False dawns and game management
After our previous two positive results, I asked if we’d turned a corner. Personally I wasn’t convinced. Everton are shockingly bad and everything went our way against Newcastle. We scored two good goals but still needed a MOTM display from Alisson to get the 3 points. I tried to think philosophically about it, in as much as when you’re 2-0 up and playing ten men it’s very much a case of do we stick or twist but I was aware that we never really dominated, even against 10 men. Those fears were realised last night.
Ancelotti famously said last year that we’re predictable. Well what good team isn’t? You know what they’re going to do, can you stop it is the question. Real Madrid are predictable. They’re the best counterattacking team out there, so to go 2-0 up early you should arguably then be able to nullify their biggest threat. The complete lack of game management was there for all to see though, why we didn’t drop deeper and force them to come on to us, leaving them open for our own counters, I’ll never know. No game management whatsoever and if anything, we were lucky to go in at halftime level.
Speaking of never learning… We’ve played Real Madrid a number of times in recent seasons and lost every game. If those games have taught us anything it’s that Trent can’t handle Vinicius. He’s had him on toast every time we’ve played them and last night was no different. Personally I would play Gomez at RB against him with his added pace and physicality, plus the fact he’s not had a good game at CB all season but no, we continue with the same tactics and Vinicius once more has a field day.
Their opening goal was a good finish but how he gets his shot away when we’ve three players in front of him I don’t know and he breezed past Hendo far too easily. It was so obvious what he was about to do, yet we seem unable to prevent it.
Their second was hugely frustrating. Having been gifted our own second goal from a Courtois howler, for Alisson to return the favour left me with my head in my hands. For as good as Alisson is, he has too many of these moments a season for my liking. I really don’t know what he was trying to do as the pass he attempted wasn’t even on. From there, things got worse and we’d have been behind at halftime, if not for a goal saving tackle from Robbo.
After halftime I expected us to start the second half aggressively, the way we did the first but the lads seemingly never came back out from the dressing room. Within minutes of the restart, Gomez gives away a needless free kick on the edge of the box and they score. In fact the more times you watch that goal, the worse it gets. Since when do you line up for any set piece with four players in a straight line in front of the keeper, marking nobody? Gakpo then just watches Militao nod the ball into the net from 6 yards out. It was painful to watch and from that moment, we simply capitulated.
Madrid grew in confidence and were passing the ball around us with ease. In recent years, teams have never tried to play through us. Even Madrid in previous games against us have played long diagonals over the top, rather than try and play through our counter press. Now it’s a case of what counter press? Simple one-twos are all it takes to play through us now, the lack of aggression in our pressing and tackling is painful to watch and their fifth goal just summed our season up. A touch like a trampoline from Fabinho loses possession in the middle of the pitch and the 37 year old Luka Modric runs in a straight line, unchallenged right through the heart of our midfield before setting up Benzema to, in all likelihood, put the tie to bed with a game to spare.
If we’re looking for positives, it’s slim pickings. We did start well and our first goal was very well worked and taken. Nunez is growing in confidence and having a bigger impact on games and Salah looked lively until Alaba went off. After that, he barely got another kick.
Bajcetic gave the ball away a few times but I didn’t think he looked overawed or out of place on the night. He’ll have learned a lot from that game and I thought the fact he stayed on in favour of more senior players when Klopp rang the changes was telling.
This most painful of seasons continues then and serious questions are now being asked of the squad. Fabinho looks finished at 29, I couldn’t tel you the last time Gomez had a good game, Trent looks totally disinterested and huffy for parts of pretty much every game, Hendo runs like a cart horse now, Van Dijk looks a shadow of himself… I could go on and on. Even players signed for the future, Gakpo is a passenger who’s constantly played out of position and as much as I have faith that Nunez will be a big player for us in time, you don’t expect an £85 million player to need as much work on their game as he does.
Love them or loathe them, I don’t think anyone can argue now that FSG’s frustratingly frugal approach to transfers has finally come home to roost. We’ve had a number of successful years where we’ve all but stood still and now we’re facing a major rebuild in a year that’s looking increasingly like not having the benefit of Champions league income and where we’re going to have to convince players that would have been desperate to join a season or two ago, that we’re not in irreversible decline now and that this season is an anomaly. The more shambolic performances we put in, the harder it is to make that argument believable.
Anyway, that’s about as much as I can bear to write at the moment. These post match articles have been painful this season and this is perhaps the most painful of the lot, as the evening started so well, only to end in utter capitulation.
Can we bounce back against Palace? Who knows. We’re as likely to lose 3-0 as win on current form but there’s nothing for it but to try and at least keep some hope in our hearts as we limp towards the end of the season. Roll on the summer is all I’ve got to say. Walk on!
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