Napoli (H) | CL | Post Match Thread

This has probably been answered already but: wasn’t the future Golden Balloon supposed to be playing last night or was he substituted at the same time as Kev?
 
OB1 said:
What I thought was very obvious is that the coaches have been working with Khus on how he should move going forward in the RB role.

The positional changes with Bernie were pure Pep positional play.

Our Kid couldn’t go to the game so I took a very good friend who is a West Ham fan and last time he came along, he was critical of Khus. He knows his stuff and even has some coaching badges. Last night, he impressed and saying you don’t need a right back…. I still think we do because we need at least one proven specialist RB. However, if Kodir enjoys playing RB, he could develop into a very good one, but I think he will likely always have a defensive orientation i.e. I don’t see him being a wing back or a central mid.
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Good insight that .
 
OB1 said:
It is too early in the season to get carried away positively or negatively. However, you can make performance judgements regardless of the opposition or circumstances. E.g. Phil played two world class and crucial passes that would have been such against any team. Doku tore through and Italian defence and scored a brilliant goal. We know Phil can perform consistently but we are not sure about Doku; however, if Doku can perform consistently as he has done in the last two games, he create havoc for a lot of teams.
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I’ll settle for one of those ‘jinky’ runs from Doku per game…..provided they all end in a goal.
 
the blue panther said:
I've said it previously, when Doku attacks down the middle, he can be as devastating as Messi was. We've seen it now in consecutive games - no one can stop him legally when he bursts through. It's fantastic to see, and the lad must be feeling very confident about things now.

We're creating defensive nightmares with him, Foden and Haaland around the edge of the box. Unstoppable.
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Absolutely.
 
danielwood5 said:
Getting a touch is irrelevant, that's a commentators dumbing down of the rules along the same lines of "He's the last man so he's got to go".
Getting a touch only matters if the ball is knocked far enough away from the attacker that they no longer have control of the ball before the action of knocking the ball loose brimgs the attacker down.
Unfortunately, because the commentators go on about a player 'getting a touch' everyone expects referees to look for the slightest brush of a foot against a ball but this isn’t mentioned anywhere in IFAB's The Laws of the Game.
We're at the point now that referees seem to referee the game according to what the pundits think the rules are as opposed to the actual rules, it does my head in.
It was a clear indirect free kick and shouldn't have needed forensic VAR intervention, as the defender "impedes an opponent with contact" and was then correctly shown a red card for an obvious denial of a goal scoring opportunity, it should have been a simple decision.
The whole getting a touch thing is up there with commentators insisting "there's contact so he's entitled to go down" as one of the most irritating ways they've changed the way the game is played and referee'd.
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I think you mean direct free kick but otherwise I agree - it was obvious from the stands he fouled him and had to go!
 
Thought their player who got sent off reminded me of Morgan Gibbs White of Forest
Who got Rodri sent off at the Etihad...
Their captain would have come off the.field of play anyway , as I'm sure he did his hamstring in when desperately stretching for that ball ...
It was a sublime pass from Foden, the merest touch,it bedazzled the oppenent caught him off guard and made him act in a desperate manner.
Sheer brilliance of Phil Foden.
 
OB1 said:
Erm, Dias made the most passes and had a 91.7% pass completion. He has the fourth best pass completion stats in the team for the season so far. Anything over 90% is the benchmark for City’s defenders.

There’s always room for improvement but Dias passing is not a big concern. He achieves high levels of completion and he is very calm on the ball.
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I think it's an example of where stats are misleading. Unless there're a stat for oops mispasses per 90 or average time taken not passing while practically stationary.

If I remember right Dias passed to a Napoli player at least 3 times last night.

He's still a very good CB who is good at simple sideways 2 touch passing. He's not a Stones level CB though so shouldn't try to be.
 
danielwood5 said:
Getting a touch is irrelevant, that's a commentators dumbing down of the rules along the same lines of "He's the last man so he's got to go".
Getting a touch only matters if the ball is knocked far enough away from the attacker that they no longer have control of the ball before the action of knocking the ball loose brings the attacker down.
Unfortunately, because the commentators go on about a player 'getting a touch' everyone expects referees to look for the slightest brush of a foot against a ball but this isn’t mentioned anywhere in IFAB's The Laws of the Game.
We're at the point now that referees seem to referee the game according to what the pundits think the rules are as opposed to the actual rules, it does my head in.
It was a clear direct free kick and shouldn't have needed forensic VAR intervention, as the defender "impedes an opponent with contact" and was then correctly shown a red card for an obvious denial of a goal scoring opportunity, it should have been a simple decision.
The whole getting a touch thing is up there with commentators insisting "there's contact so he's entitled to go down" as one of the most irritating ways they've changed the way the game is played and referee'd.
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I thought a red was harsh. Deffo free kick but it was a genuine attempt to get the ball. No malice or intent to foul.
I know thems the rules now but..
 
roubaixtuesday said:
Anyone know why the Napoli fans had their banners upside down?
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Having been to Southern Italy twice this year, I was really impressed with their display of upside-down flags as a political statement against the Italian state, signifying a victory over the perceived discrimination against Southern Italy and a declaration of their 'Champions in Italy' rather than 'Champions of Italy'. This symbolic act protests what they view as a historical pattern of neglect and prejudice directed at Naples and the broader southern region of Italy. Loved the fact everywhere we went we saw Napoli flags and banners hanging and was a little envious of their passion. I almost bought a KDB shirt on our second visit but couldn't bring myself to wearing another clubs shirt despite how lovely it is.

20250803_130432.jpg
 
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Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
Think being so defensive minded allows O’Reilly to push up which helps Doku and it’s probably where Pep wants him to be.
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Probably right, but I'd happily have a mirror of Khus on the left, if there is such a beast.

If the remaining 6 players are fluid enough and have the right quality, they'll be plenty enough to worry any defence.
 
danielwood5 said:
Getting a touch is irrelevant, that's a commentators dumbing down of the rules along the same lines of "He's the last man so he's got to go".
Getting a touch only matters if the ball is knocked far enough away from the attacker that they no longer have control of the ball before the action of knocking the ball loose brings the attacker down.
Unfortunately, because the commentators go on about a player 'getting a touch' everyone expects referees to look for the slightest brush of a foot against a ball but this isn’t mentioned anywhere in IFAB's The Laws of the Game.
We're at the point now that referees seem to referee the game according to what the pundits think the rules are as opposed to the actual rules, it does my head in.
It was a clear direct free kick and shouldn't have needed forensic VAR intervention, as the defender "impedes an opponent with contact" and was then correctly shown a red card for an obvious denial of a goal scoring opportunity, it should have been a simple decision.
The whole getting a touch thing is up there with commentators insisting "there's contact so he's entitled to go down" as one of the most irritating ways they've changed the way the game is played and referee'd.
Click to expand...
Exactly . Action replays have made contact with the ball or player seem important as it's something unique to television and the pundits can pontificate for an age . So it becomes a trial by slow mo . There are two parallel audiences to please and those of us at games are being sacrificed for the armchair fan riveted by real time drama and loose opinions . Television companies fund the PL , no one dare correct this by reiterating the rules . All part of the gravy train as a single controversial decision in an otherwise dull goaless draw can draw as many eyes on the page as a six nil thrashing.
 
Blue2112 said:
Having been to Southern Italy twice this year, I was really impressed with their display of upside-down flags as a political statement against the Italian state, signifying a victory over the perceived discrimination against Southern Italy and a declaration of their 'Champions in Italy' rather than 'Champions of Italy'. This symbolic act protests what they view as a historical pattern of neglect and prejudice directed at Naples and the broader southern region of Italy. Loved the fact everywhere we went we saw Napoli flags and banners hanging and was a little envious of their passion. I almost bought a KDB shirt on our second visit but couldn't bring myself to wearing another clubs shirt despite how lovely it is.

View attachment 170010
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This . I'm off to watch Napoli in the October international break . Will be taking our KDB banner .

DOI . Mum was born in Naples .
 
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