Thoughts; Tremmel - Solid enough Rangel - Did better than the first leg Chico - couple of basic errors Amat - Awful, hope it's a one off....not strong in the tackle, didn't appear strong going shoulder to shoulder, losing his man, not being goal side of his man for the headed goal (!)....criminal Ben - Some good things, some errors....100% effort though Leon - below his usual standings (Sending off was a joke, as was Chico's booking just prior to this...I believe Leon was seeking an explanation from the ref before tapping the ball) JDG - Really bad, off the pace, wanted too much time, didn't get forward, squandered possession Pablo H - Was behind most of our counter attacking opportunities, the playmaker. Michu - Did an excellent job, I felt Donnelly should have cut back to him instead of crossing to Pozuelo at the back post....if he had Michu would have scored. Also in the first half Donnelly shot when he should have returned a pass to Michu....again, he would have scored. Some excellent 1 touch passing between Michu and Pozuelo. Pozuelo - on the end of most of the counter attacking. We finally have a player that can dribble at pace, beat people (sometimes 2 or 3 times) and ride rough challenges. Will not be shaken off the ball. Sees the attacking opportunities, makes great runs, usually plays the right pass and (as we have seen in previous games) can finish calmly. We have an absolute gem here. Is a competitive little ****er also, joke booking from the referee again. Donnelly - Pretty good for a debut. Had a perfectly good goal disallowed, made some excellent runs and took up some good positions. Bit nervous, if he was more relaxed perhaps he would have shot instead of looking for team mates or selected a better pass. Encouraging. Subs Ki - Excellent, neat and tidy....intelligent passes. Stood up to some rough challenges. Lamah - Pretty good, tidy finish....sometimes he needs to try and go past his man more, especially when in or on the edge of the opposition's box Canas - Din't have enough time to get into it but is clearly a good player Overall Lesson in refereeing away in Europe, a hostile crowd, dirty unsporting tactics used on the continent (diving every time they got into our penalty area....playing the ref, he was working for them come the last quarter of an hour). As Laudrup said, a lesson in what can happen if you squander good positions by not playing the correct final ball or shoot properly (what was Hernandez doing in the 6 yard box?!? trying to chip the keeper?!? ****ing leather it in the corner FFS). Most worrying was the poor defending, basic errors. Sloppy and indicates a lack of focus.
Saw the sending off from a different TV angle this morning Terror. Leon kicked the ball away right in front of the ref - he had no option but to give him a second yellow.
Fair enough. Does anyone else think the Donnelly goal was disallowed because Ki was perceived to have had his foot to high when he flicked it over the defender's head? I don't think that was a good decision if it was for the high foot. Couldn't see anything else he could have given it for though.
