lita69 said:
Bad result of course but positives are we scored 2 away at Real Madrid and were just 5 minutes away from beating them there! Always going to be tricky there and it says so much that we're upset we didn't actually win.
Before the game, most people would have been happy with a draw. With 5 minutes to go and 2-1 up, it is a disgrace that we did not get a draw.
Gifting RM two "extra" points and losing (AT THE VERY LEAST) one point may well come back to haunt us.....just like the Napoli goal at the Etihad did!
It is all well and good to talk about "we did a great job to score two goals," but NO-ONE should give a fuck about that! The CL Group Stage is a 6 game mini league and we just GIFTED our main rival to win the group THREE POINTS and came away with NOTHING....not even a bit of team pride....because EVERYONE KNOWS that we bottled the last 5 minutes.
It was clear to see, from the outset, that we were defending too deep trying to cut off the lanes in the last 25 meters. RM strolled to the 40M area and then sent a pass out wide about 25M out and just started from there ALL NIGHT!
Hart was superb.
Kompany was shockingly average. Maicon is another Kolarov...good wide midfielder...except Maicon is past his sell by date for the highest level. Clichy played well and for a debut in the Bernabeau I thought Nasty was very self assured and looks like a very silky find. JoLo should be afraid, very afraid!
Silva and Nasri were overrun by bigger, more powerful RM players who gave them no room to work. Yaya needs to be told either stay the fuck up and don;t come back, or don't go forward unless someone is covering for you. He played a pseudo 2nd striker today and his surging runs were phenomenal. However, he only plays defence when he is already stood around in the defensive third. Don't get me wrong, he is IMMENSE, but some games he is neither here nor there, and today, except for the surging runs he was not there! Garcia and Barry played OK, but BOTH of them were playing 18-25M from goal all night! Barry actually did get forward a time or two, but there was ZERO BREAKING DOWN OF RM'S PLAY until they got to the 25-30M mark. Sadly, that means one decent pass and they are pinging shots from all angles, which they did all night.
Tevez played everywhere and did as much as humanly possible to create, make runs, come back for the ball, etc, etc, etc...
Sadly, against the (2nd) best team in the world, we could not keep them from shooting on target in the last 6 minutes with a Back 5 and a covering 3. As soon as our 2nd goal went in, we should have been playing 4-5-1, with Dzeko as an outlet, but we persist with this 5 at the back that INVITES QUALITY OPPOSITION ON TO YOU....because they don't play with 3 or 4 attackers, but with a swarming midfield that wins the ball back immediately and then camps out around the 25M mark looking for an opening for a killer pass or shot. FFS, we watch Man U do it every fucking week in England, especially when they are drawing or a goal down, yet no-one seems to have figured out that STOPPING THE MIDFIELD FROM PLAYING is the key to stopping the forwards from getting the ball in goal scoring positions.
All that said, no-one else but City fans thought we might get something from this game, so it is more of a psychic loss than anything else, even if that lost point or three might kill us off before Christmas.
Time to forget about the CL for a few weeks and focus on not letting the Arse get a goal and stuffing them. Everyone is talking about how great they are in defense, which is a joke, but with an away win tonight and a handful of goals last weekend, it is time for the players to step up into the season. We have not really shown ANYTHING like the team that ran riot last season, but we have still scored goals. That needs to continue, with the defense getting their act together. It is time to do what Mancini did last season for the run in....PICK OUR BEST TEAM AND GIVE THEM A RUN, giving rest where needed at the 60-70 minute mark and BUILD THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR SEASON.
Onwards and upwards, CTID.
Hart
Zaba Kompany Nasty Clichy
Garcia Barry
Milner YaYa Silva
Tevez
(I'm assuming Nasri has a hamstring and Aguero is not fit.)