Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

[Blue Feather]

But we'll never know, that's the issue. Lose with the expected starting 11 and accept it wasn't to be, doing something inexplicable and questions will always be asked...

 

[SidJames]

Few names being mentioned today as wanting out Sterling, Rodri,Jesus,LaPorte,Cancelo,even Bernado.

Not posting links,it is all over Twitter if interested in this bollocks.

Bastards in MSM have wasted no time.

To be honest there is only Bernado i would lose sleep over.

Jesus i love the lads work ethic, he is not a natural finisher though.

Wonder who will be the first player to call Pep out on the shit show in Porto ?

There was more going on out there than meets the Eye. None performances of big players.

 

[Bill Walker]

Disgraceful way to treat a club legend.
10 fucking minutes in Champs league final

My thoughts entirely mate.
I can't help feeling if we'd started with Fern and a front 3 of Foden Aguero Mahrez, I'm sure we'd have scored some goals.

 

[OB1]

Good debate but I don’t think you can say we parked the bus with three basically playing up front and the amount of chances we had in the first half. Admit we defended second half but a lot of teams would have done that after going 1-0 up. I reckon if you were 1-0 up at half time to you would have done the same and bought on a couple of holding players

You put up a blockade of 7 players and defended brilliantly and hit us with pace on the break; it's no secret that that is the best way to beat us and why you created the better openings: we were more open. True your block tightened after taking the lead but it was there from the off. It worked, unfortunately for us.

 

[Newman Noggs]

You put up a blockade of 7 players and defended brilliantly and hit us with pace on the break; it's no secret that that is the best way to beat us and why you created the better openings: we were more open. True your block tightened after taking the lead but it was there from the off. It worked, unfortunately for us.

Technically, that sort of block is far less difficult to achieve than the total football we try to play. Get a lot of players defending, condense the play and work hard. Steve Bruce did it this season. That's why I'll be quite happy if Tuchel gets a long contract. A quick fix but you can only play that sort of football for so long.

 

[OB1]

"we all know what our strongest lineup & formation was..." is the last refuge of those who don't like the result and decide to take it out on the manager. You aren't, and no-one on this thread is in any way qualified to sit in judgement on Pep. The sad fact is that it doesn't matter who had started on Saturday night would have made little difference, whether it had been Ferna or Rodri or both. I'm afraid that from the very first minutes it was evident that the occasion was simply too big and that the team were leaden legged and too slow in thought and execution so that basic ball control was missing, passes were misplaced and we hardly won a single second ball. Ferna actually made no difference when he came on and Chelsea continued to cause havoc with simple through balls straight down the middle. This was because Stones showed an uncertainty and nerviness not seen all season, Dias showed he is a long way from being Vinnie on the biggest of occasions and Zinchenko had a turbulent evening, most notably when failing to follow Havertz. Ferna is a great player and leader but he isn't a miracle worker. Nor does he solve the problem we had up front where we did have our "strongest line up". Jesus and Aguero made little impact basically because we had no idea what we were doing. Sterling got nothing out of James and his touch was heavy and passing poor and Mahrez was kept wide so that he never posed any problems for Chilwell. Rarely did we get into their area and even more rarely did we have anyone in there to take advantage if we had. The problem on Saturday night was that no-one on that field performed anything like up to standard, nowhere near, and the idea that Ferna or Rodri would have turned that onto a winning performance is quite frankly a massive delusion. In my opinion those lads were not ready to carry the weight of the almost Messianic belief that these were the lads who were going to lead City out of the desert after a ten year journey to the paradise of champions league glory and they choked. This is one we can put down to experience. And my consolation is that next year "our best line up" will be a little different but much more experienced and there'll be no mistake.

Good sense as ever.

Pep didn't imo make the right choices but I have said over and over that he actually needed to do something a bit different because Chelsea are perfectly set-up at the moment to deal with our so called strongest formation.

He took a risk on Sterling but to get some pace upfront he offered far more experience than Torres.

I firmly believe that the players froze and they did so because of the occasion and not because of Pep's tactics and team selection. Word will seep out if the players feel they were affected by Pep's decision but I don't think there was any sense of that going into the game.

 

[northstandgiveusasong]

Few names being mentioned today as wanting out Sterling, Rodri,Jesus,LaPorte,Cancelo,even Bernado.

Not posting links,it is all over Twitter if interested in this bollocks.

Bastards in MSM have wasted no time.

To be honest there is only Bernado i would lose sleep over.

Jesus i love the lads work ethic, he is not a natural finisher though.

Wonder who will be the first player to call Pep out on the shit show in Porto ?

There was more going on out there than meets the Eye. None performances of big players.

Shades of Wigan? Just the usual conspiracy theories in the aftermath of a defeat in such a high profile game. I'll believe it when I see it situation.

Chelsea fully derserved their win and let's take nothing away, tactically they were spot on....unfortunately for us.

 

[ancoats]

would just like to give a big shout out to the fans that went. you did us proud and keep the faith

 

[Dribble]

100% it beggars belief.......as soon as i saw the line up i knew the outcome as my comment in the pre-match will support.

Clearly there are no guarantees we would have won with the 11 that 'picks itself' but the game would have been very different and we would have been playing to our strengths.

Still so angry and frustrated that all that brilliance and hard work Pep and the lads put in to get us to the final was thrown away so easily and unnecessarily.

There's no other manager on earth I'd rather have than Guardiola, however he's human & has his faults.

His decision to drop Fern or Rodri, in favour of bringing in an out of form Sterling, & moving Gundog & Foden away from where they've proved to be extremely effective, is being questioned by the media, pundits, City fans & opposition fans alike.

I was talking to a couple of family members who are Spurs fans, & a couple of mates, one Leeds & one Villa, & they were equally as stunned by the move Pep made. My heart sank when I saw the lineup, so much so I had to go back & stare at it again to make sure I hadn't got it wrong.

Just why? We were there. We were actually 90 minutes away from a potential Champions League victory, & Guardiola decides to tie our boot laces together, before we've walked out on the pitch. This is why I'm still pissed the fuck off 2 days later. It's not the defeat, it's that there's so much we could have done to avoid it.

My only hope is that Pep has a long hard look at himself over the summer, & reflects on some of his big Champions League decisions which have cost us & Bayern previously.

 

[GOULDYBOBS]

It's still hard to take but we will be back.
Pep got it wrong but he gets it right enough to let him off imo.