75 | Nico O'Reilly - 2024/25

[skillman]

We'll see him, not even Pep is this mental.

Haha. Remember the 2021 Champions League final…?

Rodri.

 

[Chak19]

Haha. Remember the 2021 Champions League final…?

Rodri.

Yeah I do, that's why I don't think he'll do it this time.

 

[Tb1981]

I reckon pep took him out because he wasn’t great last week and he wanted to reduce the pressure
He will start the cup final now

 

[Blue2202]

I reckon pep took him out because he wasn’t great last week and he wanted to reduce the pressure
He will start the cup final now

Who was great last week though? The performance as a whole against wolves was dross and looking back makes yesterday's result less surprising.

Nico has more than earned his place in the side and should have retained it yesterday.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Nico O'Reilly: Man City player on breaking into first team and Pep Guardiola

Nico O'Reilly has established himself in the Manchester City first team this season, but a disappointing campaign can end on a high in Saturday's FA Cup final.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[hammersmithlad]

Who was great last week though? The performance as a whole against wolves was dross and looking back makes yesterday's result less surprising.

Nico has more than earned his place in the side and should have retained it yesterday.

Its a fair point, but I think we can see what Pep is reluctant to stick him in midfield during the big games in important moments.

I'm a huge Nico fan & hopefully we can keep him, since he has all the physical attributes at such a young age to become a star for us.

However, as Pep keeps on telling us, playing midfield is one of the if the most difficult position to play in his system. Its probably why he tends to opt for experience.

Nico does like to take a gamble once in a while & looks great when he pulls it off. But in midfield, you need your head on a 360 swivel and losing the ball there is critical for us. Noticed the game passed him by to an extent when playing in the Community Shield earlier on in the season & he definitely needs speed up his thought process which comes with game time experience & is the catch 22 scenario.

 

[argyle]

Learn to shoot with your right foot lad!

Can't fault him. Top player.

 

[Kadour75]

He cost us the game by avoiding to shoot with his right foot and getting dispossessed of the ball.

 

[Radcliffe 1309]

Sadly got caught ball watching and switched off for their goal, don't think he realised there was a player overlapping before it was too late....probably down to being a forward thinking mid field player rather than a left sided defender

 

[pee dubya]

Sadly got caught ball watching and switched off for their goal, don't think he realised there was a player overlapping before it was too late....probably down to being a forward thinking mid field player rather than a left sided defender

Yeah, bit of an annoying one that, you'd imagine Munoz bombing up the wing would have been highlighted as a key Palace characteristic pre-game and drilled into Nico to be aware of it.

Not really blaming him as such, given all the circumstances.

 

[Saxmundham Blue]

you'd think he would have been aware after Palace shredded us down our left on numerous occasions in the first 30 minutes of the 5-2 home win.

Eze's goal was a carbon copy

 

[Haaland94]

His defending or the lack of thereof was on par with his first 25mins against Palace at the Etihad.

 

[Chak19]

Yeah, bit of an annoying one that, you'd imagine Munoz bombing up the wing would have been highlighted as a key Palace characteristic pre-game and drilled into Nico to be aware of it.

Not really blaming him as such, given all the circumstances.

Yeah shame we don't have the money to buy a real FB.

 

[Mike N]

This is one player who doesn’t deserve any criticism tonight. He’s done us proud this year, out of position.

 

[skillman]

Did well again but I suspect we won’t see him again this season. Their goal came from him not being aware of the overlapping run - which is mad considering Nunoz has been doing that all season and it’s a key attacking characteristic of this Palace side.

He’s a midfielder. Wish he’d get a chance there because his willingness to attack is great as is his physicality and energy to defend.

 

[Tomblue]

This guy is a CM and is being played at LB, he’s done a decent job but for a top team it really is comical stuff. Poor lad has been hung out to dry along with quite a few others in my view.

 

[shemnel]

He's certainly stepped up this season, doing a job out of position etc, but i hope his time at LB ends this season.

 

[Dax777]

Again, Palace attacking was rarely an issue. The issue was having his normal area occupied by Doku. Which meant he couldn't play his natural pass and move football. Or overlap on the flank or ghost inside laye to sneak a goal.

Rather he spent his time inverted in the inside left position never getting a ball coz either the Central backs dilly dally on it too long or Doku does the same on the wing.

In ahoet, the formation made him a short 1 most of the game.

 

[WallyA]

I dont understand people conclusion that he should stop playing LB.

If anything, all this time inverting shows he is less capable as an attacking midfielder.

He is better bombing down the left side.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Feared that would happen and sadly it did. I blame pep more for playing him there today but he has to take some responsibility too, I know it's not natural for him but he had plenty of time to recognise the danger and get a cover sprint on, trotted back and didn't break into a sprint until it was too late.

That chance he had was dreadful though, if you want to be a top professional footballer you have to be taking a shot with your weak foot from 9 yards and not feel the need to try and switch it to your strong foot knowing full well you'll never get that amount of time. A day to firmly forget for him but we don't even make the final without him.