*** City v Juve - Official Match Thread ***

[zabbadabbado]

We are woeful in the Champions League. We start games like we are playing in slow motion, no urgency. Juventus came to defend for a point. We allowed them to grow in to the game, and go away with a win, slow pass+pass+pass pedestrian football. all 10 outfield City players hoping their team mate will create something instead. Fucking awful. Our naivety in these games is becoming very irritating.

[Beefymcfc]

Can I just add that their second goal was fairly unstoppable. A lucky nick off Kolarov's arm that opened up the shot with a great finish.

It doesn't happen often like that and sometimes you just have to accept it.

[Nige]

Beefy, Kolarov should have headed the ball out.

Also for the 1st I think Mangala was confident due to being on the line and level with Vinnie, shame Kolarov played him on side then didn't move towards the cross to cover.

Those usual Kolarov issues aside, YaYa was always too deep and Nasri grinds the whole game to a halt when he should be driving toward. pellers is accountable for sorting both of these points, he failed.

[stevefromdonny]

Why do we have to play s9oooooooooo slow, too many pass pass pass sideward. backwards but not going forward. We need to.get at teams in the competition., Silva sterling Yaya was way off, backwards passes missed placed passes FFS juvenile just sat back and waited for us to go near their.. box and they took ball off us and in a couple of passes they was in our half. We played 20-30 passes and still near where we started SHOCKING

[DoomMerchant]

Can I just add that their second goal was fairly unstoppable. A lucky nick off Kolarov's arm that opened up the shot with a great finish.

It doesn't happen often like that and sometimes you just have to accept it.

While that's true, the first was comedic. And I'm not laughing. Sadly.

Cheers

[stevefromdonny]

Why do we have to play s9oooooooooo slow, too many pass pass pass sideward. backwards but not going forward. We need to.get at teams in the competition., Silva sterling Yaya was way off, backwards passes missed placed passes FFS juvenile just sat back and waited for us to go near their.. box and they took ball off us and in a couple of passes they was in our half. We played 20-30 passes and still near where we started SHOCKING

[sheblue]

Sivilla won 3-0 as well. A win in Germany is a must.

This has a feel of last season. Nativity may cost us and see us scrape through to a harder draw.

Personally I think we will still top the group but tonight leaves that nagging feeling that it could be the same as last season, or worse.

Seriously can you see us topping the group? At best Its the same old same old scrape second and get barca real bayern etc...
The whole approach looked lethargic slow and flat, it wasn't hard for juve at all.

[Beefymcfc]

Can I just add that their second goal was fairly unstoppable. A lucky nick off Kolarov's arm that opened up the shot with a great finish.

It doesn't happen often like that and sometimes you just have to accept it.

While that's true, the first was comedic. And I'm not laughing. Sadly.

Cheers

True. I seemed to have wiped that goal after a few sherberts, too busy listening to the PSV 2nd goal in the background.

[zuricity]

All three goals were dead lucky.

When you start Sterling ahead of de Bruyne. You need your head testing

[FA cup winners 2006]

The need to perform in the CL seems to be having a adverse effect on the team selection and the players.

There is no way Silva should have been playing today. It was clear he was not interested in tracking back and getting stuck (something which he always does and gets little praise for). Tonight he was letting people ghost past him and not putting in the effort to track back.

Our own players (kompany especially) keep talking shite before matches about how we are going to try and challenge for the CL. Based on the last 5 years, they should just shut the fuck up and say they are are only concentrating on the next very tough game and stop getting carried away with themselves.

In the CL we do not seem capable of putting in a professional performance, where we dictate and control a game, we seem aimless and unfamiliar as if players are more concerned with not making a mistake rather than playing the game to their strengths.

We had a number of chances to go 2 up and it was wasteful not taking any of them but once juve equalised it was clear this was a game we were not going to win and maybe even lose.

[Beefymcfc]

All three goals were dead lucky.

When you start Sterling ahead of de Bruyne. You need your head testing

Eh?

While he settles in I could understand any player other than Sterling to be mentioned.

I usually get you but on this I just think you're too close to the Gluhwein.

You fruit-bat!

[PrezIke]

All three goals were dead lucky.

When you start Sterling ahead of de Bruyne. You need your head testing

Maybe Silva should have been the one to sit for KDB. Nasri too, but Sterling? Not so sure.

The injuries we get at the worst time always ruin us and then Pellegrini's loyalty or whatever ideas he has ends up making matters worse.

I know, very hard to bench Silva, but he did not look himself. Sterling seemed like he was a bit off as well.

[Original Dub]

All three goals were dead lucky.

When you start Sterling ahead of de Bruyne. You need your head testing

Are you on a wind up?
You think sterling is a bench warmer? ?

[PrezIke]

Can I just add that their second goal was fairly unstoppable. A lucky nick off Kolarov's arm that opened up the shot with a great finish.

It doesn't happen often like that and sometimes you just have to accept it.

While that's true, the first was comedic. And I'm not laughing. Sadly.

Cheers

True. I seemed to have wiped that goal after a few sherberts, too busy listening to the PSV 2nd goal in the background.

You both think? I have to rewatch then, because Pogba's delivery seemed quite amazing.

[City64]

Just got back from the game . We had the match sewn up and then switched off against a very average Juventus team . We are simply shite in this competition for some bizarre reason ????

ps , loads of scuffles of in CB 1 , how the fuck did all those Juve fans get tickets for this area , went off proper style near me and all the Juve fans eventually got thrown out !

[getdressedmctavish]

Fair amount of nonsense on here about tactics, and plenty on the tele from "they don't like it up em" Gerrard, hopedully the next Liverpool manager.. The tactics were fine. In the past we have been gung ho and been picked off. We played cautiously but created enough chances to win. We missed our easy ones. They took their hard ones. That can happen v teams of the quality of Juve. It can happen in football. Bony has no touch at the moment but we have seen him be clinical for Swansea. The problem is in his head. Sterling arrives in front of the goalie from the left often. But he only has one trick and that is not well executed, invariably failing to open his body enough. Goalies know what he is going to do so he needs to vary it.If there was a worry it was that Otomendi looked fucking awful. But as a team we did OK and on another day we would have won. There are six games. Be cool.

[PeterParker]

I think actually the Premier League is the problem.

Except Chelsea, does anyone remember when other team did something in the last 4 years? The problem is that the league has a +1 tempo from the other big leagues. I saw Real going to Espanyol and winning 6-0. while if you go to Watford, you are in for a hard and long game.

While the other leagues became weaker and weaker, the teams from Spain, Germany, Italy and France perform better in Europe because many of them are more fresh than any other English team. There is no way that this team that we have would play like this in Europe, if the other leagues were similiar as ours. There is quite a different tempo and type of football played in England and we and lately, the other teams that play in the Champions League, have huge problems getting used to it.

Let's be honest here, this is not about our team or that we might have some issue regarding our mentality, but all comes down to the ability get a reaction to this.

A simple example is Maureen. A UCL specialist, but never managed to do anything great in his two contracts with Chelsea.

[City64]

Fair amount of nonsense on here about tactics, and plenty on the tele from "they don't like it up em" Gerrard, hopedully the next Liverpool manager.. The tactics were fine. In the past we have been gung ho and been picked off. We played cautiously but created enough chances to win. We missed our easy ones. They took their hard ones. That can happen v teams of the quality of Juve. It can happen in football. Bony has no touch at the moment but we have seen him be clinical for Swansea. The problem is in his head. Sterling arrives in front of the goalie from the left often. But he only has one trick and that is not well executed, invariably failing to open his body enough. Goalies know what he is going to do so he needs to vary it.If there was a worry it was that Otomendi looked fucking awful. But as a team we did OK and on another day we would have won. There are six games. Be cool.

Fair comment . We simply didn't take our chances against a bang average Juventus side , Bony had a mare and looks short of confidence .

[MilnersJaw]

I thought silva looked great, especially in the first half. No idea why nasri is starting ahead of Kevin, he is not 100%? Not sure why an inform limp any was taken off. Oh well.

Some 'city fan' was trying to tell me that shrek is better than Sergio.

[zuricity]

All three goals were dead lucky.

When you start Sterling ahead of de Bruyne. You need your head testing

Are you on a wind up?
You think sterling is a bench warmer? ?

No ,i think de Bruyne is the best option. Light years ahead of Sterling . Pellegrini fucked up there tonight.

Big games .English players bottle it. For the first goal why was joe rooted to the line ? He had time to get to the cross.