#22 | Benjamin Mendy - 2020/21 Performances

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He did some good stuff, linking and made some nice passes. Second half he got his arse handed to him and tiredness or not it could have cost us two points. Many would struggle against Traore but he did look the weak link. Cancelo may well replace him when fit.
 
Just don't really see what he Offers us going forward or defending. Granted he did get left 1v1 vs traore to much, sterling should have doubled up with him more
 
Early yellow for a tangle of legs which opened up the opportunity for Wolves target him and try and get him sent off. The ref knew what he was doing there and it nearly paid off.

Luckily, Mendy kept his head for the rest of the game, and didn't do anything stupid, the problem being he lost his edge. Against Traore and with a lack of match fitness this was always going to be an uphill battle.

I actually thought he didn't do too badly.
 
Sterling did not help for a long period of the match. The tactics don't help him either I feel. We need more than one person closing down Traore in such situations. Its like seeing the same thing over and over again every match against Wolves. Someone made a very legit point that as soon as the pressing stopped we were vulnerable. Our defense, Rodri and Fernandinho need to show the same defensive consistency as the first half. As soon as one of the midfield drops we get fucked. I also don't see much of Mendy going forward. No point just smashing those crosses. How I wish we had a Walker clone on the left.
 
He put in an absolutely heroic shift for the team last night.

He's one of the least physically prepared with no preseason or international games, and yet he was forced to play 90 because both Zinchenko and Cancelo are injured.
He was up against the fastest winger in the league who's 4 games into the season and miles fitter.
He was on a bullshit yellow card.

There are no left backs in the world who are going to have an easy game in that situation.

In the first half, he kept Traore completely quiet, in part because he wasn't knackered, but also because our midfield dominance meant they couldn't get enough time in possession to set up Traore making those runs in behind. After an hour, we absolutely wilted as a team, and they started dominating possession and setting up those 1v1's, and it got ugly for a bit.

But he did well. He kept his head, didn't get baited into diving in, didn't let Traore engage him in a physical fight, he just dropped off and made sure he was present to make things harder, block crosses, and cover CB when Aké went out to meet Traore a few times.

After 5-10 scary minutes, Pep reorganised the midfield to get him some help and their threat stopped coming down that side in open play.

If anyone thinks we're going to find a LB who will do a lot better than Mendy last night in those circumstances, you're going to be disappointed. Most would have gotten themselves sent off.
 
Make or break season for me. He's been here long enough and had enough chances to prove himself.

I don't see it, and expect he'll be out of the team by next season (or earlier), but I'll be happily proven wrong.
 
First thing he has to cut out is stepping out and let his man easily go past him...

Couldn't count how often he did that last night. Horrible.
 
Not really used as an attacking threat as generally there was no one in the box to be on the end of one of his whipped deliveries, but he linked up pretty well with Sterling. The whole squad needs time to get match fit before they're assessed. He's come off the back of more injury and inconsistency and Traore is one of the toughest opponents he will face due to his pace and power. He got tight and held him up but was often the wrong side of him and left exposed. A good first game in terms of lessons to learn at least. Let's hope he stays fit and improves.
 
supercity88 said:
Not really used as an attacking threat as generally there was no one in the box to be on the end of one of his whipped deliveries, but he linked up pretty well with Sterling. The whole squad needs time to get match fit before they're assessed. He's come off the back of more injury and inconsistency and Traore is one of the toughest opponents he will face due to his pace and power. He got tight and held him up but was often the wrong side of him and left exposed. A good first game in terms of lessons to learn at least. Let's hope he stays fit and improves.
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I think benefit of doubt for now but this isn’t the first game he has looked vulnerable. I think it is last chance saloon for him this season and so he either shapes up or we ship him out. He looks too muscular for me to be a top defensive full back where quick recovery is often needed. I think if we address the CB issue with a strong signing, this position will yet again prove to be the weak link in the side.
 
Zabaleta used to get skinned by pace in some games and he was still a good fullback. It's a bigger picture thing.

There were lots of pieces of defending by Mendy that were good that went unnoticed.
 
Fucked over by a ref and his game management last night with that yellow card but that aside, he cant defend for fucking toffee.

Modern day attacking full back scenario and Peps tactics and dominance has a huge part to play but he literally can not defend.
 
Presumed he’d be getting a pasting from some on here so no surprise to read some comments.
He was beaten for pace by the quickest winger he’s likely to come up against in the second half after he, and several others dropped off the pace and no doubt the yellow played on his mind.
Overall though he contributed well to our transition from back to front and his first half performance was very positive.
He will always be a target for some fans and he will need to keep up his levels of the first half to cement his place going forward but I was happy with what he did last night. More than played his part in a very good win.
 
mccity said:
Zabaleta used to get skinned by pace in some games and he was still a good fullback. It's a bigger picture thing.

There were lots of pieces of defending by Mendy that were good that went unnoticed.
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Yep, like forcing Traore into that rushed pass that led to our second goal.
 
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