Baby sitting the grandson, he kicked off and I thought ‘2-2 this is bad for my ticker anyway’ so went and sorted him out. he’s back to sleep and it’s 5 friggin 2 bloody brilliant. I’ll tell him when he wakes up
Did you see how many players got forward, late on in the game, to support the counter attack, brilliant
This is largely a team of ‘championship players’ I remember when Klich and Phillips wasn’t even good enough to get into a championship team.
Back to full blooded, dominating Newcastle from start to finish, some great football, pity about the suicideal defending, but we can't have it all just yet 1 or 2 players short.
It's almost like the internet idiots saying harrison was rubbish and should be dropped don't know more than Bielsa
I think Newcastle were out on their feet. Did Gayle go off? He didn't touch the ball after the first minute after he came on
At 2-2 I still thought we’d win but only because Newcastle were so poor. Don’t get me wrong we deserved the win, we played great at times, Harrison’s goal at the end was worldly but still a lot to be cautious about. I feared the worse when I saw the same lineup as last time out but when we click it’s magical to watch and when we don’t you fear the worst. A very strange division this season
Bielsa Interview: He is happy with the performance offensively as we created many chances. First half we were not efficient with our chances but we were in the second. On conceding from a corner and teams targeting that area, We are constantly trying to improve.
Meslier 6. Not much to do again. Nothing he could have done with the two goals. Couple of tips over the bar and a mixed bag with his distribution. Dallas - 7. Looks far more comfortable out wide. Got the all important 3rd goal (from full back!). Worked hard, covered ground, kept the ball better than he has been. Cooper - 6. Largely a positive performance but he is dogged by the little mistakes. Mis controlled the ball a couple of times, should have given a penalty away. Played a sublime 50 yard ball, nearly scored with a header. Either extremely bad or extremely good. Ayling - 7. All action display. Drove through the middle, helped with the overlap. Largely exceptional defending apart from losing his man for the second goal on a set piece. That blotted his copy book. Alioski - 7. Ran his blood to water. Far better after two shockers. Good finish for his goal. Couple of positional errors defensively could have cost us. Otherwise neat and tidy. Phillips - 7. Solid. Assured in posession. Stupid booking. Passed to Newcastle from our corner and a minute later we were picking the ball out of our net. Not quite at his best but still had a good impact on the game overall. Klich - 7. Another who improved after two poor games. Still not quite at his best but a vast improvement. Got an assist and ran his socks off. Hopefully playing himself back in to form. Key player. Rodrigo - 8. Constant thorn in Newcastles side. Popped up all over. Can pick a pass, can create shooting opportunities and that work ethic is almost there. Great header for his goal. Could have had more. Harrison - 8. Couple of frustrating moments with the extra step over or extra pass. When he got it out of his feet and whipped it in he looked a class act. Superb take and cross for Rodrigo header and a sensational drive and goal at the end probably pinched him MOM on the telly. Raphinha - 8. Had half an hour off after half time but the remainder of the game he again looked most likely to cause problems. All action. The one thing missing from his game is composure. Could have had a hat trick. Ran until the end showing he is Bielsaball fit. Bamford - 9. My MOM. Got the goal. Defended from the front. Held the ball up. A near perfect performance. Pretty much faultless. Subs. Hernandez - 7. Came on and calmed it down. Got himself 2 assists and just used his experience to pick the right pass at the right time. THIS is how to use Pablo this season! Roberts - 5. Within a minute of coming on we lost the ball and he walked back whilst Phillips had to sprint past him to get back. Nearly got through one on one and cleared a corner. Never got involved. Shackleton - N/A. Late sub. Nothing to report.
