Borussia Dortmund (H) Post-Match Thread

[shevtheblue]

I feel really sorry for Jack.

He very clearly isn’t a left winger but is constantly being played there.

Never in a million years is he going to go outside a full back and whip a left foot cross in like a proper left winger would.

It’s absolutely mental.

I think the problem is he's not really an 8 either, i thought the plan was for him to play there eventually but i'm not sure he's shown the work rate.

 

[Stoned Rose]

I think the problem is he's not really an 8 either, i thought the plan was for him to play there eventually but i'm not sure he's shown the work rate.

Play him as he was played at Villa and we have a magnificent player on our hands.

 

[willipp]

I feel really sorry for Jack.

He very clearly isn’t a left winger but is constantly being played there.

Never in a million years is he going to go outside a full back and whip a left foot cross in like a proper left winger would.

It’s absolutely mental.

Yeah i was just thinking the exact thing. He doesn't have pace to go past players really and isn't a box of tricks. He is totally one footed and therefore pushes him inside all the time. For me if we are ever to really get the best out of Jack he needs to be played more centrally.

 

[chickaroon]

Let me walk you through it again mate, I know I’m boring but bear with me!

Last season you had 3 men blocking Mahrez’s cross, passing channel inside, and his run down the line.

Walker would overlap round the outside and create a gap.

Mahrez would either pass or cross, usually cross, with that gap made, result would often be a goal for City.

He’s been off form so far but tonight, he had Stones stood 15 yards behind him not knowing wtf to do.

———

I get he’s out of form, but he really wasn’t helped tonight with that team selection.

I get Gomez is new, maybe a level below most of our team and Dortmund are a better side than Seville, so it’s a risk playing Gomez, but had he given Mahrez Cancelo behind him, even an off form Mahrez would have been far better.

I agree with this and the same can be said of Grealish. When the subs came on they were facing players from Dortmund who were tiring.
We have never seen it but could they play on opposite wings, where they would be on their natural foot. I would love to see it, just once.

 

[Lavinda Past]

Not sure whether Haarland has had some sort of martial arts training but he knows how to land after those stretches. A lot of players would drop onto a hip or shoulder and pop it, but before he hits the ground, both arms come out bent to cushion the landing. Impressive.

Paratrooper in a previous life...?

 

[Octavian]

I agree with this and the same can be said of Grealish. When the subs came on they were facing players from Dortmund who were tiring.
We have never seen it but could they play on opposite wings, where they would be on their natural foot. I would love to see it, just once.

I just don’t think either have the pace to play on the side of their favoured foot, you need to get round the outside, which Foden and Alvarez can do to great effect.

You are right about them coming on to face a tired defence tho, I felt sorry for Grealish and Mahrez last night, they’ve got pelters but our set up didnt play to their strengths

 

[HelloCity]

I feel really sorry for Jack.

He very clearly isn’t a left winger but is constantly being played there.

Never in a million years is he going to go outside a full back and whip a left foot cross in like a proper left winger would.

It’s absolutely mental.

If persisting with it at least give him a proper overlapping full back rather than the set up we had last night.

The system is making him look a much lesser player than he is and must be doing his nut in.

Didn’t he play there loads for Villa?

 

[M12Blue]

Exactly what I thought - Bernie Foden and Zinny were our three dynamo players back then and Alvarez has appeared to take over the role from the lovely Ukrainian. Leave all three out of the line-up and we lose the explosiveness that is necessary to control games.

Agree, but perhaps and just a perhaps though, Peps thinking is, make the defensive 9 chase the ball for 60 minutes, tgen bring on our 'unpredictable' flair players to find tge gaps against tiring bodies. Maybe not, but it's uncanny how we're winning games in similar ways at present

 

[madloaf]

Didn’t he play there loads for Villa?

1 is from his last year at Villa, one is from last year with us

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

I think this game needed either Grealish or Mahrez but not both. Playing them both and then having inverted fullbacks as well and one of them is a CB, it was never going to work, surely? If he really wanted them both to play, then surely it would have been more prudent to start Gomez and get him to overlap Grealish with Cancelo doing similar on the other side. I really do hope Pep starts Alvarez a lot more now, his urgency and dynamism really does put fear into defenders. Not sure why he got benched, maybe Pep wants to ease him in but he looks like he's ready.

We called it in the stadium as soon as we saw the line-up. Not enough pace in the team generally. We wondered if it was delibereate by Pep to slow things down and make it harder for them to counter attack. Sometimes Pep likes to slow things down to give us more control...but he usualy does this in the last 20 minutes when we are at least 2-0 up.