The Ongoing Serie A, La Liga, All English Football, Champions League Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 55

[Iceman]

Fernandes scores after a stupid skip lol. 1-1.

 

[BlackFox]

Not sure how we are back in this one, probably the soft pen helps, haha, but it was the only way we were to be honest. City still the better side.

 

[Iceman]

Penalty to United.

1-1 - Bruno after Grealish played netball in his own area.

Now some crowd trouble as City fans throw things on the pitch at United players, shocking scenes from them.

We should be past this by now. Whoever threw it should be identified and marched straight to jail.

 

[Iceman]

Looked like City could have a pen there from Fred’s challenge.

 

[BlackFox]

1-1 at HT. Lucky to be going in level but after that start you take it.

Need to improve a lot second half though, City probably should be out of sight and will be frustrated its not over yet.

 

[Iceman]

That goal by Gundogan was apparently the fastest ever in FA Cup final history. Beautiful technique.

 

[Zantera]

Very close game in the first half I would say. City has a lot of the ball but aren't creating much at all, neither are we but we also feel more direct the few times we have gone forward. After that early goal (which was pure class) it's good to have 1-1 at HT. Worst case scenario this would have been one of those games were City get an early lead and then just coast.

Anything can happen in the second half so we just have to dig in, keep Haaland and KDB from doing much and hope we get a lucky goal, or get it to pens and win that way.

Really annoyed by Grealish though, he's one of those players you can't like as an opposing fan. Just dives all the time and tries to act like a big shot. That dive that gave AWB a yellow card was embarrassing. I'm sure City players will love him though.

 

[Iceman]

1-1 at HT. Lucky to be going in level but after that start you take it.

Need to improve a lot second half though, City probably should be out of sight and will be frustrated its not over yet.

City haven’t had the run of the green today so far and that might frustrate them, probably Utd’s best chance if they can take advantage. Otherwise City look superior as expected, Utd need to keep it at least level till late in second half and then they have a chance.

 

[Iceman]

Very close game in the first half I would say. City has a lot of the ball but aren't creating much at all, neither are we but we also feel more direct the few times we have gone forward. After that early goal (which was pure class) it's good to have 1-1 at HT. Worst case scenario this would have been one of those games were City get an early lead and then just coast.

Anything can happen in the second half so we just have to dig in, keep Haaland and KDB from doing much and hope we get a lucky goal, or get it to pens and win that way.

Really annoyed by Grealish though, he's one of those players you can't like as an opposing fan. Just dives all the time and tries to act like a big shot. That dive that gave AWB a yellow card was embarrassing. I'm sure City players will love him though.

I reckon Utd’s chances of winning have gone up a fair bit (to around 25%) by making it to half time. The less time left while it stays level the more chance they have.

 

[BlackFox]

2-1 City - Gundogan again, bit of a shinner from range but De Gea is having a mare and it goes in.

 

[Iceman]

There’s that boy Gundogan again, turning into a world -beater this season. 2-1.

 

[BlackFox]

There’s that boy Gundogan again, turning into a world -beater this season. 2-1.

You would have thought after the first goal we might consider marking him at set pieces but even though he didnt hit this one so well he had acres of space. We really miss Martinez at the back.

 

[Iceman]

You would have thought after the first goal we might consider marking him at set pieces but even though he didnt hit this one so well he had acres of space. We really miss Martinez at the back.

Utd’s season lost its momentum when Martinez was injured unfortunately.

 

[Iceman]

Gundogan’s potential hat-trick ruled out by the flag.

 

[Iceman]

Foden on for KDB. Weghorst also coming on.

 

[Iceman]

McTominay on for Lindelof, quite aggressive as needed at this point. Garnacho has been decent since coming on.

 

[BlackFox]

City win the cup 2-1, they have been the better side to be fair in the game, we never really looked like getting back into after the first goal so to give away two sloppy goals at the start of each half was poor but City deserved it to be fair overall.

End of the season thank goodness and we need to re-stock and make the correct changes in the summer to try and compete with this City side but we are still a bit off them in terms of squad depth but who isnt?

See you all in August.

 

[Iceman]

All over, City win the cup. Congrats to City on doing the double and leg 2 of a potential treble. At least it was a proper match and not a walkover.

 

[Zantera]

To find some positivity today, City looked pretty dire and didn't really create much at all. Haaland and KDB invisible for pretty much 90 minutes. But Gundogan had the game of his life and we struggle to get goals, so I think we put up a good battle but ultimately just didn't have enough to get the 2-2. I mean when your best options to get a goal on the bench are Weghorst and Mctominay and City has a bench that is better than the starting XI of 19 other PL teams, that's the gap right there.

 

[Iceman]

City win the cup 2-1, they have been the better side to be fair in the game, we never really looked like getting back into after the first goal so to give away two sloppy goals at the start of each half was poor but City deserved it to be fair overall.

End of the season thank goodness and we need to re-stock and make the correct changes in the summer to try and compete with this City side but we are still a bit off them in terms of squad depth but who isnt?

See you all in August.

Doing well in the CL and qualifying for it again should be the initial target. If you can pick up a cup too, great. I expect ETH to make sensible changes over summer.

 

[Iceman]

To find some positivity today, City looked pretty dire and didn't really create much at all. Haaland and KDB invisible for pretty much 90 minutes. But Gundogan had the game of his life and we struggle to get goals, so I think we put up a good battle but ultimately just didn't have enough to get the 2-2. I mean when your best options to get a goal on the bench are Weghorst and Mctominay and City has a bench that is better than the starting XI of 19 other PL teams, that's the gap right there.

Like against Madrid, if Haaland and KDB aren’t doing it then Rodri or Bernardo do it. And if it hadn’t been them then Gundogan or Grealish. Then Foden off the bench lol. Yeah, good point. When you’re looking to win a game and bring on Weghorst and McTominay how can you compete with the best squad in the world right now.

 

[Iceman]

Was watching the ceremony. Kalvin Phillips picking up another medal for doing F all lol.

 

[Hunter Rider]

The better team won over the course of the 90 minutes, but it wasn't like City peppered us and this United team didn't crumble, towards the end we were actually applying pressure and had a couple of great chances to the point Ortega started time wasting, but it wasn't to be.

I think when you look at midfield Fred and Eriksen worked hard but the former doesn't protect the ball well enough and Eriksen doesn't have the engine or mobility against what City have in there, and then you look at the bench, we brought on 19 year old, a striker on loan from Burnley who's scored 1 goal and McTominay, they had Foden and Laporte and still had Alvarez as an option.

I thought Shaw had a really good game and the defence as a whole kept Haaland and Grealish quiet, and Garnacho was excellent when he came on, he had City on the back foot and looked the one that might make something happen.

Ten Hag has done an excellent job but he needs huge backing in the summer if we are to really try and compete, I'm not a big fan of buying Kane but if it's true that ETH wants him and Hojlund then I can't argue with that, we need a full revamp of our striker options. I have to be honest, I have no idea why he wants Mount, yes he presses well, works hard and has a goal in him but he's not press resistant, he's technically average, his long passing is poor and he's not a great dribbler to drive the ball out, I don't see how he's a suitable alternative to Bellingham or De Jong, but hopefully if it has to happen we can swap him for Maguire who might suit Poch's back 3 system.
We'd still need another midfielder.

 

[Iceman]

The better team won over the course of the 90 minutes, but it wasn't like City peppered us and this United team didn't crumble, towards the end we were actually applying pressure and had a couple of great chances to the point Ortega started time wasting, but it wasn't to be.

I think when you look at midfield Fred and Eriksen worked hard but the former doesn't protect the ball well enough and Eriksen doesn't have the engine or mobility against what City have in there, and then you look at the bench, we brought on 19 year old, a striker on loan from Burnley who's scored 1 goal and McTominay, they had Foden and Laporte and still had Alvarez as an option.

I thought Shaw had a really good game and the defence as a whole kept Haaland and Grealish quiet, and Garnacho was excellent when he came on, he had City on the back foot and looked the one that might make something happen.

Ten Hag has done an excellent job but he needs huge backing in the summer if we are to really try and compete, I'm not a big fan of buying Kane but if it's true that ETH wants him and Hojlund then I can't argue with that, we need a full revamp of our striker options. I have to be honest, I have no idea why he wants Mount, yes he presses well, works hard and has a goal in him but he's not press resistant, he's technically average, his long passing is poor and he's not a great dribbler to drive the ball out, I don't see how he's a suitable alternative to Bellingham or De Jong, but hopefully if it has to happen we can swap him for Maguire who might suit Poch's back 3 system.
We'd still need another midfielder.

I also can’t see how Mount can be a priority. Kane though I think is always going to be expensive being England’s leading man and also not young anymore. Can’t compare the value to Haaland, but he’s also one of the most consistent PL strikers long term and managing to do it from within a Spurs team. I think he’d be getting a bunch of goals at Utd from early on and would improve you a lot at least for a couple of years before we see how much he gets affected by ageing.

 

[Zantera]

I think Mount is being pushed because he's had a lot of interest, Chelsea is looking to off load players and we do need good midfielders. It feels like a bit of a perfect storm where we probably could push that deal over the line quite early in the window.

Kane is not happening and if he does end up going I think Madrid is the only option that could come out of left field. No way Levy is gonna sell him to us. He would rather keep him and let him go on a free next year. And even if we have our eyes set on Kane, that is the definition of a transfer that would go down to the wire on a deadline day. It just doesn't make sense to push that first because then we wouldn't get any deals over the line before the season starts.

Realistically we do need to off load some dead weight and we need to get some early signings in. I feel like the earlier we drop the Kane ball the better it will be for our next season. Get Hojlund and get another good striker (i know there's not that many of them) and get Maguire out, get a mobile defender, get some quality in midfield.