Brentford (A) | PL | Post Match Thread

manimanc said:
Big shout out to Nico Gonzalez.
It's took a bit of time, he ain't no Rodri but he's only growing into the holding position. He looks stronger, he's finding his passes and he's putting his foot in.
Chuffed for the lad as it's been tough for him but he is looking alright to me.
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Still along way to go but hes clearly listening to Pep and is improving game by game.
 
I thought you guys should have been out of sight at half time, and then the typical Brentford 2nd half happened although apart from when their striker went through on goal they didn't look like scoring. Brentford are no mugs and 3 points there won't be for everyone. Haaland is amazing, the lad on your right wing I thought slowed your attack down.

Be within 5 points of the top by feb and anything is possible - plenty of serial winners of big trophies in that City sode who know what to do at the business end of a season.
 
Dribble said:
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Shockingly shit, but 3 points away is a good 3 points...​

Up until we scored, we were playing like the Champions of old, with a swagger & precision that matched City in our pomp. However, after 25 minutes, we got into a predictable, robotic tempo & aside from the Reijnders chance, we never really threatened Brentford again, albeit up to half time we were comfortable.

Haaland took his early goal well which was just reward for our dominance up to that point. Gvardiol put a hopefully ball through to him, & Erling had to fight & shrug off the CB to gain the advantage & slam the ball home.

The only other notable occurrence of the first half was the worrying substitution of Rodri, which looked like a hamstring injury. At least he won't get rinsed playing for Spain & hopefully his injury isn't too serious & he'll be back sooner rather than later. City 1-0 at the break.

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After half-time, Brentford came out with more purpose as to be expected, but what I didn't expect was City to not be able to pick up our tempo & then push on to go another level above again.

Perhaps our midweek exploits in Monaco were taking their toll, but we were on the defensive for vast periods of the second half against a spirited, but very poor Brentford side posed little clear cut danger to Donnarumma. I seriously fear for their PL existence based on this display.

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I thought Bobb was largely ineffective & rarely attempted to take on their left back.

Savinho wasn't any better against their RB either. He looked more comfortable & threatening on the right when Doku came on, but he still didn't cause the Bees many issues. It's still early in the season, but we need both Savinho & Bobb to start showing more attacking intent & end product sooner rather than later.

There were several hairy moments in defence, as the whole back 4 & Donnarumma made errors which would've cost us against better opposition. I thought Dias was the best of a battling bunch, which says a lot about our performance.

Reijnders was decent in the first half, but faded worryingly as the 2nd half wore on, & became almost anonymous just when we needed midfield control the most.

Nico G was steady, but started to become overwhelmed as the second half dragged on as the Bees threw all they could muster at us. The whole team became more & more disjointed as the minutes tick by toward the 90.

Bernardo replaced the ineffective Bobb & steadied the listing ship somewhat.

Doku on for Reijnders gave Brentford something to think about, but he showed very little to unduly worry them either.

My MoTM was Phil. He ran his heart out & was our only beacon of light in a shockingly shit, but ultimately professional performance which led us to victory.

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This is an instantly forgettable match, which will only be remembered for the three points we picked up on the road against a poor, short of PL quality opponent.

We've got ANOTHER two week international break, & to be honest, I think it's come just at the right time for us to rest, patch up our wounded & try to return our injured players to full fitness.

It was a fuckin painful watch, but like I said, 3 points away in the PL is three points away in the PL, & they all count, even if our performance against a poor team was crap. We move on & keep the bandwagon rolling.
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Good post. No idea where you get Foden as MOTM though.
 
Was like watching George Graham's Arseholes in that 2nd half. Grim.

But delighted with the 3 points.
 
Jonas.shaffer said:
We also have a goalkeeper who's poor with the ball at his feet. I understand he's a great shot stopper, but I don't understand the thinking of the club going from one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers of all time to one who's very uncomfortable with the ball at his feet. Especially when playing from the back is the 'DNA' of the club at every level, from under 8's to the senior team, men and women. Why not emulate PSG's approach to replacing Donnarumma and find a middle ground between shot-stopping and ball-playing? Oh, well. Too late now to question it, I suppose.
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Although he’s not as good with his feet as Ederson (who is the greatest of all time with his feet) he’s not bad. Certainly not the donkey you’re making him out to be. To say he is poor with his feet is to say De Bruyne was average because you are comparing him to Messi .
 
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