Post Match Thread: Kiev 1 - 3 City

Excellent game. The most most most impressive thing was the pressing we did, got really in their faces and showed no fear. That is what we need to do in the CL. So glad we scored the third, the team were so fucked off when DK scored

MoM - Sterling
Hart - 7.5
Sagna - 8
Otamendi - 8.5
Kompany - 8.5
Clichy - 7
Ferny - 7.5
Fernandinho - 8.5
Yaya - 7.5
Silva - 8
Aguerro - 8
 
That was the best first forty-five minutes that we've played for, like, months. I think we have to go back to August and early September to see that discipline. We were a bit shakier in the second half, albeit still basically in control, and started letting them see too much of the ball.
I know that a lot on here will have praised Otamendi, and rightly so, he did play a good match, with much better positioning than he's been showing lately, and some superb tackles. But the guy does seem to have one horrendous mistake in him in nearly every match. And by horrendous I mean a mistake that often costs us a goal and sometimes costs us the match. And I'm not talking about the deflection, which no defender can legislate for. If he could only get that out of his game I think he really would be something like the price we paid for him.
Yaya. It's exactly the opposite, for me. I'll probably get a ton of shit for saying this, but I don't think he had a particularly good game, apart from two moments that everybody will remember. The intelligent nod to Kun (who read it superbly), and of course, the goal, which, ok, was trademark Yaya. The curling ball right into the corner that leaves the keeper with no chance whatsoever. Otherwise, I felt he kept making short passes backwards or square to players who already had a man on them, putting them under unnecessary pressure, or even more riskily, trying to dribble with it in parts of the pitch where if he lost possession — and he did, a couple of times — a counter was immediately launched against a stretched back line. A better team would have punished us for that. As I say, I know I'll get shit, because everyone wants to celebrate after a victory like this (me too!), but that's the match I saw, and those are my two quibbles in an otherwise brilliant team performance. Interesting to see Fernando getting praised on here, by the way…

I agree with a lot of that, but I'd say that even allowing for the faults, Yaya's was a decent performance & his goal of course, sublime.

But I always look for ways we can improve during times when things go right rather than wrong, & I would say Yaya, Otemendi/Clichy & still, Silva, could be hugely improved upon in that performance, taking into account the good stuff but also admitting the bad stuff.

Especially Yaya & Silva imo. Both did good stuff in the game, some brilliant stuff, but over 90 mins, even replacing those two players with themselves from two seasons ago, would have taken the whole team performance up to another level again.

I hope we try to retain that balance & tactical awareness when other players come back & just use the peopie who are playing at the best, at the time, to do the job in a team structure, rather than shoehorning DeBruyne, Nasri, Delph, etc in.

If Nasri or DeBruyne are on fire & Silva isn't, for example, keep the shape, drop him, pick one of the others in his position. Don't just bung them all in for the sake of it.
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Imo if you think Yayas only positive contribution to the game was Aguerros goal and his own then you watched the game with one eye closed or perhaps a closed opinion!
 
I agree with a lot of that, but I'd say that even allowing for the faults, Yaya's was a decent performance & his goal of course, sublime.

But I always look for ways we can improve during times when things go right rather than wrong, & I would say Yaya, Otemendi/Clichy & still, Silva, could be hugely improved upon in that performance, taking into account the good stuff but also admitting the bad stuff.

Especially Yaya & Silva imo. Both did good stuff in the game, some brilliant stuff, but over 90 mins, even replacing those two players with themselves from two seasons ago, would have taken the whole team performance up to another level again.

I hope we try to retain that balance & tactical awareness when other players come back & just use the peopie who are playing at the best, at the time, to do the job in a team structure, rather than shoehorning DeBruyne, Nasri, Delph, etc in.

If Nasri or DeBruyne are on fire & Silva isn't, for example, keep the shape, drop him, pick one of the others in his position. Don't just bung them all in for the sake of it.
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Yup. No arguments about that. Nobody whatsoever has a divine right to be selected, although we've sometimes had the impression both under Mancini and Pellegrini that Yaya had that right. The difference in our analysis, perhaps, is that I don't think Yaya will ever get back to the classic Yaya that we've known and loved. Yes, there'll be the odd moment of magic from him. Silva's a different case, imo, going through his poorest run of form since joining us. His touch is just slightly off, his passes aren't those sliderule ones that kill a defence stone dead. And by the way, Silva's 'poor' is still better than about 90% of all other midfielders in the PL. And when he's on top of his game, there's no one to touch him in the PL, and maybe about two others at his level in Europe. I feel pretty sure that Silva will get back to that level with us, and that under Pep he'll have some of his most glorious years at City. It may well do Silva a lot of good not to be relied on so much.
 
Yup. No arguments about that. Nobody whatsoever has a divine right to be selected, although we've sometimes had the impression both under Mancini and Pellegrini that Yaya had that right. The difference in our analysis, perhaps, is that I don't think Yaya will ever get back to the classic Yaya that we've known and loved. Yes, there'll be the odd moment of magic from him. Silva's a different case, imo, going through his poorest run of form since joining us. His touch is just slightly off, his passes aren't those sliderule ones that kill a defence stone dead. And by the way, Silva's 'poor' is still better than about 90% of all other midfielders in the PL. And when he's on top of his game, there's no one to touch him in the PL, and maybe about two others at his level in Europe. I feel pretty sure that Silva will get back to that level with us, and that under Pep he'll have some of his most glorious years at City. It may well do Silva a lot of good not to be relied on so much.

No, I don't disagree with that. I think Silva showed signs of coming back, especially after he scored & Yaya never will.

If Yaya stays at City, a new role has to be found for him, with the team balanced around it.
 
really happy with the win primarily, great result. Yes we made a few mistakes here and there but generally the closing down and intensity was really good to see, as was some creativity up top.

It's really harsh to see people still criticising city despite the moaning that we'd probably lose
 
Excellent game. The most most most impressive thing was the pressing we did, got really in their faces and showed no fear. That is what we need to do in the CL. So glad we scored the third, the team were so fucked off when DK scored

MoM - Sterling
Hart - 7.5
Sagna - 8
Otamendi - 8.5
Kompany - 8.5
Clichy - 7
Ferny - 7.5
Fernandinho - 8.5
Yaya - 7.5
Silva - 8
Aguerro - 8
I'd agree with most of those. Clichy was probably a 6 though; he was responsible for most of the nervous moments in the second half and although Aguero got a goal, he missed two that he would normally score so I would say he was a 7.
 
Excellent performance. It's amazing what can be achieved when a balanced team is picked and everyone is working their balls off.
 
Much prefer Clichy to Kolarov but he had a mad ten minutes where everything he tried went to sh*t. Still surprises me how much confidence (or lack of) can impact a top professionals game.

Full backs remain priority for me in the summer.
 

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