Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

RayCTID said:
He was poor before the injury but yes Kev is a match winner but I don't think he was deliberately taken out of the game
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The foul was deliberate; probably not intended to injure him in the way he did, but he did....endangering an opponent.
 
Windrush48 said:
If I never see us win the big cup, at least I saw us get very very close, think of all the other fans who can’t say that.
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I don't think you understand the depth of feeling of us who love
City with an absolute passion.
And the level of sheer frustration we feel, this was a game we could have won had not Pep decided to experiment again in such a massive game.
 
SidJames said:
Pep has a huge ego that needs feeding.

He decided tonight he was going to make it all about him and his ego on the big Stage, instead of the collective good of City.

That is likely the real explanation for his bizarre team selection and tactics.Instead of playing the system that had served us so well all the way to Porto.

Only 3 times this Season has he started any game without a DM and tonight was one of them.

The role he says he wanted Gundogan to play,he has never actually played.

It comes off,everybody goes wow Pep is a genius he won A champions League Final with literally no midfield.and new system. He gets his ego fed.

He fucked up,and football pundits all over the Country now think he is a bit of a Tit.For starting such an important game with an unfamiliar system and out of form players,and players out of position because of his changes.

Touchel won because he simply played his best 11,in their best positions. That is all.

Had we done exactly the same tonight we would be Champions of Europe.
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I understand the viewpoint but I cant agree with this idea that it's ego based. If there's one thing we know about Pep coming from current and ex players, he has an unerring intensity to win and win trophies - we've seen it first hand since he arrived. I just think he witnessed both the semi final and the league game against Chelsea and chose a team that he thought would get the upper hand and bring home the trophy.

It wasn't the right choice and it's easy enough for us to look and say he should have played Fern or Rodri, Sterling shouldn't have started, Foden should have been pushed higher but in reality, he has chosen a team he believed would win him the game.

I love Pep, I love his nuances, I love his tactics, I love his personality and I love him winning trophies with our club. It was a bad day at the office but we'll be back to give it another shot.
 
razinho said:
I understand the viewpoint but I cant agree with this idea that it's ego based. If there's one thing we know about Pep coming from current and ex players, he has an unerring intensity to win and win trophies - we've seen it first hand since he arrived. I just think he witnessed both the semi final and the league game against Chelsea and chose a team that he thought would get the upper hand and bring home the trophy.

It wasn't the right choice and it's easy enough for us to look and say he should have played Fern or Rodri, Sterling shouldn't have started, Foden should have been pushed higher but in reality, he has chosen a team he believed would win him the game.

I love Pep, I love his nuances, I love his tactics, I love his personality and I love him winning trophies with our club. It was a bad day at the office but we'll be back to give it another shot.
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If it's not his ego to suddenly change things for such a massive game then what is it?
We play 60 games with either fernandinho or rodri and the biggest game of all we play without any of them.
I will go to my grave never understanding that.
All I can think of is it is his ego.
I can't think of any other reason he would do/risk it.
 
Tokyo32 said:
But it works for them though we can’t complain. Everyone knew that was how they were going to play but we still played to their hands and let them counter us
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Chelsea outplayed us 3 times in a row, thats the true!...they defend well and attack well when they need to! Pep made their task easier with an open avenue midfield...awful defensive transitions
 
Outplaying is stretching it (especially with the two previous defeats). We were Sergio Aguero penalty miss away from beating them in the league.
 
Suze1103 said:
As soon as I saw the team selection I was concerned. Play your players where they have played all season and won. Don’t make them play something new in the biggest game of the season.

no Rodri or Fernandinho denying support to the back 4
Gundogan being asked to play CDM when he has played best football in another position
Play Foden on left or right where he has made hay all season - not in the centre
Do not play Raheem because he has been out of form for weeks.
I don’t mind losing - I just don’t like losing like this.
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This sums if up. Maybe Pep was thinking the front line could have it won by half time and to be fair Sterling and Foden and Mahrez all had chances early on. Otherwise no Fern and Gundogan out of position meant City were sunk as surely as the design of the (non) watertight chambers on the Titanic.
 
RayCTID said:
Outplaying is stretching it (especially with the two previous defeats). We were Sergio Aguero penalty miss away from beating them in the league.
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Don’t think it really matters now, we have lost already no need to argue about stuff like that
 
Bill Walker said:
If it's not his ego to suddenly change things for such a massive game then what is it?
We play 60 games with either fernandinho or rodri and the biggest game of all we play without any of them.
I will go to my grave never understanding that.
All I can think of is it is his ego.
I can't think of any other reason he would do/risk it.
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I hope you didn't take that as me having a go mate, I honestly do understand the frustration of it all.

Everybody who speaks to him talks about how much he analyses opponents, situations and systems in football - one of footballs great thinkers. I genuinely think he saw enough from the two games against Tuchel to decide to cut out the DM and go for a team who could control and dominate possession so they didn't get the opportunity to counter. I posted earlier about the differences between this and the games against Dortmund and PSG - we targeted and nullified key personnel against them to make them weaker whereas this Chelsea team don't have that "key player" which I think has caused Pep to go for a team that will have the most ball retention. Chelsea are just a well organised and efficient team without being that exciting or great to watch, it's been our Kryptonite for a few seasons now ala Liverpool under Klopp.

It didn't pay off, we didn't really have any kind of pressure and now he looks like a twat. I don't think for any second it's to do with his ego though, he doesn't even celebrate with the players when they collect trophies and would rather celebrate with the backroom team later which tells its own story really.

At the end of the day we'll never know what would have happened if he played Fern or Rodri, it might have been similar to our other two matches but Pep definitely needs to find a way to win games against quality counter attacking teams next season.
 
Bill Walker said:
If it's not his ego to suddenly change things for such a massive game then what is it?
We play 60 games with either fernandinho or rodri and the biggest game of all we play without any of them.
I will go to my grave never understanding that.
All I can think of is it is his ego.
I can't think of any other reason he would do/risk it.
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It is his meticulous attention to detail and passion for the game. It is just Pep. It is the same reason we win so many more than we lose and why he wins so many finals.

But usually he is subtle and things are barely noticeable without a keen eye. General play and tactics remain consistent. Last night I thought his lineup was about a high press swamping Chelsea. They aren't the best at playing out from the back and stopping Kante etc turning was critical to stop balls going forwards.

But we didnt press as a unit because too many players were unsure of where to be. It should have been abandoned after 20mins but Pep would have then had to destroy Sterling.

He early felt Sterling would rise to the game and Foden could dominate centrally as he did in the FA Cup semi. But by that point we were 1 down and still lost.

It was baffling. Maybe next season he will stick to tried and trusted until the very end and win us the CL.
 
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