Champions League Final | Post-Match Thread

[Chris in London]

I've got huge sympathy for how City fans are feeling atm, having gotten closer than ever but not quite made it. Chelsea fans have been there and felt that exact pain. Your time will come. City are now a huge club who will go again.

What I don't have sympathy for is the OTT criticism of one of the greatest managers of the modern era. A manager who has delivered three Prem titles in the last four years. A manager who could reasonably ask the English FA to rename the League Cup the Guardiola Cup.

Jeez lads. The sense of entitlement here is a bit embarrassing tbh. As a fan base it seems that some of you are becoming like Real Madrid fans, where their sense of entitlement has them waving little white hankies in the air if their team lose a game.

I've read some shocking stuff here in recent days. One post alluded that City players weren't trying their best ffs!

Don't lose your identity lads. Part of what should make City great, imho, is where you've come from. Years and years of having to endure the neighbours. Your journey should make you so much more humble than them.

‘I think it’s a little bit unfair sometimes when as soon as Manchester City don’t win then it’s tactics or maybe players on the pitch, but we needed to do more and it’s as simple as that. I don’t think we created enough in the game and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying that, I think everyone could tell on the pitch.’

Kyle Walker

We’re hurting. No disrespect, but these days we expect to beat Chelsea. (Please don’t think of that as arrogance, we genuinely believe we are the best team in England, even though in football that doesn’t always mean you win a one off game.) To lose a final of that magnitude hurts - as you know - especially when you expected to win, and people are lashing out. You lot probably did the same thing after losing the cup final to Leicester, and it’s surprising how winning your next game puts a defeat in perspective. Or a major signing. We’ll be alright come the start of the new season. We have a title to defend.

It’s nice to read posts like yours because opposition fans frequently come here for wind ups whereas yours sounds like the sort of thing you’d say if you needed to have a word with a good mate who was being a dick. As for Chelsea, you won the most prestigious club tournament in the world, and whilst no City fan will ever take pleasure at Liverpool orUnited winning the Champions League, if it hadn’t been us that you’d beaten most City fans would normally be a little bit happy that an English team had won it.

 

[daflanger]

The players are not stupid. It was a blunder to change the team and its structure. Gundo was played out of position and so was Foden to accommodate Sterling. We were overwhelmed in midfield and Pep didn't change things till it was much too late. He waited too long to bring on Sergio as well.
I think Pep is the greatest manager we will ever have but this defeat was down to him. The players didn't play well but Pep is responsible for preparing them. The full truth will eventually come out.
With the same formation and structure as the PSG match we would almost certainly have won.
Pep's behaviour in the run-up to the game was also very strange. Swearing on TV and then sobbing about Sergio. Even by his standards he seemed very intense and I believe this transmitted to the players.
That said you can't underestimate how much pressure Pep and his whole team have been under this last season with Covid, personal bereavement, the volume of games, injuries, the FFP case etc etc.
The whole club has performed magnificently to win the Premier League while other teams imploded under the pressure. But in the end it was just too much. I don't blame people like Bernardo for wanting a move. Sometimes you just need a change. Shit happens. Roll on next season.

I agree with this 100%. The players looked lost. The worst were the defense as they had to over compensate for Gundogan who looked a bit lost in CDM. The first goal could have been avoided if Ferna was there cause Stones and Dias were pulled out of position! Usually Stones and Dias are the last line of Defense and Ferna cleans everything infront of them. Gundogan wasn't able to do that!

When Ferna came on we controlled the midfield. But it was too late, everything had fallen apart already!

This one is on Pep! He is too stubborn to admit his mistake. He should have taken off Sterling and brought on Ferna and let the players bring on the PSG spirit. But he also didn't do that!

Sterling was a waste of space and I don't blame Sterling for that. He should not have started. Foden was brilliant on the left for all our CL games, then you take him away in the final and play him in a mid position! KDB was asking to drop deeper. Bernardo had to help Gundogan leaving Mahrez all alone! It was a mess

Chelsea setup was perfect for them and they clearly knew what they were doing. We were lucky this game did not end an embarrassing 3 or 4 nil as in the first half Chelsea could have scored more!

I am still angry of this missed opportunity! And its on Pep. I love him but this one is on him

 

[daflanger]

Bobby not directed totally at you.

So Pep, the greatest manager we have ever had loses a game.. boo fucking hoo.. he played the team he thought would win and whilst we are all entitled to opinions, he is still the best manager we ever had and frankly his record stands up for itself..dont criticise him for one game if you cant criticise him for the last few seasons of regular trophies.
Frankly, there is so much dross on this forum about various players and now Pep, I am so surprised. Just remember the shite we faced for many years and bathe in the glory. Cup half full, not half empty. Support the manager and players and quit whinging.

We support the players and the manager 100 percent. But we are also allowed to rant and be upset about a missed opportunity. Also this is not one game, this is the biggest game of the year if not the history of City up to now!

Pep remains the best manager in the world and what he has done for City is beyond amazing. But also when we feel something is not right, we can call it out. Whether we are right or not, we need to call it out. This doesn't mean we don't appreciate Pep. Not at all, this means we have passion for the club, the game, the players and Pep.

I would be worried if as a fan you are relaxed about this and don't care much about it (Not personally you, just in general). The fact that I am still hurting and annoyed to keep on seeing photos of what could have been us lifting the trophy can only mean how much we love this club!

I said it before, I hate football for loving it and I hate City for Loving City!! Couldn't sleep for 2 days after the final!

 

[come-on-barney]

Getting over this has taken a lot longer than I thought. Really seemed to hang over me this one.However, just this week after renewing I felt the excitement coming back, and now starting to really look forward to getting back to the Etihad. Just have a feeling it’s going to be another special season, and we will go one better this season, especially if the signings come off. Let’s do it!

 

[daflanger]

This thread will never end
Will it?

I think it will go one until we win finally win the CL :) Not sure when that will happen now!

 

[toffee balls]

I've got huge sympathy for how City fans are feeling atm, having gotten closer than ever but not quite made it. Chelsea fans have been there and felt that exact pain. Your time will come. City are now a huge club who will go again.

What I don't have sympathy for is the OTT criticism of one of the greatest managers of the modern era. A manager who has delivered three Prem titles in the last four years. A manager who could reasonably ask the English FA to rename the League Cup the Guardiola Cup.

Jeez lads. The sense of entitlement here is a bit embarrassing tbh. As a fan base it seems that some of you are becoming like Real Madrid fans, where their sense of entitlement has them waving little white hankies in the air if their team lose a game.

I've read some shocking stuff here in recent days. One post alluded that City players weren't trying their best ffs!

Don't lose your identity lads. Part of what should make City great, imho, is where you've come from. Years and years of having to endure the neighbours. Your journey should make you so much more humble than them.

‘I think it’s a little bit unfair sometimes when as soon as Manchester City don’t win then it’s tactics or maybe players on the pitch, but we needed to do more and it’s as simple as that. I don’t think we created enough in the game and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying that, I think everyone could tell on the pitch.’

Kyle Walker

Fantastic post that.

 

[alexmcity]

What I don't have sympathy for is the OTT criticism of one of the greatest managers of the modern era. A manager who has delivered three Prem titles in the last four years. A manager who could reasonably ask the English FA to rename the League Cup the Guardiola Cup.

Wise people say that delusion is one of the roots of suffering. Many fans on here were generally delusional about Chelsea. They underestimated Chelsea for two reasons. First, because Chelsea limped over the line for top 4 losing vs Arsenal and Villa, and because they lost vs Leicester as well. But that was partly because Chelsea had difficult games vs Real and City, and weren't sufficiently fresh vs Leicester and Villa. Having 6 days to freshen things up before the CL final was always going to help them. Second, Tuchel's system works better when Chelsea are not favourites. They were favourites vs Arsenal, Leicester and Villa, but not against Real and especially City. It was perfect for them to be the underdogs in Porto.

Also, many were delusional about the quality of our performances vs PSG, especially at home. PSG were without Mbappe and still were the more dangerous team in the 1st half. Dias had to put in a fantastic performance. We were lucky to score with the first attack in the game, and won despite being quite average throughout the first half. We were lucky also with both goals in Paris. People managed to convince themselves that we had just to turn up in Porto with the same XI from the game vs PSG at the Etihad in order to win the trophy, forgetting that Chelsea play a completely different system compared to PSG and that they are on a completely different level defensively wise. Pep tried to factor in those circumstances. It didn't work out, but I think it had something to do also with our players not dealing well with the pressure of being in a CL final for the first time. Also, the first half in Porto wasn't worse than that in Paris or the first half vs PSG at the Etihad, the difference being that we failed to score first in Porto (Sterling and Foden could have done better with some chances...). Also, we lost KDB early in the 2nd half in Porto, which significantly reduced our ability to create chances against an excellent Chelsea defence.

 

[percypawpaw]

Should have won, based upon what? Sense of entitlement? We certainly didn't play well enough to have won, and we should not have been feeling much self-entitlement having lost the previous two encounters.

I said Probably, I dont have any self entitlement, and dont accept you trying to make me look as though I am.

 

[ASHCFC]

We’re hurting. No disrespect, but these days we expect to beat Chelsea. (Please don’t think of that as arrogance, we genuinely believe we are the best team in England, even though in football that doesn’t always mean you win a one off game.) To lose a final of that magnitude hurts - as you know - especially when you expected to win, and people are lashing out. You lot probably did the same thing after losing the cup final to Leicester, and it’s surprising how winning your next game puts a defeat in perspective. Or a major signing. We’ll be alright come the start of the new season. We have a title to defend.

It’s nice to read posts like yours because opposition fans frequently come here for wind ups whereas yours sounds like the sort of thing you’d say if you needed to have a word with a good mate who was being a dick. As for Chelsea, you won the most prestigious club tournament in the world, and whilst no City fan will ever take pleasure at Liverpool orUnited winning the Champions League, if it hadn’t been us that you’d beaten most City fans would normally be a little bit happy that an English team had won it.

Cheers Chris. It's good to know that my post came over to you exactly as I meant it to.

I've spent a bit of time here post-CL, and can see that there's a huge number of good lads here.

I think it's interesting to consider what makes for the mindset that I've seen here in some of the lads, ie that something was categorically wrong because the final was lost.

It might just be venting, and that's understandable. However, it's made me think about the whole City thing - best manager, deepest squad, great owners, media hype that follows you to every game etc. I guess all of the above kind of sets the fans up for a fall when you lose an important game, which of course every team does sometimes.

I will post again if I think I've got something constructive to say!

Appreciate your post mate.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

I've got huge sympathy for how City fans are feeling atm, having gotten closer than ever but not quite made it. Chelsea fans have been there and felt that exact pain. Your time will come. City are now a huge club who will go again.

What I don't have sympathy for is the OTT criticism of one of the greatest managers of the modern era. A manager who has delivered three Prem titles in the last four years. A manager who could reasonably ask the English FA to rename the League Cup the Guardiola Cup.

Jeez lads. The sense of entitlement here is a bit embarrassing tbh. As a fan base it seems that some of you are becoming like Real Madrid fans, where their sense of entitlement has them waving little white hankies in the air if their team lose a game.

I've read some shocking stuff here in recent days. One post alluded that City players weren't trying their best ffs!

Don't lose your identity lads. Part of what should make City great, imho, is where you've come from. Years and years of having to endure the neighbours. Your journey should make you so much more humble than them.

‘I think it’s a little bit unfair sometimes when as soon as Manchester City don’t win then it’s tactics or maybe players on the pitch, but we needed to do more and it’s as simple as that. I don’t think we created enough in the game and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying that, I think everyone could tell on the pitch.’

Kyle Walker

There are not many City fans who would swap Pep for anyone else in the world but that doesn't mean he should be immune from criticism. I don't think it is anything to do with entitlement. Personally I thought Chelsea were brilliant and Tuchel had the best tactics for the third game running against City. If we had to lose then I would prefer victory to go to Chelsea rather than United or Liverpool.
However I suspect Chelsea fans might take a different view if Tuchel had left Kante on the bench and played Mount in defensive midfield...and then lost the CL Final.