alexf

Now Burn is back and with our away record this season you have to say that, atleast for away games, we probably need to stick with this back 3/5. It's the best we have looked on the road for a while and we need to see how it goes against other teams. Home games are different as imagine we will go back to 433 and our home form is still strong despite the villa result.

Was a really good game to watch from a tactical perspective aswell. Felt sorry for our lads at times in that first half. Their players had license to roam around whereas obvious we are abit more rigid in our shape. I remember a moment where Doue had come on at RW and Hall was tracking him across the pitch and Doue went over to left back and effectually Hall had to abandon following and took back in. You could see it all over. Dembele was Cf but was drifting all over, must be a nightmare for defenders to know who to follow and when not to leave space. We got it horrible wrong for their goal and it's why they had too much space but we quickly adjusted and I think we're excellent from about 20 minutes onwards and dare say for periods of the second half we became the dominant team. I think our fitness was higher than theirs on the night and we got stronger as they dropped off physically.

Eddie did mention he has been working hard behind the scenes despite his limited game time. He does look in his best physical shape for a long time and finally looked to have that burst of speed back. Willock has always been a player who relies on his physical attributes over his technical skills and with all the injuries and what looked like a reduction in his athleticism it seemed like all confidence had drained from his game and his career was fizzling out. The goal was something we lack at times, a midfielder that gambles and follows the ball in. It's what Willock was so good at when he first arrived and was on a scoring run. With Joelinton now injured he has now given himself a chance to get minutes and prove he can get back to being useful. Will have earned back some respect from fans last night and now he just needs to not get injured and keep that level of performance in the coming games. I would start vs. Liverpool.

I think what surprised me most and what I liked about last night is how we were in the ball. After the the whirlwind first 15 mins or so where we were getting destroyed by their speed, movement and quick passing. I thought we were surprisingly good at playing the ball out at times and almost because they were pressing us with such speed it forced players to move the ball quickly, especially likes of Ramsey and Tonali in tight spaces at times. Sure we gave the ball away a few times and to be expected when possession is something of a weakness for us normally and missing likes of Bruno doesn't help. But that Villa game felt like watching a match in slow motion in comparison to this. So hopefully it's something we carry forward now.

Completely forgot about that too. Was supposed to be from next season wasn't it?

Into these cunts. Wasn't looking forward to this when saw where it sat in the schedule, but now I want us to fuck them up. Please.

Thought he was unlucky. First chance he's straining and unbalanced and the second he's just abit too wide, perhaps if being critical the left foot shot could have been better option. But fine margins and could have been the hero. Still wouldn't have wanted anyone else to have those chances so would always back Harvey.

Some good and bad but think it was correct to go with him ahead of Wissa for this game. We needed an out ball and despite not always coming off it was still more times we linked through him than we would have had with Wissa. If he just had abit more pace or strength he would be so much more impactful. Finally had a shot aswell even though it was blocked. Couldnt remember the last game where he actually took a shot himself without passing it instead.

Other players his age you would think there heart would be racing and head would be spinning from those opening ten minutes. Stuck to his task, caught up to the speed of the game and adjusted accordingly. Ended up shutting down most future attacks down his side. Speaks volumes I think that firstly Eddie picked him ahead of the experienced Trippier and secondly that he didn't feel the need to protect him and bring Trippier in when it looked like it was gonna be a tough night. He has faith now in Miley and it's being rewarded by his performances.

Quietly excellent I thought. A few poor passes as has become common for him this season, however a few really good passes aswell. Shame he didn't use Gordon on his overlap for that counter he surged forward with as seemed the better option than going right. But was great overall.

Where do we start with that? Felt like pure corruption at times. -The handball that wasn't. -The Elanga yellow for being fouled. -The Willock clean shoulder to shoulder. -The lack of handball check on them. -The stamp by doue on Botman which when shown on replay you clearly see he sees the slide tackle coming and then stamps down. Red card for me, not even mentioned. -The "fouls" by us in their box to relieve the pressure on them. Was amazing we did aswell as we did with this guy calling the action.

Welcome back Joe, we haven't seen you for awhile. Was excellent on the night even before his goal. Really hope he can use this as a springboard to a comeback of form as the old wIllock is really useful and we need that depth in the squad.

He's definitely getting back into his rhythm with these successive games lately. As long as we don't leave him exposed with his pack of pace he's excellent. Even so he did really well that one moment where he was clearly going to lose that 1v1 race with Hakimi and shifted his position just at the last moment to help hold him up and wait for support.

Tactics nearly worked perfect. They were tiring and getting him and Barnes on to try and exploit them almost paid off. Kept thinking all game our final ball through to Elanga was really poor and didn't let him get away first half. But Hall played a beautiful weighted pass to release Gordon for the first chance and then he and Barnes linked nicely for the second and it was unlucky on both counts. Fine margins.

What a return. Nearly 2months out and returns for his first game away at the European champions. Such an important player. Great assist.

Massive save that. I know we conceded anyways shortly after but I really would have feared for the mentality of the team if they scored that pen and we got screwed over again. Helped add to the overall defiance of bowing down to them that justice was served with the save.

Excellent performance I thought. Started a bit rabbit in headlights and looked like it could be a hiding after the first ten minutes. But the lads caught up to the speed of the game and grew into it. Epitomised by Miley really, was getting shredded for pace but stuck to his task and recovered really well. Was pleased with the line up before the game for many reasons, one being we needed to try something different for away games and two, it gave the likes of Willock, Ramsey, Elanga the chance to play themselves into form and suddenly they look like stronger options to use again. Gutted we didn't get the win and automatic top 8 but pleased with the performance and the potential to improve our away form for the remainder of the season.

sorry to hear that.

If we can get any set pieces or corners then yeah probably our best chance of nicking a goal.

My god their team is so strong when you look through it. Pace and technical ability all over the place. Easy to forget we got battered for 99% of that away game last time, and that was the disjointed mbappe version of psg. Totally get why Eddie has set up how he has. Just need players to execute a perfect out of possession game. If anyone thinks playing with Gordon or Barnes or Wissa from the start gives us better chance of winning this are kidding themselves and just probably want another excuse to bash Eddie. Atleast he has options from the bench if we are still in the game later on.

Nick is gonna be chasing shadows all night for long periods bless him.

Tonali gonna be absolutely ruined physically after this however.

Don't mind that at all. Game is a free hit to try something different. Was very similar to what I thought he would do but didn't expect Willock to start. Got options off the bench but also some rest for some going into Liverpool for the tired looking forward players. However that team ain't keeping any possession and will rely on Elanga for the counter.

Left back concerns me. We run Hall into the ground and the way he plays I feel increases possibility of injuries. Plus his recent record he has picked up knocks. We lose hall we currently have no one other than Murphy. Ilgot a horrible feeling he will break down as soon as Burn returns and we're back to Burn at left back.