Really professional performance overall. Xavi will get the plaudits, but there were no passengers in the starting line up and I thought Spence and Bentancur were also excellent. This was worth the watch!!
RKM should probably have buried the header and Sarr the late chance. Kelleher saved them a couple of times too
Glad to see Frank has apparently come to the same conclusion we all came to months ago: Bentancur and Palhinha in the starting line up doesn't work.
Bentancur and Gray worked well together today...as did Palhinha and Gray when he came on. The problem now is working out how to fit those in with Bergvall effectively, if Xavi is possibly going to secure the 10 spot.
The more I see of him the more Xavi intrigues me. Not always in a good way. He’s kind of a unique profile. While he does similar things to Maddison sometimes (comes deep to get the ball, reasonably happy in tight spaces) he’s not the type of 10 who controls a game, or at least we haven’t seen it from him yet. He’s also not as technically polished as Maddison is. Madders has a velvet touch, Xavi not quite so much so on present viewing. And I don’t think he strikes the ball as purely. What he does do (at least today) was run into the channels nicely, on and off the ball, and he pressed well and showed a bit of fire, which I think we all loved to see. And his finish was good - that wasn’t an easy chance. I think Xavi will thrive if we can have more games when we control the ball (today was a rare game when we had much more possession, especially in the first half) as he needs a high volume of touches and to have players around him to combine with. It’s a long while off but I’ll be interested to see him in an attacking 3 with Madders and Kudus, with fullbacks going outside them, and a striker like Solanke or RKM. Also thought Gray had a good game today as well. Did a lot of the unseen stuff and tidy on the ball too. So nice to be talking about a home league win!
I agree. He isn't a typical no 10, although arguably there are very few of those left in football as the fashion has shifted to favour all-terrain midfielders. I think he likes quite a few others in the team is at their best exploring spaces and gaps left by the opposition, i.e. he isn't likely to create those himself as Eriksen and to a (far) lesser extent Maddison do. Which means Solanke's return, if it ever happens, could unlock unseen potential in Xavi, RKM and others who would benefit from playing off of a proper target man.
