Leeds (H) | PL | Post-Match Thread

alexmcity said:
Spot on.

We won 10 PL games in a row while competing in the CL and reaching the FA Cup final. It's inadequate to characterise the performance us unprofessional, given they had one chance to score all game.

It's football. Sometimes you create many chances but couldn't score from them and the opposition scores from their only chance. Such games are not due to lack of professionalism but to the chancy nature of football. Ridiculous to cry about that, given we tried to save energy for one of the biggest games of the season in 3 days, which was the professional thing to do.
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To me at least, there seems to be a shift in mindset from some blues from enjoying performances and winning results—especially as we continue to compete for nearly everything these is to win—to an unhealthy (for them and the club) and unreasonable demand for absolute domination in every minute of every match.

If we aren’t dominating for 100% of the match, conceding not a single chance to the opposition, and putting 5 or 6 past whichever poor side turns up on the day, many seem to think we’ve been “unprofessional” or a “disgrace”.

And they trot out claims that Pep being frustrated or annoyed with the play and/or players is evidence that this is the correct perspective. Which is just plain wrong, as it is Pep’s mindset and job to never be fully happy during a season, no matter how well we played and how fully the score line reflects it. He is meant to always be asking for more and demanding perfection. The fans don’t have the same need or mandate.

I mean, we quite literally dominated the match for all but ~60 seconds (the total time for their headed chance and later goal), missing about 8 big chances to score—as it was one of those days that happen every now and then—and many on here are posting like we not only lost but were laughably amateur and let the fans down in doing so.

It’s just beyond my comprehension to see that shift and it is worrying, given this sort of arrogance and delusional thinking is the trademark of the supporters down the road.

As I said earlier in the thread, it is amazing how conceding a single goal changes the entire perception of a performance (and the players!) for some blues.
 
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We can tend to worry when Pep tinkers with lots of changes and on occasion we have seen that the backups are not quite the same quality as the current first choices. But that first half an hour should that with the right tinkering they can come together and produce some wonderful football. The movement and control of that first period was wonderful. Whatever defensive plan Leeds had come into the game with was twisted, teased and torn by half-time. Gundo was the main orchestrator, finding the right pass, drifting into space - but that space was created because Leeds didn't know what to do with Rico - what a player we have, its going to be wonderful to watch him develop. Alverez as an inside left struggled a little - but it gave him the time and space to pop up in some great spaces (and yes the chance he had could been taken better). Foden provides a more direct option that Grealish, a more traditional winger - and Leeds were set up to manage that, hence his final ball was often blocked - but it also created the space that Gundo, KdB or Alverez could exploit.

As the game moved on I'm not sure if City's intensity dropped a bit, or Leeds began to get to grips with the passing lines and the movement. Yet on a another day we could still have rattled in another 2 or 3 and made the end far more comfortable - such is life. But it is three more points - another win in the sequence and Arsenal are under even more pressure - lovely stuff.
 
Not sure why so many are moaning about yesterday's peformance, the nature of the result (along with Fulham and West Ham) is very much a textbook sign of League winning form. Almost every time we have won this league we've gone through periods of absolute dominance along with periods of getting results when not playing our best, that's exactly what we did yesterday.If we were not our best and losing, then I'd be concerned. Some on here are either starting to get nervy or are just spoilt
 
FantasyIreland said:
@cleavers choice of word is poor,it wasn't a disgrace,as that implies something entirely different......but it was sloppy and unprofessional,and its quite correct to be calling the performance out for being such.

We went into limp mode,and began coasting,when we should have put our foot on their throat and crushed a team of little quality.That game could have ended very differently,which is mental considering our utter dominance and control for the majority.

Pep will be livid,but as i said earlier in the thread.....it may also serve as a reminder to stay ruthless and focused,and be very much a blessing in disguise.
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I think to say it was poor is harsh, yesterday was a perfect example of scoreline not reflecting the game as it could have easily been 6-1, our energy was good, created beautiful chances but just allowed our concentration to falter for a bit at the end which in itself is not a bad thing and serves as a timely reminder for Madrid and upcoming league games.

We also have to understand that it's end of the season, players are tired with little break between games but still we're fighting on 3 fronts, what else we can ask for? Pep would have said what needed to be said and that should be adequate. Good Times
 
Citizen in Pakistan said:
I think to say it was poor is harsh, yesterday was a perfect example of scoreline not reflecting the game as it could have easily been 6-1, our energy was good, created beautiful chances but just allowed our concentration to falter for a bit at the end which in itself is not a bad thing and serves as a timely reminder for Madrid and upcoming league games.

We also have to understand that it's end of the season, players are tired with little break between games but still we're fighting on 3 fronts, what else we can ask for? Pep would have said what needed to be said and that should be adequate. Good Times
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Where did i say the match was 'poor'?
 
just an observation, bet every one of us has witnessed a game when the ball just wont go in the net. No discernable root cause, nothing the manager can do, no lack of intent, just a series of events that thwarts normal service. Another factor that only applies to City due to our involvement in three major cups, is trying to finesse "game management", where just doing enough is preferable to a flat-out 90 minute tear up. To my mind, it wasn't arrogance or laziness that had so many arses twitching at the end, and definitely not "unprofessional", Probably the most one-sided game of the season was "close" due to a freak chance that fell to a totally dominated opposition, the deadliest striker in the prem missing chances that he routinely scores, plus the farce of VAR misinterpretations , turned the post-match comments into a flap-fest. Understandable given what is at stake in every game until the end of this season and the knee-jerk nature of foot-ball forums in general. Pep gambled on a make-shift selection being good enough, he was right but missed chances made it look riskier than it was.
 
Outstanding performance first half, controlled second half until letting in a sloppy goal. Leeds never had a sniff of an equaliser afterwards. Rico and Laporte both class yesterday
 
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