What a crazy game in Manchester that saw Real Madrid come from behind in the final six minutes of the match to steal a win at the Etihad! For a 1st leg match, this had everything you would want from both clubs.
-Gvardiol with an assist and fantastic game defensively (Real Madrid defeats City 3-2)
-Perišić scores for PSV (Juventus defeats PSV 2-1)
-Kovač wins as manager (Dortmund defeats Sporting Lisbon 3-0)
Gvardiol had a phenomenal game defensively as he went toe-to-toe with Mbappe on multiple occasions. He did well against Real Madrid and added a wonderful “chest pass” assist to Haaland for the opening goal. Complete composure. You can argue he should have covered better on Mbappe’s “whiffed shot” goal but things just got lost in the box. Goal.com gave Gvardiol a solid 9/10 match rating for his performance. “Outstanding at both ends of the pitch. Charged into tackles and repeatedly won them while he was lethal in attack, providing a threat with his passes from deep and then acting like an auxiliary striker, laying the ball off to Haaland for the goal.”
Mateo Kovačić came off the bench in the 61st minute for Ake. He will go down as the quasi-villain to City fans as his errant pass in injury time lead to Real Madrid’s winner. He was given a 4/10 grade from Goal.com in this match. “Cumbersome in possession and lost a couple of 50/50s. Didn’t sense the danger for Madrid’s second equaliser.”
Luka Modrić came off the bench in the 81st minute. Not much for him to do in both Real Madrid comeback goals.
Ivan Perišić looked like a 20 year-old version of himself Tuesday night in Italy. He scored a wonderful shot just inside the near post to level the game for PSV at 1-1 versus Juventus. PSV would end up losing their 1st leg 2-1 but what composure from Perišić!
Vlasic ties it at Bologna, 1-1 at the half.
Any reviews Drazen Netflix doc ?
Ljutic sisters came 8th (Zrinka) and 44th (Dora) at Saalbach earlier this week
***.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=AL&competitorid=252519&raceid=122894
Orsic scored!!!!! Anyone has any idea where to watch his goal?
Orsic scored today
Don’t fret Maminjo Dalic been waiting till he hits 40 to give him some more playing time w the NT
He isn’t the only one fretting! The guy’s goal gave us the bronze in that world cup. I think it’s ridiculous he didn’t get more playing time from Dalic.
Now the guys career is on the rocks. He needs to come back to Dinamo.
Watched last half of Ajax v. USG today in Europa League. 2-0 Ajax.
Sutalo sure looked solid. I know he had that bad start when he first went to Ajax, but right now he looks like the player people thought he was going to be. I think it was a confidence issue, and Ajax was playing so badly he just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the team is playing well now and tied for first with PSV. Sutalo showed good speed and reacted really well, he intercepted passes better than most defenders, he dribbled the ball up field with authority, and he was good at hitting the open Ajax player up field with a pass.
Ivanovic on field for USG. He showed good acceleration, and looked dangerous from time to time. He seems to have a knack for getting open. Maybe he is the type of player who might potentially fill something like Kramaric’s role when Kramaric retires? I don’t know. I am just throwing that out there. Others might have a better perspective on that.
Real Sociedad v. Midtjylland: Sucic did not play and was on the bench according to Sofascore. 2-1 Real.
Guys with super quality to make something happen with a bit of time and being in right place at right time
Orsic (didn’t get enough time)
Petko (forces him to play too many minutes when we know he can’t)
Pasalic ( forces in the wrong position) best used for last 30 minutes to score some trash as he is often in the right place and right time
I’m not shitting on dalic per say but i think we can all agree they weren’t used right
Dalic uses them mostly wrong or not at all
Tell me I’m wrong
lol – now Dinamo want to steal Belcar from Varazdin
The HNL is a complete joke – Dinamo just buy the best players from everyone else to weaken the competition
Beloved Dinamo got at least three favourable calls (5’ hoxha penalty (he dove), 67’ phantom offside for them to go 3-1 up, 90’ clearly offside)
Don’t understand how anyone actually follows it seriously – and w all this help they still 3rd
Well, Hajduk stole Varazdin’s best player (Michele Sego) a few weeks ago.
There’s nothing stopping Hajduk, Rijeka and Osijek from doing what Dinamo is doing…but these guys claim that they need to sell their players to keep the lights on, so until they can scrounge enough cash to keep a team competitive for a full season, it is what it is.
But selling a player of Durdov’s caliber for 5 million isn’t going to help the team long term.
Stanisic on bench. Imagine davis is back in lineup..currently boey laimer gurreiro and davis are ahead of him in fullback pecking order
What the heck is ivanusec still staying
Why are people posting about Mario Pasalic’s goal ?
If you watched it you’d see there was a beautiful cross from the touchline by a WINGER into the box which Pasalic got his head to and into the net
Since the NT does not play with wingers – this goal is not relevant for NT purposes – i.e. we don’t have wingers, never mind wingers who cross balls into the box
We could if Dali would pick them, unfortunately he doesn’t. Pašalić has put as back into many games. He is a good sub.
Pašalić ties it against Brugge!! He has been fairly decent this season.
Mario Pasalic with a nice goal (header) for Atalanta, leveling the score just before halftime (1 : 1). I feel that he has the sense to get himself into the right positions. Many of his goals aren’t pretty, but he always seems to be in the right place.
Dalic: “We found our new right winger boys!!!!”
Cannot tell of that is sarcasm or if you really mean it?? Lol… I’m pretty sure he is technically a midfielder…So I am gonna say sarcasm?? Lol
Of course.
Dalić’s looks for any reason to start Pašalić.
He’s done it numerous times at RW.
I still think the comment about his big head takes the cake…lol. I cannot even remember the cartoon reference it was!?
Think it’s Bonk😁
Pasalic ties it for Atalanta at Brugge, 1-1 halftime.
Gvardiol vs. RM compilation
x.com/fukxumean/status/1889668377624412454
UEFA Youth CL Knockout
Lokomotiva v Sturm Graz (LIVE from 12:00 Cro time on Arenasport 1)
Barcelona v Dinamo LIVE also on Arenasport 1 from 14:00 hrs.
Both matches ended in draws (1 -1 & 2 -2 ) it went straight to penalties and unfortunately for our teams we lost.
Is Gvardiol the Croatian Marcelo?
Kind of…..Marcelo was just as weak defensively as Gvardiol is now. His position is CB and that is where he should play.
For everyone here who likes to criticize Gvardiol…what do you think after today’s game? His attacking instinct seems natural, and really takes teams off guard. He is still defensively sound, but i feel like Pep is pushing him forward like an attacking mid.
Yes, he had a good match today especially in the first half.
Kovacic not so good and you have to put some blame on him for the Real third goal. Poor back pass on the halfway to his teammate who lost possession and Real went on to score the winner in stoppage time.
He was probably MC top player. Excellent pushing forward and very good defensively covering Mbape & Rodrigo.
Man City as a whole is shite though.
I am surprised with all the problems that Real Madrid managed to win this first leg.
Don’t be surprised. Real always find a way in this competition.
Perisic ties it for PSV at Juve, 1-1.
This real vs city matchup is difficult to predict. Both teams have struggled defensively this season because of injuries or just bad form. Real are missing Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Rudiger and now Lucas Vazquez. I have no idea how they’ll patch together a backline. City have just been poor at the back, and its not usually Gvardiol’s fault. Yes, he gets caught up the field too often, but the others are supposed to cover as a team. Walker, Akanji, Ake, Stones have all been poor this season.
I dunno Eric, I still think Real Madrid are more at a disadvantage based on how many players are missing. Even with the problems Man City have they should be able to pull of a victory here.
The only thing aiding your argument is that Man City have not been in a good standing in the Premier League table, so to your point they haven’t been playing very well whereas Real have made a turnaround since the start of the season. Either way Man City have to win this if not Pep Might get sacked..
For Modric, this would be a hell of year for him to have at Real. That is if they not only win at the end of both legs for this match up, but also end up winning the entire thing!
For Gvardiol and Kovačić it helps them both get back some more credibility to their game.
It’s hard to know who to route for here!?
Mudrazija (11 goals in 1,516 min) should get a call up (based on output and playing regularly) for France over
Majer (still injured – only 326 min this season)
Ivanusec (1 goal in 486 min)
Orsic (0 goals in 493 min)
Vlasic (3 goals in 1,141 min)
Robert Ljubicic (3 goals in 1,202 min)
We know it’s never going to happen – Dalic only does Dinamo – but should
Why Mudrazija? If Livaja has been nominated the best player and is leading in stats on so many occasions?? Both goals and assists he is topping it.
That’s a stupid suggestion in my view. It’s like when people pick Petković over Livaja. Personally I argue they are the same.
As it stands Livaja is leading in both goals and assists, I don’t see why anyone else gets picked from the HNL. If your solely basing it on those stats.
Otherwise pick youth players that show promise…
Like why not Ljubičić, who has been great at LASK. Even the other players mentioned in some other posts that are on a team in a top five league. Instead you mention some practically unknown player, no offense Mudrazija, that just had a decent run of goals this season. That does not seem feasible to me.
Most of the players you are mentioning are playing in difficult leagues. It’s much harder to score goals against these opponents that would be why Dalic is picking these players because of their development and the fact that they are playing against harder oppositional teams and playing higher pressure games in major tournaments!!!
WTF are we even discussing here lol!
You may as well pick some chooch from Croatia bush league number 3 only because he has 5000 goals. Doesn’t make difference that he is playing against someone is not that difficult.
Mudrazija is a CM/#10 and #2 in HNL goals scored
Names listed are all also CM/#10 (save Orsic)
Argument is to call him over other CM/#10 (in particular Vlasic)
Compare who Mudrazija is surrounded by on the field at Loko (esp. w/ Cop to Rijeka now) vs. as e.g. who Baturina has around him
Mudrazija is basically carrying a crap team thru games – that is FAR more impressive that anything a Dinamo player is doing – he scored twice vs. Dinamo and twice vs. Hajduk to beat both those teams recently – and that’s with Dinamo / Hajduk able to throw two or more guys on him at all times (as there isn’t much threat elsewhere) but he’s still able to score goals
By your argument Baturina or Sucic should not be on the NT bc they are playing against crap teams like Loko – u can’t have it both ways – it’s not like Baturina lit the CL on fire (the only time he performed was when Petar was next to him e.g. Monaco – and that game doesn’t really count as it was like playing nogomet in a swimming pool – and Dinamo still couldn’t win)
Livaja and Ljubicic are strikers so Mudrazija has no impact on them being called or not (but yes Livaja will be called up and starting in March w/ 99% certainty – hopefully at least we play 2 up top w/ Ivanovic next to him)
P.S. how many of Livaja’s 12 goals are from penalties ?
E.g. he has penalties against Slaven Belupo, Varazdin and Gorica [stopped looking after 3 – there could be more]
So a league table of goals based on OPEN PLAY (which is the only thing that matters) Mudrazija is #1 in goals scored – Livaja as #2 (possibly lower)
Did you forget assists? Livaja is also leading that table/metric? This argument does not stand. Sorry bud.
The year Lewondowski broke records in the German league he had like 12 or 15 penalties… Are we going to discount those too and take away his achievements??
Not drawing a comparison between the two but Thai argument your making definitely does not make sense
Look that’s fine, maybe Mudrazija is decent player, but you started your arguments by looking at the goals scored statistic. You shouldn’t be pointing to that to justify the call up when Livaja is on top of both standings. That’s all I am saying, not suggesting there aren’t other reasons to look at Mudrazija.
I have no issue with either Baturina or Sučić getting the call up just an fyi. They have proven themselves on many ways. There are plenty of great players who deserve a call up from the Dinamo Camp.
My problem is your statement that Dalic should stick to Dinamo. Can’t help but spot that problematic bias. Your incredibly Dinamo centric.
There are believe it or not some good players from Hajduk. Just some food for thought.
So as a person who asked the question on a different thread, Anonymous, if not Livaja. Which I would be okay with if he did not get a call up. Who would you pick from Hajduk if you had to pick someone from Hajduk???
@TheCroatianLad
Lokomotiva director Božidar Šikić:
“Dinamo has the most talented squad, and all the smaller clubs would prefer Dinamo to win the league because if they win, the money follows. That’s pure business.”
“Rijeka has compromised its title chances by selling players.” [Večernji List]
Why bother even playing any of the games ? Just give Dinamo the title from the get go every year. Rijeka selling players every window. All the small teams want Dinamo to win. Preferential treatment Dinamo from the refs. etc etc etc
Serious question
Given Croatia has brought back mandatory military service on Jan 1, 2025 (which it hasn’t had since 2008) – btw not a fan that Serbia announced it first and than Croatia copied, but whatever
Is Luka Vuskovic going to have to do the 2 months (or if he chooses civilna služba instead 4 months) before he joins Tottenham ? Given this was announced in fall of 2024 (after Tottenham signed Vuskovic) they clearly didn’t have this in the timeline for planning purpose – will he miss Tottenham pre-season bc of this ???
How about other HNL players (Baturina, P Sucic, etc) ?
Is there an “exemption” for professional athletes akin to during the war ?
Suspect historically – one of the reason Croats in Switzerland as e.g. didn’t want to get Swiss citizenship (is bc of the mandatory military service they have, which Croatia did not from 2008-2025)
Mario Vuskovic according to the latest media reports has lost his last avenue of appeal for EPO doping. His 4-year ban ends in September 2026.
Has anyone ever had a doping ban for this long?
Four years is a long time, especially for a player this young. They’re essentially ending his career.
Pogba received a four-year ban as well, but he’s already made his money, and my guess is that we will see him come back in less than four years.
Should’ve just said “no” 🙁
Kortrijk 1-2 USG
No goal for Ivanovic on Sunday but he turned provider by threading a nice pass to his teammate to put USG 1-0 up in the 34′
https://dubz.link/v/d7e20e
I’m slightly leaning towards Man City as I hope that Kova and Gvardiol can solidify their first team status, and also because Real can still win La Liga while Man City are already out of the PL title race.
This game could be REAL bad for Gvardiol. Hopefully he won’t be at fault for an of the goals. Real will dominate this game. Modric should get some meaningful minutes in the second half.
RM 4 – MC 1
With all the defensive issues right now in the Real Madrid camp, that score line is highly unlikely. I would be very surprised if they win by that much, they have two or three defensive players missing including Ruger (possibly).
I just cannot see I high score line like that in their favour.
Not to mention that some reports are suggesting problems between Vinicius and Real Madrid.
They may even be selling him at some point.
Ancelotti has a lot of problems to deal with in that team right now.
Personally, I think that Man City is gonna take it. It will be a blowout for Real even though I want Modric to have another Champions League before he retires, that would really solidify his career.
I hope that I am wrong but that is from the stiff I have be reading in the Madrid articles.
Now of somehow, inspire of all the problems, Ancelotti and Modric find a way to win this tournament that would be remarkable! Hopefully it happens.
Its a shame that these two teams have to meet so early in the competition. It would be a great final or semi final. However both teams only have themselves to blame for not qualifying directly. I follow and support both teams closely, but my loyalty will always be with Luka first. His contribution to Croatian sport is unparalleled and I will always cheer for him first. Kova and Gvardiol will have many more chances winning this competition, but it could be Luka’s last CL dance. Whoever wins over the two legs, will hopefully go all the way.
I totally agree Eric.