That Dwight McNeil was decent
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that’s the difference between the 13/14 title run, and this squad that’s been together for 3-5 years now. they have the physicality to match up to the “tactics” of teams like Burnley, Stoke, etc
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I watched the 2-0 goal again, just to see what happened, why Burnley’s last line was so open in the end. Thought that was weird to see, I didn’t catch it while it happened.
There’s a great overview replay from when Virgil gets the ball. Their shape isn’t bad, they’re in full balance; but I think their centre mids are too far to the right, leaving McNeil with too many choices, eventually leaving Elliott as the free man partly (or largely) because Trent stayed high up.
And that’s all we needed. From there, it’s flawless execution. Elliott calls for the ball, Virgil plays it, and from the moment Elliott is allowed to control it Burnley are fucked. Alarm bells everywhere, Tarkowski desperately trying to close down Trent, creating the gap for Mane to move into. Brilliant goal.
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It’s the ball from Virgil that’s caused them to be out of shape and it highlights precisely one of the reasons we struggled last year in an offensive manner despite him being a CB and its not the first example of it this season already. Others may see that pass out wide, they may attempt to play it and it may even reach the player but it’s not just that, it’s the manner of the pass. It is absolutely zipped across and that’s the key. It’s not some floaty ball that gives the defenders time to move thus killing the space before it even reaches the player, it’s pinged across so that it’s reaching our attacking player in space. Once that happens everything else is about finding the right pass as the space to play in has now been provided and the boys did it brilliantly.
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