Luka Modrić came off the bench for Real Madrid Tuesday night in the 70th minute and supplied the game-winning assist to Antonio Rudiger 13 minutes off a free kick. Real Madrid defeated Stuttgart 3-1 in their Champions League opening match. It is absolutely unreal how Modrić can still make an impact at the highest competition even at age 39. ManagingMadrid gave Luka a 7/10 grade for his efforts: “Replaced Tchouameni in midfield. Recorded an assist for the go-ahead goal in the final minutes of the match with another inch-perfect corner kick delivery.”
Manchester City and Inter Milan played out a 0-0 draw at the Etihad Wednesday night in their Champions League opener. Gvardiol got the start and played the full 90 minutes; receiving MOTM honors. Goal.com gave Gvardiol a 8/10 grade as he had “An excellent display. Made a big clearance and read the game well to make sure nothing got by him.”
I am more concerned for our midfield..no one has really stepped up to replace veterans anytime soon yet. Modric is playing well but he still wear off towards end of matches..we need composure in midfield esp towards end of games. Sucic has just recovered from acl..he needs matches week in week out and consistency in play. I am more concerned on the NT..doubt dalic will consider other NT players like medic halilovic badjel jedvaj unless they really prove to be big time player in their clubs…
As mentioned earlier, this is gundogan first start for city..he is proven goalscorer..and a captain. He and rodri are unlikely to be dropped. This got nothing to be pessimistic..many articles have written abt kovacic situation in man city now..i quoted these articles.
Orsic is subbed off at HT again. Any idea if he is injured or what? I really miss his time in NT and dinamo
Jakirovic fired by Dinamo according to reports…
Did any of our experts see Lovro Zvonarek play for Sturm Graz against Stade Brestois?
2-1 loss for Sturm.
Zvonarek came on at the 59th minute. First time I have seen him play…….First impressions impressive. Not sure exactly but it looked like he was playing as an attacking midfielder.
I thought he worked hard and looked really solid. Defended capably. Seems quick, good acceleration, moves the ball well. Agile. Not a lot of touches of the ball, but he certainly didn’t look out of place at all in what must have been his first Champions League game. Don’t want to get too far ahead here, I realize it is early days, but looks like we have another player with serious potential.
Anyone see this CL game who can comment? Or any other thoughts on Zvonarek?
Did not watch the match but have seen him play for our youth teams (U17, U19 and now U21). Always stood out as one of our best players in his age group. Technically very gifted player and against Portugal in our recent U21 match he came on as a sub and did well. We’ll just have to wait and see how he develops at Strum on loan from Bayern.
Kovacic might be condemned to bench soon..gundogan is not match fit and yet played so well and create so many chances to shoot..rodri lewis gundogan ahead of kovacic in pecking order…kovacic is not even subbed in..jan could go saudi and join brozovic..
No idea why matanovic is hyped up..when he has not scored a single goal..look at musa..go to any club will still score goals despite being a sub. Still rmb most pple are talking abt roko simic? Where is he right now?
If butarina cant perform in bigger leagues, our NT midfield really has no one to step up.
Majer injured and inconsistent. Pasalic bench warmer..vlasic injury prone..sucic not proven yet..we need to follow bilic..blood the younger generation..still rmb the days when modric srna kovacic eduardo rakitic play for national team? They are not prominent players yet at that time.
Anyone knows why sutalo is subbed off at ht? Same applies to orsic last wkend.
Sinko, relax and don’t be a negative Nevenka.
Why did you stop?
Keep going.
What about Gvardiol’s MOTM?
Vuskovic continuing to dominate despite only being 17?
Modric still being a top player?
Livakovic starting yet another clean sheet streak?
Luka Sucic getting the start and taking over already?
There will always be guys doing well, and guys doing poorly. You can’t expect every single player to be in full form all the time.
All you need a handful of star players, a good goalkeeper, and a collection of roles players (who are in form).
We are currently rebuilding for the World Cup, but we already look like we’re going to have two monster star defenders in Gvardiol and Vuskovic.
Luka Sucic is already proven to be great for us at the Euros, and will only get better in La Liga. He will be our #10 in the World Cup for sure.
The jury is still out on Petar Sucic, Baturina, Matanovic, and the several other U21 caliber players that are on many team’s radars…but I expect at least a few of them to become good-to-great players for us.
Add in a bunch of in-form role players and veterans like Stanisic, Marco Pasalic, Kovacic, Orsic, Krama, Petko, Modric, Musa, Sutalo, Duje, etc…and there’s your 2026 World Cup team.
Also…BTW, Orsic got subbed off last game because Trapzonspor were tied 1-1 against a much better Besiktas team, and Trapzonspor got a red card in the first half…so they made subs in order to bunker down to keep the 1-1 scoreline. It had nothing to do with Orsic. It was a strategic sub.
Add to that list of positives the depth right now of in-form players who are not on the repka. Jakov Medić is Bochum’s star player in the Bundesliga. Tin Jedvaj is a starting CB at a respectable club. Halilović is the best player week in and week out on a decent Eredivisie side. I’ve said it before, but even Milan Badelj is playing well, and he’s still Croatian! There is hope for Ivo Grbić since he got a loan move. The list goes on!
You mean Gundogan the guy who missed a “sitter” of a header, from in close, at the death? Couldn’t even get it on net? That Gundogan?
Headline for the Guardian game story:
Manchester City off-colour as Gündogan misses help impressive Inter earn draw
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/sep/18/manchester-city-inter-champions-league-match-report
City has a HUGE Premier League game against Arsenal coming up on Sunday. Let’s see what Pep does with Kovacic on Sunday.
Kovacic has been fantastic for City this year.
Exactly. I have a feeling that he was nursing a knock, and Pep was saving him for upcoming games. His last EPL game, he was subbed off at halftime…yes he was on a yellow, but maybe he also had a small problem. Also, Pep is known for his rotation. Kova has surely secured lots of game time because of his unbelievable start to this season.
City has so many games that Pep is going to rotate.No story with Kovacic.
Just to add, the reason Matanovic is being hyped (AZ) is because he has been in a multitude of scoring chances and seems to have found himself in a great position to score both games he played ( I think like 10 different chances when you add it up). You have to factor in that he is young, unlike Musa who is five years, if not more, his elder and couldn’t do the same with time he had.
So again I think Matanovic is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the forward line of our team. If he can buckle down and work on adding accuracy to his shot we will have a hell of striker in my view.
To be frank, since Mandzukic left, we have not had a player who showed this kind of ability up at the front and knack for positioning.
Eintracht Frankfurt seem to like him, but we may have to wait a year until he gets a start over there.
He’s currently subbing in for another young and expensive striker (Hugo Ekitike), and Frankfurt’s main striker Omar Marmoush usually gets the full 90 mins.
Ekitike was purchased for 16 million from PSG and hasn’t really been scoring since they grabbed him. He’s still a project, but at that cost they will probably want him to continue to start since they paid a lot for him.
Frankfurt will probably cash in on Marmoush, since he’s older, their leading scorer, and they paid nothing for him a year ago. He’ll have two years left on his contract by the end of this year, and he wants to play in the EPL.
Being 26 years old, two years left on his contract, and two years of scoring well in the Bundesliga…I can’t see Frankfurt not selling him. Perfect time to do it, and make yourself a 25+ million dollar profit and strengthen other areas. It all depends on how they finish this season.
Ekitike and Matanovic are both very young and are signed until 2029.