Lyon CL QF Post-Match Thread

[sh249]

Usually don‘t find it too difficult to get over a bad result/performance. Sleep on it, move on. But fuck me, last night still rankles. Golden opportunity, thrown away. Beat ourselves.

 

[willipp]

What’s the normal team?
I honestly don’t know our best 11 anymore

It certainly wasn’t last nights team that’s for sure.

 

[Tb1981]

I think any team with 3 DMs is not a Pep team

If it is prime xavi invests and busquets it is
Unfortunately we have Rodri and gundogan then aging Fernandinho

 

[acton28.blog]

Heading to a quarter final? Why not experiment with the staring XI? Heck, even throw in a new system. That was an odd game. We dominated everything but goals and then we wrapped it, placed in on a plate and served it to the better opposition. Attitude is everything? Typical City hasn't left us.

 

[give it to gordon]

sorry got to say it again Pep thought the slowest midfield he could have picked in fernandinho , gundogan, rodri were good enough , quick enough and skill enough to undo Lyno. Even i wouldnt have picked that midfield

 

[penalty spot]

Lyon should be given some credit here, their midfield, defence, shooting and tactics were better on the night.
And again if we had taken our chances we would be through. The team selection was a mistake, sideways passing, slow midfield providing little service to a lightweight front three.

 

[balotellishaircut]

It does not excuse that shit show, but playing devils advocate here, our defending has been utter dross all season. Pep probably figured the team he put out, whilst having less crestivity, would still have plenty enough quality to put a couple or more past Lyon. Whilst at the same time not leaking stupid goals at the back.

Obviously he was wrong, at both ends of the pitch. Hindsight is s wonderful thing, but in hindsight most would say he should have played our best attacking side and that may have meant we dominated the game and scored plenty. But on the other hand, we are talking about City here. We scored 6 over two legs against Monaco remember, and we still went out.

Root cause of all of this is not replacing Vinny. With him, our defence was ropey at times but acceptable. Solid enough to allow us to do our thing and win it at the other end. Without him, we've been screwed. Playing Dino our best DM as a rank average centre hslf because the rest are below rank average. Walker is dross 8 games out of 10 and Cancelo and Zinchenko 10 games out of 10. Our entire defensive line up - Laporte aside - are simply not good enough. Arguably Ederson as well. Great distribution but nothing like a top class keeper when it comes to keeping the ball our of the net.

Just look at the games we've lost this season and the teams we've lost them to. Basically anyone who can defend a bit and have a go at us themselves and we've been all over the place. We only beat Real because they threw us the game with their ludicrous mistakes.

Well you mentioned hindsight, we were only 1-0 down at half time, he could of changed it straight away by injecting more pace to the midfield, whats our best player since lockdown Foden doing on the bench, and Bernardo give him a run out in his own city.

Best form of defence is attack is the old football saying..

 

[give it to gordon]

Why didnt City use all our Subs ?

was Pep saying he didnt trust Foden, Berny etc to change it ? If so i have been watching a different Foden to the one Pep watches !!

 

[Brendan110_0]

Can we get Pellegrini in as a number 2?

 

[Moggzy]

That set up last night was unforgivable. I could understand it in a two leg qtr final away, but it’s knock-out football.
I find myself for the first time thinking, pep has seriously fucked up.

5 at the back with two holding midfielders!!!

The players heads must’ve been pickled.

I’m not sure where we go from here.