Liverpool (h) - CL QF post match thread

[cookster]

I was referring to the season as a whole, I think we have had some shocking decisions and personally can't thing of any that went our way but I usually have my blue spectacles on.

I am still seething about past incidents:

• Atkinson adding time to time added on at the Swamp
• Clattenburg giving penalty against Sterling when the ball hit him on the back outside the area
• Taylor going to his back pocket for the red card then changing his mond against Chelsea and his failure to punish Fabregas in the same game.
• Tackles by Deli Ali and Kane that only received yellows.

Plus numerous others including those in the last three matches.

Other teams must feel we have got away with things, but I am struggling to remember them.

The media never highlight all these decisions and seem to just accept them as the rub of the green, they never fight our corner.

Had time to sleep on it. Silva was offside for one of the goals against Arse at home. Other than that I'm struggling to find another in our favour.

 

[mosssideblue]

With Vinny it's more the mentality and leadership qualities along with his experience that we were crying out for.

Didn't see much of that against the rags.

 

[rnblade]

Over it now! We weren’t good enough over two legs.
Coulda, Shoulda, Wouda, doesn’t matter anymore. We can blame officiating all we like, we know it’s true, but we would spoil UEFA and their little cash cow party.
Some awful performances across the team, all we can do is move on to the next game.
Not looking forward to Spurs tbh, all I ask is a solid professional, non comical defending performance.
Come on City, move 3 points closer to the title please.

 

[Kippaxblue5]

Pics and comments on the game against Liverpool are now online at
http://www.rtfract.com/citapr18a.htm

 

[Magicpole]

Sorry to see you lose. The first half, for all the great football, didn’t remove the feeling that not to create more clear cut chances and take a few might come back.

Against Utd you should have been out of the park, but failed to capitalise. Same thing first half against Liverpool.

Even with the goal that really was, going in only two up after such a dominating half wasn’t good enough. The goal being chalked off had you only 1 up and everybody knew Salah only needed one good chance.

After he scored, you folded. Folding is not a trait of truly great teams. Your defence isn’t strong enough. You take too many risks at the back and the absence of a top finisher has undone you.

I said last week that these games would tell you all you need to know about the mentality of this team. It did.

It isn’t strong enough.

Decisions went against you, but those were the three biggest games of the season and you lost all three. Great teams need more than ability. They need a mindset that copes with big games. Add in Liverpool or Utd aren’t as good as you and that situation is worse.

If they can’t beat teams who aren’t as good in the crunch games, how would they cope with the better teams?

You lack steel and your defence is still dodgy.

If you dismiss these last three games as solely the fault of corrupt or stupid refs, it deflects from areas that have to be honestly taken on board and addressed. A striker, a midfield assassin/playmaker and a CB.

Not good enough yet. Great to watch at times, but lacking a psychological killer streak when it really matters.

Hopefully next year for the CL.

 

[stonerblue]

Didn't see much of that against the rags.

True, but seen plenty of it over the years.

 

[paul1963]

What was that all about Mane and salah praying on the pitch after Sane scored.

 

[citytill1die84]

Was a brilliant effort and we didn't deserve to lose another absolutely shite referee.

We go again next year.

 

[Tommy_Catons_Perm]

I have read the rules. This is the quote from the IFAB definition, which I've shortened to cut-out the bits in that that aren't relevant but have kept the exact wording for the bits I've quoted:


In summary, he's offside if the ball rebounds or deflects off an opponent but not if the opponent deliberately played the ball. So the interpretation is whether the ball rebounded off Milner or whether he played it deliberately. To me, it looked more like the former than the latter.

Sane was onside when De Bruyne played the ball to him and this takes precedence over the ball deflecting off two opponents afterwards.

 

[blue for life]

Sorry to see you lose. The first half, for all the great football, didn’t remove the feeling that not to create more clear cut chances and take a few might come back.

Against Utd you should have been out of the park, but failed to capitalise. Same thing first half against Liverpool.

Even with the goal that really was, going in only two up after such a dominating half wasn’t good enough. The goal being chalked off had you only 1 up and everybody knew Salah only needed one good chance.

After he scored, you folded. Folding is not a trait of truly great teams. Your defence isn’t strong enough. You take too many risks at the back and the absence of a top finisher has undone you.

I said last week that these games would tell you all you need to know about the mentality of this team. It did.

It isn’t strong enough.

Decisions went against you, but those were the three biggest games of the season and you lost all three. Great teams need more than ability. They need a mindset that copes with big games. Add in Liverpool or Utd aren’t as good as you and that situation is worse.

If they can’t beat teams who aren’t as good in the crunch games, how would they cope with the better teams?

You lack steel and your defence is still dodgy.

If you dismiss these last three games as solely the fault of corrupt or stupid refs, it deflects from areas that have to be honestly taken on board and addressed. A striker, a midfield assassin/playmaker and a CB.

Not good enough yet. Great to watch at times, but lacking a psychological killer streak when it really matters.

Hopefully next year for the CL.

Fair comment except for the defence part. Check the Premier League table and the goals against column - the best in the league.

Bit of a myth about our defence isn't it?

Yes of course it can improve but then again maybe we would not have scored 90 as well.

 

[robbieh]

Fair comment except for the defence part. Check the Premier League table and the goals against column - the best in the league.

Bit of a myth about our defence isn't it?

Yes of course it can improve but then again maybe we would not have scored 90 as well.

We have a good defensive record because most teams in the PL have zero ambition against us. Only Liverpool and Spurs bother to attack us.

 

[Magicpole]

Fair comment except for the defence part. Check the Premier League table and the goals against column - the best in the league.

Bit of a myth about our defence isn't it?

Yes of course it can improve but then again maybe we would not have scored 90 as well.

I’m not really talking about the league. I’m talking about the last 8 and beyond in the CL. I just think you missed a trick with VVD. Aguero needs a natural successor. You haven’t got him. You are fortunate that you will be able to buy people, but they have to be right, not just expensive.

I thought you were brilliant first half, but as I said, I could sense not capitalising would finish you and it did.

 

[bluemoon32]

Fair comment except for the defence part. Check the Premier League table and the goals against column - the best in the league.

Bit of a myth about our defence isn't it?

Yes of course it can improve but then again maybe we would not have scored 90 as well.

Keeping the ball against the lesser sides in the Premier League has helped our defensive stats no end, when it comes to the better sides in the CL we won't keep the ball as much and they'll put pressure on our defence.
Our defence falls apart when that happens

 

[robbieh]

Keeping the ball against the lesser sides in the Premier League has helped our defensive stats no end, when it comes to the better sides in the CL we won't keep the ball as much and they'll put pressure on our defence.
Our defence falls apart when that happens

And so did Pep's Bayern.
3 semi finals
Lost all 3 conceding 12 goals.

 

[Damanino]

Any small pressure or attack vs our defence holds a big chance of actually conceding a goal. Surely that has to stop.

Imo it wont improve with replacing current, already very expensive defenders with new ones. It has to come with coaching them differently, set them up differently, defend differently as a team.

If it will take to park the bus for 20-30 minutes in certain games to win the CL I am all for it.

 

[PragueBlue]

While I would have liked us to win it, you can see that as a competition it's nothing special. Look at which teams are going to be in the quarter finals.

An English team miles behind the leaders and probably 4th after Spurs play their game in hand.

A Spanish team miles behind the leaders and in 4th place in their league.

An Italian team miles behind the leaders and in 4th place in their league.

A German team that probably couldn't not win the league even if they tried.

Not exactly cause for any, except possibly Bayern, to claim that they are champions of Europe.

 

[robbieh]

Any small pressure or attack vs our defence holds a big chance of actually conceding a goal. Surely that has to stop.

Imo it wont improve with replacing current, already very expensive defenders with new ones. It has to come with coaching them differently, set them up differently, defend differently as a team.

If it will take to park the bus for 20-30 minutes in certain games to win the CL I am all for it.

I am with you.
There have been plenty of exciting teams who knew how to defend. Not sure there have been too many great ones who didn't.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Sane was onside when De Bruyne played the ball to him and this takes precedence over the ball deflecting off two opponents afterwards.

You're right I believe. I've misread the wording. He has to be in an offside position when the ball is played by his team-mate. If he isn't then he can't subsequently be offside is the way I now read it.

I thought he could either be offside when the ball is played by his team-mate OR if he's gaining an advantage once it's been played by an opponent, despite being on-side when the ball is played by a team-mate. Clearly that latter understanding isn't the case & the 'or' clause in the law is a sub-set of him being offside when his own team-mate played the ball.

 

[Damanino]

I am with you.
There have been plenty of exciting teams who knew how to defend. Not sure there have been too many great ones who didn't.

Its not even about giving up style or anything its about being clever at the right time. Adapting to the game. Seems Pep doesnt care about this much he wants to show the world you can win CL by playing attack, attack, attack, and even defenders supposed to think every second how to score the next one instead of keep a clean sheet.
Even for Ederson its more important how to pass it around for making attacks quicker and having bigger possession than is he actually saving some shots.

 

[bluemoon32]

And so did Pep's Bayern.
3 semi finals
Lost all 3 conceding 12 goals.

That statistic would worry me but Pep has supreme confidence in his way of playing and his record in League titles is superb but not so much in the CL