Joško Gvardiol climbed the ladder in the 2nd half for RB Leipzig to make it 1-1 vs. City in the Champions League Round of 16 1st leg. The match would end that way with the return leg in England in 3 weeks.
The 21 year-old Croatian defender received an underwhelming 6/10 grade for being “Poor defensively on more than one occasion, including when City took the lead, but scored a towering header of his own to equalise.” However, even with suspect defense — even though the City goal was more unlucky than his fault — you have to give Gvardiol a higher rating for scoring an equalizing goal against Manchester City in a Champions League knockout round match.
Be tough score against us.
You won’t touch the ball in the middle.
Full backs are solid.
CB could be World class.
Livakovic has claimed his Croatian eggs!!
Good luck trying to play through us?!
If Brazil can’t do it ? Who in Europe ?
Maybe Spain but they are next on the list to get their batina!
I hope Vida stays at least through the next tournament. Players love his emotion and quite frankly we need a veteran presence for our all of a sudden very young defensive corps.
Lovren was a punching bag for a lot of us, but man he gave it all for the Republic. Much respect!
For the record, that call against Lovren at the 2014 tournament against fat Fred for a penalty was a disgrace.
Lovren played him perfectly with coincidental contact. Bad luck and poor officiating there.
True, but why am I not surprised that it was Lovren that got suckered into that situation but not Corluka or one of our other defenders?
He needed to understand that the Jap ref was looking for any reason to call a PK. Any contact at all (foul or no foul) was going to be a PK. Lovren didn’t read the room, and of course he got called for one.
Definitely not a PK, but if you’re looking for a patsy in Croatia’s defense it’s definitely Dejan.
I like his passion and patriotism but I am ecstatic that he’s finally gone for good.
Agreed he was suckered into no man’s land but hell I will always think Fred dove and stuck his fat ass out and Lovren clipped him. I felt sorry for him there. That was my point.
I never looked at it from that point of view though. Good point.
He didn’t get suckered. He is allowed to touch the guy.
Nishimura was going to call that flop no matter who it was.
Lovren showed he can be a hothead at times, but the hatred displayed by some towards this guy is mind boggling.
Yes, maybe a wrong choice of words which brings me to my original post about saying the call was a disgrace. Fred should by all intents and purposes should have gotten a Red and sent off.
I agree the hate for Dejan went over board but he did himself no favors proclaiming himself as one of the worlds greatest defenders.
Then his locker room antics when he was benched,and his instant pointing at a fellow defender when the goal was his fault really made me dislike the guy.
I won’t mention his buddy banging his old lady that made him look like a cuck.
What about the handball against Nigeria, was that also coincidental?? Or some of the other fouls that he caused in other big matches??
I dunno Z, Lovren is a usual culprit when it comes to stuff like this.
Whether or not you can count one foul as not being fully his fault, there are plenty of other things you count against the guy be they a foul or defensive blunders. He persistently puts himself in bad defensive positions.
Not discounting what he has done helping Croatia bring home a second medal in a consecutive World Cup, but having a player like Gvardi beside you and Brozo ahead you had definitely helped the guy mask the problems he created in the back.
What the hell are you talking about? Vida is such a washed player and there’s no point keeping him on for experience.
Gvardiol was our best player in his first world cup, he’s playing in one of the top leagues in europe so is Erlic in Serie A, Sosa and Juranovic in the Bundesliga as well and Gvardiol is playing in the champions league scoring goals against the biggest teams.
Why is he a washed player? Ain’t what he used to be but if injuries occur who the hell goes in? Another kid? Vida is a good roll player who’s been through the wars.
Or better yet if injuries do occur we’ll bring in Jedvaj and Caleta. C’mon man. There is no veteran depth on Dee
How isn’t he a washed player? he’s diabolical in ability and yes another kid should be selected over him, we need to see progression and move on from Vida because all he will be doing now is just be a cheerleader like he was at the WC. There is no point keeping him in our team especially if Lovren had just retired before.
This Artificial Intelligence (AI) is so real Omg. It almost feels like this non-existent person is answering my posts. Yikes
Quick question? How is Chiellini not washed but Vida is? My point is dude, you need veteran presence on the bench. He may never play but he can teach. Comprende Amigo?
Vida wouldn’t even cut it in the MLS to be perfectly honest, but Vida not being in our team won’t have such a huge effect on centre-backs performances and there is already enough experience in the team that’s far better than Vida’s.
Modric won multiple Champions leagues, La ligas same as Kovacic, Brozovic has won the cups in Italy, Perisic has won multiple trophies in both Germany and Italy and to top it off, a Champions league with all of that as well.
Wouldn’t you think that veteran or elite experienced players on the pitch is far better than it being on the bench?
Chiellini is washed, which is why he is now in MLS.
Never said Chiellini isn’t a washed player now all I’m saying is Vida is
I agree, both Vida and Lovren need to consider retirement at this stage. Being on as substitute is a position some other up coming defender could fill. Can think of many names to fill that spot in the list. Or you could open up opportunities to fill substitutions in the middle, Misic for example could be a good choice for sub when Broz gets tired. Even as a Hajdukovac I really like the way Misic plays in the middle and defensively.
When you let go of a player in some cases it opens up options for who to call up and this can help build and restructure the team in stronger ways.
There very few players outside of Modric, Broz, and Perisic who should still be called up in this manner I think
Lovren gave his heart and soul for Croatia.
He played his best with us.
Two historic runs.
Respect.
Underrated athletically and technically.
His passion lifted him to new levels.
PS .. Liverpool blaming him for all their shit was unfair.
I am glad he is content at Lyon.
Pair a big stud next to Gvardiol and it is lock down time for Croatia.
I really don’t care much about the gvardiol goal.. never going to count on him for producing much of those (although he did he a WC one). getting poor marks on defense is more concerning.. but overall, I’m not too concerned about him as a player…he’s good. His biggest problem is that he will have an injury riddled career. Certain people’s bodies are just injury prone and it seems he is one of them. Sometimes greatness and being injury prone go hand in hand as the human body is not designed to have outlier specifications so when functioning it can produce incredible results, but is also not sustainable. An obvious example would be Zion Williamson who people always say, “A guy that big shouldn’t be able to move like that!”…well guess what, Zion only plays half his games so it turns out they shouldn’t.
Inter trying to sell Broz is not shocking. As I pointed out, there is a strong case to be made that the NT plays better without Bozo-vic. The guy is constantly setting running records…. is he a soccer player or a marathoner? Seems like a lot of wasted motion. Why can everyone else do the same job without running around with their head cut off.
As for Lovren… for the criticism of him, he came through for the NT.. I look forward to chuckling in the future when someone on our defense messes up, and this board invokes the name Lovren and longs for the days we had him.
Were you absent this World Cup truth, or league season for Inter?? Strong case to let go of Broz??
He won best midfielder in Serie A, beat his own record on distance covered in the recent World Cup, and made up for a lot of what was going on in the backline, due to Lovren mostly. Look, when your playing against teams like Brazil and Argentina it is never gonna be easy and mistakes will come. But even in the 3-0 victory we had in 2018, against Argentina, it was Broz’s interception and setup to Rakitic’s goal that helped seal the third goal, and a historic 3-0 victory. Not to mentioned Broz narrowly scored against Brazil in this World Cup which would have helped us win before penalty shots. If he wasn’t playing while/after nursing an injury he probably would have scored.
I don’t really follow the comments here.
Not to mention that Gvardiol was our best defender and Centre Back, by a mile in this World Cup. It’s not just people on this website talking about it, it was every pundit during every game of the World Cup who was saying the exact same thing, during the World Cup. Having Gvardi, is like having a miniature regista at the backline, it’s like you didn’t even see the passes this guy is producing at his age, as a defender.
Lovren himself said Gvardi is far better than himself at this stage and age.
So come again??😄
Gvardiol’s defense was pretty good. He shut down Haaland whenever Haaland had the ball.
Just read that Lovren is retiring from the national team with immediate effect.
I think that he has picked the right time to retire with so many younger players ready to take his spot. Over the years he has taken a lot of flak and criticism from people some justified but in my opinion a lot of it was way over the top. He played well at both 2018 and 2022 World Cups and wore the national shirt with pride and passion and for this I’m personally grateful to him and wish him well at Lyon and his life in general.
Two excellent world cups is probably enough for him. He was unlucky at Euro 2021, but really wasn’t bad there either. He’s having a good season at Lyon, too! Probably chose to end on a high note after spending so much of his career being exaggeratedly criticized.
Bogu Hvala.
Glad to see him gone. Now we can move forward with a more dynamic CB pairing that can help bring the ball forward and alleviate pressure from Modric and Brozovic (who were both very gassed at the last two tournaments having to both defend and create offense).
Lovren officially has retired from The National Team
That would now make Gvardiol the boss of the D.
Vida should be the next to retire.
Agree Vida should retire.
Yes indeed. The younger defenders now need to be chosen and primed in these positions. Both the Nations League and World Cup success we have had is proof of this.
Unlike our midfield which is holding strong, I don’t necessarily agree with some of the comments above. Lovren can definitely be held accountable for things on the previous world cup as well as this one, many of the goals fell to his errors. Just look back at the replays, he was in position to defend but couldn’t do it.
Regardless, he gave the best performances possible and has two medals now to show for it. So in either case, I give the guy credit for what he has achieved with the squad, but I think his decision is the right one. Vida needs to follow on suit.
I agree.
I don’t think he should have started in this World Cup. People love him for the Japan assist, but he had quite a few errors that could have really cost us and I think him being in the lineup took its toll on Modric, Kovacic and Brozovic during the tournament.
Agreed, not sure why a lot of people do not see this about Lovren. He puts so much stress on the players, and puts them in bad positions, which has led to some (if not a lot) of the goals against us.
Messi’s pass for instance should have been stopped by Lovren, the header to keep the ball out against Lukaku which was a near goal against us, I am sure there are more moments.if we sit back now just from this recent World Cup.
https://youtu.be/KRPJ3Gy_2_o
37 ..
Luka legend!!
Gvardiol along with his technical skills is a physical specimen. He first leaped from a vertical position and then braced himself against the defender.
This is his second iconic header from two different angles.
What an added weapon for Croatia for your CB to be able to score goals.
Throw a 192 cm Musa up there on set pieces and maybe another Erlic CB?
Now it’s an aerial party on set pieces.
Hey, we are at the place where we have to manufacture goals some how.
Set pieces used to be our nemesis.
Now it can be our strength.
Goal here and there to break bunkers is right on time.
Man city without KDB is pedestrian.
Dejan Lovren just announced his retirement from our national team.
The guy gave his all for us. Tons of respect.
Final and semi-final at the World Cup.
Heroj!!!!
Truth is awfully silent tonight.
Haaland with another no-show in a big game.
I thought it was strictly for Norway games, but I guess it extends to big games for his club as well.
That “trade everyone on the Cro National Team for Haaland” thread won’t age well.
Some are saying it should have been called back as he was fouling the guy??
Amazing stuff tho
We have a 20 year old defender scoring in CL
Let’s hope someone else comes up and we can have two potential generational talents at once
Besides luka of course
That was no foul. The defender didn’t jump, so the hands on him had no effect on the play. But English fans and commentators will, of course, argue that it was a foul.
I did not watch the game but I’m reading some recaps and stuff.
Was Haaland quiet because he didn’t play well or did Gvardiol have something to do with that?
I would say Haaland was quiet tonight. No KDB giving him service.
Oh ok thanks.
https://www.goalstube.online/2023/02/leipzig-manchester-city.html?m=m2
For those of you who might not be able to view the video.
His teammate gave the ball right back to City in their own half !
That header was powerful.
Second iconic header in money matches.
And it begins ..
Nikola Moro came off the bench and assisted the winning goal in Bologna’s 2-1 win at Sampdoria last weekend.
https://www.goalstube.online/2023/02/sampdoria-bologna.html
The dude has it all! Simple as that
I believe pigs fly, and birds swim, and Gvardiol wins the Golden skull trophy at this rate.