Southampton (A) - Carabao Cup | Post Match Thread

[flb]

Aside from United, who we were fantastic against for 70 minutes, we haven't played the big boys and we definitely haven't been playing as well as we can. It feels like Pep is trying to work the team out still, and his chopping & changing (Foden hardly playing after a hattrick), hasn't led to great performances. Wins for the most part, but considering the quality of the players, you'd expect it.

I genuinely think he’s just managing the minutes each player is playing , and he’s done it pre and post World Cup

 

[Greenjob]

I think the team lacks real 'tough' character tbh. We don't seem to mix it when needed like previous years (Tevez, De Jong, Bellamy, Kompany, Dhino even). Peps approach to games has defo changed this season we seem so slow and laboured. Is he working his ticket??

 

[oakiecokie]

What was he he actually doing on the edge of his box when the game was inside our half?

Who knows but what a wonderful goal, Had KDB scored it would you have blamed the Southampton goalie, or said that was a worldie ??
Come on be totally honest ... if you have the balls. ;)

 

[cleavers]

He seems massively prone to introspection to me and that fuck up at Anfield seems to have destroyed his confidence. He’s so bad at the moment Pep can’t even really play him out of the slump. He’s going to have to snap himself out of it and quickly.

I think he's been poor since the end of last season to be honest, he faded out then, and has never recovered from it, shows the odd glimpse of good, but tonight was the worst he's been.

That said you could have subbed Philipps with someone from the away end at half time, and there would have been an improvement, and I like Philipps.

Walker isn't a CB in a 2 either, playing him there negates the whole team for me, maybe OK in a 3, but I'm not convinced, compare him tonight to Sunday when he was at his best.

None of that particularly helps Gomez settle in either.

Put Philipps (in that form) in front of that back four, and it's little wonder we had the shambles we had, Laporte can't possibly carry all of them, even against the team bottom of the PL.

Moving up the pitch, Palmer was poor, but he was spending a lot of time trying to cover Cancelo, and Grealish played like an idiot, and should have been off at half time for me, he did nothing to help Gomez, and gave the ball away nearly every time it went to him.

The half time changes certainly improved us, but not nearly enough, as we still created next to nothing, Akanji and Ake vastly improved the defence, KdB still looks way off form to me but he did improve us going forward, Rodri gave us control of midfield, but he can't play every game. Haaland didn't do much, he often doesn't, but he is a danger, Alverez was totally isoled first half, but did improve when better support was around him, and when he went more wide, as did Foden.

A very poor night for us really, but if there is a season where going out of this at the quarter final stage, I'd rather it be this one.

 

[Blue and still suffering]

Thought Gundo summed up the performance quite well. Having said that it could have been a different game if he had taken that early chance. Fine margins.
City's best two on the night were Jill and Nedum!

 

[Cityfan]

Aside from United, who we were fantastic against for 70 minutes, we haven't played the big boys and we definitely haven't been playing as well as we can.

We haven't been playing well in too many matches but apart from Arsenal and Spurs we've played pretty much everyone else I think.

 

[ysmsa]

Good post. Phil, Cancelo,Gundagon,even Kev to an extent have been below par. Rodri has been our most consistent performer. Pep has been below par for sure. Wish he's stop tinkering around with the team. He doesn't have to make so many changes.

I think he's over protecting some players from the heavy schedule.

However, we all take the piss out of Klopp with his burn out schedule so can't have it both ways.

I can safely say none of those extremely poor performers tonight will be anywhere near the starting 11 on Saturday, maybe they know that already.

Cancelo, Gomez, Phillips Palmer even Alvarez tbf.

It will be a completely different team on Saturday and a different performance.

Tough watch but a definite blessing with 2 / 3 tough games removed from the mad schedule with no guarantee of winning the thing at the end of it.

 

[cleavers]

Peps approach to games has defo changed this season we seem so slow and laboured. Is he working his ticket??

LOL you (and many others) hope.

 

[The perfect fumble]

Something's up...

 

[eastmanc]

we won't play like that because it will be a totally different team to the one that started tonight

Will it be a different system though.