Borussia Dortmund (H) | CL | Post Match Thread

[threespires]

It's not the Eurovision song contest is it?

If it was then those dull fuckers would be getting null points. Monotonous bollocks that was pretty annoying after about 10 mins. If you're not going to actually watch the game then do something entertaining FFS. At least the Young Boys fans had the bin bag madness a bit like Bucks Fizz ripping the skirts off.

 

[SamBlue]

A lot of people excited with our new approach, we are definitely going for much less ball control and much more chaos when attacking. Are we starting to see Lijnders effect setting in? It all looks beautiful when we are scoring.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

The potential of a 4-2-3-1 with Rodri/Nico G is so exciting.

But best thing for Pep is a) players are doing everything he wants and getting better every game and b) he has options. Really good options.

This is his third rebuild. Possession is less important and he is encouraging ball-carriers like Cherki, Nunez, Doku, Foden, O’Reilly, Gonzalez. It is a radical change in formation and system. The media morons have not woken up to what is happening yet. This will be a great team, perhaps not till next season. Fantastic to watch the transition.

 

[paulchapo]

If it was then those dull fuckers would be getting null points. Monotonous bollocks that was pretty annoying after about 10 mins. If you're not going to actually watch the game then do something entertaining FFS. At least the Young Boys fans had the bin bag madness a bit like Bucks Fizz ripping the skirts off.

Exactly. When they show highlights of European games it looks impressive but when you are at the games you realise it's just synchronised bollocks and background noise. It probably has zero impact on their team.

 

[ancoats]

I think Phil is like Bagpuss.

A strange thing to say but hear me out. That bit in the programme where Bagpuss falls asleep and the narrator says "and when Bagpuss goes to sleep, all his friends go to sleep too." So it is with Phil "and when Philip Walter Foden plays well, all his friends play well too."

Foden is a special player and when he's in that number 10 role defenders fear him, Never again should he be pushed out wide for the sake of just getting into the team,

 

[Protein Junkie]

Foden is a special player and when he's in that number 10 role defenders fear him, Never again should he be pushed out wide for the sake of just getting into the team,

Sir Phillip’s second goal was a thing of beauty.
What a player!!

 

[shemnel]

This direct attack/counter stuff with less control is what we started 18 months ago imo. Last season we struggled to implement it and i think we sort of abandoned it a touch at times, and this season it might finally come to fruition, if not perfection.

 

[Father Paul]

Savimho played marginally better than he usually does

Give the lad a bit of praise. He played well probably his best performance to date and gave some indication that his long contract wasn't an act of insanity.
In general after a slow enough start we took control of the game and could have been 5 or 6 to the good. But when we surrendered the initiative we started to wobble and it required positive play from the big Italian to steady the ship.
Peps subs as is often the case arrived 10 minutes too late but we weathered the storm and looked comfortable at the close.
More positives than negatives for me and this win sets us up nicely to land a top 8 finish.

 

[hinchcliffes bulbous conk]

Hope the post match is this quiet after Sunday.

 

[Father Paul]

Foden is a special player and when he's in that number 10 role defenders fear him, Never again should he be pushed out wide for the sake of just getting into the team,

Indeed. He is finally starting to morph into his infamous mentor the legendary David Silva. Picking the ball up in tight spaces anywhere around the pitch and starting dangerous movements. He also of course has an eye for goal which even the great Merlin didn't have to the same extent. This could barring injury be his best season yet.

 

[Burtonblue]

Anybody know why Rodri wasn’t even on the bench for this??
Thought it might have been a good game for him to get some minutes…
Hopefully Pep’s just given him a day off altogether.

 

[Moss Side's Finest]

This direct attack/counter stuff with less control is what we started 18 months ago imo. Last season we struggled to implement it and i think we sort of abandoned it a touch at times, and this season it might finally come to fruition, if not perfection.

I genuinely believe we are now have the players and the setup to be the perfect counter attacking team. I really hope we do it more often.

With the pace, lethal finishing and free flow we have when we are moving at fast tempo going forward, plus the ability to suck teams in by pep's possession based game at the back, it's the perfect combination to hit teams on the counter.

Plus it's so much more effective and exciting than trying to pass our way through the centre of packed defenses.

 

[Gingers Dad]

Thats the type of thing David Conn and his ilk lap up, and what they take as a sign of a great "atmosphere" when in reality its falsfied, performative bollocks. Same at Bayern and most German grounds tbh - 4/5 blokes waving big flags throughout and even when a goal goes in against the home team at the very end they are at, the flags keep waving regardless of whats happening on the field.

Its got zilch to do with atmosphere and everything to do with manufactured shite; "atmosphere" and vibes for the niche brigade who think it makes for a spectacle - akin to The Truman Show in a football stadium.

Went to Dortmund away. First sight of the yellow wall was impressive. About 10 minutes later I was thinking shut the fck up you boring 2hats

 

[Bluesince1979]

Just watched the first half again. He played well, involved in some key moments. Andy Morrison saying how well he was playing. If you've got the time I'd say watch it you might learn something

I was there
He played ok! Thats it. I like him, i want him to succeed. But hes struggled with much end product since day 1 and its not improving.

Hopefully it will

 

[feedmpenzaandhewillscore]

Interesting viewing, this. We’ve become a transitional team, relying on pace, power and instinct. And I’m here for it.

Teams were happy to let us have the ball last season and it showed, now we’ve turned the tables and are capable of hitting them on the counter.

No surprise Haaland’s thriving even more in this type of system either.

Probably why Haaland is getting a lot of joy at the moment. Last few seasons we’d sit on teams and strangle them with possession which allowed them to stay in shape in their own half until one of their players switched off and we took advantage.

This version of City seems happy with the other team having the ball. I wonder if last seasons vulnerabilities where the we had a very soft underbelly has made the opposition think they can go at us more and commit more players forward. Bournemouth went very high in the first half on Sunday, I thought at first it was a good tactic but it opened up a lot of space for our forwards to go into and ended up being their downfall.

 

[Blue Mist]

In defence of the first 10-15 minutes of the match that people are complaining about.
We weren't poor, Dortmund are a good team, they knew that was the time to press us and score but despite all their domination, they didn't hurt us. As a team we soaked it all up and then kicked on.
In defence of the period in the 2nd half where they came at us. We were looking to conserve energy for Sunday and it was only poor defending from Doku, he went to sleep and got a huge bollocking off Pep, that allowed them to score and gave them belief.

 

[Gingers Dad]

I was there
He played ok! Thats it. I like him, i want him to succeed. But hes struggled with much end product since day 1 and its not improving.

Hopefully it will

He had an assist at Villarreal and his pass to Rico helped him set up Haaland. He made chances for Reindeers and Marmoush as a sub against Bournemouth. He made a chance for Reindeers last night that forced a save from the keeper. His initial run and cross led to Haaland's goal last night.
I wouldn't have in the team ahead of Doku at the moment but he's definitely improving

 

[Stelea]

Apparently not his BIGGEST critic :-)

Love him now. :-)

 

[Marvin.]

Savimho played marginally better than he usually does

The only thing missing from his game was a goal and assist. It might have been one of his best games in a City shirt. My only question mark against his performance was over his counterpart. Dortmund looked to me a very ordinary side. I think they were weaker than the likes of Bournemouth, Villa etc.

It is difficult to tell to what extent City were good and Dortmund bad. The score is relative. To tell, you need to find independent measures such as moments of skill. I don't recall a single wow moment from a Dortmund player, or a single attack where I thought 'that was good'. They were persistent.

No one else has come remotely close to beating them 4-1 this season but perhaps that's because they are playing in a weak league?

I am not sure about this but you could think that way about Dortmund's performance. Recently, Liverpool thrashed Frankfurt 5-1 in Frankfurt. What do you conclude? Frankfurt bad? Liverpool good? You simply cannot tell from the scoreline. You have to observe the play and find a way of deriving the quality

 

[oldius]

A strong European performance from our team who are in a very dangerous moment as an attacking force. We have such a blend of skills across the front line: pace, power, acceleration, guile, close control, and vision. We are hard to cope with because of that blend - everybody offers something different.

In Gonzalez, we have a player of immense potential. He is beginning to control the midfield repeatedly, receiving it, winning it, turning away from opponents and springing attacks. O'Reilly and Nunes look solid in the full-back positions and we have options in central defence.

I thought we controlled much of the game and could have switched it up at will. I think it is also true to say that it is easier to win in the CL now than in the PL, as most of the teams will have a go, not sit back in a low-block waiting for an error.

Well done, boys.