Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Man City

[jones1328]

Considering everyone was predicting a 9-0 riot, fair play Villa! Ashley Young was immense. Let's hope this us turning a corner. 

[foreveryoung]

14 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

Man City were absolutely terrifying today, the first half was the best I have seen Man City play. They would have ripped apart another relegation zone premier league team with another 6 nil.

Full credit to Gerrard and the players for weathering that storm. Now they know they can go toe to toe with the best team in the league who are playing at their best. 

Thats got to be a huge boost to everyone.

[AndyM3000]

Just now, bobzy said:

I don't think we lose that game 9 out of 10 - I actually didn't feel that nervous watching it, which is rare against the bigger clubs as they usually complete dominate.  Man City had huge amounts of possession, but didn't create as many great chances as they usually do and that's because we were very disciplined.  Played the game almost perfectly tbh and should have scored more on the counter too.

They created 2xG and we created 0.3xG. We had 1 shot on target, hardly had the ball and they missed some big chances. I think to say we lose that 9 times out of 10 is actually being generous.

[macandally]

33 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

Watkins played the ball across the 18-yard line, Ramsey was coming on to it but either dummied it or was "moved" away from the ball by the City defender, and it went straight to Coutinho. Before Coutinho blasted one in from the edge of the area, the linesman had flagged him offside and the ref blew the whistle, even though he wasn't actually offside.

Even if he was offside, they're supposed to continue until the move has played out.

Add to that, the ball went backwards so cannot be offside anyway! 

[PaulC]

5 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

On form they are one of the best teams in Europe. Today was a off day, they didn't even get a yellow card, which generally shows how hard a team is playing.

You have to give us credit for that. we denied them space and kept going for 90 minutes

[LondonLax]

Today is the first match where I have felt like we can be competitive in this league, which is a relief more than anything.

[bobzy]

Just now, AndyM3000 said:

They created 2xG and we created 0.3xG. We had 1 shot on target, hardly had the ball and they missed some big chances. I think to say we lose that 9 times out of 10 is actually being generous.

None of the xG stats nor shot on target stats takes into account, for example, Jacob Ramsey taking a horrific touch when clear on goal.  If he gets a shot away there, our xG probably jumps by 0.6 immediately.

 

I think Walker early on (was he offside anyway?) and De Bruyne at some point should have done better for Man City but, other than that, I can't remember a chance they had that made me think "we got away with one there".

[daft]

36 minutes ago, jim said:

“No one outside Villa gave us a chance, of course our supporters will have” 

Didn't see the shameful comments from a few pre match then.

Our fans certainly DID NOT BELEIVE. Me included. 

[TomC]

7 minutes ago, stewiek2 said:

He can decide but he didn't. He blew before Phil stuck the ball. VAR can't intervene and ask him to look at it. Thems the rules unfortunately.

Agreed. The way they're doing things now as a matter of practice (not in the laws), the linesman is supposed to put his flag up early only if it's obvious. The ref saw the flag go up, assumed it must have been obvious, and blew his whistle. Clearly the linesman's fault.

 

[Peter Griffin]

2 minutes ago, AndyM3000 said:

They created 2xG and we created 0.3xG. We had 1 shot on target, hardly had the ball and they missed some big chances. I think to say we lose that 9 times out of 10 is actually being generous.

That is a perfect example of when actually watching a game and understanding how it unfolded and looking at stats can yield very different interpretations. 

[RicRic]

39 minutes ago, macandally said:

Credit where credit is due, we had structure, we were a team and for the first time this season we looked like we knew what the plan was.

Personally, I would still sack him.  However, he has earned the right for the next two now.  He may just have stumbled on his best team, his best structure so let’s see what he does next

Couldn’t have said it better myself… so here goes OJ

[El Segundo]

Well done to all.  Maybe Gerrard is finally learning after all.  Cash's injury maybe a blessing in disguise - I think he's been poor at both ends and Young looks much better.  It looked like Ederson made only a token effort to save the shot as he knew the whistle had gone, but doesn't alter the fact it was the usual bad/corrupt officiating against us and pro sky 6 yet again.  Coutinho should at least have been given the chance to get the shot off.   

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

12 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

I'm happy with the performance, even though few also won't admit it was against a poor Man City. But if you read through the posts, most think this could be the turning point to our season. That, is what I very much doubt!

Well they probably won't " admit it " as they probably don't believe it. lol

I'm hoping every other side we play from here on out will be as " poor " as Man City were today so we can start a charge towards Europe.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

On that display against Man. City there is hope.

Gerrard set Villa up to be a little more pragmatic and less cavalier and it helped us look organised.

Need to use this as a foundation for future games now and hope we will be a bit more confident.

[Corleone]

31 minutes ago, Genie said:

The first 30 mins or so were pretty awful, just waiting for the final penetration.

 

Thats what she said

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Just now, daft said:

Also, this didn't really look like a team playing for a manager they hate. Didn't see all of it due to travel though. 

Leon in his post match today, was actually giving him props for believing in them and giving them confidence etc.

Who knows.... Villa is a soap opera with twists and turns.

[briny_ear]

6 minutes ago, jones1328 said:

Considering everyone was predicting a 9-0 riot, fair play Villa! Ashley Young was immense. Let's hope this us turning a corner. 

One or two people won’t enjoy going back to the match thread to recall their reaction when Young came on.

Sometimes Villatalk doesn’t know best.

[macandally]

12 minutes ago, Xela said:

Some people seem genuinely angry that we played well and got a point against one of the best teams in Europe. 

Wow. 

I don’t think they are, I think that after 3 wins in 17/18 games they still have a concern about “new dawns”.

Most will give credit and recognise it buys him time, how he uses that is down to him.  The owners would still be negligent if they were not looking at what Plan B might be.

[villabromsgrove]

Gerrard has finally shown a bit of humility and shown some of the pragmatism that we've been demanding. His comments after the match and the circles under his eyes show that he's undergoing a lot of soul searching currently.

Subbing McGinn first tonight was a big pointer to a Gerrard who is finally listening and hopefully learning.

I'm not saying that SG can fully make the change required, but his approach today and the support that the players gave him is encouraging.

[fruitvilla]

Today is why I am a Villa fan.

We rode our luck got a point from a much stronger City squad.

I struggled with who to give give the FotM match ... ended up with Martinez keeping us in the game and pumping up the crowd.

Gerrard ... average, he is slowly getting there . Referee ... average, they always are. Well sort of.

Back line good,  though looked better when Young came on. And kudos to Young when he caught up to Haaland, muscled him off the ball and generally made the best striker in the league look old. Loved it when Mings was in Haaland's ear. Digne ... good too. Konsa lost his man, but these things happen.
Luiz and Kamara ... a really nice pairing. The fish and chips of the midfield.  Sorry to say McGinn struck me at gravy on the fish and chips. I can understand why people like gravy, but not for me.
Ramsey had a good game, worked hard, lovey assist for the goal. Bailey, he also worked hard and a beautifully struck goal. Watkins, worked hard ... I like Watkins. Wish he would be reward with some goals.
Coutinho looked a bit slow to me, a bit like a really skillful McGinn.

I think I understand the refereeing mistake. Linesman prematurely and incorrectly puts up the offside flag. The referee blows on it and Coutinho perhaps gets an easy shot on goal. These things happen. Beautifully struck ball either way.

Man City have an immense squad, unfortunately for them they came up against a real team today.