Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Olympiakos

[Django_Zooms]

4 minutes ago, KillieVillain said:

The way  there celebrating they think their through, at 2-2 we had the momentum but never got the chance to build on that because of Luiz crazy needless handball. 

Ever seen 'they're' written down at all?

[imavillan]

9 minutes ago, UpTheVilla26 said:

I reckon we'd concede 3 or more to an U8s team with that donkey in goal. 

One of the worst GK performances I've ever seen. 

haters always gonna hate...

please explain your thought process

 

Edited May 2 by imavillan

[vreitti]

Gonna be a cracking second leg in Greece. Nothing's lost yet.

Edited May 2 by vreitti

[Derryvillan]

At least Olympiacos don't have the weekend off like Lille did for the 2nd leg.

Oh hang on.......

[osmark86]

4 minutes ago, AVTuco said:

Will not be watching the reverse fixture. It's no use, we're done. 100%.

"Alexa, define defeatism for me.."

[est1874]

Just now, Lerner's Driver said:

No, don't like being magnanimous in defeat, tough.

No wonder Villa Park goes morgue quiet when we're 2 behind, I presume it's because so many magnanimous fans are standing in awe of the opposition and having polite conversations about the splendiferous sporting occasion set out before them.

[Wurzel]

OK, my two peneth worth. I don't see with the injuries we have that Emery had much choice in team selection. He sent out a team that could and should have won this match and they didn't, so I don't think he got much wrong. Man of the match is difficult because I don't think anybody played particularly well, but Watkins was back on the scoresheet, and Diabys goal was fantastic but I gave it to Cash as he never gave up and was a threat forwards and in defence. The Officials were terrible, not as bad as the last European match, but still appalling. I think we are seeing what happens to a small squad with major injuries at the end of a season looks like. 

Bigger picture it has been donkeys years since we have been in Europe and this experience is critical for next season. Our squad is learning so much. This is a fantastic season so far, and I still don't think we are out of this tie if we get an early goal. I think we can still do it, do you want to bet against us?

[El Segundo]

Yes the ref was a nob.  The disallowed goal and maybe the pen conceded could both have gone the other way with a different ref, but it was some of the fouls he did and didn’t give that were baffling. The one where he stopped us building an attack so he could talk to but not book Podence was especially idiotic.     

And yes we had some bad luck like the deflection.  But ultimately once again we were essentially the architects of our own downfall. 

Each of the full backs failed to hold the line which led to the first two goals. Cash is a serial offender in that respect but at least he played well the rest of the game.  I thought Digne was pretty poor throughout.

Olsen should have saved the fourth but some seem determined to blame him for everything that goes in.  His presence may affect the confidence of those in front of him but you can’t really blame him when the defenders make unforced errors.

And then there is Dougie.  It’s not just tonight, he’s been crap since before his suspension.  Maybe he’s fatigued but he comes across as not giving a toss and not being very intelligent.  Makes some utterly brainless decisions including defending a corner with his arms up in the air. Some refs may have said he had no chance to get is arm out of the way but it shouldn’t have been up there in the first place.   

[sheepyvillian]

2 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

The Luiz handball properly **** me off. His hand is above his head. It's stupid, it's needless. It's a blatant penalty, and another example of Luiz being a bit of a liability at times, as brilliant as he generally is.

It killed us. It went from us having the momentum, the crowd being well up for it, to the opposite. It absolutely changed the game.

So annoying after we had just wrestled back the momentum. I thought Lenglet could have got to that ball quicker and prevented the corner which led to the penalty. 

[kidlewis]

4 minutes ago, Pinebro said:

We badly needed Emi for this.

Not only is Olsen a worse keeper in every way but just like Nyland just his presence alone is making the whole back 4 nervous. I can just sense and feel it.

Hope we score two early on and EMI dials his sh*thousery up to 11.

 

the referee was the worst I’ve seen this season, and I’ve seen nearly every game we’ve played. 

[Muriel]

Retrospectively it was a mistake not starting Pau especially when Emi wasn't playing. Felt like we were missing calmness and european experience. Felt like panic station all game.

Olympiacos is at best a bottom 3 team i PL. We still have chances if Emi is back. 

[TomC]

We were outplayed in the first half because Olympiakos had a good tactical plan; they kept cutting off passes from back-to-the-goal midfielders to the wings. This disrupted our attack and also led to their second goal. We deserved to be behind.

We were much better going forward in the second half. Unai made some adjustments and we had much less trouble with their press. Two goals plus a (missed) penalty is a pretty good haul for a half. I gave Unai a "good" mark because of it.

Both their second half goals had an element of luck to them. Doug should not have had his hand in the air on that 3rd, but most of the time nothing would come from it. Olsen was well positioned to save the 4th if it hadn't deflected.

That said, to get lucky, Olympiakos needed to be in good positions in the first place. This match and the Chelsea match are a good reminder that Doug and McGinn can't play together in the double pivot unless you don't have a choice. I'm not inclined to put Tim in, but, as someone pointed out in the match thread, why not roll the dice when you know that Doug and McGinn aren't going to get it done. Maybe Rogers needs to stay a little deeper to help out despite his attacking instincts.

No player was a standout, but I thought that Watkins, Bailey, Cash, and Diaby played reasonably well. Olsen isn't Emi but he was not primarily at fault for any of the goals and made a couple fine saves.

Play how we played in the second half and we can turn this around.

 

 

 

 

[Marka Ragnos]

2 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

The Luiz handball properly **** me off. His hand is above his head. It's stupid, it's needless. It's a blatant penalty, and another example of Luiz being a bit of a liability at times, as brilliant as he generally is.

It killed us. It went from us having the momentum, the crowd being well up for it, to the opposite. It absolutely changed the game.

That was the Death Pivot. No doubt. The wheels off moment.

 

[Ponky]

Very disappointed with that display. Just gave the ball away far too easily going forward and just had no energy or fight after their third goal. 

Thought Digne was possibly our worst player, but he had some competition that's for sure. 

Definitely staggering towards the end of the season and need a boost from somewhere. Hopefully Brighton will oblige.

[PaulMcGrath_5]

Shit competition anyway. 

[MWARLEY2]

Really concerning that Luiz and McGinn have both lost form together. 

[brummybloke]

Unfortunately dougs poor form continues as does a few others.

Said it in the Chelsea after match thread, we can't play how we normally do with olsen in goal and again it shows why.

Too open, no sweeper keeper cover and passing out from the back is nervy and looks like we are just trying for the first time to play it out.

Will also say, the officials again were poor. I've watched the disallowed goal from Bailey about 12 times so far and unless im unlucky in that they just don't show this pull back, I see lenget and one of their players tussling, no protest from their player, ball goes back in , that player flicks it on and Bailey scores.

They score, it looks off side, I've seen it a few times and it still looks off side. The lines on the still screen make it look like he's on side but when the ball is played I don't think is the same as the still with lines.

A fair few bookings in 90% of games, not in this refs eyes.

We had plenty of opportunities to shoot or cross but often made the wrong choice and we suffered because of it.

Next game we need the fit first teamers.

 

Players who get some credit tonight

Watkins for his goal, diaby for his assist and goal, cash for at least trying to push things forwards quicker. Bailey was decent but checked back onto his left a few too many times which made him predictable in the end. Rogers ran out of steam after 60 mins.

Duran and zaniolo made a difference in attack, and Tim was more dominant in the middle.

Clearly we can score against these guys, but we need our 1st choice players who are fit to play.

[Lerner's Driver]

3 minutes ago, est1874 said:

No wonder Villa Park goes morgue quiet when we're 2 behind, I presume it's because so many magnanimous fans are standing in awe of the opposition and having polite conversations about the splendiferous sporting occasion set out before them.

 

[Captain_Townsend]

Usually avoid match threads but the officials tonight were an absolute disgrace, serious question marks. That game could easily have been 3-3 with different officials.

[ferguson1]

The high line killed us at times but some really bad or tired performances tonight.

Will need to be a near flawless performance next Thursday and not sure we have it in us? We don’t look like keeping a clean sheet at all. Tielemans and Martinez will need to return to stand a chance.

At least Chelsea won