Exactly. I can see people expecting him to score 10 goals by now, but he's played 3*90 mins in a week so considering all that he was very good today. Finishing well, not the best but creates so many chances and help the team a lot.
10
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 46
- Goals
- 28
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 8
- Status
He was pretty good aside from his finishing I thought. It has really regressed from his first few matches, missing some decent chances.
He was instrumental in creating two clear cut chances which should have been scored. Why would he start playing behind the striker at the age of 34 when he has never done that before and had plenty of success the way he is?
Zlatan's finishing let us down today, bury that early chance and we'd be cruising. Still an overall good performance. Made a lot of opportunities and found great positions to fire at goal.
That early chance was unforgivable. He has the room to go across the keeper comfortably but tried to be too smart.
Since the snatched chance in the derby Zlatan hasn't been the same in front of goal. Instinctive finishes still come but when he has to think about it...
Another poor performance, poor hold up and link up. He's not actually slow he's just lazy and static then his finishing again.
It's so weird. He either scores and plays poorly or plays well and doesn't score.
Poor performance?
His general play was good, his work ethic good (as usual) and the keeper had a blinder. Get a grip.You told me a few weeks ago it doesn't matter if he fails to perform against the big clubs because he'll batter the smaller teams.
Now you're saying it doesn't really matter if he fails to convert chances like today against Stoke.
It just sounds like excuse making.
Im just not a kneejerker who is into throwing weekly tantrums because "football didn't make me happy today". You have to play the long game and continue developing this squad which will happen imo. Needless to say we would be in complete shambles if the players and manger behaved in an apocalyptically kneejerk each time we didn't get a result.
He seems to need lots of chances recently to score one.
Cavani-esque today. Should really have scored his chance in the first half. Think we would have gone on to score 3 or 4 more after that. The positive is that he is getting into goalscoring positions, though.
Zlatan's finishing when it matters is usually a tad weird imo.
But, whether he is a world class striker or not, we still need to have some kind of plan for that role in the near future.
You hope he plays as good as he can this season and after that, I am indifferent.
But, whether he is a world class striker or not, we still need to have some kind of plan for that role in the near future.
You hope he plays as good as he can this season and after that, I am indifferent.
Funny, what do you expect from him with getting into goalscoring positions who is going to hang up his boots soon and supposed to be a world class striker?
We are not talking about the likes of 18 years old wonder kids forwards.
Poor performance?
Nothing to get a grip about, he's 34 his career didn't start here he's been around for AGES. My opinion on him isn't going to change because he plays for us now and he hasn't showed me anything different thus far. His general play is sloppy, losses the ball, bobbles off him, congests our build in the final third, stands around a lot. Then he isn't clinical enough we know he has 6 goals anyone who says he's been clinical enough is a liar. He should at least offset the problems he brings to our all round play by putting away the good chances we do get.
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As far as I remember he missed one clear cut chance. Hardly 'Cavini-esque'. Not his best performance but he hardly missed sitter after sitter.
That has nothing whatsoever to do with the point I made.
You seem to be saying it doesn't matter if Ibra doesn't take his chances. It absolutely does matter. Saying "who cares" when he misses that early chance makes no sesne. Everybody cares. Scoring a great goal one week doesn't mean you can miss an easy one the next. That's not what the very best do.
If Ibra, Pogba, Mikhi and the other experienced players don't get to the top of their game soon the league will be beyond us.
There'll probably still be a bunch of fans claiming we're kneejerking at that point.
This is the fundamental problem. If you start out with a view that perfection is mandatory then any missed chance will seem annoying. If you on the other hand begin with a view that all players occasionally miss chances and all keepers occasionally stop shots they may ordinarily not save, then you begin to see things in a more nuanced context. Zlatan has scored something like 57 goals in his last 60 fixtures going back to last year and the first two months here, so you'll forgive me for not participating in any negative hysteria if he misses a chance or two. I'm more interested in a longer, more protracted view of where we are going as a squad and a club than to throw my toys out during a sluggish stretch of fixtures.
I bet the fans criticising Zlatan are the same fans who still think Rooney should start
Correct strikers miss chances, it happens. Nobody's throwing their toys out. We don't have to pretend it doesn't matter though or make excuses when it does. Missed chances don't "even themselves out."
Do you still not care that he missed that opening chance?
I'm of two minds about it. He should've scored but opted for the near post when the keeper was more out of position to defend the far post. It's one of those split second decisions that no one notices if his near post shot goes in, but everyone second guesses if it doesn't. I did think their keeper had a fantastic game which probably saved at least two goals.
Hes not very clinical is he?
Did he really score 50+ goals in France? I see none of that evidence in the last three games especially. Ruud would have had a hat-trick each if he got that amount of chances in one game
I'm sure a near 35 year old Ruud wouldn't have fared any better.
It's nothing to do with age. Zlatan's finishing just seems so casual at the moment. I want to say laboured, but that might be too strong a word
His finishes generally look casual whether or not he scores. Its just that it seems like a big deal when we drop points.
If only his chance went in after 90 sec, I know he tried to wrong foot the keeper by going near post, but the far corner was begging to be hit, then I think the floodgates would have opened and we would have gone on to win by 4+
Yep. Think we would've hammered them if we scored that one. As it is, the frustration built and probably got in the heads of the players, with only Martial being the one who calmly finished his chance when given one.
Time to drop this shitehawk from my fantasy team.
No idea why he didn't just burst the net with that one on one, other than that I felt he gave his all and was unlucky on a number of occasions.
Says a lot about the French league though, he made scoring look easy over there, it's proving far more difficult in England.
Says a lot about the French league though, he made scoring look easy over there, it's proving far more difficult in England.
In all fairness no one thought he'd match those numbers over here. Cavani is matching him in France now though.
Shocking miss. Infuriating really. Would have made the game much easier.
Thought he was good besides that, but just as his all-around play improves, his finishing suffers. Annoying.
Thought he was good besides that, but just as his all-around play improves, his finishing suffers. Annoying.
Most of what he does dropping deep looks too slow to me, not much closing down, occasional clever-ish run in behind. Could be a long old season.
#AnotherElephant
#AnotherElephant
Dissapointing finish at the start but his all round play was good. He'd probably have taken that chance later in the game, so early he tried to be a bit too clever.
Said it before but his link up play is at its best around the edge of the area. If we want to get the best of him he doesn't need to drop any deeper but at the same time we need to get the ball into him more in those areas.
If he finishes his first attempt, I think the floodgates open and we win today 4-0.
No doubt his finishing hasn't been up to his standards.
I'm encouraged that he consistently gets chances though. He seems to get at least 4 or 5 decent openings a game.
Hopefully clicks into place soon (at Anfield would be nice). It's still early in the season.
I'm encouraged that he consistently gets chances though. He seems to get at least 4 or 5 decent openings a game.
Hopefully clicks into place soon (at Anfield would be nice). It's still early in the season.
As with Pogba i feel like Zlatan haven't really clicked with the rest of the team yet. You see both of them trying things that looks daft, like they expect a teammate to be there.
Anyways, out attack isn't settled in yet honestly i think it will take quite some time before Jose figures out who he wants where. If Martial can find back his form i want him on the left, Mata in the middle and Miki on the right.
Anyways, out attack isn't settled in yet honestly i think it will take quite some time before Jose figures out who he wants where. If Martial can find back his form i want him on the left, Mata in the middle and Miki on the right.
That's not the point! The point is we lost 2 points at home against Stoke when we actually had the chances to win it. A striker like Zlatan missed a glorious opportunity, instead of aiming at the right side spot he aimed at a more difficult spot to score. I agree with @Amar__ it's a terrible finish and he should have burried it with his eyes closed. It will be different story if we can have the lead in first half imo.
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