Skruff

Love him. But his inability to pick a pass, pass the ball inside or put in a good cross stands out like a sore thumb. Hopefully it will improve, but he seems limited. 

A quality RB sadly is what would make the biggest improvement to our team right now.

Would still make a great number 2.

Surprised by how badly he played. Seemed completely off it. He'll bounce back no doubt. 

2 minutes ago, ferguson1 said:

Credit to Lille and the supporters 

They have fantastic support. Great European night

We did a Real Madrid 

Ref isn't doing us any favors, but still we're not good enough at all. 

We seem at bit at lost playing out. But at least Lille are expending energy in pressing quite aggressively. McGinns passing seems off

Excellent. Very mature and measured performance as mentioned by @VillaChris. Held up the midfield very well. 

Starting to look like the player I thought we were getting from Sevilla. Immense today 

Did anyone notice that sprint he did in the end of the game, running back to defend, intercepting Martinelli I think ? Where did that pace come from? Thought it was Diego at first. Great game today, brilliant free signing. 

Close to MOTM. Great contribution defensively, big part of the buildup playing out the back. Held up the ball very very well, even with two Arsenal players climbing all over him, it stuck. Won freekicks instead of losing the ball. Still have a tendency to get caught up in the referees decision and forget about the game, when decision don't go his way, but it's improving. Seems to have adapted to the league, I'd love to have him here next season, as I think there's more to come from him. The way he carried the ball up the field today, very promising.

1 hour ago, david-avfc said:

I was impressed by Haraldsson and several of their players to be honest (apart from number 22, he makes Neal Maupay look classy), they were actually a really good side and I would say arguably they looked better than us. Despite the hype around their young centre back Yorro it was the other centre back that caught my eye, it turns out he also regularly plays right back so seemingly that would be a good fit for Emery's system. 

Bafodé Diakité. 23 years old.  Judging by statics he's very comfortable on the ball and a great passer as well. Top 10% across the 5 biggest leagues, compared to both fullbacks and center backs. Though he looked very decent playing against us, would fit the right back role perfectly in Emerys system. 

Eze and Olise running circles around Liverpool.  Have to say Eze looks like a fantastic player, wonder how long he'll stay at CP?

I don't pay to mutch attention to football besides Villa anymore.but surely he's the best in the league at the moment? Or the world? I can't think of many better, Courtois?

Me being grumpy or is this ref terrible?

Some obligatory armchair scouting.

We need another defensive midfielder. And improve on Right Back. RB Bafodé Diakité from Lille stats are good, will be interesting to see how he plays versus Villa this week. Henrics from RB Leipzig as his contract expires 2025 might be worth a try, if we qualify for CL. 

Cheeky bid for Juventus DM wonderkid Enzo Barrenechea to strengthen our midfield.

And last Fabiano Paris as a younger quicker Moreno

Looking forward to see how this summer transfer window pans out. Seeing that we've made some very promising signings the past windows, that's been a bit out of the blue. With the whole sell to buy saga as well, whether true or not, I expected it to be an interesting summer window. 

8 minutes ago, villa89 said:

Been city's best player in this second half. Running the game for them. 

Don't think he'll be off anytime soon as long as he plays to that level of performance 

Thought he did very well. Plenty of players who's messed up in a wall before. Looks to me like he's been growing and improving a lot the past few weeks. I'd be happy to have him in the squad, as I imagine he'd continue improving. 

His vision and range of passing is impressive. His ability to drive forward and run with the ball. Strength, balance etc. Adjusting to the league, more experience and coaching he'll be something. 

Is it just me or does it look like he's aged 10years in just a season or two? 

Been a while since I've seen him play, looks decent, but not what he was.

Two obvious handballs. Ball changes directions twice. How can they use such a long time to make a decision? You could even see it happen live.

 Given that most things breaks down with Cash on the right side, McGinn seems half the player on the left. Tielemans seems off the pace, and Moreno is left isolated on the left, I would have like to see something along these lines, if we have 3 CBs for it. 

    Baily-Watkins-Diaby

Moreno-Luiz-Kamara-McGinn

            CB-CB-CB

Or the 4-3-3 as someone mentioned earlier in the thread.

Without our first 11 injury free and in form, we seem to struggle with the current system and tactics. Unai seems reluctant to change things up, however he's thinking and planning with a broader understanding and longer perspective on things.

Referee was inconsistent, but it went both ways. The Ramsey fault was fair enough. The handball and show in the back, I struggle with. It's so clear and obvious. 

Regardless off the VAR decisions we weren't good enough. Didn't create enough chances. It's a opertunity to learn and improve playing against low block teams, there will be a lot more of these matches.

What's annoying about Cash is that his passing seems very limited. Incapable of making a pass infield 

This ref needs to get his yellow cards out. 

Just now, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Lenglet has got a bit of the " Pau " about him the pass.

Seems a bit quicker with it too?

Looking very good so far. Played through their midfield a couple of times. Some great crosses out to the right side as well.