robsblubot

Even match, but arsenal had more control of the game. They are just much better on the ball. it’s a tight game with tight marking—players don’t get a lot of time on the ball.

City players are running less. Has pep lost the locker room? Foden is playing just he was at the euros: like shit leading to Liverpools goal last man foul for me, so villa are lucky to have 11 men on the pitch.

Real Madrid troubles are older than sin itself. the technical term is too much of a good thing.

No religious jokes yet? Disappointing.

That's the current situation, unfortunately. His finishing makes it hard to deploy him in attack, and he's not physical enough in the PL to defend well. Perhaps a change in the system will benefit him in the future, otherwise he will prob have to leave. It's evidently too soon, but so far Lavia has been pretty meh for me. He was poor today, along with Madueke and Gusto, our worst performers. He looks like a composed player, with good passing ability, but he couldn't match the pace and intensity of this game; the match demanded a bit more quickness, which he was unable to deliver. Perhaps it's just a inevitable result from his long absence and finally getting to play the PL toe-to-toe against the top sides... it is almost never a seamless transition. Speaking of the game itself, United may be in trouble as a team, but they are still a big club. The tempo was pretty high at times, just not very consistent. So, it's not a "normal" game against a mid/smaller club. For this reason, I'm not too disappointed with the result.

Smaller sides have a tendency to overplay their better players — lets hope that we have enough depth to help him in that regard.

Easy MotM for Caicedo even before the goal.

That last play… mudryk should have chested it down and instead headed awkwardly to Enzo. Mudryk should not be on on a game like this.

Ridiculous play by mudryk. 🤦‍♂️

He’s supposed to be an additional source of creativity so we don’t always depend on Cole. He hasn’t been delivering that, but lavia did not do a thing in this game, so Enzo is there to try something g different. his finishing is disappointing to say the least.

Pass from Jackson was bit too hot for Enzo.

MotM scores!

Subs were spot on for me but perhaps a bit late? Like I wrote earlier, for me lavia and madueke were pretty poor.

It was a bad first touch there was no reason for the penalty! So poor from sanchez…. 😕

Game is more open in the second. garnacho playing like shit lucky for us.

Thought Lavia was pretty poor actually. for me Caicedo is the one doing all the work there. It’s prob best I seen him play. madueke has been poor too.

yup, and that's exactly my point: what is Maresca goal with the team? Posh was a low block with quick transition. We seem to be moving towards a mid/high block with a bit more possession, but I wonder how much of a positional/possession buff he is. If it City style or nothing, or he will sit somewhere in between. Which players we stick with and go for is entirely dependent on the answer above.

Eden Hazard was a family man who would be the polar opposite to Neymar lifestyle, and yet they had very similar issues on the pitch as players who simply refused to pay the price to become one of the selected few, to be an elite athlete. Not worried about that, but it could indeed be playing a part in his current form. Going through a divorce can be taxing...

Don't think that's the only thing hurting them atm, but my point earlier wasn't how important Rodri is, but how City does not employ a ball-winning Caicedo type. City have won the league plenty without both Rodri and without Haaland--they just don't employ a ball-winning mid type.

He's 18 and plays in one of the most contested positions in football... not to mention fighting for spots with the likes of Mbappe, Vini, and Rodrygo. Don't think Estevao would be getting too many minutes in that situ either. Too soon to rule him out. Weird move. He's already 19, and I'd rather have him playing in a more competitive league--VISA problems?

Yes, we can see that we depend on Caicedo and someone else winning tackles in the middle. It's the current situation, no doubt. Who does City depend on to win tackle in the middle? That's why they will win once again even without Rodri (who's not a Caicedo player either).

Way too soon. Early season and only now we see the manager's hand in the team. I bet he's not done either, so lots more adjustments coming. Players go in and out of form throughout the season. Aside from Caicedo (always a 7 with a small variance for me) and Cole, most other players have great games and poor ones. There are injuries and all, so I don't mind having good players fighting for spots one bit. Last season nobody was fighting for spots given the lack of depth. If Enzo isn't the player, then Lavia will need to turn into a more creative force, or we will have to go to the market. Perhaps making Cole drop a bit deeper... the goal is to compete with City, and the bar is very high. Liverpool showed that we are not really there yet.

Worked for Ronaldinho and Ronaldo #9 just fine 😅 Seriously though, it's not a binary choice: family and/or church or the night life. Plenty of players can balance their single's life just fine. yes, you have players like Neymar who clearly struggled physically and it's obvious that his life style play a part.

Good analysis and at the same time it contains the implicit "for the way we are setup." If Maresca's goal is indeed going for City and Arsenal positional system, then the deep lying protectors aren't required to be that great at winning tackles. In that system, winning the ball back is the responsibility of the entire team, but all players need to be good in possession--don't think Enzo would have a problem in that system tbh.

There is a particular thing that I look for to identify a very special player (esp in attack): the first touch is not only used to control the football, but to start the next play. Against Newcastle, Cole dribbled past players with his first touch alone. He often passes into space with his first touch, which makes him a nightmare to deal with given that the opposition cannot even foul him easily if the ball isn't there. I think he has the potential to be better than KDB, but yeah only time will tell.