The Skipper

What exactly does Luiz need to change or improve now? He's perfect for that central CB role. He doesn't need to change or improve on anything but his concentration and consistency which has nothing to do with his raw footballing ability. Still Luiz is being doubted on his one on one ability, when not one of the top players or strikers in the PL have got the better of him. We've played against Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, City and United, the teams with the best forwards in the league, and apart from against Arsenal and Liverpool performed very well against all of them. Even against Arsenal and Liverpool he didn't look out of place - he certainly wasn't the worst player or defender on the pitch. So Luiz has faced the likes of Aguero, Kane, Ibrahimovic, Lukaku etc. and didn't allow one mistake that lead to even a goal scoring chance or goal but he's still essentially being labelled as a liability in the back, as someone you can't fully trust yet which is quite incredible. Bonucci was the same as Luiz before Conte was done with him, so it's only fair that you give Luiz the same time and luxury to work under Conte and prove himself which so far he has done well. He's been one of the best CBs in the league period. I think the LCB role is a lot different to the LB role that Azpi played thus you can't really compare the situation. Our LCB (Cahill) does not have to bomb up the pitch and deliver a cross or check back on to his right foot to deliver a cross. When we have the ball they are important in keeping the ball moving, which is why I think Christensen would do just fine their to alleviate your concerns. How often do you see Azpi or Cahill even in the 2nd third of the pitch? Not often at all Christensen is a passer, he's comfortable enough with his weaker foot to pass it forward well if he needs to. As we've seen with Cahill in the system however it can work. Now imagine we have someone who is far more comfortable on the ball and someone who's a passer and good at moving the ball forward. It would add another dynamic to our forward play. Christensen for me would be amazing in Cahill's role.

I have to disregard the rest of your post because Christensen and Luiz are pretty much the same height. Andreas is slated to be 188cm whilst Luiz is 189cm I believe. I think you've got it in your head that Andreas is short but he isn't. We aren't trying to be Pep hipsters lol. The thing he needs to do the most is put on muscle which is more than doable.

He's not better than Luiz in that position because he lacks the physicality that Luiz does. Can you imagine Christensen doing what Luiz does now defensively or can you imagine him doing more what Cahill does defensively? Luiz is a better passer as well so there's literally no argument to play Christensen in the centre IF Luiz is playing. If Luiz wasn't playing however, he'd definitely be my second option there. Also, we went for Romagnoli *before* we signed Luiz. If we signed Romagnoli then I don't see a future for Christensen here tbh.

HATE it when United fans say this. As if SAF had the luxury of spending £150m or whatever it was back then in his first season. United hadn't won a title since 1967 when Fergie took over, they were not the club we know now.

They've played better than they have before but that doesn't mean it's good football. If United play good football then so do most teams in the league.

Think he's a perfect replacement for Cahill personally.

One thing we've become under Conte? Disgustingly clinical. We don't waste chances anywhere near as much as we used to.

I was surprised (well not really) he coped much better than Alonso with City's overloads. Defended really well.

Great finish, very good goal. He's a good player. I wish we could fuse Pedro and Willian, would be the perfect RF player.

Top notch performance, as you'd expect from a gk of Thibaut's quality.

It has everything to do with him. Matic's influence in midfield means Cahill and Alonso are a lot more protected. Today they had Cesc in front of them. Of course, City had to exploit the Alonso - Cesc - Cahill trinity, it'd be daft not to. Tottenham didn't exploit that as much as City did because Matic was there.

I see luck everywhere, but... How about City being lucky that Cahill scored one of the dumbest own goals ever? Man City created probably 4/5 good goal scoring chances whilst we created 3/4. We were clinical. They weren't. Nothing lucky about it imo.

Ricardo Rodriguez wouldn't be an improvement on Alonso imo. Maybe very very slightly but he's overrated.

Barca bound.

Needs to stay in NL or at least go to a club smaller than CFC first.

I just had a nightmare remembering this. Can't believe we had to endure Ramires at RW.

You guys are getting me super hyped for the game, must be said. Hate the scum. Hope we destroy them. What I'm really hoping for is that Eden vs Spurs becomes the new Drogba vs Arsenal.

In order to win the Premier League you need to be lethal in attack and strong at the back, 3-4-3 means you're playing with one less forward and over the course of the season it will be their undoing. LOL how stupid is this? Every time we go forward we actually have 5 attackers because of our wing backs. Does he have no football knowledge?

Ever heard of Ronaldinho?

The biggest weakness I can see with this 3-4-3 is the space in behind the wing backs. Because both of our wingbacks aren't fantastic defenders, if you've got that space and you've isolated Moses or Alonso and are a decent dribbler, you should be able to exploit it, and then you can exploit further by either putting in a good cross if no support comes in, or having another player attack the channel that is left behind by the support player if support does arrive. It's something that could be a problem against City specifically since they like their players underlapping and moving in these channels and spaces. It'll be interesting to see how Conte deals with this if it gets properly exploited.

Did anyone watch the u23 game? Michy scored two great goals but his overall performance was pretty bad. Really needs to work on his reaction time and anticipation. Also his off the ball movement is quite poor for a striker. He must improve on these things.

Genuinely still waiting for an answer. @MrExcalibur100

@Special Juan why is your lad the same height as Kante?

You say this but he's actually been one of most creative players this season. His all round game has been great.

Always believed in you Lewis, you'll be a cracking player, either here or somewhere else.