We did
We drew away 3-3 and then won at home
Draws feel like losses these days
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Except when theyâre against City.
The more Iâve thought about it the better I think this result is. Iâm just relieved weâre still in the race. It would have been more or less all over yesterday had they won. If I was a City fan I would be massively pissed off that they blew a chance to effectively kill us off. They should have been out of sight by half time. That Mahrez miss at the end felt like a really big moment. Hopefully a pivotal one.
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Yeah as I said we did, we didnât lose.
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Thatâs the second Mahrez miss I can think of in a match against us, when he sent the penalty sky high, I donât think itâs landed even today.
If we donât win it will be the Brentford and Brighton games, especially that Brighton game at home.
But enjoy the ride and get behind our lot, Benfica next and then the cup semi final.
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Was a Matip block!
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Question do you think we played well first half?
Second question what did City do that were the contributing factor?
Iâm not trying to be antagonistic here, just interested in how you saw the first half.
Fabinhoâs lack of mobility is killing him against these players but to be fair he isnât the only one struggling in that regard. Henderson isnât the force he used to be and Thiagoâs game was never about covering ground. In both City games, it felt like we lacked speed and cohesion in the midfield which was compounded by a general hesitation to be aggressive and press effectively.
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Klopp has spoiled us. 
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Thought that at the time as well. Hopefully itâs Cityâs 1999 World Cup Herschelle Gibbsâ moment (cricket fans will understand the reference).
I agree, just posted in Hendersonsâ thread that in games like this of the past he would have really stamped his authority on the game, and whilst not terrible he certainly wasnât excellent.
I do think though they were lambs to the slaughter though, we spent most of the first half treating the ball like a hot potato⌠Either our defense passing it aimlessly to nowhere and straight to City players, or our front 3 having rubber boots on where every pass just ended up back with City. So our midfield spent a lot of time just trying to get into shape, and against a team as good as City they break/transition at pace, you simply donât have that time.
Fabinho is a great midfielder and destroyer but with the game ahead of him in a condensed pitch. When the game opens up and there is space he becomes a liability and very easily bypassed. So as others have said vâs 95% of teams and our high line he will hoover up the ball, against the very best teams who go from back to front in seconds we miss a player like Kante/Masher who covers ground like a terrier.
Collectively as a team we just didnât play well first half, canât think of a single player who came out of that period with any credit bar Alisson. Thatâs why it frustrated me because 2nd half with literally zero tactical tweaks we were the better team so it was down to individual performances not anything from the manager, Trent himself said we played with too many nerves, which showed.
Take their first goal, a quickly taken free kick., Our team was still fannying around as they took it, no-one stood on the ball to stop them taking it quickly, Hendo moaning to Taylor, half the team with their backs turned etc. Itâs an easily preventable goal by doing the basics, by being switched on. Thatâs not shitty brilliance, itâs our players not playing with intensity.
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It was taken a good 10 yards from where the incident occurred.
But youâre right. Mane closest to the ball, Silva collects it, and Mane walks off towards the centre circle. Henderson berating the ref, and Fab dawdling.
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This is where competing against corrupt, sports-washing cheats skews peopleâs thinking.
The great teams of the 70âs and '80âs had off days just like the present team. The difference is this team has to be perfect over 38 games to stand a chance.
Our results this season have been consistently fine, we would have romped to the title again were we playing in a ânormalâ league. But weâre not.
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No, but City did and we found it hard to live with them
Pressed, harried, played great football, more direct than we expected, balls over the top., KDB on form, crowd behind them etc etc
You really couldnât see this for yourself? You think itâs just down to us? We have won 1 in last 7 at Etihad because we play badly?
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Listen I agree with that concept. But we didnât really give ourselves a chance with how we played in that first half. I realise because of how good both these teams are there is a bit of chess going on in the early part of the match where the teams are sizing up each other before deciding how to proceed. Its just that a good percentage of passes were tentative, almost like the passer was saying in their head âright, donât make a mistakeâ. Often the players were not under pressure directly. Perhaps our upfield players werenât presenting to receive the pass, and so the passer couldnât pick out a high % pass? Perhaps City were covering those upfield players well?
But so many of those tentative passes were under-hit and often intercepted which just invited more pressure on us. City had their game plan, and they clearly worked on beating our offside trap as they beat it often. I kept saying after each missed City chance âthats gotta be offside!â but nope, they got that part of the game spot on. Luckily they didnât finish off as many chances as they should have.
City put us under pressure in that first half. We added to it ourselves with a half of sloppy, under-hit passes.
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Itâs worth noting once again that we actually edged the first half on expected goals, according to Opta. So they effectively had the lionâs share of possession, while doing little with it.
Sort of like the main criticism against our team in most, if not all, of our games in which weâve failed to blitzkrieg the opponent.
saying he needs a rest, not a bench. no footballer can play 60 games, and especially not one who played AFCON that went 120mins multiple times. He needs the rest, and Sadio too. I am liking the rotation we are getting with Diaz and Bobby and Diogo able to effectively man those three front positions between the 5 of them and having them all healthy right now is a dream run-in.
Our fixture list is insane this month, but itâs the only way you can attempt the treb/quad is to have the bodies.
Fab would be next on my list to give a rest. Very thankful Gomez is able to deputize Trent because for as good as his defending was yesterday on Foden, some of his decision making with the ball was questionable.
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They did that I agree, but they do the same every game, thatâs how they play bar the balls over the top because every other team play banks of 4 against them. So yes I watched City, I donât think they were brilliant, they simply got offered the run of the park for 45 minutes.
I donât agree it was the reason they dominated the half though. We conceeded possession cheaply all over the park leading us inviting pressure on to ourselves, we lost most 50/50 balls, we werenât switched on (see their 1st goal), we didnât go toe to toe and match their intensity (the basic requirement).
I didnât see any difference in their performance in the 2nd half vâs the 1st, the only change was us playing better. Itâs a simple equation to say if we played better in the 2nd half and were the better team, and they didnât do anything different the answer is we were poor/terrible whatever adjective you want in the 1st.
Iâm not talking about any other game bar Sunday, all of the past results and performances are irrelevant to the discussion point we are having.
It was a good point at their place. I would say their midfield is superior to ours. They had a bit more control in there, and made their passes a bit more, while also getting into us very quickly and not letting anyone settle on the ball. We werenât miles behind, but they edged it in that department.
It was a cracking game and we grew into it and both teams wanted the win until the very end.
They are favorites for the title as they have their noses in front, having navigated their most difficult fixture. Our run in is harder. With that said, we are still in this, and it is game on. We have to keep pushing and see what we might yet win.