CHOULO19

Is it me, or have they actually alternated from one game to another? First game after JT's injury was Iva left and Cahill right, then against Norwich it was definitely the other way round because I made a point to take notice. If I'm not mistaken, then it's very weird as you'd want your back four as settled as possible.

Tbf, it's also quite a change going from JT to Ivanovic playing next to you...

Azpi has been worryingly shaky since Guus' return and he keeps making a lot if mistakes. He's been no where near as solid at RB as he was at LB...

Thought I was going crazy with that 'zero interception' stat. Actually downloaded the match to check if I am still sane, and literally two minutes in an interception that created our very first chance of the match: I never said that Mikel is not a limited player. He's limited by his pace, mobility and attacking instinct. But he also does the non-glamorous stuff that could be vital for a team like covering for his midfield partner and fullbacks, positional awareness and tactical discipline, physical and aerial strength in midfield (which we sorely missed when Matic was playing instead this season) and ball retention and safe circulation. His defensive numbers are lower than expected (not THAT low, btw) because defensively he's a player that contains rather than destroys. He forces plays wide, blocks passing lanes, occupies important space...etc. Btw, I don't think many people would have thought that Mikel was our MOTM (he undoubtedly had a good game, though nothing extraordinary). But I thought he was because of the tactical role he played both in pressing and keeping Di Maria quiet. Costa got most votes for MOTM because he scored a brilliant goal but in reality for most of the match he was just walking of at best jogging when he didn't have the ball at his feet because it was very clear that he was playing while injured (which Guus confirmed after the game). If anything, Cesc was probably the player that 'shone' the most...

I used stats about specifics, I don't use stats to evaluate a player or even a single performance of his, and certainly not those stupid 'scores'! So, when someone says that Mikel only passes backwards, yes, the stat about how many of his passes are forward of backwards, is relevant. Even if the stat, is not 100% right, because they never are with those sites, it is still a valid point. Pass completion, which you mentioned, yes can be misleading in a single game, but when a player constantly has the highest pass completion rate for game after game (and in this case season after season) then it is very much a valid point to say that this player is able to circulate the ball safely. Player ratings and scores, on the other hand, are borderline meaningless because they convey next to no useful information.

Yeah, I don't mean that it's actually Willian's fault. Someone should have picked him up once he went into the box. But obviously all of this would have been irrelevant had Kenedey and especially Cahill not made huge mistakes in the goal. That's just simply false as I remember, off the top of my head at least two interceptions he made inside PSG's half that set up attacks for us. One of the reasons why those stats and ratings mean little...

You know, he might actually have a chance if he keeps doing this in debates:

Was probably our best player yesterday. Won most of the balls that led to our attacks and gave Di Maria no space at all in the middle where he hurt us the most in Paris. HE lost Rabiot?! The man almost high-fived Willian as he went past him:

I think he was actually injured from the start and it was always a question of how much he can stay out there. Right from the beginning you could see that he wasn't running right and he was just standing there when PSG had the ball saving his energy for when we attack. Great goal to give us hope, but we have no replacement for him.

Motta gave the ball away in dangerous areas several times (for the goal as well?) and probably should have been sent off with a proper ref on the pitch. Don't get me wrong, he did some excellent work, especially in the second half, but masterclass? Not even close...

Actually did well, certainly better than I expected though you have to give credit to Hazard and Cesc for that as well for rarely leaving him exposed to a 1vs1 situation.

He had a poor game, but calm the fuck down! Still BY FAR our best defender...

He still lost on the delegate count on the day and is now (I think) 214 delegates behind Hilary. He needs to start winning states with a big margin YESTERDAY.

Tbf, that first was some funny shit! Someone GIF that, please!

Well that was fun while it lasted....guess we'll have to focus on that FA cup...

Yeah of course it could. There are risks with both Baba and Kenedey and I just think that Kenedey is the gamble with a bigger risk but a higher reward potential, and as the underdogs in a European knock out match, this is probably one of the best times to make that gamble.

Kenedy at LB means that Guus is going all out offensive from the start. Personally I would have probably preferred to see Baba start and then have Kenedey as an extra attacking option but have to respect Guus for having the balls to play him from the start.

Look, I respect your beliefs and your right to have them, but you CANNOT cram them into issues that effect everyone else who does not share them. You just can't build any political agreement on such irrationality! What matters is people, their rights, and their abilities to lead a decent life. THAT should be the basis of any peace deal.

Anyone else would gladly take a 0-0 first half? An early goal might be dangerous as the tendency would be sit back and defend it. On the other hand, we're likely to concede in the 90 mins regardless of whether/when we score so scoring early would leave a lot more time to get a second goal which most likely will be needed.. Of course, we could concede first, but our chances at that point would be quite bad.

I genuinely can't tell if you're serious! Please tell me you're trolling, please! You can't possibly be suggesting that the destruction of the lives of millions of people over several generations is justified because of some temple mentioned in a book? A fucking temple! No offense, but whatever 'god' designed this narrative is an evil prick!

Yeah, because I'm the one who is basing my opinion about modern politics on a 2000 year old book while actually having so little knowledge of history to actually suggest that a whole nation should basically let themselves get exterminated like the native Americans were...

Brilliant reasoning Israeli supporter in a nutshell. Good luck convincing anyone of that...

What excuse? You brought them up as a model for Palestinians to act like and I pointed out the very obvious fact that more than 90% of them were slaughtered and what is left of them are now marginalized and discriminated against in the land that was once theirs. You're weird... Also, must I remind you that stories in the bible are only relevant to modern day politics in your head... No offense, but I don't care about the Romans, I don't care about the ancient Jews and I don't care about Jesus. What I care about is that there are people being oppressed and having all sorts of injustices being done to them.

Yeah, because things turned out sooo great for native Americans! Not sure that's a model you can convince Palestinians to follow... 80% civilian is not just causalities of war, it's at best indiscriminate reckless bombing and at worse deliberate targeting of civilians and there's plenty of proof for the latter as well. Regardless, Israel and the Palestinian people are still at war now. The war doesn't start and end when Israel decides to start or stop another massacre in Gaza. The war is has been ongoing since 1948 and will continue as long as the Israelis occupy lands that are recognized by every nation on earth as belonging to the Palestinian people. Btw, regarding the stabbing operations that have been going on for a few months now, these are all independent attacks with no coordination between any of the attackers or any militia or party behind them and the vast majority of the attacks have been committed in occupied territories and the vast majority of those have been committed against Israeli soldiers and policemen. This is literally the 'softest' form of violent resistance I can think of and which is actually legal under international law.

Coming from the vice president who refused to criticize Israel for murdering over 2000 civilians in 2014! For the record, attacking civilians is despicable even inside occupied lands and helps no one. Here in the real world, 'peace' is still a million miles away and getting further away everyday with Israel still occupying internationally recognized Palestinian lands and annexing and occupying more Palestinian land everyday.