[Offsideagain]

Simple. Ole got selection and tactics wrong and didn’t change. If Bailly was fit, it was criminal not to play him over Lindelof.

 

[Champ]

They won the midfield battle, Fernandinho / Gundogan / De Bruyne is just far better than our midfield.

Add that to a team that KNOWS how to keep the ball and are very patient, it just sucked the life out of us.

In the 2nd half at 1-0 down though we were much better, we had them pinned back for a while but we failed to make anything of it and that's the biggest issue. Our attack was just completely misfiring.

I think as you say it's a good reality check but at the same time we've performed a lot worse against City in the past, we just need to learn how to keep the ball better and use it more effectively.

My biggest issue with the team is we only seem to know how to play in full speed mode, everything is 1 or 2 touches and forwards whether we are ready or not, and often then end up losing the ball. Turning it over so often against a side like City is just suicidal.

In the times we did slow it down and played a bit more patiently we got through them a few times, so we just need to get that balance right.

As you say on the night I think City were worthy winners, but at the same time it's true they only won through 2 set pieces which is very frustrating considering they were mainly individual errors again from our defence.

100% this,

We tried to play fast transitional counter attack football whilst pressing everywhere on the pitch, which bascially led to us running out of steam in the second half,

Easy to say in hindsight but we should have slowed the game down slightly and tried to maintain possesion of the ball as City were not in the mood for a pressing game last night.

Had we maintained some form of control over the ball we would have been able to manipulate their back four more easily, instead we played into their hands by trying to play at full speed in straight lines right into a brick wall.

There actually wasn't ,uch betweent he two sides, City kept the ball well and we were chasing at times but I don't think they dominated the game, we had plenty of chances, had Maguires aim been better with his sizeable forehead we could have had a few set piece goals ourselves.

Still, City have played a lot less games then us in this two week festive period and I think thats shown in their last two games where they have looked fresh and sharp and both Chelsea and ourselves have looked anything but that.

 

[No Spring Chicken]

Hopefully the manager and players don't think the same way. It's like men against boys. We were chasing shadows all game. All of our attack was hoping for the best. None was as result of intricate play.

Disagree with that conclusion. The last league cup semi that we played at OT 12 months ago was that kind of game, they gave us an absolute chasing that night and we were lucky to only concede 3 by half time. Last night they had a lot of poise and showed excellent game management once they went in front, but it was nothing like the suffocating waves of attack that's been their forte in recent years.

 

[Member 90887]

We were actually okay the first half, it was quite balanced on terms of chances I thought. May be they were slightly better.

Second half though, that's were our deficiencies showed. Set pieces + playing against a team that's : 1) better than us ; 2) had a week of rest compared to us during the hectic period of December.

All in all, the result is fair. Anyway, there is no time to lose, this team is young, it's learning. They'll definitely learn from this. Let's just focus on the next game now and actually rest some players.

As for Bailly, I would have prefered him over lindelof but he played a lot recently and is injury prone, the staff probably thought that it would be a bit too much for him.

Cavani not being available showed. We could have done with him, especially in the second half.

Extremely disappointed but this semi-finals losses can't go on forever. So let's see.

 

[redshaw]

Shame Cavani wasn't available, think he could've helped in a very toothless performance.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

He continuously lost the ball. Overall he couldnt hold it up. The fact your the only poster on here who thinks he had a good game speaks volumes. Obviously your a dyed in the wool Martial fan and thats fine. Cavani will hopefully take his place once he has served his last game.

I mean I saw 3 saying he was terrible.

 

[Park's Petrified Pooch]

Disagree with that conclusion. The last league cup semi that we played at OT 12 months ago was that kind of game, they gave us an absolute chasing that night and we were lucky to only concede 3 by half time. Last night they had a lot of poise and showed excellent game management once they went in front, but it was nothing like the suffocating waves of attack that's been their forte in recent years.

Who cares how they performed in beating us? We didn’t lay a glove on them last year, and we didn’t lay a glove on them this time. The fact that they played tactically differently and beat us in a less spectacular way is of no comfort at all.

We were at no time last night on top. We never controlled possession and we never looked like we were likely to counter on them. We didn’t sustain attacks. It was powderpuff from us.

The lack of reaction or any sense of urgency to change what we were doing from the sideline was all too familiar.

 

[justsomebloke]

How the feck is McT starting over Donny?

Donny can be no worse defensively, and is better on the ball, and better in attack.

Blame at Ole's door for this because we were limp from the KO....no change in game plan, no impactful subs made, no influencing the game.

I disagree completely, to the extent that I find it hard to imagine how someone could watch the game and come up with that conclusion. I thought we were excellent for the first 35 minutes - crisp quick passing, playing effectively through City's press, aggressive press, very good rhytm, it just flowed. Unfortunately, we gradually waned. Sterling's counter-raid down the right lateish in the first half, which Shaw somehow saw off because Sterling tripped, seemed to stun us - we looked wobbly immediately. And never really got fully back to where we were.

And seriously, to lay the blame at the Manager's feet because he failed to come up with some brilliant substitution, or otherwise made some adjustment that radically altered the game, is something I'm getting really tired of reading. How often do you see a substitution really change the outcome of a game? Once every 7 or 8 games maybe? How often do you see a manager turn a game against a team as good as City were yesterday around with some tactical move? Of course, it's kudos to a manager whenever he manages either of those, but it rarely happens. It's not like the manager's done a poor job if he fails to do that every time.

 

[r0663664]

How the feck is McT starting over Donny?

Donny can be no worse defensively, and is better on the ball, and better in attack.

Blame at Ole's door for this because we were limp from the KO....no change in game plan, no impactful subs made, no influencing the game.

I totally agree. Is McTominay such a good midfielder? Was he protecting the back 4? McTominay has good height so be can help in defense in corner. We still concede from set piece and he hasn't been a factor in scoring from corner. How on earth is VDB be worst? Is it a Derby game so Ole plays a local? I didn't see any fire or passion. VDB must be wondering why he is here where he could be elsewhere.

 

[justsomebloke]

I totally agree. Is McTominay such a good midfielder? Was he protecting the back 4? McTominay has good height so be can help in defense in corner. We still concede from set piece and he hasn't been a factor in scoring from corner. How on earth is VDB be worst? Is it a Derby game so Ole plays a local? I didn't see any fire or passion. VDB must be wondering why he is here where he could be elsewhere.

I don't get from where comes this conviction that we'd be a much better team if DvdB was in the starting lineup. On the occasions where he's been, he has ranged from OK to non-influential. Last time we tried, and let him deputise for Bruno as no 10, was the first half of the West Ham game, when we were awful. McTominay on the other hand has ranged from excellent to non-influential. Donny will get his chance in due course, but right now it's not that easy to see where he fits in. Maybe on the left, in the same way we're using Pogba lately?

 

[sdb4884]

We will never win anything with Ole in charge, when it comes to the big games and big moments we always falter due to the managers' lack of tactical nous and his team selection. We are in between a rock and a hard place, he won't lose his job because we are generally better than most sides in the competition bar say Liverpool and Man City and we will make top 4 but when it comes to challenging next season it will be the same all over again. Surely if we end the season trophy-less that counts against him in a big way? or is it just top 4.

 

[bondsname]

I thought we played alright. City were clearly the better team and had a period where they were really dangerous, found a lot of space. It seems to me that Pep has adjusted his tactics a bit, a more Premier League like style in contrast to what he is known for. Possession play is still Pep's philosophy, but I was surprised how deep they were defending when we were chasing the equaliser.

City won the game because they got the details right. I don't think Pep tactically out-smarted Ole, I thought the game was pretty even tactically. Both teams found space and looked like scoring. I do think Pep's players have a lot more football intellect, it felt like City won every second ball, every duel, and when we pressed City and it was looking like we'd get ahold of the ball, somehow the ball bounced back to them. City also scored two-goals from set-pieces, the other detail they got right. City played some beautiful football at times, but ultimately they focused on the dirty work and that's what won them the game. After the first goal City were the better team and knew when to defend and when to attack.

United didn't look bad either I thought. We looked toothless in attack, sure, but I did have a feeling we could score until City scored their 2nd. We had the ball for a large period of time, but Martial also had an off day which really hindered us. I don't think Rashford is suited to play on the right either. Bruno should've tried to keep it simpler at times, one moment comes to mind when we had a good opportunity to score but he attempted a difficult outside of the boot pass which went wrong. Maguire was solid, but I am starting to worry about his heading ability (attacking-wise), it's starting to become a bit frustrating to see him missing the target time and time again.

The best player of the game was Gundogan I think. Annoying player to face, it was difficult to get the ball off him, couldn't press him at all and he always made the right decision.

I hope we bounce back from this and not make it a bigger deal than it is. We lost a semi-final to Manchester City, it sucks, but we weren't that bad as some people make it out to be, and games at this level can go either way. If we had avoided those 2 set-pieces that City scored from and Bruno's pass made it through to Rashford, or Bruno's attempt went in, we would've gotten praised for grinding out results. Let's not forget we've been on an incredible run, we're 2nd in the table, and fortunately it was just the league cup.

 

[Mike Oxard]

Come on...

He’s one of the few players in the squad with any guts. Limited talent maybe, but plenty of fight. We may think that he’s ‘below’ Utd, but these days, that’s simply not the case.

 

[croadyman]

Still cannot get my head around not using Axel if Ole shat himself about using Bailly but again he isn't one of Ole's favourites so why am I not surprised

 

[OldTrevil]

McT was great against Leeds, but redundant ever since. Bailly should have kept his spot as well. Unless we're playing against a extreme intensity, low technical ability midfield or worried about a slow central defensive pair, Fred, Bruno and Pogba provide all the midfield mobility needed.

 

[Plymouth Red]

I don't get from where comes this conviction that we'd be a much better team if DvdB was in the starting lineup. On the occasions where he's been, he has ranged from OK to non-influential. Last time we tried, and let him deputise for Bruno as no 10, was the first half of the West Ham game, when we were awful. McTominay on the other hand has ranged from excellent to non-influential. Donny will get his chance in due course, but right now it's not that easy to see where he fits in. Maybe on the left, in the same way we're using Pogba lately?

I see where you're coming from but in fairness to him, he's not had a proper run of games in which he could settle and build an understanding with team mates. This was part of the problem with Fred and once he had a decent stint of pitch time under his belt, we saw the proper value he could add.
I don't think VdB is a bad player. I just think we haven't seen enough of him to establish what he can really add to the team. Does feel like his face doesn't fit with Ole, though, and he's not the only one where that seems to be the case.

 

[Nicoseth]

Honestly not too bothered about this. Yes, never nice to lose a semi final, especially a derby, but the league is the priority so at least it wasn't a league defeat. City were excellent, as Ole said, probably the best team in England right now. Time to rest some players this weekend and go again against Burnley.

 

[Alexit]

Bruno the golden boy needed hauling. Just wasn't happening today. We never seemed to get it going. Happens.

 

[MZX7]

That's Cavani, but we know what happened there. I would be looking long term now as well and decide if Mason is the long term plan for that position. If so, he needs to start getting minutes there. Not convinced Martial will ever be the answer.

We need to find a finished product under whom Greenwood and Rashford can groom themselves. Martial seems to be a backup option. Too inconsistent to start regularly.

Wouldn't mind someone like Harry Kane or Antoine Griezmann being lured in to lead the charge.

 

[justsomebloke]

I thought we played alright. City were clearly the better team and had a period where they were really dangerous, found a lot of space. It seems to me that Pep has adjusted his tactics a bit, a more Premier League like style in contrast to what he is known for. Possession play is still Pep's philosophy, but I was surprised how deep they were defending when we were chasing the equaliser.

City won the game because they got the details right. I don't think Pep tactically out-smarted Ole, I thought the game was pretty even tactically. Both teams found space and looked like scoring. I do think Pep's players have a lot more football intellect, it felt like City won every second ball, every duel, and when we pressed City and it was looking like we'd get ahold of the ball, somehow the ball bounced back to them. City also scored two-goals from set-pieces, the other detail they got right. City played some beautiful football at times, but ultimately they focused on the dirty work and that's what won them the game. After the first goal City were the better team and knew when to defend and when to attack.

United didn't look bad either I thought. We looked toothless in attack, sure, but I did have a feeling we could score until City scored their 2nd. We had the ball for a large period of time, but Martial also had an off day which really hindered us. I don't think Rashford is suited to play on the right either. Bruno should've tried to keep it simpler at times, one moment comes to mind when we had a good opportunity to score but he attempted a difficult outside of the boot pass which went wrong. Maguire was solid, but I am starting to worry about his heading ability (attacking-wise), it's starting to become a bit frustrating to see him missing the target time and time again.

The best player of the game was Gundogan I think. Annoying player to face, it was difficult to get the ball off him, couldn't press him at all and he always made the right decision.

I hope we bounce back from this and not make it a bigger deal than it is. We lost a semi-final to Manchester City, it sucks, but we weren't that bad as some people make it out to be, and games at this level can go either way. If we had avoided those 2 set-pieces that City scored from and Bruno's pass made it through to Rashford, or Bruno's attempt went in, we would've gotten praised for grinding out results. Let's not forget we've been on an incredible run, we're 2nd in the table, and fortunately it was just the league cup.

Really good post! And you're right.