Joao: Having played too much football the whole season (which showed vs Brentford). An unbelievable experience at home 3 days ago, his mind naturally elsewhere. He did follow the team. A question mark before the match.
Rodri: I can only assume that he was in a programme these days, training individually. Without match rhythm. A question mark before the match.
Bernardo: Having played too much football the whole season, needs rest. Desperately. During the last games, he manipulates his running and energy so as to survive for the whole 90 minutes. A question mark before the match.
Kevin: Having played too much football lately, needs rest. A question mark before the match.
Phil absent. Kyle (on the bench, lacking match rhythm) absent again. And so on...
Jurgen Klopp, among others, will never consider the above mentioned facts, when talking about City. He will also conveniently forget the circumstances under which we faced Spurs away, for example. The circumstances under which we started the season, in general. How Guardiola found ways in the process to get players with problems, like Kevin, Ilkay, Phil etc, match fit. Ways that did not cost points. The emergency situation when facing Villa away, with Zinchenko, Ake and Dinho all starting, 2 Gks, 5 kids and 2 unfit players (in Phil and Jack) on the bench (the latter used for 3' + injury time, the only sub). The fact that City remain without a genuine striker for a second consecutive season. And so on. All the above and other similar stuff will never be mentioned, they simply do not suit the narrative, you see. It's just that City are lucky, somehow avoiding the fucking virus, somehow avoiding injuries. And, of course, you will never hear (or read) a media whore explaining to the world why the fuck Guardiola keeps being effective with his rotation strategy, while others (Klopp included) fail miserably. If they did, I promise you it would be unpleasant for Pep's colleagues. But we probably should forgive them for that, they simply lack the knowledge for this type of analysis...
Even if we lost today, I would have zero complaints from a team that keeps impressing with the quality of its football, also with its attitude. A die hard mentality. A team that played 3 matches in 6 days -and won them all. A team that simply refuses to lose. A team that once again came from behind, a team which fought for the victory till the very last second. Marching on, keeping on winning on the pitch regardless of the circumstances, who knows, some day this team will perhaps also win the respect and trust it deserves from its own fans...
As for the commentators, MCFC and their fans sincerely apologize for ruining your party. You do not deserve to be called men. Rats, that's what you are. Rats back at their holes again, as we speak. Can you get lower than that? The answer is probably yes, and we have to actually feel sorry for them. Providing the perfect material to parents for educating their children. You point at the **** and tell your son: "You see him? Whatever you do in your life, DO NOT, I repeat, do not end up like him"...
Three final comments:
1. The narrative for tonight will be around Attwell's decisions. Which is perfectly understandable. The penalty, the second yellow = red, and so on. Any given City player, I promise you, would have a different view on the story (even though never admitting it publicly, City have chosen never to speak about officials). I wrote some stuff (again) in the Brentford post match thread, not going to repeat myself, it gets tiring. If there are people out there who still don't get it, they will never understand Rodri's reaction following his goal. The message is: In your face. The message is: We're still here. The message is: You'll need more, way more (from everybody involved...) to take us down...
2. In a recent interview of his, Jack, asked to comment on his manager, sounded highly impressed regarding his tactical flexibility. The amount of games the team wins from the bench (due to tactical preparation, interventions etc) is "incredible", something along those lines. Jack will have to add the Arsenal away match to an already long list. Others would have acted "aggressively", with an "attacking" sub, Pep will always be unconventional, calm and composed in his own world. Introducing Gundo proved to be absolutely decisive for the balances of the match. Cementing control, gradually mounting the pressure. Occasionally playing with 3 10s, the goal was a matter of time. Objective (winning the game) was fulfilled...
3. Congratulations to all the boys. Perhaps the 4 names in the introduction of this post deserve a special mention, for obvious reasons. Perhaps. One of them, Rodri, will win us the match, becoming a striker in that play. Nevertheless I will avoid selecting somebody for MOM, I would consider it unfair for the rest, it was a team effort. 3 matches in 6 fucking days, man. 11 consecutive victories. And among those 4, I'm sure all his teammates will agree that Bernardo deserves a special word. A boy determined to die on the pitch for the cause. Won the penalty, had a significant influence overall, once again. If it was up to my powers, this boy would stay to Manchester for ever. Making as all cry with his commitment, match after match...
Happy new year to all...