Is it only me or Delaney resembles Antonio Puerta a lot?
2 Likes
I agree with that lineup, all except YEN, who had a weaker than usual display but he still deserves the start over Rafa Mir. It wouldnât hurt to go with Mir though.
Bono was crucial with a couple of saves tonight although that penalty was silly, the good thing is that even Dmitrovic is up to the task.
3 Likes
Man some great comments tonight guys. It was a rough one and I believe we all knew where it was going with the starting lineup. We didnât know how rash our defense would be against a team that wasnât super threatening. Four penalties in a half is a record. No one would have predicted that but the lack of play between the mid and attack is predictable. Itâs easy to play against that Lopetegui squad. Press like hell and prevent the ball from finding space on the wings. We had some space on the wings early on but they closed it down quickly.
Anyway on to Sunday! Vamos!
6 Likes
I agree, with Papu not being able to show what we hoped and expected but part of it to me is Lope not willing to play more risk and reward involving players. The same reason Gudelj featured as much as he did.
On one hand he wants to buy creative players to the squad so he thinks we become more threatening. But doesnât give them room to work with in the team. Coz of his fearfull defensive attitude. Itâs a big counter logic.
Keeps putting them on the wing so loss of possession in potential is less dangerous, is already the wrong attitude. He just canât play with creative players. Period. Torres can do incredible stuff, everybody has seen Papu. Itâs just one big disappointment how we use them.
4 Likes
Iâm late to the party, albeit more of a wake. I checked the scoreline while I was at work last night & have just watched a replay of the match.
What an absolute shambles of a match!
Lopetegui and the players havenât learnt anything from Dortmund last year; a direct, pacey attack again causes the defence to lose their heads completely, everyone on the back line was culpable. Effectively the entire defence got mugged off by a 19yr old for those penalties. There wasnât enough chasing-back and pressure coming from the midfield (probably not helped by the lack of pace of the three) and so the centre of the field was wide open for Salzburg to pour forward into at speed.
En-Neysri got himself sent off, no blaming the ref for that, in fact that referee can hardly be blamed for what happened tonight, the team lost their heads as soon as Salzburg made their first attack and they saw what they were up against. Sevilla players were almost asking for cards with the amount of arguing they were doing with the referee. Kristensen from Salzburg should have been booked by the referee, I think he had committed 5 fouls by the end of the first half.
In terms of play & players, Ocampos, Papu & Suso arenât effective - they look devoid of confidence and frankly look like they donât want to play. The midfield two of Jordan and Rakitic should be banned from playing together. I feel like thereâs quality in En-Nesyri and the back 4 + Bonou/Dimitrovic, but that midfield needs serious work! I have to say that I was expecting nothing from Lamela, so to see him play so well (so far) is great!
I know this is long and fairly negative, so apologies and well done if youâve made it this far!
I wondered what you thought of Aaronson, (especially the US contingent on here)? I really rate him and thought he played well tonight. Iâve been a bit shocked that Monchi/Sevilla hasnât had a dip in the US market given that some of the players are pretty good, fairly cheap and may also already have some degree of Spanish language ability.
8 Likes
It was a dejavu of Dortmund 100% - only that they were a bit less experienced as Haaland wouldâve scored all 3 penalties (supposedly) and they would still beat us at the end of the night, or eliminate us in a knockout tie for that matter. The only thing that held RB Salzburg from the 3 points was experience. They totally annihilated us, especially in the first half.
3 Likes
As soon as we saw the lineup we knew that we would struggle. Why doesnât Lopetegui see it?
3 Likes
Agreed, but I have that often with Lope.
Usual situation: Line-up gets released and you think âNo surprizes at all, lets go!â
With Lope I too often just think âUhhhh⌠Are you sure, sir?â
4 Likes
Good question Chris, could it be underestimating them? I doubt it, if thereâs one thing Lope talks about during press conference itâs how complex and difficult each opponent is. Overestimating his fixed starting eleven and stubbornly keep relying on players out of shape and underperforming. Other thing we used to be way more solid at the back from build up, confidence, decisiveness, everything. Unwanted result from the Kounde drama? maybe. Lack of midfield presence and dominance, putting even more pressure on Defense. Itâs a whole net of strings with many knots and crosses. It seems to me. Might need to throw the half knitted sweater away and start over.
The staff is broader than just Lope, yet the ex goalkeeper approach. Prefering a clean sheet and working towards a goal or so with deadballs or an individual skill winning a game is just not cutting it. Now we are seeing we actually lack an offensive mindset. Itâs impossible for Lope to change this, itâs not his skillset nor his philosophy.
Give me an ex player like Pablo Aimar to direct a team forward. Or a manager with an aggressive forward mindset. I feel like the limit under Lope has been reached a while back.
5 Likes
I think Lope tries to reduce the game down to lowest common denominators and factors.
He prefers to stand back and throw stones instead of up close and breaking bones.
The Suso choice was outrageous, the player looks washed-out at the side of Lamela.
And we really should have bought Tecatito because the crowd came alive when Lamela did his trick.
3 Likes
You donât do that when in almost every aspect you are the party in favour over the other one. Not using your superiority in any case, is giving free room for the opponent. Really passive and cowardly it is then⌠Your team value is thrice of the opponentâs, who play in a minor league against liga B tier teams. You play at home, And that is the approach? You are afraid?
Thats not what Achilles would do. If you prefer to throw some stones you might as well not show up at all. And sign the 0-0 formal agreement to live in peace.
Really bad mentality for my taste.
4 Likes
Lope is the culprit for all of this. Honestly, it would be a huge pity to give him more than this season with all the squad he has. I strongly believe that the right coach would do a much better job given the circumstances. Even this season in full is too much, maybe half a season max and if things donât change for the better, then get someone else to try and save the season then build a serious project.
Lope is clinging to the EL mini-tournament success - we never really liked his approach and tactics (decisions etc.) and there is very little optimism that things will change for the good.
2 Likes
Lamela probably canât complete the 90 min, hence why Suso gets the start. Better to have an ace up your sleeve. Also, itâs very apparent, so Iâm sure itâs just a matter of time before Suso gets benched. Iâm sure he knows the clock is ticking.
Also, what the hell was that lineup coming out of halftime? From what i saw Ocampos was stuck on the left, and Delaney on the right??? Cause Papu stayed central to play behind YEN. And not to mention, Lope wasted no time playing Fernando/Delaney/Rakitic in the same midfield. Câmon my guy!
Either way, a lot of shambolic performances that night. It was really hard to watch.
3 Likes
This makes it even better - reportedly Suso said that he had a difficult time coping with covid once he caught it, mentioning that it has caused him a lot of issues while recovering and thatâs the main reason that heâs not at his best.
So Lope fields a player that is still not 100% back from covid and needs time to recover? WowâŚ
Post covid fatigue and issues can last several weeks / months and not everyone gets past it like itâs nothing.
2 Likes
Yeah what is that, so irresponsable, but it makes sense from Suso his perspective, I donât blame him for that, some people really struggle but why allow him to play? What a mess.
4 Likes
Yeah it was ocampos on the right for a bit but then it got all mixed up and the formation was in disarray.
1 Like
So i guess itâs safe to say #SusoNation still only has one resident? 
6 Likes
Disappointing result and performance but at least the other teams in the group also drew. We need to put it right in the next game at Wolfsburg though!
8 Likes