Atletico H Post Match 1-1 (1-2) on aggregate

[worthosoriginals]

48 minutes ago, Dr The Singh said:

Him and Mendy are our future central defence pairing 

And don't forget crappermole in midfield.

[orangecity23]

Love everyone of these players, left it all out there on the pitch tonight. To a man they took on one of the best teams in Europe and ran them to the wire. Such a shame that two decisions in the first leg (the dodgy penalty and the Mahrez shout that wasn't given), have been the difference between winning and losing. Great to see bit parters like Benny, Ulloa and Chillwell taking on big parts over the two legs, shows that the spirit in this team is shared across the whole group.

[ajthefox]

I am absolutely gutted. 

The minute their goal went in, my heart sank. To concede such a sloppy and easily preventable goal against a team so stout defensively was nothing short of criminal. It really, really was. Albrighton was on Saul, he shouted to Fuchs to pick him up and somehow between the two of them, neither have and he has picked his spot with a very good header. To concede such a goal on top of an already dodgy pen is fvcking awful, and I'm so frustrated that our undoing has been two really poor goals.

 

Having said that, I am immensely proud of the lads and the performance we put in. We absolutely annihilated them in the second half and created far more chances in 45 minutes then they created in 180 minutes. Vardy had a good effort blocked, Ulloa was blocked, Chilwell came close. There were numerous others. Kasper made what, one, two saves aside from their goals over the two legs? We gave it everything and can come out with our heads held high against a team who have been in the CL final 2 of the last 3 years.

 

But if anything, this is what frustrates me most. Atletico won the first leg on a dodgy pen and didn't trouble Kasper at all in the rest of the first leg.

 

In the second leg just minutes before they scored, Riyad delayed a pass which would've had JV in 1-on-1 against Oblak. You'd fancy him to take that. They then scored a soft and totally defensible goal and from then on it was a massive uphill battle. And yet, we created more than enough in 45 minutes to win the tie. We really, really did. That is what really gets me.

 

Over 180 minutes, we were good enough to have won the tie but we didn't. It wasn't a lack of effort, it just didn't come off for us and that is what hurts. Atletico were clinical with their chances and they won the tie, we can't really argue with that, but it doesn't make it an easier pill to swallow.

 

We could've won that game, and we could so easily be in CL Semi-final right now. But we aren't,  Atletico are. It's incredibly hard to take, but what we should do is take the positives into the last 6 games of the season, finish strong/get a top half finish and use it as inspiration/motivation for a european push for next year. 

 

We are a fvcking good football team and we have shown the whole world unequivocally that last year was no fluke. COYB. 

 

[dylanlegend]

So bloody proud tonight. Just want to say a big thanks to my dad, without him I possibly wouldn't be supporting this incredible team!!

[Nick]

If their players hadn't been better than ours we would have smashed that.

 

Edit: and manager

 

 

And before everybody starts we were great 2nd half and Shakey made brilliant decisions. The truth is that they were so well drilled defensively that they negated our brilliant efforts- that doesn't come overnight - hate Simeione (sp) but you don't get to two CL finals in 3 years by accident.

[brucey]

 

[lee7]

4 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

That effort is largely wasted if you've been substitued at half time! 

 

What part of his second half performance i pressed you the most? 

 well spotted! 

I know what I meant! Just forgot to add that he was took off at half time. 

Still first half I was impressed with how he played considering the magnitude of the game and how little playing time he's actually had.

He has looked solid in both the home and away leg.

[sylofox]

The refs stats said he was shite cards like confetti. But credit to him he let it flow. Hindsight's great but the big man from the start may have done it.

 

They did not seem to have an answer to him. But we never put in enough telling balls.

 

But I'm not complaining.

[NotTheMarketLeader]

1 hour ago, Marshall Cockney Fox said:

Credit to Shakey as across the two matches he's demonstrated some proper tactical acumen in shifting things about when required. Defo deserves permanent role.

Has he really.

 

Mahrez was playing - mistake number 1 created nothing again - no assists, no goals. He was an absolute disgrace in the first half and dually culpable for their goal with Fuchs.

 

Far too defensive 1st leg.

 

Far too defensive 1st half tonight.

 

We need two goals to progress so he replaces Morgan with Amartey.

 

 Gray doesn't get a kick, but his subs inc the above plus Chilwell (he did ok) as an attacking midfielder.

 

Great effort from he players but the jury out on Shakey's tactical nouse. 

[Matt]

What a journey, the dream is over but we will be back, I honestly believe we will be back in Europe fairly soon (Europa League more than likely but albeit Europe).

 

1st half we started well, then we turned abit poor but 2nd half we were quality.

 

Gutted but so proud.

 

Really fancied a trip back to Madrid aswell...

 

Atleast I made the trip last week, i'd have been kicking myself now if I hadn't, Great memories and now I feel it's a great time to reflect and finally let the last 18 months sink in.

 

14 minutes ago, dylanlegend said:

So bloody proud tonight. Just want to say a big thanks to my dad, without him I possibly wouldn't be supporting this incredible team!!

Same here, thats goes for last season aswell and everytime I think about it the emotion increases. 

[DJ Barry Hammond]

 

Idiot ?

[sylofox]

2 minutes ago, Worthington said:

Out yes, but you have to applaud that 2nd half performance. I doubt ANY team in Europe has 'gone for them' like that in years!

120% proud of them tonight !

They struggled with a little more quality balls coming in we would have won.

[dylanlegend]

29 minutes ago, Gary Eatfood said:

He may have been gracious in victory but he definitely isn't a classy bloke, in fact I'd say he's the exact opposite.

I agree, 1st leg showed he is a cheating pri*k and I wonder if he'd had said that if we'd have knocked them out? No chance.

 

That said, tactically he must be the best manager in the world 

[Beachyboy]

8 minutes ago, ajthefox said:

I am absolutely gutted. 

The minute their goal went in, my heart sank. To concede such a sloppy and easily preventable goal against a team so stout defensively was nothing short of criminal. It really, really was. Albrighton was on Saul, he shouted to Fuchs to pick him up and somehow between the two of them, neither have and he has picked his spot with a very good header. To concede such a goal on top of an already dodgy pen is fvcking awful, and I'm so frustrated that our undoing has been two really poor goals.

 

Having said that, I am immensely proud of the lads and the performance we put in. We absolutely annihilated them in the second half and created far more chances in 45 minutes then they created in 180 minutes. Vardy had a good effort blocked, Ulloa was blocked, Chilwell came close. There were numerous others. Kasper made what, one, two saves aside from their goals over the two legs? We gave it everything and can come out with our heads held high against a team who have been in the CL final 2 of the last 3 years.

 

But if anything, this is what frustrates me most. Atletico won the first leg on a dodgy pen and didn't trouble Kasper at all in the rest of the first leg.

 

In the second leg just minutes before they scored, Riyad delayed a pass which would've had JV in 1-on-1 against Oblak. You'd fancy him to take that. They then scored a soft and totally defensible goal and from then on it was a massive uphill battle. And yet, we created more than enough in 45 minutes to win the tie. We really, really did. That is what really gets me.

 

Over 180 minutes, we were good enough to have won the tie but we didn't. It wasn't a lack of effort, it just didn't come off for us and that is what hurts. Atletico were clinical with their chances and they won the tie, we can't really argue with that, but it doesn't make it an easier pill to swallow.

 

We could've won that game, and we could so easily be in CL Semi-final right now. But we aren't,  Atletico are. It's incredibly hard to take, but what we should do is take the positives into the last 6 games of the season, finish strong/get a top half finish and use it as inspiration/motivation for a european push for next year. 

 

We are a fvcking good football team and we have shown the whole world unequivocally that last year was no fluke. COYB. 

 

Not sure about all that we were outclassed, yet didn't look far off them which when u consider they are top 4 European team I guess an we are 8-12th prem team those little thing are why they are where they are, but we are maybe 3 class players from being a regular team in these sort of matches, we just lacked a little bit of quality, but the heart was there no doubt.

[sylofox]

3 minutes ago, Matt said:

What a journey, the dream is over but we will be back, I honestly beleive we will be back in Europe fairly soon (Europa League more than likely but albeit Europe).

 

1st half we started well, then we turned abit poor but 2nd half we were quality.

 

Gutted but so proud.

 

Really fancied a trip back to Madrid aswell...

 

Atleast I made the trip last week, i'd have been kicking myself now if I hadn't, Great memories and now I feel it's a great time to reflect and finally let the last 18 months sink in.

 

Same here, thats goes for last season aswell and everytime I think about it the emotion increases. 

I Honestly believe if we stick with shakey we will push for top four next season. With 2/3 signings we could do the title again.

[lifted*fox]

6 minutes ago, NotTheMarketLeader said:

Has he really.

 

Mahrez was playing - mistake number 1 created nothing again - no assists, no goals. He was an absolute disgrace in the first half and dually culpable for their goal with Fuchs.

 

Far too defensive 1st leg.

 

Far too defensive 1st half tonight.

 

We need two goals to progress so he replaces Morgan with Amartey.

 

 Gray doesn't get a kick, but his subs inc the above plus Chilwell (he did ok) as an attacking midfielder.

 

Great effort from he players but the jury out on Shakey's tactical nouse. 

 

What a load of old guff. 

[ZeGuy]

If one wants to be nitpicky, you'd say that we didn't really tried in the first half and simply woke up too late. Ulloa should have been in from the very beginning as the away game clearly showed that it wasn't a game for Shinji. You need an aerial threat and a physical presence to bully their CBs. Ulloa did it wonderfully tonight and was an essential part of the constant threat we made in the first 20 minutes of the second half. That freed Vardy too.

 

You can't hope to ship 3 to a team like this in 45 minutes. They're were in the ropes, yes, but never went down. There was always a foot, a chest, a head, a whatever to get between the ball and the net. The two rapid subs from Simeone, packing two more in the midfield considerably eased the pressure. All credit to them. Bringing a defender when you still need two goals in less than 10 minutes wasn't going to help. At this point we had nothing to lose anymore.

 

That said I was impressed by the daring tactical changes in the second. Switching to 3-4-1-2 and especially bringing Chillwell in was brillant. This packed the midfield which was overrun in the first half, put Mahrez directly behind the two strikers and allowed Albrighton to shift on the right. What I didn't understand is why bringing Morgan for Benny as we needed to have all the defenders comfortable with the ball.

 

Shakey is still in the learning, but I think he did great tonight. And we might have found tonight our solution to open up deep sitting teams.

[dylanlegend]

1 hour ago, 49er said:

What impact did they have in the Champions League when they were fit?

To be fair I don't think we can be disappointed at going out in the quarters of the UCL, further than any other English team.

 

its those players performances in the PL that worry me!!

[Matt]

Just now, sylofox said:

I Honestly believe if we stick with shakey we will push for top four next season. With 2/3 signings we could do the title again.

I hope you're right, i'm not allowing myself to dream or getting that carried away, top 8 - 6 for me, but I hope you're right.

[The whole world smiles]

On 18/04/2017 at 23:16, NotTheMarketLeader said:

Has he really.

 

Mahrez was playing - mistake number 1 created nothing again - no assists, no goals. He was an absolute disgrace in the first half and dually culpable for their goal with Fuchs.

 

Far too defensive 1st leg.

 

Far too defensive 1st half tonight.

 

We need two goals to progress so he replaces Morgan with Amartey.

 

 Gray doesn't get a kick, but his subs inc the above plus Chilwell (he did ok) as an attacking midfielder.

 

Great effort from he players but the jury out on Shakey's tactical nouse. 

You could write down what you know about football on a postage stamp.

[ZeGuy]

56 minutes ago, 49er said:

Gut feeling is that they are not a great team. I expected the likes of Griezmann, Carrasco and Saul to really shine over the two legs, but they came across as nothing more than decent, rather than great, players. It's the media hype around these teams that makes us believe that they world beaters - they are not. 

They were were all over us in the first half and should have been at least with one more goal. They handled us superbly in the first 45 minutes, got a run for their money in the second but still never plowed. They seemd to vulnerable but yet are through. That's the great teams for you

 

And if you think that Carrasco, Saul Niguez and especially Griezmann are just decent players, well, LOL.

[ZeGuy]

2 minutes ago, The whole world smiles said:

You could write down what you know about football on a postage stamp.

I chuckled a bit, I must say.

[ZeGuy]

9 minutes ago, sylofox said:

I Honestly believe if we stick with shakey we will push for top four next season. With 2/3 signings we could do the title again.

If we keep the actual XI and sign a quality team CAM and a good CB there is no reason to not aim for the top eight next season. With Shakespeare.

[dylanlegend]

11 minutes ago, NotTheMarketLeader said:

Has he really.

 

Mahrez was playing - mistake number 1 created nothing again - no assists, no goals. He was an absolute disgrace in the first half and dually culpable for their goal with Fuchs.

 

Far too defensive 1st leg.

 

Far too defensive 1st half tonight.

 

We need two goals to progress so he replaces Morgan with Amartey.

 

 Gray doesn't get a kick, but his subs inc the above plus Chilwell (he did ok) as an attacking midfielder.

 

Great effort from he players but the jury out on Shakey's tactical nouse. 

1) if we attacked Athletico at home they would have destroyed us on the counter and probably won 3-0

 

2) we had to keep it tight and try not to concede tonight hence the 4-4-2 starting formation. Hutu was a massive Miss for us.

 

3) we changed it completely in the 2nd half to 3-5-2. I doubt Atheltico were prepared for this (and we are talking about tactical genius Simeone here) and we really rattled them. 

 

4) do you think Gray would have made a difference? The best chances we had were when we hoofed it in the box and Ulloa / Vardy caused chaos. Amartey is a more aerial threat than Gray, it's not like Atheltico weee going to let Gray run behind them and he's not the greatest crosser in the world. Maybe you could argue Gray should have gone on instead of Chillers but not Amartey

when we are playing hoofball. 

 

5) I don't think we could have done much better, quality wise Athletico are streets ahead. To keep us within the tie throughout the whole 180 minutes is an incredible achievement. I though shakey a tactics were spot on.

 

Give Shakey the job, he's like Pearson but almost an improvement as he seems to have picked up some of Ranieris good habits and class.

[ajthefox]

2 minutes ago, Beachyboy said:

Not sure about all that we were outclassed, yet didn't look far off them which when u consider they are top 4 European team I guess an we are 8-12th prem team those little thing are why they are where they are, but we are maybe 3 class players from being a regular team in these sort of matches, we just lacked a little bit of quality, but the heart was there no doubt.

1st leg we were outclassed, I won't deny that. We never even had a sniff of goal and if they had pressed, I think they probably could've scored again but seriously, tonight we were the better team.

 

We absolutely dominated that second half, and although they were resilient defensively it was not as if we didn't have chances to convert. They had 6 shots on target over two legs and so did we, but 4/5 of ours came in 45 minutes tonight. The last 45 minutes tonight we bombarded them. We won the ball off them time and time again and came close on several occasions. Kasper was practically asleep.

 

Make no mistake, we weren't even close in the first leg. But Sevilla pushed us far more defensively. Sevilla could easily have put 3, 4 or 5 past us in that first leg but it just so happened that they didn't and we converted the only chance we had against them. We all know what happened at home. Unfortunately against Atletico though, things didn't go our way. But over two legs, we were not outclassed. Over two legs, Atletico managed to stand strong and they held on, but in the same way Sevilla were very close to burying us in the quarters, it could so easily have been us in the semis.