Klaus wrote:
banduan wrote:
whenever we play well in attack we switch off at the back. It's like we can't ever do both. Though we can certainly switch off both.
I'm still not sure what happened on that counter. How did we only have two defenders and two midfielders left against six Spurs players?
It's been so annoying. I been watching the game constantly thinking "ok, we seem to have more players in the attack" but they line up in a straight bank of 4 at the 18 yard line with the fullbacks wide and Xhaka/Partey on the halfway line. The middle is completely empty.
Doesn't matter if we are pushing a lot of people forward (which we did) if no one is dropping into the middle to provide a passing option between the lines. I think there was only a couple moments where Saka dropped in to get the ball and turn and feed into Tierney but other than that dead zone. This leaves us with Xhaka/Partey (who got injured) and the CBs if we lose the ball.
You need those staggered positions in the middle third to provide yourself with passing options as well as to prevent the opposition from passing directly through the middle. Hojberg made a number of straight passes down our throats in the middle of the park to feet that cut out our whole midfield. Didn't amount to much most of the time but it's crazy it's happened so many times in this game.
