Nothing from today matters if we get off to a good start next week, but we did look very rusty and I can’t stand losing to that shower of shit, regardless of the circumstances. Booing the national anthem again as well because of how they were apparently singled out by Thatcher’s policies, like every other city somehow dodged it all. Fucking self-obsessed weirdos.
As for the game, again it’s difficult to judge how significant the lack of preparation will be - only two games prior to today looks a gamble - but a couple of things concern me.
First is losing both Sterling and Jesus and having to rely on Mahrez more than we have done previously. Obviously Mahrez gets a load of sometimes unwarranted shit on the Matchday threads, from myself as well, but he has been bang out of form for a while now and so the lack of competition is a concern for me. Hopefully Alvarez can adjust quickly and he looked good when he came on, but I think we may be a bit short in terms of wingers. Not giving Palmer any minutes today was a surprise particularly given how poorly Bernado was playing, and so he may not be developing as quickly as we hoped.
The other observation was Bernado playing very deep - this could be just to provide extra cover until Rodri finds his full fitness, but it was very noticeable. Again Phillips not getting any minutes was another surprise, but the midfield didn’t work and will have to be much better next week.
The plus (Alvarez apart) was Foden, who looked very good when he came on. Ake did alright and Ederson played well, but difficult to judge the rest given how rusty they were. Gundogan in particular looked heavy and slow.
Big improvement required in training this week and we need to buy a left back. Wouldn’t be too surprised if Haaland is on the bench next week.