Plus betis get a draw at Real Madrid! They are a bit of a bogey team for real over the last few years.
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I agree for the most part. I’m backing Lopetegui the whole season as long as i see some form of progression.
True. They are better teams on paper after all.
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Just watched the highlights, two things…
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What the fuck was that penalty for? Since when is a dive given as a penalty for your team?
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Kounde quite literally putting his body on the line at the end to keep the point.
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Yeah I agree. I’m backing Lopetegui too. Think he deserves the full season. He’s doing alright overall. There are things he can improve on but I like the fact he makes changes during matches. The team and Lopetegui is still learning but overall we on the right track. Atletico are a top side and one of the best in Europe so a point against them is still a positive.
Something worth noting: Navas at RB is costing us in the defense. Their goal (as well as their cancelled offside goal) came from the second post cross where Navas tried to defend the headers from Diego Costa and Morata in both cases = failed.
I’m all for having a versatile and attacking-minded RB, but Navas isn’t cutting it in the defensive part, especially from the crosses and set pieces. We might continue like this, hoping that the opponents do not make use of our disadvantage, or sign and field a proper RB who is at least taller than Navas and have Navas play on the wing while switching Ocampos to the left side like tonight.
Now some things will obviously change like Navas on RW, Ocampos to the left (he perhaps plays better at RW), Navas plays RB with the NT as well, so a bit of a change in the ecosystem, however, I see it safer and better in the long run.
Adding to that, Navas is spending most of the time as a RW anyways, leaving a lot of space behind. This is not a stable strategy when facing serious opponents like Barca, RM, Atletico and so on. Works only with weaker teams to some extent, unless they start making use of our disadvantage even more.
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I wrote about this some weeks back, expressing concerns. The statisticians have decided it’s better to risk your defence and have more firepower upfront, so the question is, how many times has Navas delivered a cross that results in goal, or, more importantly a matchwinning goal? then balance that against how many unnecessary goals conceded from his absence/failure to take position.
I think you’ll find the stats will show that vesting wingbacks with that authority and responsibility pays off at the highest level. But clubs just adopt these latest strategies as fashions without giving them due consideration.
In Sevilla’s case I’d agree to let Navas have the attacking winger spot, and it’s worth trying Ocampos as centreforward and have Dabbur or Nolito on the left.
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So you would play a Winger (Ocampos) up front, and a Centre Forward (Dabbur) on the Left Wing? 
Are you Alan Pardew? 
‘and it’s worth trying Ocampos’ …
To be fair I said ‘worth trying’
But to be specific, left wing is one of the places Dabbur can play.
That’s one of the problems, we have Munir, Dabbur and Nolito who can play left wing and at times we play without a left winger so the three players aren’t getting many minutes.
Dabbur can and has played on the left during preseason, Nolito is happy at centreforward, Navas is not a defender … next question.
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