fabregas in midfield since the age of 27. Even Matic was better for team consistency in the eyes of the manager and any knowledgeable football fan, and till date some Timbuktu niggas in Monaco are better for them to win consistently than worshipping Fabregas assists at the expense of midfield functionality and team success.

It would be wrong to compare Fab with Xavi or Iniesta, those two were out of this world. But to say Fab couldn't dominate a midfield is also criminally wrong.

From an Arsenal fan.