Just had a look at the Sadio incident on a scratchy replay, as far as I can tell the Stoke player banged his head on Sadios shoulder, no sign of any elbows.
We saw mostly the good side of Saints today, however we still need to retain the ball better when under pressure and be more clinical; but today was a marked improvement on previous games.
Mark Hughes was a 'little bit disappointed with the referee' today ! However, he did say he 'was as surprised as everybody' by the red card.
Still giving the ball away cheaply but much more togetherness and fluidity! Clasie and Romeu played well. JWP did well coming on. Motm VVD. Special mentions to Long and Pelle, and Koeman, who completely out-did Hughes with formation/tactics/subs.
Big 3 points that.long did alot of running as usual.great play from tadic to put pelle through. Virgil is class. Coyr
Agreed. His composure, first touch and positioning are amazing. Another year or two and he could become world class. Just needs to iron out one or two lapses.
Alderweireld or van Dijk? Tough call, for me Alderweireld is better but van Dijk has a lot of potential.
Also, starting to wonder if Bertrand has a long term future as a centre back? He played well there today.
Right now, it's not that tough. Toby is imo head and shoulders the best central defender in the division. VVD's only real weakness this season has been the occasional lapse of concentration, but in a defender that's potentially disastrous. He's raw though, and can only improve.
He was caught out for the Stoke goal today for example, but he is not super human. Even if it appears his forehead has a magnetic attraction to the ball. Great team display today. The fight in the team was on point and when they work hard, they can beat anyone. Pelle, whether it's improving fitness or the confidence from a goal looked so much better today. That second goal was him chasing a loose ball and making something of it. Bar the non-shot from Tadic, he was awesome first half, even winning a few tackles. Season still alive, let's get revenge on Liverpool!
