Barca v City Post Match Thread

[Modest Dan]

Our midfielders REALLY need to improve on their finishing and decision making. Gundogan should of scored, De Bruyne should of tried to play it to the back post where Silva could of had a tap in instead of taking a shot. It was also quite clear that a handful of our players didn't have appropriate studs, Fernandinho, Silva and De Bruyne spent a quarter of the game falling over.

 

[Marvin]

Our midfielders REALLY need to improve on their finishing and decision making. Gundogan should of scored, De Bruyne should of tried to play it to the back post where Silva could of had a tap in instead of taking a shot.

That's the hardest thing: composure in front of goal.

I think our general game was better than Barca until we hit the penalty area. And we also made a few individual errors which were all punished.

Errors we should be able to eliminate so this is very promising....providing you think that the errors were down to luck, not mentality. If it's mentality, then we have a problem. In Europe, we've had a lot of failures.

 

[Cityfan]

I suggest anyone who is calling us shit and the tactics were all wrong rewatch the match now. And if you still think, individual errors aside, we were shit, i.e. the tactics were wrong, mentality, overall play etc then I'd suggest you know sweet FA about football.

Its interesting the way you divide it up and I agree with you in parts, for me it was a bit of a curates egg of a erformance, good bits and bad bits.
I would agree that the tactics showed promise. Though they did place a burden on individual defenders who aren't always up to it.
Mentally, it took us time to recover from going a goal down and the individual mistakes may well have been partly as a result of nerves.
Altogether a mixed performance not all bad but still quite a lot wrong.

 

[Ban-jani]

I suggest anyone who is calling us shit and the tactics were all wrong rewatch the match now. And if you still think, individual errors aside, we were shit, i.e. the tactics were wrong, mentality, overall play etc then I'd suggest you know sweet FA about football.

This all day.

We weren't shit at all. And several level headed neutrals at work today said it was a crazy game with our performance not warranting the score line.

 

[Mr Ed (The Stables)]

Our inability to score straight forward chances is becoming a worry. We've missed some sitters this season, and I hope Stones got a slap off someone in the dressing room for his awful attempt at a piss easy header that most pub team players would have buried!!

 

[Kazzydeyna]

Having got over the result I will just say this..

- Pep has got it bang on with the choice of keepers. Bravo is head and shoulders above Hart given our preferred style of play. How many times over the last few years have we seen Hart get the ball only to smash it into touch for an oppo throw in? Or belt it 80 yards onto a oppo defenders head. Constantly giving up possession which the rest of the team have just worked hard to win back. He's a great shot stopper but so is bravo. Hart is a typical English footballer. I.e.: technically lacking.

- We should still get out of this group. If we don't it would be a disaster and whilst not endangering his position, it would imo mean we would then HAVE to win the title.

- The united game in the league cup will be interesting. We have a far superior group of players to them, have beaten them already at their place and now have the chance to rub their noses in it. Equally if we lose and are out of the cup it makes the following weeks Barca game even more vital.

Even though I don't agree with leaving Aguero out last night I do love to see a manager who isn't afraid to show control and make big decisions. This, along with the Yaya and Hart and Nasri decisions gives me immense faith we have the right man in charge.

The next few weeks will be a big test for us all. Especially natural knee-jerkers like myself.

Onwards and upwards, in Pep we trust.

 

[Bruun]

Our midfielders REALLY need to improve on their finishing and decision making. Gundogan should of scored, De Bruyne should of tried to play it to the back post where Silva could of had a tap in instead of taking a shot. It was also quite clear that a handful of our players didn't have appropriate studs, Fernandinho, Silva and De Bruyne spent a quarter of the game falling over.

Danish commentators talked about it being really rainy throughout the whole day, and the pitch was being way to slippery.

 

[TotalFootballOne]

This is a what Madrid fan said regarding the game

"I saw a guy (Pep) who got his tactics spot-on at the Camp Nou, but after a series of unfortunate events which he had no control over, ended up losing the game.

Now, understand, that I'm not actually making excuses for him. If this was Madrid, I would still be furious. But I would also try to be fair enough not to lay all the blame on him.

I'm also not belittling Barcelona's victory. Obviously, they deserved to win. But I just think their overall display, especially prior to Bravo's inexcusable mistake, wasn't worthy of a 4-nil victory."

 

[CTID1988]

You can play as brilliantly as you like, if you cant put the ball in the net you're fucked. The majority of our players seem to shit it infront of goal

 

[B.L.U.E.M.O.O.N]

I suggest anyone who is calling us shit and the tactics were all wrong rewatch the match now. And if you still think, individual errors aside, we were shit, i.e. the tactics were wrong, mentality, overall play etc then I'd suggest you know sweet FA about football.

Great post