Atletico (H) | CL QF 1st Leg | Post Match Thread

[The perfect fumble]

 

[samarasra]

A thoroughly polished performance. Aside from a very short spell at the start of the 2nd half we squeezed the life out of them. What a wonderful cameo from Phil - world class to set up the goal.

The whole back four were excellent. Ake had a really solid game and Stonesy played a big part in forcing Atleti back.

It did worry me how often Kev gave the ball away, it’s something that’s crept more and more into his game this season - I wouldn’t risk him on Sunday

That's the risk/benefit choice Pep has to make in every big game, relatively risk free ball retention or a world class attack focused risk taking player in the mix. My hope would be Kevin as F9, defensively less risky, offensively sheer class in a roaming role.

 

[FantasyIreland]

Awful first half,better second.

Amazing what happens when we play a forward pass and drive at the opposition goal..

 

[samarasra]

Boy, I see you don't know much about football. KDB is the best player in the world anyone can say anything! I sure wouldn't leave him out of the starting lineup! xd

I wouldn't leave him out of the starting lineup, on current form either. But Katsunari said "In terms of our ability to keep possession I don’t think Kev makes our strongest 11", taken at face value that's a reasonable opinion not unique to that poster and undeserving of the lazy cliche "I see you don't know much about football." without offering a reasoned, football knowledge displaying, response. Our selection will be based on broader ambitions than "our ability to keep possession", we must balance this with taking risks to create chances, that's the balance Pep has to strike for every game and gets handsomely paid for being one of the best at that. Meanwhile an unpaid poster expressing an opinion on what an 11, based on keeping possesion, might look like is accused of not knowing "much about football" by a poster who presumes he/she does know "much about football" and tries to prove it by the stunningly original statement that "KDB is the best player in the world" as if no other football expert had that opinion.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

Awful first half,better second.

Amazing what happens when we play a forward pass and drive at the opposition goal..

We did plenty of that in the first half and it was bouncing back off legs.

Fortunately, Phil’s pass was slotted at the perfect speed in the perfect position for it to enable KDB to take it in stride. Kev’s movement was what took him past the defender, who was initially moving forward, and to slot it in the far corner.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, but against a literal 11 man disciplined defence, it was the perfect pass, at the perfect weight, at the perfect time, to the perfect player. Lining all those things up is not as easy as City often make it seem.

And we move forward!

 

[M12Blue]

Maybe I wouldn’t play Gundog but I think we have to get Foden and Grealish into the starting line up. We can’t drop Berni or Rodri either

In terms of our ability to keep possession I don’t think Kev makes our strongest 11

Mmmmm someone’s been on the ……………..

 

[M12Blue]

I appreciate it’s easy to get wrapped up in the emotion of the game, but for those who saw the game on telly (a) should we have had at least one pen? (b) should Athletico have had at least one player sent off and (c) was the ref a complete ****?

A) possibly Bernie one
B) yes
C) fine til last 10 then seemed a bit rabbit in headlights

 

[Chi-town blues]

Surely off to the Rags then?

Tailor made . Everything from football to shitty haircut attitude, tiny cock energy.

 

[samarasra]

Awful first half,better second.

Amazing what happens when we play a forward pass and drive at the opposition goal..

It is amazing indeed. It is also amazingingly difficult to find space to make a risk free forward pass in a third of the pitch containing 10 City players and 11 Atleti players. What's the option, keep the ball and wait for a rare opening or bring our CB's back to the halfway line, give Atleti the ball and hope they don't do much with it and leave space for our attack and midfield to exploit. Our back 4 were all in attacking midfield positions, often at the same time, and in possession, that leaves our more creative midfielders very little scope to actually be creative against a solid well drilled, sometimes lucky, back eleven. No coincidence that our goal came from a move started outside our own box when they didn't have all 11 in their defensive third and Rodri, Foden and Kev had the class to exploit that.

 

[Bill Walker]

Start Grealish in the 2nd leg Pep

He would probably get sent off