robsblubot

I think the handball is controversial tbh. First Grealish (poor player) has his arms raised and if the ball hits his arm in that position then it’s a clear penalty. however, he notices it, moves his arm and by the time the ball hits it, it’s clearly close to his body, so I think that’s what they saw.

I’d call out the entire attack bar Cole who had a few moments of quality. madueke did his D job well but not much up front. Midfield could’ve joined the attack at times, but that never happened. llenty of blame to go around, but in the end we are just lacking a bit of quality at this level. To beat these guys — even in these favorable conditions still take a bit of quality to pull off.

Announcer is right here: we played the worst City we could’ve possibly wish for and still managed to lose. created several chances and just did not have the quality to score.

Agreed. I suspect that’s one of the biggest asks by Pep when he asks for players. That and skill on the ball evidently.

Mudryk lol

Too slow by chilwell agree with announcer here. Gotta be quicker at this level.

Headline tomorrow: “Chelsea lose to that one City kid named Bob.” 🙄

I like Alvarez and would gladly take him, but he’s been poor today.

Mudryk I can understand for the pace alone. Would even move him to the right to avoid walker.

Similar to our bench then? Lol we are a bit better today in that regard Tbf.

Agree to disagree then - good defensively and terrible in possession does not a good game make for me. 😁

Doku is going to be a handful in these final minutes. He’s much more difficult to contain than Grealish

Caicedo having a poor game.

Arkanji? Does not really look good on the ball. madurke is playing well — his game is just a bit simple/limited to me. Let’s hope.

It’s really not a good football game if you are not invested in it heh.

They do look tired and are playing sloppy. and yet they make mistakes and we are unable to punish them.

Think we played well and were well organized on the pitch in the first half. Can see challobah was picked for his pace as was madueke. we are just missing a bit o quality up front and in midfield.

Good news is that debuyne is playing like shit today.

Should’ve been a yellow for caicedo there.

Quality only really comes from Palmer in attack. Almost scored there.

Yeah it's a super long shot. Still, it's one game, and they've fucked up against lesser teams before; it does not happen often, but it does happen. Early yellow or red for an important player and everything changes. A blunder, and it's a different game. Yes, we are more likely to make blunders than they are 😅 still one can hope. It's an exciting moment, and I'm sure Poch is telling the players exactly that. After all the pressure is on them, and not our young side.

Once again, you are only talking about the Starting XI. Please, count how many times during a season the same players who start a game play for the 90 min these days. I can tell you right now if you don't want to check: zero. I agree that Kovacic does not offer anything up front, and yet he's still better passer than Caicedo who offers even less in the final third. That was the case before City signed him, wasn't it? So, I suggest that regarding Kova, the fault is in your analysis, not the player. My reading of his game is that he's an excellent short range passer, and master at keeping possession: he can withstand pressure by quick changes of direction and short dribbling having full control of the the football at all times. You are talking about quality, or perceived quality as each to his own, but I'm referring to characteristics; what can a player do on the pitch versus what a different player can do even in the same position. Is one better than the other in every aspect of the game? I don't see that very often at this level exception to a few WC players. I usually see tradeoffs with most players. Is Enzo better than RLC? yes, far higher value too. Can RLC do things Enzo can't do? absolutely! He has an aerial presence, size and power to play in tight spaces. Fact is we have very few options in midfield at this time, especially in terms of characteristics. Lavia is a funny one though: I've been hearing he will help us in the final third, and now you are saying he will help as a DM; dunno where he will be able to help us, but so far he's just a fad. And? He's still fairly young. Will you think the same if in a year or two from now he recovers his fitness and form, and delivers good performances for club and country? I tend to give credit to players who once played very well vs others who never did, but that's me. Has Mudryk done any better than Mount's last 2 seasons?

Disagree, we miss them all very much so. You are thinking Starting XI - would still disagree there as Pulisic and Mount both shit on Mudryk - but considering our bench options, I have a hard time understanding how we'd not be missing good players (regardless of how one rates them). We even miss RLC because he'd be able to come in an offer something different from what we have. 🤷‍♂️ Rudi is a World Class, agreed. That's besides the point though, we have a total of one WC playing in the squad right now (and another one by name only).

Agree, they will both play. Would Alvarez be such a downgrade from Haaland at this time? maybe at pure finishing inside the box, but an actual improvement in other areas too.

Indeed, but it's all about the balance. Defense is not the defense line alone. If Mudryk does not jump for the ball on the edge of box and we end up conceding, it counts against D. If Caidedo passes the ball straight to the opposition, it counts against D as well. That's why while I'm never opposed to upgrading on the manager, that alone will only buy us so much.