AS Monaco (A) | CL | Post Match Thread

[waspish]

Not sure if it was just me, but I found it hard to get excited either way last night about the match, whether we scored or conceded.
On the grand scheme of things the result isn't that important. PSG showed last year that if you're good enough it doesn't matter where you finish on the initial league stage. If you aren't good enough then you aren't going to get near winning it anyway, as we showed last year.

This Sunday at Brentford on the other hand, if we concede a late equaliser I'll be totally fuming.

I was never a fan who was indifferent to the Champions League, I always liked City being in it and got excited about group games. Its the new format that means a few of the games are not that important. A draw isn't a disaster.

This is probably ironic given that we almost fucked it up last year and missed out totally on the next stage, but I don't see that happening again this year.

I think the new format on the whole is a bit meh. Seem to be a lot of games with very little at stake and not much jeopardy at this stage.

Agree am frustrated at our miss chances but we going to quality probably not top 8 though! So the jeopardy isn’t there but I like this format because there are usually big games to watch every champs leagues nights!

 

[Le Havre Oswald]

I thought Nico G looked superb when he came on. He injected some fervour, kept it with deft control and movement, and gave it. The referee pulled him a couple of times for fouls that were not fouls, IMO, and that isn't on him. Neither was the penalty, IMO. Reading here this morning, he was shite, and that is NOT what I watched at all.

I thought we gave a very decent performance. I thought Nunes should have started for Stones, and didn't really understand that call - Stones for Dias by all means - but there will always be the odd selection decision we don't agree with. We created many more chances than Monaco, generally controlled possession, and kept them to very few opportunities despite their obvious pace and skill. The ref was a bad one, and it's one of the reasons I don't get as interested in European games, and Monaco were skilled in deceiving him, repeatedly.

I agree, I also thought Reijnders played well but you would think we’d re signed Charvet and stuck him in midfield with some of the comments on here. Both were good imo

 

[normskih]

Pathetic second half Pep I'm afraid.

Shouldn't be a penalty when the players gets the ball, but we deserved to throw it away the way we played.

Trying too much to score the perfect goal instead of scoring by the least touches. Too slow again. That was until they drew level, we quickened up then. Why didn’t we show that intent and go for the jugular straight from the second half kick off?

 

[Blue Calx]

Well Dire lives up to his name

 

[Dazzle84]

I've only just sent the replay of the penalty. Soft but it's a foul I think. However, I don't think it clears the bar for obvious and clear error to award via VAR.

Regardless, it's another example of us not seeing a game out when we really should have done

 

[Man_City_Loyal]

I read the red card was for the Monaco manager? There was also apparently a yellow for our goalkeeper too. The commentators didn't know why.

i seen bernie get a yellow before teh var decision for speaking to the ref.

 

[bluemoon32]

Who

Any side who play Savinho can't complain about diving, also Bernie & Doku do it too, oh and Grealish made a career out of it.
All sides have divers, some worse than others

 

[Brewster's millions]

Trying too much to score the perfect goal instead of scoring by the least touches. Too slow again. That was until they drew level, we quickened up then. Why didn’t we show that intent and go for the jugular straight from the second half kick off?

Monaco will be the worst team we play in the competition, by some distance actually.

If we can’t go there and get a win then we’re in trouble.

The team lacked any balance last night with Bernado on the right, we haven’t got a proper right back and we remain extremely vulnerable to the counter, not least because of how slow Dias is.

Problems we faced time and again last season and yet we’re still seemingly no closer to resolving them.

 

[the-ecstacy-of-eight]

Fucking hate how the monitor always starts with a freeze frame of a single angle showing incidents in the worst possible light and then just flicks forward and backwards on that singular view of the action. Where are all the other angles? How can the on-field ref know that he's not observing parallax error? VAR's a corrupt fucking shambles.

Has anybody seen the challenge from any other angle?

 

[Dogtanian]

Shot ourselves in the foot again, keeps happening, Monaco without 8 players and got smashed in the champs league and beaten again at weekend yet we show no tempo

 

[Paul lakes knee]

I thought we played quite well, as people have said if it wasn't for the bar and a soft penalty decision we'd be chuffed with a 4-1 win away in the CL..I thought we passed the ball well and our pressing was better. Still think Gonzalez's shirt was tugged as he was trying to get the ball, made his foot go a bit higher.

 

[Jezza11]

Thought we played some good stuff but came away with a disappointing result when we should have won the game comfortably. Ref didn’t help but should have been out of sight by that point. We have to be more ruthless can’t rely on haaland all the time

 

[Gundoggin]

All the Elon Musk wannabes who think City played shit need to give their heads a massive wobble . Yeah we were sloppy at times in the second half but it was always about controlling the game and managing the lead without going gung ho and having to go into top gear . It’s a long season players minutes have to be managed and any CL away fixture is always tricky no matter who the opponent is . Simple truth is we were fucking robbed by a cheating egg headed ex spurs player and VAR was at it’s very worst along with yet another shit UEFA referee.
We could have scored 4 or 5 quite easily btw hit the bar twice and some good saves from the Monaco keeper whilst city were still in 2nd gear . One of those goals goes in and suddenly everyone is saying what a fantastic performance and what fucking fantastic goals .
Get a fucking grip !!!

 

[burning blue soul]

I am drained of waiting for and expecting a late goal being scored against us in any crucial fixture, these days.
I know it's coming.
The team are mentally weak, especially the defensive players. There's a fuck up in every defensive player waiting to burst out, and a lack of real unexpected magic from the creative lads.
Haaland hides so many shortcomings in the side that he should be given player of the season already.
It seems the ordinariness of some of the players has rubbed off onto the good ones.
I am pinning my hopes on Cherki and Marmoosh to put some trickyness and threat back into our laboured play.

I knew back when we were steamrollering teams that it couldn't last, but now we have gone waaaaaay too safe with our tactics.

In conclusion, I'm off and I'm going getting an early morning beer. Fuck decorum.

 

[normskih]

Monaco will be the worst team we play in the competition, by some distance actually.

If we can’t go there and get a win then we’re in trouble.

The team lacked any balance last night with Bernado on the right, we haven’t got a proper right back and we remain extremely vulnerable to the counter, not least because of how slow Dias is.

Problems we faced time and again last season and yet we’re still seemingly no closer to resolving them.

Almost every time Monaco attacked they beat us for pace and I think when Khusanov is fit he is our best right back.

 

[Kamikaze Blue]

I was encouraged by the game, but disappointed by the result. Don't think there's much can be done about the penalty - Nico's boot was high, but what is he expected to do? - not attempt to play the ball? In the first half we did seem to be vulnerable down our right side - just a shame Kusanov was not fit. I do think we need to buy another specialist right full back. The game illustrated how little cover we have there.

 

[Asa's left peg]

Unfortunate to come up against a ref at the peak of his powers. 5 yellows to on field city players and one to them. A keeper booked in the first half for time wasting! The free kick for the goal was inexplicable.

Meanwhile, Gonzales had a good game I thought. He is still making the occasional error ( bit like Cancelo) that costs us. He will learn to keep his foot below chest height in a crowded area, but he is showing glimpses of being able to fulfil Rodri's role, imho. Still a way to go.

Shout out to O'Reilly, who was brilliant and an attacking threat. I'm not sure RAN walks back in, at left back.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

I've only just sent the replay of the penalty. Soft but it's a foul I think. However, I don't think it clears the bar for obvious and clear error to award via VAR.

Regardless, it's another example of us not seeing a game out when we really should have done

Fair take on the issue, but what troubles me is that it was a literal non-incident when it happened…Nico got the ball, no studs, no kick to the head, and Gvardiol knocked it back to Gigi when the ball hit him on the head. Dier was NEVER “kicked in the head” and was notably rubbing his face and pinching his nose to redden his face while pleading his case to City players and the ref.

VAR LITERALLY re-refereed the incident, but COMPLETELY IGNORED every mugging that took place on every free kick and corner kick!

The hypocrisy and inconsistency of officiating “the Laws of the Game” is what is so irritating!

Watching the amount of flopping and grown men rolling around holding their face from incidental contact is totally fucking embarrassing…no matter which player it is.

Used to be a game for men, but today one wonders what we are rewarding, because it is not acting like a man on the field of play. If these multiple officials in front of the TVs in a remote location want to do something useful, they could point out and replay the absolutely pathetic play acting designed to get fouls and opposition yellow & red card on the big stadium screens before handing them yellows and reds themselves.

Long past time to name & shame these cheats on global TV, and for Leagues to ban them for a game or two!

 

[Atypical]

Not a disaster at all, but we have a bit to go to get the air of inevitability back. We looked very slow at the back and midfield emptied too much, leaving Rodri exposed, could have played him and Niko there last night and protected Rodri a bit more.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Unfortunate to come up against a ref at the peak of his powers. 5 yellows to on field city players and one to them. A keeper booked in the first half for time wasting! The free kick for the goal was inexplicable.

Meanwhile, Gonzales had a good game I thought. He is still making the occasional error ( bit like Cancelo) that costs us. He will learn to keep his foot below chest height in a crowded area, but he is showing glimpses of being able to fulfil Rodri's role, imho. Still a way to go.

Shout out to O'Reilly, who was brilliant and an attacking threat. I'm not sure RAN walks back in, at left back.

In 4 La Liga games so far this season, he has handed out 14 yellow cards and 3 reds!

That sounds like he’s a strong ref, but is clearly indicative of a WEAK REF who cannot manage a game.

One wonders how deep the Spain-Catalan hatred runs for some of these assholes?!