Philokles Posted September 11, 2017 Author Share Posted September 11, 2017 Disappointing from Huddersfield. West Ham did well to supress Mooy and isolated Mounie. Three at the back then were too many for any breaks to get through. Rather predictable going forward, but got the breakthrough in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas! Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Not surprising to see Bilic fall back on the obvious advantages of the big, physical team that he inherited. I'd still say Slaven's days are numbered, but it was an important win. Gutsy, and, despite a bit of luck, deserved. Antonio is a peach, obviously, and I'm glad no one's come in for him. I think he still has a roughness about his game that maybe makes him less attractive to the more cultured managers. He's unpredictable, and top managers don't seem to care for that. He doesn't pass well enough for Guardiola, he doesn't follow directions well enough for Conte, he'd want bigger wages to move to Tottenham than Levy would want to pay. Mourinho might have an interest, as he seems to like crushing the personalities and quirks out of his players, but he's also got lots of other options and endless amounts of money to spend elsewhere. He'd be terrifying on a team like Liverpool's, but they seem pretty well stacked up front. Not Arsene's type of player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 What matches are we all watching tonight? I've got Chelsea vs. Qarabag on the TV. 2-0 and in control. Zappacosta scores on his full debut with a cross. Barca vs. Juve is on my iPad. Seems a bit of a tame affair so far, but I'm not paying as much attention to it to truly judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 We've been well on top of Basel but are only 1-0 up. Mkhitaryan's had an excellent game. Pogba had to go off with what looked like a hamstring strain, which seems to be a recurring niggle with him. Fellaini came on and scored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Hope Pogba's injury isn't too bad. Mkhi has done some good things but fluffed two good chances and overran the ball a few times as well as being guilty of not releasing the ball quickly enough a couple of times and ended up running into a cul-de-sac. Martial has been virtually anonymous though he's been starved of the ball as most of our play has come down the right side. Decent enough performance but we need another goal here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Not watching the game, and I know it's 'only' been Metz and Celtic, but Cavani, Neymar and Mbappe all score again. It'll take more than that to convince me they are true candidates for the Champions League but it's a pretty good start to life for PSG with their new front three. Meanwhile Azpilicueta makes it 3-0 with a header from a brilliant Fabregas assist. Messi comes close to his second, this time rattling the post. Just afterwards, though, he's handed a booking for waving an imaginary card towards the ref. Nice to see him booked for that. And, as I'm writing this, he plays his part in Rakitic's goal to make it 2-0. All about Messi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 That Messi guy is decent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Of course Rashford scores on his CL debut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Only Qarabag, but still good seeing Chelsea win 6-0. Hazard came on but doesn't look sharp yet. On current form and fitness, Pedro and Willian should be ahead of him for Arsenal on Sunday. Crisis season at Barca, they said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Messi has been carrying Barca so far this season though. He's been not only the main source of goals by far but also the primary creative influence as well - often dropping deep to carry the ball forward from midfield. Barca could struggle quite a bit should he get injured. Last season Neymar stepped up in Messi's absence; this season, Suarez has not played well and it may be a bit too early for Dembele to shoulder such responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 I didn't pay much attention to the Barca game, but with Suarez out of form and Dembele too fresh to shoulder much responsibility, it may actually be a good thing for Barca. That way, they may be inclined to lean towards the old Barca style, where they played passes through the midfield, were less direct and everything wasn't based around their front three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 That's part of the problem at Barca currently though. The old Barca had Xavi and Iniesta in that midfield who ran circles around everyone and were responsible for much of the creativity. Now with Xavi retired and Iniesta no longer able to play with the intensity he used to (he battles to get through 90 minutes these days), I'm not convinced that the current midfield is good enough to play the 'Barca way'. Take Messi out of the current Barca team and they will really struggle to break down opponents. He's been the one making everything happen. Don't think Messi has had this much burden on his shoulders in his entire career at Barca like he does this season (so far). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemon the Leaner Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Delighted with Lukaku's and Rashford's Champions League debut goal. A bit afraid with Pogba's injury but I don't think it will get him away from the pitch for more than a week. Big Marouane came on and managed an awesome performance lol, also feels good to see Young back in buisness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Yeah, Young played really well. It's only one game but he did put in a better performance both offensively and defensively than Valencia has managed thus far this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Coutinho on the bench for Liverpool and Karius starts so presumably he's going to be the keeper for Europe. I'd seen a few people suggesting that was the logic behind playing him in the Arsenal game. ETA: Sigh. Well that was a horrendous goal to concede. Can probably should win the initial challenge to snuff out the danger, Gomez probably shouldn't let the cross into the box and Lovren should definitely clear the ball. Great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Liverpool's defending for Sevilla's goal was verging on comically bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Antony Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 I'm so sick of Lovren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 On the plus side Sevilla don't look anything like as solid as they did after the last they scored against us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 The Spurs-Dortmund game is where it's happening. 2-1 after 15 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan La Cabra Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Goal fest at Wembley. Harry Kane is such a sweet finisher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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