Burnwinter
Yeah, the goals came from set-pieces, but that doesn’t take away from what the extra creativity gave us. Playing with more invention meant we created better chances in open play - on another day, with a keeper not in the form Nick Pope was in yesterday, we’d probably have been two or three up at HT.
And that’s really the point: if we’d created that same number of chances against Liverpool or City, we’d have put ourselves in a much stronger position to win those games. It still might not have been enough, but the more opportunities you create, the more likely you are to score and win.
Plus we still looked as solid and well-organised as ever, so it wasn’t a case of sacrificing defensive stability to play on the front foot. It showed we can have both and it should be the blueprint going forward.
And even if we’d ended up losing, at least it would’ve been watchable. Put it this way: take away the two late goals last night and it still would’ve been a far better experience than the Liverpool and City games. And for me, as a fan that has value.
