Why does it always have to be like this?
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Soccer is hard, that team had some fight.
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Also feeling very very bad for Escuderoā¦ poor unlucky guy to break the arm twice in what is itā¦ a year? Just as he was getting into form and we needed him more than ever now that Acuna is injured too. Hopefully Acuna will come back soon because we canāt count on Rekik there clearly. Also we missed Navas dearly tonightā¦ thatās why it wasnāt clever not including Aleix Vidal in the list, no matter what.
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He definitely isnāt
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I did wonder if Escudero had done the same injury as before.
Thoughts:
ā¢ Vaclik crap, what one shot on target, one goal, again. (Apparently they had 4 shots on target but all I remember was the goal and the one where he was rounded way too easily one on one and Kounde blocked it from going in).
ā¢Defence with Kounde out of position looked all over the shop. Gudelj is OK as a stand in for 5-10 mins, tonight showed he should not be starting at CB.
ā¢Midfield, Oscar wasted a chance to show what he could do tonight. He, Oliver, Fernando and Jordan all sloppy in possession at times, giving the ball away cheaply.
ā¢Up top de Jong was his usual self. Munir was so frustrating, luckily he got that winner or else I would have ripped into him, wasted so many chances.
ā¢I liked what I saw from Idrissi, takes on players, can dribble, not scared to cut in. I think a couple of times he was hampered as he was waiting for a Full Back overlap / support which he didnāt really get but probably would with Aruna or Escudero.
I think we got away with one tonight, but it is what it is and we got the win and Qualify for the knockout stages. At least we donāt need to rely on the last two games now.
Ratings:
Vaclik - 5
Kounde - 7
Gudelj - 5
Diego Carlos- 6.5
Escudero - 6.5
Fernando - 6
Oscar - 5
Rakitic - 6.5
Ocampos - 6.5
de Jong - 6
Munir - 6.5
Subs:
Rekik - 6
Jordan - 6.5
Oliver - 6.5
Idrissi - 7
YEN - 6.5
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I guess the question is, who would you have left out though?
De Jong was wrong choice for this game ā¦ YEN was obvious.
Munir scored the winner when it was needed, was possibly the best player on the park, De Jong the worst.
Idrissi tried (and failed) to control with his right foot, 3 yards from goal. when the left was the obvious ā¦ WTF?, another left winger that prefers the right foot ??? El Nolito de Marrueco?
Iāll give him time, he looks promising but the right foot maniobra worries me.
Analysis is a bitch, but there you go.
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Idrissi to me looks like he could be this seasons Ocampos which is just as well, as the actual Ocampos seems way off his best for large parts of games at the moment.
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Rekik or Sergi Gomez most likely. For the only reason that we can have Gudelj (like tonight) and Fernando (like before) cover CB positions, while the full back roles are much more difficult to cover.
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I would probably say Sergi Gomez of the two as he cannot get a game no matter what. Plus Rekik is Left footed which is handy especially now.
Kind of makes me hope even more Gnagnon can show his worth to the team now.
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One thing I didnāt like about him is that he asked for the ball at the end and was not that happy that we scored the winning goal. His celebration was āmehāā¦ even CR is happier when his teammates score. Worth noting as we donāt want another self-centered winger, we already have Ocampos and Suso to some extent. Munir is getting selfish with time as wellā¦ not sure if the strategy is such that wingers have the freedom to do anything they want, but Idrissi at least is trying to cross and pass all the time, so far. Itās still worrying in overall though.
It would be good if the wingers would learn a thing or two from Navas.
Agreed on YEN over De Jong for this game.
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We need to have done with this, heās a classic centre forward, wasted on the wing. He can beat any defender for class, pace and touch, he can put the ball away, he can score with headers. Heās fafffffing around on the wing trying to invent the impossible every game.
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Not sure Iāve ever thought of him as a CF to be honest.
Me neither but I think he would do quite good in a 4-4-2 (e.g. Simeoneās) as a second striker.
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I could see him as a second striker playing a bit like WBY. Really weird starting De Jong this match I thought without Navas banging in crosses.
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Bummerā¦
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Time to play with the big boys.
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Such an important win. We can play the kids now! 
We were so sloppy throughout that game, it was a mess!
Kounde MOTM. Jordan was very tidy after he came on. Rekik did what he could. Heās just not a fullback. Neither is Ocampos.
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