When I saw that starting line-up I had doubts that we would still be in the competition at the end of the match.
It was an awful display, and some of that has to go down to the fact that for 60 minutes we were fielding a bunch of individuals who had not played together. Individual quality sometimes counts for little if your team mates aren't where you expect them to be. Perhaps it's a little unfair to say but Barnes showed absolutely nothing. The midfield of James and King was never going to create anything, and Silva didn't know where he was supposed to be and was anonymous. Dragovic and Amartey were the pick of the defence. Benalouane made some good challenges but his positioning and use of the ball are just woeful. Gray never seemed to find the space he normally has and was crowded out by a hardworking Fleetwood midfield. As for Slimani, what can we say? Yes, he had no service of any note and no support until Okazaki came on, but resorted to his customary habit of committing silly fouls all over the place that relieved pressure on the opposition.
I do think the pitch and home advantage played an important factor in the result, but that theory will only be proven if we can beat them comfortably in the replay.
