I forgot that Chiesa was on the bench. He definitely could have come on, but Slot won’t do it unless it’s his last resort.
2 Likes
Might be a kick up the arse for the season ahead
3 Likes
I thought we got lucky enough with ref and VAR tbf
2 Likes
Transfer window still open
Sorry but Wharton needs a yellow for that foul on Frimpong and every slight nudge was a foul for them but not for us.
3 Likes
New signings came bursting out the traps with lots to prove and, to a man, all faded second half. I suspect that they’ll need a few weeks to adapt to PL pace.
The patterns were pretty in attack. We played attractive football and Wirtz will clearly be pivotal to our new Trentless build up play.
We missed Gravenberch today, I thought. Too easy to play through — it reminded me a bit of the 2022-2024 period under Klopp. Endo and Macca looked more stable, but then we were poorer in transition going the other way.
Lots to work on. Definitely still need a CB.
Only other thought: why did they all look so miserable in the shootout? I knew Salah was going to miss, because he looked on the verge of tears!
2 Likes
There were some suggestions that Virgil was still a bit ill.
3 Likes
Looking at all these pre-season games, we look like a very exciting, even mouthwatering prospect for the new season, but certainly not yet as the reigning champions who will look to defend their title. Any opponent will fear us when having to defend against our moves forward, but will also smell blood when attacking our backline.
One week left to significantly up our defensive play (whatever the players on the pitch, we have always looked soft), and to get fitness levels up a further notch.
A hard week of work for Slot and co. to get us fine-tuned, and then we hopefully start the new season with a win, fingers crossed!
3 Likes
I am sick and tired of these two officials Wharton should have seen red and typically they didn’t even review it and Palace got free kicks galore at the slightest touch.
When Gakpo lost the ball and it went 2:2 I knew we would lose the penalties and it was ironic that our best penalty takers all missed. Salah was poor and so was Virgil.
Of the champions who lost the this super cup only one ended up winning the league after I will hold on to that .
4 Likes
I think every time I’ve seen us win it since 1993 we’ve been crap that following season so I wouldn’t worry. It tells you nothing.
3 Likes
Poor second half and horrible penalties. We should and will improve. Friday is the big test.
2 Likes
Positives
- Ekitike off the mark
- Frimpong runs back as quickly as he does forward
- Wirtz is going to run games this season
- No injuries bar Guehi
Negatives
- Salah looked pretty poor
- Gave the ball way for fun
- Defence lacked solidity
- Subs made us worse not better
And despite looking like we could do with some fresh legs up top in that second half both Chiesa and Ngumoha stayed on the bench. If you’re not giving Chiesa minutes towards the end of a glorified friendly given he missed the pre-season tour then what’s the point of him being here?
Definitely some work to do on balancing attack and defence but nothing to panic about. Certainly some work to be done on the transfer front too.
6 Likes
enjoyed the first 45 minutes, not so much the next 45. There’s still a lot of work to do and thank heaven
the transfer market is still open, as we need to sort out a few holes
2 Likes
Felt that we don’t quite know how to play with the new full-backs.
Szoboszlai is a hard one to peg. He does a ton of work for the team, can be brilliant on and with the ball but every now and then has a complete mind fart…
It’s hard to peg how to make things click but I guess time will be key - hopefully it does not take till Christmas. I would guess that our starting midfield would be with Mac and Grav and Szoboszlai and Wirtz and having that combination in place may offer a truer window of where we are at…
Bit of a 6/10 performance.
p.s. Konata looked really sharp - someone playing for a new contract perchance?
1 Like
Yep…and we certainly need it
I called. Too much change. Needs time to bed in.
We’ve got the best team in PL by far. We could do with depth at CB, and Isak would be lovely, but every squad has deficiencies. I’m not sure we ‘need’ anything in a relative sense.
3 Likes
Good first half and stopped playing after that. We missed Gravenberch, as a result the defence looked exposed on the break. Salah may as well have stayed at home as he contributed very little all afternoon. Palace wanted it a little bit more than we did and probably deserved the win.
Very poor 2nd half and pens, completely gobsmacked by Elliott lined up to take a penalty with Virgil and Endo available. Palace manager done Slot tactically today and it also showed we need more reinforcement in before the window closes.
1 Like
All the talk about Rio and he’s left on the bench especially when we struggled for a outball to counter.
1 Like