Is Pep a defensive genius?

[TonyM]

 

[eversince 76]

Pep is a genius because his whole system is based on having the ball.
When having the ball you can create chances yourself. To score goals you need to create chances.
When having the ball opponents don’t so they can’t create chances. To score goals they need to create chances.
It’s not just our defenders defending well. It’s a team effort all the way. And it is nearly impossible to not concede chances. But we are that good Ederson hardly needs to make a save and is more busy being a player when in possession.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

Mendy is a fantastic footballer, he isn't getting credit from me for being "brave" by trying to carry on passing poorly. I like them both, they both by their own standards were awful last night.

Yeah but if he isn’t brave and just hoofs it clear of danger cos his confidence is low that fvcks up our entire way of playing.

“Awful” ? I think maybe you just choose the wrong words. Below par or inconsistent perhaps in mendy’s case but nowhere near awful.

 

[taleofbluehalves]

That's crazy! I seem to remember some of our wonderful TV experts saying he can't defend and his football wont work in the big hard Premier League lol

Exactly! I’ve a sneaky feeling we’ll set a big defensive record this year.

 

[Tom_mcfc]

Yeah but if he isn’t brave and just hoofs it clear of danger cos his confidence is low that fvcks up our entire way of playing.

“Awful” ? I think maybe you just choose the wrong words. Below par or inconsistent perhaps in mendy’s case but nowhere near awful.

My opinion yeah, that is by their standards that they were nowhere near their normal level. Carrying on losing the ball isn't a plus for me sorry, just a bad day at the office which I highly doubt we will see them both play so poorly again this season.

 

[schfc6]

All teams who are 'good at defending' concede some chances, & occasionally it's down to shit mistakes, even in the 'best' defensive teams.

That was the case last night. We dropped some right bollocks.

The best defensive teams usually have a combination of luck & dogged determination, which covers said fuck ups. That was us last night.

We weren't that, v Celtic, Leicester etc, a couple of years ago, nor at Anfield last season, we were a bunch of clueless shithouses who helped the opponents to score, by compounding one mistake after another.

Imo, we have gradually evolved into a team which can be dogged, as well as pressing, wheras Pep's Barca were more reliant on shit or bust, in the pressing department.

It's no accident imo. Pep has learned stuff, from the Prem, as he does everywhere.

Exactly this. All teams will make errors occasionally.
Big difference is, now we’re drilled to expect those mistakes. We have players bought with those mistakes in mind.

Laporte is there to support Mendy/Delph on his strong side.
Stones/Kompany/Otamendi likewise to cover for Walker.

The main one, Ederson, we can defend high, as he’s there to cover their errors.

Last night Kane’s touch looked heavy as Ederson was on him so fast, that touch vs United puts him through on goal as De Gea & many others would be rooted to his line.

Mistakes are part of football, Pep has built a system that can largely cope with such mistakes, perhaps even expects them.
It’s no surprise that Stones, Ederson & Laporte are excellent in anticipation rather than reaction.

 

[wolfie1988]

My opinion yeah, that is by their standards that they were nowhere near their normal level. Carrying on losing the ball isn't a plus for me sorry, just a bad day at the office which I highly doubt we will see them both play so poorly again this season.

They were awful. I can't believe anybody would think otherwise. Walker was 50% as bad as Mendy who was fucking awful

 

[Lancet Fluke]

They were awful. I can't believe anybody would think otherwise. Walker was 50% as bad as Mendy who was fucking awful

Walker looked like he was trying way too hard to stick it to the Spurs fans and was making poor decisions because of that. Mendy looked like he hadn't played top flight football before. I suspect the pitch helped Mendy look much worse than he would have ordinarily done when having that kind of mare.

 

[cleavers]

They said after the match that the three spurs attacking players only had 4 touches of the ball in our penalty area, and they are supposed to be one of the best teams in the league, and have had their best ever start.

I posted elsewhere, we've played Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs away, and we've conceded only 20 shots, 6 on target, and conceded 0 goals, compare to the same games last season it was 34 shots, 15 on target, and 5 goals conceded, that is quite some improvement, even if we only have 1 more point to show for it.

 

[KCblue]

Exactly this. All teams will make errors occasionally.
Big difference is, now we’re drilled to expect those mistakes. We have players bought with those mistakes in mind.

Laporte is there to support Mendy/Delph on his strong side.
Stones/Kompany/Otamendi likewise to cover for Walker.

The main one, Ederson, we can defend high, as he’s there to cover their errors.

Last night Kane’s touch looked heavy as Ederson was on him so fast, that touch vs United puts him through on goal as De Gea & many others would be rooted to his line.

Mistakes are part of football, Pep has built a system that can largely cope with such mistakes, perhaps even expects them.
It’s no surprise that Stones, Ederson & Laporte are excellent in anticipation rather than reaction.

Excellent post.