The Happy Clappers won't like the negativity on here tonight but nobody can sit there and say they thought we were impressive tonight. We look every bit as bang average as we have done in Europe for the last six or seven years.
We haven't improved under Pellegrini (in Europe) despite the spending and regardless of the injuries, we are still lining up better man for man than our opponents, yet we are struggling big time. 4-4-2 isn't helping, but neither is the fact that we don't really know how to press as a team and win the ball back. We press as individuals and once the opposition get past the first phase of the press, we are left in dangerous situations. Defenders are expected to defend 1v1 and it is asking for trouble. The amount of games where we look defensively all over the place, yet our back four seem to have had decent enough games is astounding and highlights a major flaw in our system. Mangala and Otamendi were both good tonight yet somehow we had to rely on their forward missing a few sitters to win the game. There is just a sense of chaos whenever we are attacked. Teams play through us far too easily and if I'm honest, at the highest level, we are an accident waiting to happen.
That said, two late wins shows great character and in reality we probably deserved to beat Juventus. KDB is a big plus, Navas is in good form if a little frustrating, Yaya is playing ok and individually the back four seem ok. Dinho is excellent and we have probably our three most important players to return.
Overall I think we have reached our summit under Pellers. He's done well and we should have enough to win something domestically, but we are a million miles away from competing at the serious end of this competition, and if that hasn't changed over the last two years, it's unlikely to change in the next two. You can't keep playing the same way and wonder why you keep making the same mistakes and having the same level of performance. Delighted with the win, but I still think we are a walking accident while our three most important players are missing.
I think we can paper over the cracks domestically, hopefully emphatically so on Sunday and go on to win the league. But after that, if someone of Pep's calibre becomes available, we have to go for him.