Napoli post-match thread

[aguerrrroooooooooooo]

Thats why we have a big squad

Exactly, rotation is needed to keep the players fresh

 

[cyberblue]

I love how pessimistic some of you are. But you can not be as pessimistic as me - well before Zaha came back ;)

You are a team I love to watch . That is why I am here - you are one of the best teams in the world. You are favs to top the group. The test on your defense away to Napoli will be huge - but you have to play these games in the CL. And you need the test.

İt is great to watch but a bit nervy at times

 

[Magicpole]

The issue that was most forefront in my mind second half was, better strikers from better teams will punish the hesitancy in defence. The unforced mistakes playing out of danger areas needs addressed, otherwise progress the the latter stages will be beyond them.

Defensively you just aren't there yet.

 

[wythenshaweblue£££]

Great performance last night and was good to see us holding out for the win. We may have bottled that game last season. Well played City onwards and upwards the return leg should be good.

 

[aguerrrroooooooooooo]

No one has said we've qualified.

We simply have to take 1 point off either Napoli or Shakhtar to guarantee it though.

This isn't quite true, we could lose to Napoli and feyernoyd (unlikely I know) and take a point off Shaktar leaving us on 10 points
Napoli beat us by 2 goals, draw to Shaktar and beat feyernoyd, they end up on 10 points and above us on superior head to head.
Shaktar beat feyernoyd, draw to Napoli and draw to us and end up on 11 points.
We'd end up in third and out. A highly unlikely scenario but still possible

 

[Tricky_Trev]

I thought we played it from the back too much, it wasn't successful and the players themselves were nervous about it as the game wore on, I think Napoli major chances came from fuck ups in the back where we were trying to play from the back through 5 or 6 pressers.

When we do that and the opposition press us a lot we tended to fold last season, and I saw that happening last night to a degree.

pep needs to do something about that and stop it happening before that mindset takes hold again this year

It's interesting then because I really feel the opposite is true. The quicker we boot the ball upfield, the quicker it comes straight back at us with interest. We absolutely MUST play out from the back at all times. If we get caught out, that is just part of the learning process to get better at it. Once we break that first press we are flying and have the space to attack. The more practice we get at playing that way, the sooner we'll be a genuine giant of European football.

 

[davymcfc]

Indeed, but it could also be that both teams are actually more of a problem away from home, as the onus isn't on us to bust our knackers winning the game in the first 30 mins, so we have more energy for later.

Getting a result in Napoli is a big one though imo, not because it's crucial for qualification, but because it effectively means we can concentrate on domestic football as we should beat Feyenoord even with players rested.

I'm sure that's why Pep has been pushing this 11 so hard now, to get the job done early.

At this point I don't fear anyone. We have the ability to go to Naples and get a result. They are the ones who need to force the game. Any result there and it will allow us the luxury of rotation in that shaktar game in the week before the derby. Provided we beat feyenoord at home of course.

 

[Sky Blue]

It's interesting then because I really feel the opposite is true. The quicker we boot the ball upfield, the quicker it comes straight back at us with interest. We absolutely MUST play out from the back at all times..

Exactly what Pep said in his post match presser.

 

[citizenyank76]

Team dealt with the high press so well. Stones looked as cool as a cucumber. Great performance.

 

[Claytop]

The issue that was most forefront in my mind second half was, better strikers from better teams will punish the hesitancy in defence. The unforced mistakes playing out of danger areas needs addressed, otherwise progress the the latter stages will be beyond them.

Defensively you just aren't there yet.

Better teams? This was a team that are top of their division with a 100% record for ffs, hardly push overs. I don't think people would be happy until we beat Madrid, Bayern & PSG 5-0 in consecutive games!