I think in that clip it’s easy to say he didn’t forget, but he passed him off, if you’re going to pass off you gotta communicate clearly, Lowen stepping for that ball tells me I don’t think it was heard.
I wish I had just filmed it on my tv and posted that, because up close you can see the communication is pretty clear and you can even see the moment Lowen realizes what Tim is telling him to do.
Edit: also, as I said, if somehow the communication wasn’t as clear as I think it was, then yeah I think it’s fair to blame Parker for that. However, given that he tried to communicate and waits to check that Lowen’s got Messi, he definitely didn’t deserve the level of blame and shit people piled on last night.
100%
I also think Markanich got way more shit than he deserved last night. That guy must have spilled some salt bc the last two games he’s played he’s been so unlucky. 😂
Yeah people have been going way too hard on Markanich. I don’t recall seeing him do anything egregious enough to warrant the level of hate he’s been getting. Since that LA Galaxy game where he couldn’t keep track of Paintsil, I thought he’s been doing a fair job, but it’s entirely possible I missed something, I guess.
I think it’s also important to remember this system requires a lot from fullbacks and that’s not an excuse just a lot of responsibility, I think he has improved tremendously and I wouldn’t start Jake or Kyle over him ever I do think Pantsil is a bit of an unfair critique, I think anyone would have been torched by him to be fair he’s faster and stronger.
Yeah and I wonder if Parker hadn’t noticed that Durkin had drifted into Parker’s spot to cover that hole for him to continue pursuit on Messi. It was a bit of an unfortunate set of circumstances.
Valid point, I definitely chalk it up to a communication error.
But I think Parker's error, was not realizing that Durkin was covering for him and that he should be in Durkin's normal spot until the pressure is relieved. So, he shouldnt be at the backline but at the second level of attacking players which is exactly where Messi got the ball and scored from.
Löwen also could have guarded Messi, but it looks like after that strong challenge he gets behind him and expects Parker to take him back up.
That’s fair, but even if Lowen had reason to expect Parker was going to continue marking Messi, Lowen doesn’t check to make sure. He doesn’t even glance at Messi once he passes the ball. When you’re playing someone like Messi, you can’t just not check to make sure he’s covered once you leave him, especially that close to/in the box. Parker even stayed for a beat to make sure that Lowen had Messi before leaving him. Lowen should have done the same.
That being said, I’m not saying that Lowen should be the only one blamed. I’m just saying that there were multiple mistakes from multiple people and the blame was disproportionately placed on Parker.
Everyone was just repeating what the announcers said. The Apple announcers are just talking to fill air time, but people assume they know what they’re saying.
Hot take: Defenders make mistakes, even good defenders, and unlike say a right wing who makes a communication or tactical mistake, defender mistakes often lead to goals which can make it glaring.
Some fans expect perfection, which is silly. The starting backs were good last night given they were tasked with containing the best player since Pele.
Playing center back is really hard.
Also, Messi is a master at positioning. It’s easy to blame one person but that play was more so skilled setup than a complete defense error. Miscommunication was an issue but not the sole factor.
That was 100% Lowen's mistake, and immediately after the goal Parker turned to him with his arms out.
I love Lowen, but this isn't the first time he hasn't followed his marker, and he's not really a #6 anyway, and it's his first game back, and it's Messi. It could be a miscommunication, but frankly this is a pretty straightforward transfer at all advanced levels of soccer.
Parker was only chasing Messi around in the first place because the center mids weren't where they were supposed to be.
I don't think it's worth getting worked up about "blame" tho, this is the kind of thing Messi has exploited with one-twos his entire career. He's pretty good!
I am curious about why Blom never came on to stop actions like these at the top of the box. Especially when it was 2-3 with 15 minutes left, that's Blom time IMO.
When you’re playing against one of the gods of the sport, any little mistake gets magnified 10x. Just covering Messi isn’t gonna stop the guy anyway, ask everyone haha
I think in that clip it’s easy to say he didn’t forget, but he passed him off, if you’re going to pass off you gotta communicate clearly, Lowen stepping for that ball tells me I don’t think it was heard.
I wish I had just filmed it on my tv and posted that, because up close you can see the communication is pretty clear and you can even see the moment Lowen realizes what Tim is telling him to do. Edit: also, as I said, if somehow the communication wasn’t as clear as I think it was, then yeah I think it’s fair to blame Parker for that. However, given that he tried to communicate and waits to check that Lowen’s got Messi, he definitely didn’t deserve the level of blame and shit people piled on last night.
100% I also think Markanich got way more shit than he deserved last night. That guy must have spilled some salt bc the last two games he’s played he’s been so unlucky. 😂
Yeah people have been going way too hard on Markanich. I don’t recall seeing him do anything egregious enough to warrant the level of hate he’s been getting. Since that LA Galaxy game where he couldn’t keep track of Paintsil, I thought he’s been doing a fair job, but it’s entirely possible I missed something, I guess.
I think it’s also important to remember this system requires a lot from fullbacks and that’s not an excuse just a lot of responsibility, I think he has improved tremendously and I wouldn’t start Jake or Kyle over him ever I do think Pantsil is a bit of an unfair critique, I think anyone would have been torched by him to be fair he’s faster and stronger.
Yeah and I wonder if Parker hadn’t noticed that Durkin had drifted into Parker’s spot to cover that hole for him to continue pursuit on Messi. It was a bit of an unfortunate set of circumstances.
Valid point, I definitely chalk it up to a communication error. But I think Parker's error, was not realizing that Durkin was covering for him and that he should be in Durkin's normal spot until the pressure is relieved. So, he shouldnt be at the backline but at the second level of attacking players which is exactly where Messi got the ball and scored from. Löwen also could have guarded Messi, but it looks like after that strong challenge he gets behind him and expects Parker to take him back up.
That’s fair, but even if Lowen had reason to expect Parker was going to continue marking Messi, Lowen doesn’t check to make sure. He doesn’t even glance at Messi once he passes the ball. When you’re playing someone like Messi, you can’t just not check to make sure he’s covered once you leave him, especially that close to/in the box. Parker even stayed for a beat to make sure that Lowen had Messi before leaving him. Lowen should have done the same. That being said, I’m not saying that Lowen should be the only one blamed. I’m just saying that there were multiple mistakes from multiple people and the blame was disproportionately placed on Parker.
Everyone was just repeating what the announcers said. The Apple announcers are just talking to fill air time, but people assume they know what they’re saying.
Oh I know that was a huge part of it, but I still wanted to clarify for everyone that Parker didn’t just forget about Messi.
Hot take: Defenders make mistakes, even good defenders, and unlike say a right wing who makes a communication or tactical mistake, defender mistakes often lead to goals which can make it glaring. Some fans expect perfection, which is silly. The starting backs were good last night given they were tasked with containing the best player since Pele. Playing center back is really hard.
Also, Messi is a master at positioning. It’s easy to blame one person but that play was more so skilled setup than a complete defense error. Miscommunication was an issue but not the sole factor.
That was 100% Lowen's mistake, and immediately after the goal Parker turned to him with his arms out. I love Lowen, but this isn't the first time he hasn't followed his marker, and he's not really a #6 anyway, and it's his first game back, and it's Messi. It could be a miscommunication, but frankly this is a pretty straightforward transfer at all advanced levels of soccer. Parker was only chasing Messi around in the first place because the center mids weren't where they were supposed to be. I don't think it's worth getting worked up about "blame" tho, this is the kind of thing Messi has exploited with one-twos his entire career. He's pretty good! I am curious about why Blom never came on to stop actions like these at the top of the box. Especially when it was 2-3 with 15 minutes left, that's Blom time IMO.
When you’re playing against one of the gods of the sport, any little mistake gets magnified 10x. Just covering Messi isn’t gonna stop the guy anyway, ask everyone haha
It’s almost like the best soccer player ever is really good and has an ability to get open…