Tostão: How good is a well-played game – 02/19/2023 – Tostão

Football is experiencing an epidemic of statistics of all kinds, of all tastes. Some are essential for knowledge and analyses; others, useless, that serve for entertainment and increase of audience. They also love to compare numbers, even with very different samples. It only takes a player to score a few goals in a few matches to be considered a top scorer.

In the middle of the week, regardless of the dozens of statistics shown, we had several games, in Brazil and Europe, for various competitions.

Corinthians and Palmeiras played a beautiful and balanced game, Raphael Veiga and Rony teamed up for two goals. I’ve been saying for a while that Ron is better than he looks. He’s even better than I thought. Abel Ferreira has been testing the boy Endrick from the flanks, where he will make better use of his speed. He and Ron take turns at the center of the attack.

Corinthians, at home, is very strong. He will have to solve the affective lack when he plays away, because of the absence of the fans. I still don’t understand the reason for Romero’s frequent line-ups, at the beginning of matches or during them. It must be a nostalgia for what he played.

Against Palmeiras, Corinthians formed a trio in the midfield with a defensive midfielder (Roni) and a midfielder on each side (Giuliano and Renato Augusto), as is customary in European teams. They found it strange and brave. Brazil is still thinking about the past, at the time of the two midfielders in line, more scorers, and a connecting midfielder, the number 10.

Corinthians and Palmeiras need signings to improve the quality of the cast. Good substitutes are missing for Róger Guedes and Yuri Alberto and for Zé Rafael and Raphael Veiga.

In Europe, for the Champions Cup, what surprised me in Bayern Munich’s 1-0 victory over PSG, in Paris, was the total dominance of the Germans. Bayern played with three defenders and seven players in the opposing field. The wingers were sharp, aggressive. PSG only improved after Bayern’s goal and Mbappé’s entry.

For the English Championship, another game, Manchester City beat Arsenal in a balanced duel. Guardiola, like Bayern did against PSG, fielded three defenders and seven players in the opponent’s field. He didn’t do well in defense or attack. At half-time, the coach changed, and City improved. Haaland scored another goal. However, in this period with the top scorer, City had a drop in performance and results. That doesn’t mean it’s because of Haaland, but Guardiola is watching.

For the Europa League, another beautiful game between Barcelona and Manchester United, a 2-2 tie. The match was as good as the best among the main teams in the Champions Cup. Barcelona and United have grown a lot this season. The Barça boys, Pedri and Gavi, are getting better every day, although they still lack the wisdom of a midfielder like Modric.

Another exciting and excellent match was Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the Champions Cup. The ball didn’t stop, with many goal chances on both sides.

The exceptional midweek matches reinforce my impression, which is shared by many, that top European teams play better than top European and South American teams in World Cups.

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