Very important win with what can only be described as a controlled and measured performance. Lots of safety first play and making sure we always kept in control but it certainly wasnt swashbuckling Spurs from the end of last season. If it wasnt my beloved team out there i would have switched off !! Its expected though, rustiness is always going to be an issue first game. Kyle Walker Peters with a totally deserved MOTM, a very assured, intelligent display. to those of us who have kept an eye on him through the youth set up this is exactly what we know he is capable of. Finally Eriksen, what a sublime footballer he is. Lets hope this is the season he steps up to that extra level that we all know he is capable of.
I personally don't mind the lethargic, almost comatose approach to games as long as we end up with the points. We currently don't have the squad to take every game at full throttle. Play it only when we have to (e.g. next weekend) or else we risk injuries and fatigue that we can ill-afford with the squad as threadbare as it is. On today's game, my MOTM would've been Eriksen as he was the only player in the 1st half looking to make things happen and provided assists for both goals - the cross for Alli was delightful and leaves me perpetually wondering how and why he remains so crap at set pieces. KWP had a very impressive debut. Got forward really well and seems so calm and confident on the ball. Caught out of position quite a few times and lost Atsu as a result, but that is to be expected and tbh I don't think any of our defenders looked 100% focused today. Excellent to see Son and Wanyama, and Winks was making his first PL appearance in quite a while which was another positive. Tricky away fixture navigated with mimimal fuss, two beautiful team goals and a clean sheet. With a bit of luck, by this time next week we'll have welcomed a few new signings and Sissoko will no longer be an employee of the club
We won all statistics, possession, shots, shots on target, corners and fouls. I don't like the last statistic as fouls give the ball away.
Looking back at the game over all, it was a frustratingly slow first half, but was to be expected really. Was always going to be hard to just instantly find out rhythm after 3 months. But as the game progressed, we grew into it and started looking much more comfortable. I'm sure the Shelvey sending off played a part in that, but the only thing we can really be critical of is the overall tempo. In general the passing was decent, we kept the ball well, and continued to be patient, which was a huge part of our success last season. Poch also got the Son substitution spot on as well, and with plenty of time remaining which was nice for a change. Often we've made subs far too late. Other than the tempo, which I'm sure will increase over the next few games, the only other negative, unsurprisingly, was Sissoko. Playing against his old team where he should have been well up for it, he was sluggish, offered nothing in attack once again, and has just proven to be a complete waste of time. There's others that should be starting over him now. He's had enough chances and we never see anything different. That formation needs the fastest attackers we have, as the wing backs don't tend to commit themselves forward to much in a 4231, so offering Sissoko a start really doesn't help, when it's players more like Son who we really crave in that formation. When Son came on, it made a huge difference and came as no surprise to any of us. A decent start overall, but we now need the squad additions with the attributes to comfortably switch between a 4231 and 352. Sanchez will help with giving us a strong defensive "3", but we are lacking 1 or 2 in the attacking/wide positions to make a smooth transition between both formations. Come on Daniel, there's so much potential here again. Get them in and we're in for another good season. COYS
Apparently so. But it's Sunday, so I expect he's done the talking and is now in a "coffee shop" haggling over the price of an 8th.
Absolutely spot on mate. If we could get Sanchez, Barkley / Diop and a Balde / Martial type then we will be challenging again for the title.
Satisfactory first match of the season against difficult opponents - Rafas team are always hard to break down. But Shelvey let him down big style and from that moment onwards was really only one winner. Didn't like the way we let them back in it for a bit in the last 15, but I guess every team in every match always has a 'good spell' and even then Hugo was barley troubled. We can certainly play better, but a win on day 1 is what was needed and that is what we got.
Just watched Benitez post match - he says Harrys 'tackle' was worse than what Shelvey did and more deserving of a red card!
So much for the players being unsettled by Danny's comments. Benitez has always been a bit of a sore loser Changing Man. His comment has no bearing on the match at all.
If Benitez is saying that to Shelvey, then it's no wonder the bloke's got temper control issues. He's always been a bit of a **** and today he got nailed for it. Blaming someone else just means it keeps happening.
