The one thing that sticks in my mind was the overhit pass to Aguero and I said that he had been overhitting them a few times this season. His touch has been just sublime, but we lost a lot of the creativity when he went off last night, and I think that is the big difference this season. We do need a mix of Silva and Fernandinho in the side. Any suggestions?
If only Yaya Toure could live with the pace of that game. We were giving the ball away cheaply at times last night but sadly Yaya can't do the defensive side and if we had any physical weak links last night they'd have been ruthlessly exploited.I think Silva's loss of form/nagging injury has been a major factor this season, mainly because too many people have been assuming that it will suddenly all come good.
A microcosm of our Premier League season.
In the short term, we need to keep possession for longer periods, and I suspect that will mean the return of Yaya next week
If only Yaya Toure could live with the pace of that game. We were giving the ball away cheaply at times last night but sadly Yaya can't do the defensive side and if we had any physical weak links last night they'd have been ruthlessly exploited.
Couldn't agree more, but I was meaning Yaya in the middle of the front three, with Fernando, and Fernandinho behind him.
Not what I'd do, but I suspect Pellegrini might opt for it.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...s/manchester-city-david-silva-injury-11247714
Seems like Pellegrini agrees, we lost control of the ball and lost control of the game after we lost Silva.
"Pellegrini added: “We lost the control of the ball. We hadn’t created that much, we were losing the ball, giving it away. The attitude was the same, but if you keep giving the ball away, Real Madrid will grow in confidence. It was more the injury to David.”"
At least Pellegrini got that one right.
Our Game went to pot when he went off. He controls how we play. How fast we are, how slow we are. Everything.
More often than not in the last 18 months it's been "how slow we are" rather than how quickly we play. His poor form perfectly mirrors Pellegrini's travails in the last 18 months too. Both men need a new challenge.
Usually you can tell when age/injury is catching up with players when they are not as quick as they were over 10m. With Silva its more a case of how quickly he spins and turns. He's like a ballet dancer who can only pirouette at 80%, of the speed they did at their peak. Or a top skier who can't slalom as freely as they once did. It means that he doesn't throw defenders off balance as he used to and also misplaces passes. I don't know whether that's a permanent decline or temporary due to injury.
His ankle permitting, I think he could adapt his game and continue playing at the top level for a few years. But he will be a different type of player and the transition will take time.
I think Silva's loss of form/nagging injury has been a major factor this season, mainly because too many people have been assuming that it will suddenly all come good.
A microcosm of our Premier League season.
In the short term, we need to keep possession for longer periods, and I suspect that will mean the return of Yaya next week
2nd Half there RB had a free reign, KDB never picked him up and Kelchi was looking like a little boy lost.
I thought we were lucky to get a 0-0 with the 2nd half showing.
Pelegrini is just not active enough.
Yeah, I also think weirdly enough his passing, especially those clever slide rule passes into the path of Kun which were second nature to him for so long, seem to take more time and seem less accurate. I think he could adapt his game and stay in the Premier League or even with us, but I'm not sure even he'd want to. At the age he's at with the state of his ankle/s maybe he would prefer to go play in a softer league.
But why did he not change it tactically during the 2nd half.
Kelchi doing the Navas role on the left. ie. stopping the fullbacks attacking us.
Huge loss.Out 2-3 weeks so probably done for the season