Real Madrid (A) | CL | Post Match Thread

[mancity111]

Enough said , this squad isn't up to the rigors of Europe beyond advancing to the last 16 or thereabouts.

Pep had another shocker all too frequently now sadly and this should be his last season in charge in a glittering career at the helm.

We need fresh ideas and implementation from to the top down and bring in players that can and will achieve success and home and in Europe concurrently.

More pace , a better ability to close the opposition down and recover possession when we lose it much quicker is a given.

Quicker forward ball movement and improvement in taking set pieces just for starters.

Until we address the basic weaknesses in the squad we won't be competitive in Europe and it will continue to impact negatively on our league games.

Pep's starting eleven and formation certainly didn't help but the basic weaknesses will be exposed when it matters.

No doubt some of the recent transfers can improve under any manager including Pep but Pep knows his message , formation and tactics don't win these ties anymore and because he cannot change with the changing times its time for him to start his next chapter.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

All prem teams getting schooled this week.
We can’t cope with teams that play footy and don’t just defend.

I was gonna say. It lends ammunition to the claim that the Premier League is actually pretty crap this year. Anyone with eyes could have told you that, but instead, we've had these claims about how it's actually because the smaller teams are stronger.

 

[Craig]

I used to think that too but considering they needed to dive in the last minute for a penalty just to draw with Leverkusen not to mention they've barely beat Mansfield, I think they ran out of gas. Bayern is winning UCL comfortably, the only stable and consistent club in Europe right now.

Worry is when Arsenal played Bayern earlier in the season they completely over powered them. We’ve seen this before with Bayern that they can look great and hammer teams and play the best football but then come unstuck when someone puts it on them.

 

[Bluekiwi]

I thought I'd sleep on it, see if it would offer me any perspective but it hasn't all that's happened is a poor night's sleep and now I'm off to work.

The team selection was wrong, the tactics were wrong and now we have a mountain to climb. It's not impossible we go through but it is highly unlikely.

As we were informed numerous times they were injury depleted but they set out to use the players they did have to their strengths, they worked well as a team. We looked a little uncoordinated, unbalanced and unsure.

Valverde took his chances well but he was aided and abetted by individual errors and a set up that enabled him to profit.

Ah well, pity it was Madrid we enabled and not someone else.

Could have been Bono (sic) - seen their result against Sporting

 

[Doc_Testosterone]

To be replaced by...?

There are plenty of managers that can replace him. Give him a send off at the end of the season as he deserves a standing ovation from our fans. Pep is a City legend but like with our legendary players, time comes for everyone.

 

[urban genie]

They seemed to a plan for limiting Doku's impact, which effectively meant leaving our least skilful player (Khusanov) in acres of space

Time and time again, Doku would beat Arnold and sprint through the gap between the covering defenders
However, rather than shooting, he'd pass inside to Rodri who would then open his body and slide the ball to Khusanov, only for the ball to end up back on the halfway line.

so the winger passing back to midfiled when on. attack is the issue here, something we have seen countless do since mahrez amd sterling left

grealish, doku, savinho none have shown attacking gumption but in brief moments, all run, stop pass sideways or back.

samenyo is more suited to play inside forward coming in from wide instead of either of the wingers as he will bring the ball in and shoot, however sticking him up top with halland and having the 3 attacking midfielders behind pass it sideways completely nulifies both forwards.

I don't expect our defenders to be the providers for goals so Khush attacking skills are irrelvent as he chose more attackers to compensate, they were just shit at it, Nunes should have played but then so should marmoush and cherki and Khush instead of dias

 

[Doc_Testosterone]

I used to think that too but considering they needed to dive in the last minute for a penalty just to draw with Leverkusen not to mention they've barely beat Mansfield, I think they ran out of gas. Bayern is winning UCL comfortably, the only stable and consistent club in Europe right now.

They will meet them in a final unfortunately where anything can happen. Funnily enough Bodo are the real hope!

 

[Ajm1985]

Call me crazy but I still think we can go through

Nope. Next week all they need to do is counter and they'll probably have some players back from injury. Unless Haaland remembers how to be a striker, we won't be troubling them

 

[Master-Lotus]

Worry is when Arsenal played Bayern earlier in the season they completely over powered them. We’ve seen this before with Bayern that they can look great and hammer teams and play the best football but then come unstuck when someone puts it on them.

1. It was played at Assna's home ground, UCL final is a neutral venue.
2. Last season, Assna beat PSG 2-0 in a group stage too but once they've faced in the knock-out stage, they got smacked by PSG.

 

[TheKippaxM14Blue]

Nope. Next week all they need to do is counter and they'll probably have some players back from injury. Unless Haaland remembers how to be a striker, we won't be troubling them

Can't believe after watching that anyone thinks we will make a tie of it! Id rest as many as possible in advance of Wembley. Its our only chance of scraping a result in a one off & stopping Arsenal winning the fucking lot.

 

[Boris Yeltsin]

What happened at the end of last year when Haaland was injured?

 

[Cellarite]

Out coached by Arbeloa, Carrick and Chelsea’s school teacher.

 

[Grealish’s Shinpads]

Not over yet. Damage limitation second half. We’ve seen Liverpool do it. We can do it.

I admire your positivity but that was a Liverpool side that finished that PL season on 97 points and only lost one game in doing so. We can’t compare this City side to that Liverpool side. With our current team I don’t think we’d even be able to overturn a 2 goal deficit, let alone a 3 goal one

 

[oldius]

We were out-thought and out-played. I never expect that of our team, but it does happen occasionally.
Nobody played well, though you could argue that Doku and Rodri did despite a lack of support for both.
There is little point playing wingers unless your striker is attacking the six-yard box.
We were vulnerable to the counter and to their pressing. If they play a counter-attacking game next week then we will be similarly vulnerable if we play the same line-up. Nunes at RB and Khusanov at RCB will nullify that, as will a more physical presence in central midfield.

For me, that means a back four of Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait Nouri, with Rodri and O'Reilly or Gonz in front. In front of that, I would have Cherki, Doku, Savinho and Marmoush. Others will disagree but we will have to attack, but have the physicality to press, and to win the ball when it is turned over.

We do live to fight another day, but it will take a monumental effort to go through, and some luck.
Meanwhile, the BT commentary team will be loving it.

 

[eversince 76]

Not a good week for PL clubs in the chimps league. Arsenal and Liverpool probably the sole survivors next week.
Don’t think we stand a chance. We don’t have a squad that is able to make it a special European night. As inconsistent as we can be …
Maybe next year.

Now let’s try and beat West Ham first.
Than Real again at home. And hopefully Pep tells his starting 11 without overthinking it: Just play, enjoy and maybe less sideways and backwards? Thank you.

 

[jollylescott]

Early in the game Doku whizzed the ball across their defence a couple of times and with an ounce of luck we might have scored.

However once the wind was taken out of our sails with the first couple of goals we seemed to lose the plot, and our direction. This was completely counter to the effort at Newcastle a few days beforehand, where our mostly 'second eleven' played outstanding, fluid football.

We made this Madrid team look a lot better than they actually are. They had lost two of their last three league games against Getafe and Osasuna, so it makes our outcome even more bizarre.

My main concern was our suicidal tactics. When you're playing away in a knockout round against Madrid you play conservatively to minimise errors and wait for the home leg. We did the opposite. We threw so many players forward we were wide open to the counter. It was naive in the extreme to think that this was the correct approach given our history with Madrid.

For me, one of the major errors was not picking RAN at left back and leaving Nico O in midfield, where he had been playing so well. This left Rodri struggling to contain the counter attack.

Anyway that's my two bobs worth. I'm sure our blue boys will be hurting right now, but life goes on and even if we don't turn it around next week, it's a chance to make amends for last night.

 

[Why are you Guehi?]

Out coached by Arbeloa, Carrick and Chelsea’s school teacher.

He's actually outcoaching himself. He's fighting with himself. Just keep it simple, that's all he has to do. Consistency

 

[Bald fraud]

Reminds me a bit of England under Sven. Picking his favourites over who’s in form. Marmoush should have started that game last night. After his performance on Saturday just get him in the team!

 

[Ajm1985]

Other than a couple of situations, I find it hard to criticise Doku too much. Doku was skinning TAA and putting dangerous crosses in to the box but no one was committing. When it became obvious that Savinho wasn't having the same success, we became much easier to defend because they could double up on Doku - safe in the knowledge that even if he did get past, no fucker was trying in the box.

The midfield was yet again one of the worst mistakes Pep made - not just leaving it underpowered but asking Bernardo to press that high. It was suicide in a 2 man midfield and was far too easy to subsequently get at our defence, who all shat it. 3 good goals but also 3 very inept pieces of defending/keeping.

Only making 1 sub at half time (Reijnders haha), was really really poor.

Overall, just bitterly disappointed that we are architects of our problems. Just felt avoidable

 

[Jocks Y-Fronts]

Just unfeckinbelievable. The worst Real Madrid team in living memory and we were 3 down at half time.

My wife is more a full back than NOR, and as for that lanky Italian streak of piss in net, well God help us.

Savinho was his usual guaranteed dogshit, whilst Semenyo might as well have not been there.

And then there is Haaland, just how fuckin ineffective is he? He is just absolutely 100% shite, and offers less than nothing. Every time I see his name in the line up you know we are playing with 10 men.

I've seen some pitiful and unexplainable City performances in many decades of watching City, but Jesus, that was the most dreadful I've ever seen.

Just WTF must have Cherki and Marmoush have been thinking have have as they watched that dross.

In short, Guardiola, it's time to go.

You stole my post. Said everything I wanted to say.