We have a very inexperienced defence and look like a side with a very inexperienced defence. Got into the game a bit but Son and Chadli need to show a lot more energy, Carroll and Trippier the only players having good games so far.
Lucky they are not even fielding at least half of their usual senior side. Janssen is at least doing his Keane "pointy" impersonation to the MF.
HT changes, and you immediately see the squad players who have been playing the Pochettino MF pressing game.
And that's the problem with playing Italian teams when cards don't mean anything. Impossible to turn off the cynicism.
Second half had some good things from Edwardes, Amos & Winks and some of the more established. We have quite a few exciting young players.
Much better second half. Lamela showed real maturity and ran things for us. Couldn't get the second goal but Edwards, Winks and Onomah all looked lively. Pleased with that. A bit worried about what Atletico are going to do to us as presumably it will be largely the same back 4.
2-1. You saw both ends of the spectrum from the kids. The willingness to put in a shift when they get a chance, and the inexperience that youth entails.
Most of our youngsters look like decent attacking prospects, but we look light at the back, even considering our absences. Makes you wonder why we're signing a winger when we've got kids like those waiting for a chance. They might benefit from a loan or two, I guess, but I think that we've got gaps elsewhere that need filling. I'm sure that this sort of game is good for these inexperienced players, but I can't shake the feeling that our pre-season's a shambles, again. The traveling's excessive, our players aren't getting enough game time and most of them have had a very short break. We took ages to get going in the last campaign and then ran out of steam at the end. I'd prefer not to see a repeat.
