Open Thread: September 26, 2021

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail, Ezek Ix or NeRObutBlanco.

Disappointing Result.

With Atletico having dropped all 3 points to Alaves, all eyes turned to Los Blancos to see if they could extend their lead at the top of the table. The royal whites were disappointing however and were outplayed for large stretches of the game particularly in the first half. Though they did improve in the second, the formation with Fede Valverde at right back never really clicked and Courtois’ heroics were needed once again to secure a point.

The game was covered in the immediate reaction and player ratings articles. Next up will be FC Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League on Tuesday night at the Bernabeu.

Ancelotti defends his lineup selection.

As reported by Euan McTear the coach spoke to the press after the game and stated that “This is wasn’t our best match of the season. Villarreal won the ball a lot and it was difficult. But, I don’t think our line-up was wrong for tonight. I think it was the right one.”

Well let’s hope we don’t see Fede Valverde at right back especially against good opposition. His energy is much better utilized in midfield.

Brahim can’t stop scoring, Reinier languishing at Dortmund

Brahim Diaz is on the score sheet again and this time got the winner in the 86th minute against Spezia. Milan are the new league leaders after Inter dropped points against Atalanta, though Napoli (who have 5 wins out of 5) are only 1 point behind and have a game in hand.

Real Madrid signed Reinier Jesus Carvalho for 30 million euros as part of the hunt for the next Neymar before he becomes too expensive and promptly loaned him to Dortmund on a two year deal. This is turning into a mistake however as the young talent is hardly seeing any game time to develop.

In his first year in Germany, he made 14 Bundesliga appearances, scoring one goal and adding one assist. However, he has seen far less football under Marco Rose in 2021/22, making just one appearance this term and it only lasted eight minutes. He could quite easily be playing every week in LaLiga Santander for another team, and the lack of game-time has called into question the validity of two-year loans.

The primary issue is that Dortmund has no interest in developing a player unless he’s an extraordinary talent. Risking results to develop him wouldn’t make sense, especially when it would be Real Madrid, a potential Champions League rival, who would stand to benefit.

ICYMI: Why Vinicius Jr Used A Sports Psychologist To Help Unlock His Game.

In this article Dr Raj explains Vinicius Jr’s pre-season consultation with a sports psychology and why it may be the key to his early season success. Give it a read and watch the youtube video as well.