I think he believes their players were going down very easily (which they were tbf) and the ref was buying it (no worse then a regular league game)
That reads as though you thought we deserved to lose. We didn't. In the end a draw was fair because both teams scored 1, but if we'd have held out for the win it wouldn't have been unduly flattering. We played well enough without being remarkable. Despite the near orgasmic responses on here to Sakho and Gomez playing together, the defence was still a bit shaky at times, and I think stronger opposition would have exposed that. The long ball over the top caught them out a couple of times. Still, it's a new combination and showed promise. We still lack creativity up front. Lallana showed occasionally what he's capable of, and linked up well with Coutinho at times. It's just a pity he doesn't do it more consistently. Yes it was a very young team. The average age dropped by about 50% when Kolo went off injured.
I didn't see it so can't say what we deserved. However, from the radio commentary, it sounded like we weren't the better team, attacked less than the opposition, defended poorly at times, Migs was flakey again and we lacked creativity up front. This is why I hate radio....would much rather see with my own eyes and judge for myself!
By the end of the game? Migs Ibe - Gomes - Can - Sakho - Moreno Lallana - Chirivella - Brannagan - Coutinho Ings Backs to the wall, defend for your life!
Definitely. As I didn't hear what you did I can't comment. Mig wasn't that bad, no glaring errors. Early on he came for the ball and took out Kolo which ended with him going off, but you expect that from a keeper. A couple of times after that he stayed at home when I thought he should have come out, but nothing disastrous. The defence looked better than the previous set-ups, but like I said, they got caught out a couple times with the long ball so I'll reserve judgement. There was also one incident where they just melted away as an attacker drifted across the box and gave him a clear shot at goal- which he put straight at Mig, fortunately. Creativity is low, and it's hard to see us scoring more than a couple of goals in a game at the moment. That's ok (if a bit boring for me) as long as your defence is strong enough, but ours isn't yet. Lallana was unlucky with a great turn in the box before he scored, Ings cleverly beat his man but the keeper saved from almost the identical spot as La-la's goal, Coutinho thumped a screamer against the post. We weren't great, but we did ok.
Owen (commentating on BT Sports last night) said Toure accepted responsibility for the injury in the dressing room at HT. Migs had shouted but Toure hadn't got out the way apparently. Gomes look even better at CB imo. I know it wasn't a testing game but he dealt with everything that came his way with complete ease. He's going to be a cracking player imo
He started in CM but Toure got injured. Chirivella came on for Toure and Can moved into the back three. Chirivella and Rossiter (both 18yrs old) played the majority of the game as the central pairing in a 343
