- Aug 13, 2004
- 26,456
- 21,818
Spot on, we need that bite in midfield. At times we can ooze class but we needed some aggression at times today. Sandro should've come on the second they started to enjoy some possession. He could've kept an eye on Mata!
100%
Our defence dropped off but it midfield was still pressing which left far too much space for Mata, Oscar and Shurrle to exploit. Sandro would have bridged that gap and prevented a lot of the pressure on the back four.
Townsend off was right and Chadli is a better defence option than him and Lamela. Eriksen was fading but I would have brought on Sandro and played Dembele at CAM.
This would change the shape to 4-2-3-1 with Chadli - Dembele - Siggy behind Soldado. The players are familiar with this shape and it would help us spread our defense across the pitch and not be so narrow.
I think AvB waited too long to make his subs to. The time to bring in Sandro was around the 52nd minute when it was clear that Mata was interchanging with the other AMs and exploiting the space in front of the defence. Chadli for townsend not long after.
The last sub was pointless. Defoe wasn't going to ease pressure on the defence. I think Naughton for Chireches or another CB would've been a safer option.
The shape would be :-
-------Dawson--Verts--Chireches
Walker----Paulinho--Sandro
-----Siggy--Dembele - Chadli
-----------Soldado