I like the shape we are keeping.
Big John Hartson on Twitter:
āWe marked zones under Martin OāNeill, difference was when it came into your zone you made damn sure you headed it out!!ā
Perea looks quite uncomfortable at right back. Could be a chink in the Atletico line-up.
Mulgrew just about made it across there.
Agreed on our shape being good but surprised how flat-footed weāve been around the back. Any bit of movement of the ball looks like causing the back four problems.
Lazy lazy defending from Sammy. First of all he went for an interception instead of tracking the runner then had loads of time to get goalside of Perea and just dived it recklessly instead of putting in 5 hard yards.
Need to hold onto the ball here. Starting to turn it over cheaply now.
Just about to say the same. Mark Wilson gave it away poorly after we had worked hard to win it back a few minutes ago. Weāre letting them have it and dropping off which is fine and gives us a chance to regroup but when weāre happy to let them have it for spells we need to be careful when we do get it.
Ah thatās awful from Samaras. Either take on Perea or check inside and keep it. Pushed it ahead, went after it half-heartedly and gave away a stupid and obvious foul. Thatās the exact opposite of why heās in the team.
Jos Hooiveld is watching the game in a bookies. :lol:
He just posted a picture on Twitter.
Weāve lost our way now. Need to re-exert some control on the game and retain possession for a little while.
Young Forrest is putting in a good shift.
That wasnāt a bad half considering the shocking start.
Need to a be more ambitious when we have the ball. Not even in terms of taking risk but just in asking them questions by moving our midfielders about. Weāre still lining up with 3 across the middle which is perfect defensively but you need to get some depth on it when we have it so you can get between their lines, work triangles, support Hooper, offer angles to the wingers etc.
Ki and Kayal are both a bit quiet. Would like to see Kayal taking more defensive responsibility - without abandoning the shape - and Ki wonāt be able to pass it over their heads from the halfway line so he needs to drift into better areas and link up with the wide players. Ledley has been a bit better I think.
Sammy has been frustrating - offering a good outlet and he is getting on the ball reasonably frequently but heās too careless with it and is looking after himself when tracking back. Not the worst performance ever but he could be more enthusiastic in his defending and a bit more careful attacking.
Impressed with Hooper and Forrest from an attacking sense. Hooper is choosing when to work and when to let them have it and itās working well. Should probably have scored but he does still look sharp and looks like heās troubling them. Forrest has passed the ball quite well and his pace has been useful. Looks our most dangerous player.
Defensively we were too hesitant for the goal and generally early on - that long diagonal that nearly caught us out a couple of minutes later was another example. Mulgrew and K Wilson are defensing quite well I think. Theyāve made a couple of good clearances. Loovens was shaky at the start (and between he and Ledley they take the blame for the goal) but heās got better as it went on. Mark Wilson has been typically enthusiastic but wasteful.
Obviously the early concession was yet again disastrous. But I thought we played well for 25 minutes after that. Iām very disappointed with our last twenty minutes though. Brian Little is right in that weāre not being brave enough on the ball - thereās a lack of movement and incision. And weāre not even keeping it without hurting them. Weāre giving it away cheaply and giving them easy possession in our half. We need to be much better than this.
Iām reasonably satisfied with that half, I sense that Atletico could up their game without any real bother if they need to though. Samaras has been frustrating but he looks like he has the beating of Perea if he knuckles down. I donāt think we have enough of the ball for Commons to be effective, he also lacks the pace to trouble Perea. The only real option is Bangura for Hooper, but Hooper has been working hard and showing intelligence in his movement, touch has been lacking however.
Yeah agreed with that. As I said above we need movement in midfield to keep the ball better and ask more questions of them.
I presume Bangura will get 15 minutes or so at least to give Hooper a break. I think Perea is the quicker of the two fullbacks so would fancy Commons drifting off him more than taking him on outside.
Why are we reliant on Ledley there tracking that run through the middle? Obviously he should be covering there but our centre backs need to be in that area too.
Better by Ki and Kayal. Ki with a shot and some runs forward and Kayal getting some good tackles in and driving forward.
This is much better. Ki and Kayal really getting involved.
What sort of crap pass from Wilson was that? Standing right back with Forrest moving in front (albeit the ball might not have been on) and he hits a skimmy scuffy pass inside to Hooperās knees where heās double-marked.
Slow start to this half from Celtic but good relieving spell there and even a bit of possession in their half for a couple of minutes.
Jesus, the pass was on there for Kayal and he didnāt play it early enough.