City Vs Seville Champions League Post Match Thread

[Kippax.]

Just got back not sure whats been said on here, but Yaya and Bony in the same team does not work. Pair of them are lazy fuckers. Yaya is not a captain.

 

[Claytop]

You either press as a team consistently or sit back and soak pressure. We did neither and there was plenty of space for them to run into.

Seen it every champions league game for about 4 years.

Starting to happen in league too against better opposition.

 

[kenzie115]

Problem is then we need Silva or Nasri at 10 for ball retention though.

That's not a problem (except that they're both injured atm), I'm advocating dropping Yaya for these games. I see him as a luxury player, who'll help dominate the weaker sides, but his negatives outweigh his positives against better opposition.

 

[baggy]

Great body check by the ref toward the end of the game...

Positives:

Mangala
Navas
KdB (yet again)

Negatives:

Setup/formation/tactics
General early euro, midweek, home atmosphere/vibe

Need to shore up that middle for Sunday...

 

[Danamy]

Have to keep a clean sheet on Sunday now , that's 7 on the spin without one and that's not good enough.

What a weird statement, you wouldn't be happy with a 2-1 win on Sunday?

 

[ojeme]

Never deserved it but fuck it, hahaha

Honestly thought we were really poor, but it's the result that matters and it is a bloody fantastic result. We had no control of the game whatsoever, the midfield was completely non-existent and we weren't able to supply the attackers whatsoever. They were able to charge straight down the middle at will, then did a great job of
getting in behind our fullbacks to pull
across dangerous balls (as for the goal). Mangala was absolutely outstanding, especially in the first half where he seemed to be the only one to ever get the ball off them and Otamendi was pretty solid as well, under difficult circumstances.
Of our attacking players, Navas was the pick of the bunch, the only one able to consistently keep the ball and move us up the field. He was direct and put in some fantastic balls. De Bruyne was also good, but for large parts struggled to get enough of the ball without Silva supplying our attackers. Bony and Sterling struggled to get anywhere near the ball, while
Fernandinho spent most of the game chasing shadows and had little effect. Yaya had a few good moments going forwards, especially after we went behind. His defensive "effort" was bordering on the embarrassing though and continues to be a massive problem in these games. We instantly became a lot
more solid when Fernando came on and there was no longer a massive hole in the middle of our team.
If we play with that lack of shape or control against the rags then we'll end up with a repeat of the game last year. Fernando has to start with Fernandinho, then build the team from there.

If you're suggesting we drop Yaya, I reckon it won't be any better. Our midfield players have all got weaknesses. None of them is the complete package atm. Suggesting that we play both Ferns may be suicidal. You get the false impression that we'd control the game but it never happens. Newcastle 1st half is a case in point. Off the top of my head I can only remember one match where using 2 Ferns seemed to pay off. You get something but loose something else equally important. It's a bit like wanting to remove your boots because it doesn't allow you run faster when there are spikes all over the place to get through past. If we acknowledge that we don't have a dream CM at, maybe we'd be a little more realistic with our choices regarding who starts and who doesn't. Summary is Fern plus Fern isn't good enough to play in the derby because mentality-wise we'd really come short. This is one of a couple more reasons why I won't start both ahead of Yaya (quite frankly i'll play all three). Did you really expect Yaya to run the whole length of the field? If you did I would say it was an unrealistic expectation and a harsh one on our oldest player in the starting 11. He did what he was supposed to do and when we needed him, boy did he step up. He also assisted the winner. Temper your expectations from Yaya until we get Pogba and play to his strengths when you have the opportunity to do so and youll be glad you did. Navas did a great job but imagine if nobody stepped up the way Yaya did in the build up to the equalizer would you have been content that we were industrous but unable to eke a goal somehow. Give Yaya a break will you?

 

[Marvin]

That was as poor a performance as I have seen from City for some time. Very lucky to win, but the back 4 defended well as they had to given that sevilla dominate our midfield. Toure after a bright start just disappeared. I don't know how he stayed on the pitch. I'd have gone with Sterling through the middle however one moment of class from de Bruyne settled it. Worth his weight in gold. He didn't have the best of nights apart from that, but he was always showing for the ball.

Mangala, Fernandinho, Navas were the best performers for me, and de Bruyne just for the goal.

We should go through now. We'll have half a team back for the next game. massive result given the team we had out, but we played even worse than I expected. I expected a tough game, but we were really really poor. Not sure how we won, but we defended well and that always gives you a chance

Navas looked like his ankle was troubling him at the end. Hopefully nothing serious

 

[sir baconface]

Those saying Zab is finished. Have you considered he might just be struggling for form after missing a load of games?

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

'Bout time we were on the sweet end of one of those games. I suspect our players know how Sevilla will feel - exactly the same as we did against Juve.

KdB looking like a bargain buy!!

 

[Marvin]

You either press as a team consistently or sit back and soak pressure. We did neither and there was plenty of space for them to run into.

Seen it every champions league game for about 4 years.

Starting to happen in league too against better opposition.

All the Champions league teams raise their game and play them like Cup Finals whereas we just play it like another game. Not only were we technically poor and wasteful with the ball, we had a couple of players who were well off the pace.