Post Match Reaction - Round 3

[Nick@ManCity]

Missing Sheets
Inter - No Manager (Random)

Errors

Frankfurt - Sheet unreadable (Check PMs) - Random run
Lazio - Sheet still had fio in it & B_Iglesias not in roster

[Niall]

Borussia Dortmund 0 - 2 Inter Milan

Another even game stats-wise where we fail to get anything from a home game, where we began the game with TA, it doesn't help matters when we pick up yet another three-game injury after just 22 minutes and another red card late on. Maybe had we kept 11 players on the pitch we may have gotten something from the game, but who knows?

We will keep plugging away even though the games won't be getting easier in this league, so I'm hoping our luck will change at some point soon, if it doesn't, we will likely be in the conference next season.

[JasonH@Wolfsburg]

Leverkusen 0-2 Monaco

Tactical advantage, home advantage, shit in a sandwich

Hopton: “We tried out best, but yet again it wasn’t good enough. Hradrecky was a rock and we came to battle with scissors.

John is doing a fantastic job with Monaco and they have taken home a kind of underserved 3 points, but is what it is. We can’t seem to grab a break, but will keep plodding on”

[Marshy@Atletico]

Valencia 1 Atletico Madrid 1

GG Matt.

It felt like we were in control of this one disallowed goal excluded until the latter exchanges.
Mbabu back from injury puts Atletico into a 24th minute goal hammered a Maximin cross into the net.
Valencia substitutes changed the game on 70 minutes.
A poor Frimpong back pass allowed Gnabry to run through and score the leveler. 1-1
Valencia pushed for the winner at the end of the game but could not grab the winner.

Manager Simon Marsh commented "Overall a point appears a fair draw on reflection. 7 points from 9 is a good start to the season for us but there is more work to be done. We still haven't been successful in the transfer marker recently. We have a few players not firing this season so far and there is more to come from Sessegnon, Fati, Maximin and Vinicious Jnr. If these guys can hit form then hopefully we can stabilise somewhere in the top eight of the table.

[Drum@Villa]

Lazio 2-1 Lyon.

game 3 and this one should (by the stats) have been more comfortable, 21 shots, 11 on target, and 64% football,

Osimhen adds to his personal tally with a brace.

have moved up in the table,

Lyon (as expected) never gave in, Lozano proved to be a thorn in lazio, but we managed to get there.

this game was no gimme but we set up in a great way, matched up C and we stayed there when we scored. But Lyon went to the A we hoped for…. That failed as they scored.

gg jas, keep on working bud.

[Guest]

Frankfurt 0-1 Celtic

"First of all, it is an unreal feeling to get my first EFL win as caretaker. It is so important that we pick up points as we are relegation favourites. Having said that, it was truly surprising to face a defensive Frankfurt side, who, apart from the forward line, are a superior side to us. We are happy to have got our goal through Almiron, and are slightly concerned that Rashford is still yet to score this season but he is working hard. GG Frankfurt, all the best".

[Guest]

Sevilla 1 - 3 Juventus

3 games, 3 defeats, 2nd in a row to a Banks!

In truth on paper we did not expect anything from this one, but don't want "difficult 2nd season syndrome" to kick in ..

Expecting the 514 tactic, we did toy with a 352 formation given that Garcia hasnt been performing in defence anyway, but given 3 at the back doesnt seem to work in my experience, we opted for 451 - to outnumber them in midfield with Nunez as an AM.

It started so well with a 1st min lob from him, but within 7 mins they were level ..

Who knows what would have happened if Partey had not been sent off on the half hour mark .. losing our best midfielder would always make it an uphill struggle and we conceded within minutes ...

To be fair we stayed in it and had a few chances before tiredness crept in and we conceded a 3rd with 10 or so to play ...

No need to panic yet .. and at least Partey only out for one game - but shame its the DPT he will miss ..

Good game Andy!

[JB@Norwich]

Roma 4 (four) - 0 Bayern
A furious Jon Banks gave his post match comment

"We have matched them for most of the game and then collapsed. A few of the lads in there need to take a LONG HARD look at themselves. The antics of the Roma manager at the end is up there with some of the worst things I have seen as a manager. The most cringe display in many a moon. I hope he gets food poisoning from his crappy pasta tonight. He wont be welcome in my office in the return fixture"

[Derek]

Roma 4 0 Munich

Facing the usual C tactic from Banks Senior Roma decided to mix it up by taking a passing approach. After 60 minutes of stalemate (despite plenty of Roma pressure) we switched to the old faithfull all out attack and were quickly rewarded with 2 goals.

Banks stood speechless on the sidelines offering his side no guidance on how to respond so the poor Munich players kept plugging away at the same failing counter attacking approach which easily led to another two Roma goals.

In other news Madrid's tactical failings gifted title favourites PSG an easy 3 points and a glut of goals.

Next game is away to Man City in the Champions League and can someone let Nick know we are ready for him.

gg JB

[Steve@Chelsea]

PSG 4-0 Real Madrid
Our intention is clear this season. We're going to get after teams no matter who they are. In this one we were unlucky as we outshot PSG 25-21, and their keeper made 16 saves to our 11 who also let in 4. So the difference was the luck of the keepers in this one. It wasn't our day, but it was a bit of a free hit, so to speak anyway as we were 3 points in front of PSG prior to the game so went for it.

[Gary@Millwall]

Sporting Lisbon 3 Rangers 2

Sporting Lisbon's great start to the season continue in the Sunday night game at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

When the line ups were announced there was some confusion and concern in the home stands as Matteo Politano was dropped to the bench with Juan Mata getting his first start for the club in a surprising 3-2-3-1-1 European formation and tactic. The scouts had obviously done their research expecting Aaron Burrows Rangers to stick to their most used formation so far this season 5-3-2 Counter.

Mr Burrows is a great manager and threw past setups out the window opting for 5-3-2 European tactic instead so it would be interesting to see how the two sides would match up in this important game with both sides having a 100% record after two games.

In the 17th minute Robert Lewandowski rose high and flicked a header to the far post to give Sporting Lisbon the lead with his 3rd goal of the season.

Both sides matched tactics again and tweaked their formations as Sporting Lisbon tried to extend or hold their lead while Rangers were trying to get back into the game.

Sporting Lisbon had the better of the remaining first half but could not get that 2nd goal and the half ended 1-0.

Straight from 2nd half kick off Juan Mata raced into the Rangers area and lobbed the out rushing Rangers keeper to make it 2-0.

This should have been enough to see the game out but the fragility of the Sporting Lisbon defence reared it's ugly head once more as in the 54th minute Torres got on the end of a great Lundstram pass to half the deficit. The Rangers fans did not get a chance to catch their breath as two minutes later Lisbon transfer target Azpiliceuta found Hlozek who lobbed the out rushing Lopes to pull the game level.

In season past Sporting Lisbon would usually collapse in these circumstances but their seems to be a steely resolve from the team that Windebank has put together for FFO2.

In the 60th minute Matteo Politano replaced the impressive Mata who levelled up his shooting with the goal earlier in the game as Windebank tried to add more fire power to his side.

This worked a treat in the 69th minute when Eden Hazard found the midfield general Casemiro with a long pass that the powerhouse Casemiro hit with power and precision into the net from 30 yards to restore Sporting Lisbon's lead.

Rangers could not get back in the game and the final whistle went to the delight of the Sporting Lisbon supporters who now find themselves in 2nd place behind Barcelona on goal difference and the only two sides with a 100% League record after three games

Gary Windebank Post Match Comments

Another big performance from the lads today and a fantastic win against a great manager and very good side. If I have one concern it is our inability to hold onto a lead which makes the game more nervy than it needs to be. We seem to switch off for periods in the game and it is something we need to work on during training.

However I cannot complain about the result we on the balance of play we actually deserved. We controlled the game with 58% possession and created 12 chances to their 7. To get 9 shots on target is a good return and Rangers managed 4 shots on target.

There is a long way to go but I have to say I am currently very impressed with my team and am hopeful this form can continue for at least the rest of this week.

Good game Aaron

[Johnboy]

Bayer Leverkusen 0 - Monaco 2

Historically I've always struggled to get results against Wolfsburg and Jason so I was expecting the worst from todays game. We made a couple of minor changes from the team that won last time out but retained the same starting eleven.

We gave up a lot of the possession due to Leverkusen's better midfield but clinical finishing from Aubameyang and man of the match Jovetic, coupled with Hradecky being equal to everything that Leverkusen could throw at him saw us come away with a slightly fortuitous 2-0 victory which pushes us into the top half of the table.

Good game Jason, good luck for the rest of the season and in your hunt for the Inter job.

[AB@Juventus]

Sevilla 1 - 3 Juventus

A good win away from home against a team more than capable of beating us. I wasn't sure how to set up for this one so we went all out attack and it seems that Sevilla had a similar idea, one that instantly paid off with another first minute goal against us.

We both stuck with the attacking approach and 7 minutes later, we were level through Y_Adli.

The game changed in our favour on 28 minutes as T_Partey was shown a second yellow card and soon after, Y_Adli put us ahead with his second of the game.

Sevilla switched between E & A and we'd changed to P and moving into the second half and with time ticking away, the win and the points were wrapped up by defender J_Gvardiol and we saw out the win.

Statistically we were much the better team, it might have been closer had Sevilla remained at 11 players but we'll never know now.

Frustrated that we scored 3 and none of our attacking players scored, I hope this isn't going to be a regular occurance.

Good game Stew

[Livi@Liverpool]

Barcelona 3 Napoli 0

Napoli had the misfortune to be without their first choice keeper and so we expected a defensive approach from them. Thankfully it didn't take us long to break them down and it really was as one sided a contest as you'll see but in fairness to their lowly rated back up GK he produced numerous saves to keep the score line respectable.

Happy enough with the 3 points and to maintain our perfect start ahead of a tough trip to the Bernabeu on Thursday. Steve and his boys will be highly motivated to put one over on us there's no doubt about that.

Champions League action first tomorrow though and we look forward to testing ourselves on the road against an excellent Man Utd side.

[cmackem]

Barcelona 3 Napoli

Went for damage limitation in this one with the 13 rated keeper in goal. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but certainly not helping with the player development at the moment.

I think our season will start again in Round 5 when I get my keeper back! Well played Livi.