After a brief dip in performance, Ivan Rakitić is back in World Cup form for Barcelona. Rakitić played the full 90 minutes for Barca on Saturday and scored a beautiful volley from 18 yards out in the 88th minute in a 4-2 victory over former club Sevilla. Raketa respectfully did not celebrate the goal against Sevilla. Barcelona now sit atop the La Liga table by one point – and with Lionel Messi out three weeks due to an arm injury – more will be demanded from Rakitić and company; especially with El Clasico coming up.
Rakitić Volley
Marko Rog Goal @ 4:45
Napoli’s Marko Rog made a quick cameo appearance on Saturday – coming on in the 85th minute – and scored an insurance goal within the first minute of being on the pitch. The strike through a busy Udinese defense made it 3-0 and will lift Rog’s confidence as he has been a bench player for Napoli this year.
Livaja Goal
Marko Livaja scored a goal for AEK Athens on Saturday against an unknown Apollon Smyrnis side in a 2-0 win. Livaja did nothing for Croatia in two September matches against Portugal and Spain – and with the current crop of U-21 players moving up the ranks – his time with the Vatreni may be short lived.
Meanwhile in England, Dejan Lovren got a rare start at right back for Liverpool on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town. The win keeps Liverpool undefeated in the young season and tied atop the table with Manchester City. Lovren was given a ‘6’ grade for contributing to the clean sheet but was once again gawked at for a ‘bizarre’ clearance attempt, RushTheKop reported. Mateo Kovačić got the start for Chelsea and played 69 minutes in a 2-2 draw vs. Manchester United. Chelsea remain undefeated as well, but when will Kovačić get on the scoresheet?
Is it time to panic at Real Madrid? The reigning European champions lost again this weekend – this time 2-1 to Levante – and have now dropped points in five straight matches. Their lone goal vs. Levante was their first in 450 minutes and something gas to be brewing in the locker room since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Luka Modrić played the full 90 minutes vs. Levante but his magical World Cup form looks to be gone. Luckily for Real Madrid, the rest of La Liga has beat up on each other and they only trail leaders Barcelona by four points. Maybe their Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen this week can get them back to there winning ways.
^^ @TGAD and all
Truth bcuz we already seen you with crncovic on the post. You were right. Imposing figure you are. Wow.
Oh man, not a single comment here today on a weekend recap Monday
@Tgad- To tell the Truth, Rog has not performed “exceptionally well” when called upon. Far from it.
@all-Our entire Russian form was predicated on an extremely menacing press, which was finally executed when Dalic stumbled upon the Mandzukic and Rebic combination.
I like Kramaric, but watching him alleviate opposing team’s backline with his lack of pressing comprehension is hugely disappointing.
Glad Vlasic is playing solidly, but I need to see how he pairs with Rebic as we look to fill Mandzukic’s vast void.
@all-biggest news for me this weekend was Vrsaljko playing a full game. His presence alone will help us shake some rust.
Looks like Halilovic’s time with Milan is going to be over b4 it even began. Does qualifying the u-21 outweigh his resme thus far:
-Dropped from Barcelona, mediocre on Barcelona B team
-Played for Sporting Gijon when they got relegated.
-Played for Las Palmas when they got relegated.
Watched the Chelsea game and was rather impressed with Kovacic. Particularly the first half. Chelsea definitely suit him and it doesnt hurt to be playing near Hazard. They’ve got a nice understanding on that left side.
The Croatian midfield has as much talent as it needs. What is missing is the right secondary combination. Modric-Rakitic-Brozovic proved to be an effective combination in the world cup because of their ability to maintain possession and keep their sights on holes in the defense—not an easy task against Denmark, Russia, or England. France was a tougher opponent, the game would have been different if the referee had been fair. Badelj might have been a better defensive mid than Brozovic in that situation. Badelj-Kovacic-Modric played well against Portugal. It would be interesting to see Rog enter the game plan too—he has performed exceptionally well when called upon.
@ Dannyj
That’s what I am talking about.
Dalić needs to infuse November squad with hungry young ballers.
Win, lose or draw .. UNL should stand for UEFA November League.
Full focus to bring young competitors who want to make a name for themselves.
Is Rakuten Ivan Rakitics company? Sounds fishy.
Well they left it on the field for us not their club teams
Our boys will be fine
And when u watch a guy like Vlasic gives us all hope
A potential game breaker in the making
The young guys seeing what the old guys just did just fed the beast hard. It may take some time to adjust but the pipeline will feed the senior squad just fine
It’s been interesting but it seems like the world cup has taken years off the lives of many of our players. Seems like they left something of themselves in Russia
Modric, rakitic, kramaric all of form
Lovren, vida, strinic, vrsaljko, rebic, kramaric all dealing with injuries
Etc etc
@ Poglavnik
Forgive me as I am an admitted Luka Modrić apologist.
But I have said it for years ..
Toni Kroos is a one dimensional center midfielder that Modrić has had to carry around for years. If he were Croatian they would have dropped his ass two years ago.
Modrić needs support at this point in his career.
Casemiro lays the wood.
Real Madrid needs to have a Marko Rog type player to run box and let Modrić create the magic.
Inter have this vision for him.
Kroos is 28 and had a shit group stage World Cup .. what is his excuse for doing nothing in the pivot ?
No excuse because he has zero creative game ..
Respect to his sweet right foot deliverers but you have to bring more to both Real Madrid and Germany.
Don’t get me started on the armada of young Spanish scrubs that have been super imposed on the team by Perez .. starting with the coach who fucked up his World Cup resume.
Form is temporary .. class is forever.
nvm here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iAPD25uIVs
Any link to Raketa goal that’s still up on YT?
@Soul Champ
Hope you’re right.
Watched the Madrid match and either Luka’s aged about 4 years in 4 months or he’s really trying to play himself off of that team. Hope he goes to Inter in January. Last I heard was Icardi for Luka AND 40 million.
https://www.croatiaweek.com/what-ufc-champ-khabib-nurmagomedov-said-to-croatian-international-nikola-vlasic/
UFC champ khabib congratulates vlasic .
https://youtu.be/gkigouPWnOc
Rakitic is more skilled than we give him credit.
He has 4 more years at top level.
Kovacic needs to lock down a regular spot. Mateo has been playing with the big boys long enough.
Hmmm .. Marko ROBO Rog .. takes all the set kicks v Jordan .. gains confidence .. scores for Napoli !!
Ancelotti respects the nogometaš.
Rog is a beast.
Ancelotti knew he would begin to play his part this season for Napoli.
also Rog scored!!!!
omg guys. this has been a fantastic season for kovacic so far. the first time he is being genuinely relied on as a big player and he has responded very well. he has played extremely well so far and will continue to improve as he becomes more and more confident. he played a killer pass for hazards goal against liverpool and has also got into the box on several occasions and taken shots where he has been unlucky not to score. one game he gets subbed out and some of you guys shit the bed. lol. btw barkley is a very talented player as is loftus cheek and fabregas all of whom he is ahead of at chelsea and rightly so. quit whining
Chelsea is the perfect spot for mateo back pass kovacic
They are playing an ultra ball control heavy and pressure the defense deep type of style
That is resulting in by far the most passes completed in the premier league
Thus is kovacic ideal world
So far, Chelsea is playing like kovacic. A lot of possession but little bite. Despite shooting on average 18 times which is second in the league they only have .1 expected goals per shot which is sixth
I’ve seen Kovačić score some nice goals for Inter Milan under Benitez as the #10 in both jersey and field deployment.
Young nogometaš need to play.
It seems we are doing a good job from 16-18 when forming young pros but BS transfer moves are fucking up the next step from 18-24?
So we are not getting the genuine article.
Germany seems to be the only spot to go for a young nogometaš to develop properly.
They are so frugal that when they buy a player they need to develop said player.
Too many of these kids are reclamation projects?
Vlašić was this player when got to Everton.
Eye ball test would let you know he could ball.
We are still treated like second class footballers.
I like “B” leagues for 18-22 year olds to develop and make some real money.
Then if you are real go to a big club.
Shame because Benitez had a vision for Kovačić.
Sarri needs to save his career.
And yes HNS has a part to play as well.
Kovacic gives you stability in the midfield. He’s just not a complete midfielder that you can rely on to spearhead an attack (which is why he gets criticized).
After Modric retires, a midfield trio of Vlasic as the #10 with Rakitic and Kovacic behind him will work just fine.
It’s just a shame because a lot of it is mental with him. He probably could make some awesome slalom runs into the opposing box…but he was never good at finishing. Always looks like he’s trying to ‘pass’ it into the net.
Kovacic is a jack of all trades and a master of nothing. Mateo started at inter at 17… Seven years later he is still a player with major potential…but he has done what? Kovacic needs to figure out if he is coming or going. Mateo occasionally make a nice run and pass….dude needs to step up and perform for at least three games straight. I see the potential!
How Dražen Petrović Paved the Way for Croatian Basketball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpgdnucBqQA
Re: the Otamendi kick on Rakitic…
I liked it more when Rakitic fired the warning shot, and cracked the ball hard off the woodwork with the free kick he received from that foul (and dirty kick).
It was a sign of things to come.
Razbijač, true…but we all know that even if Kovacic had a wide open empty net, he would still hesitate and look to lay it off before actually trying to score himself.
Kovacic missed a golden chance too (in front of the net against Nigeria) when he came off the bench as a forward, after Nikola Kalinic refused to sub in.
I forgot what happened on that play, but I recall he failed to finish it. He’s just not a finisher (in any way, shape or form). Most of it is mental. He just defers.
@ Maminjo
I do think that Rakitic was in a much better position to score on that play. As Kova still had the goalie and another player on the line to beat.
By Kovacic opting to cooly lay the ball off, it gave Rakitic an essentially empty net to score.
Besides this goal looked a lot better than Kova taking it himself.
But more importantly it gave Rakitic the opportunity for a little PAY-BACK after being kicked in the head with the ball by Otamendi. Poetic Justice Indeed!
Well, I didn’t watch the game (and I doubt any of us here did) so we can’t comment.
The twitter feed is filled with angry fans who were upset that Kovacic was taken off for Barkley, and Chelsea went down 2-1 shortly after the change.
I’ll have to watch the extended highlights, but the change was probably a negative one, even though Barkley did score at the end.
One thing Kovacic is very good at, is defense, holding possession, and completing passes in two-thirds of the field.
He’s a typical tika-taka player, who does not make too many dangerous passes into the opponent’s third for fear of losing possession. He plays the long game, but it can be frustrating because it seems like he’s doing nothing (which isn’t true).
He’s still a very useful player, but only when used with players who press forward (like Hazard). He can’t start on our National Team until one of Rakitic or Modric retires, simply because they both have that tendency to not press forward much either…although they have been doing it moreso lately, Kova does not at all…he even passed off a certain goal in the Argentina game for Rakitic to score. This is why guys like Brozovic and even Vlasic are better suited to start when Rakitic and Modric are on the field.
Kovacic is overrated. Mateo is all show and no go.
Mateo cannot score goals. It’s a glaring problem. Wonderful
Passer but just can’t score. I wonder how he is on dates?
Does he pass his women around because he never
Scores?
Barkley is a high effort low talent guy too.
If he loses his spot to Barkley, he needs to be benched on our National Team permanently.
Looking like Kovacic might be slowly losing his starting spot at Chelsea. Barkley with another goal. Kova has loads of talent but has never shown it. I do wonder if he ever will.
Derby della Madonnina**** we’ve watched enough Milan/Inter soccer over the years to get that correct