Ratings & Reactions: Olympiacos v Villa

[AndyM3000]

2 minutes ago, ChesterDad said:

I’m sorry but come on ? Cash has played there before right ? He is not a stranger to the role.

Yeh that's my issue if you've watched him play RW before. Put Tim in from the off, push McGinn further forward and put Bailey in his actual position.

Not slating Emery, I just think it was too passive and we should have played a more attacking set of players. Not many options for sure but could have taken more risk IMO. 

[S-Platt]

Lessons learnt for next season that's the only positive.

[romavillan]

Poor defending for their first and that was the last nail in the coffin. 

We have 4 players in the squad to play a clearly very vital role in how Emery likes to play football, someone who can carry the ball through the midfield and pick a pass between the lines. Buendia was excellent at it pre-season, since then we've seen Zaniolo on the left early in the season do a job there, then Ramsey back to fitness, then Rogers coming into his own in that role. Zaniolo was brilliant at it in a vital victory against Arsenal but now they're all injured. We missed that big time in both legs. We've also seen McGinn do a job there but with no-one else to partner Luiz he couldn't.

Then no Kamara means we only get half a Luiz, I don't agree with all the shit being flung in his direction we're asking him to play effectively out of position when he plays in a pair with McGinn. Slightly the same thing with McGinn, he was really trying tonight but he effects the game more further up the pitch. No Tielemens either so no chance of any respite for either of them unless you chuck Tim on. He clearly needs more minutes in the side before any kind of judgement can be made of him.

Bailey will do well to avoid long term injury playing through the pain like he has been, got smacked in the bad knee after he'd not been moving well anyway beforehand. Still managed a good performance but is clearly limited by the injury.

Going so deep in this competition will be great experience for next season. Well done to everyone involved in getting us this far but we don't really have the squad to play this many games at our best. We have a summer to improve on that.

Fair play to Olympiakos, hopefully they get to enjoy winning on home ground. 

[jackbauer24]

All this hype and #believe crap has pissed me off even more.

The players didn't look remotely up for this tie. No running, no passion, no drive, no effort. Might as well have played the kids. Absolutely pathetic from professional footballers in a semi-final after they screwed up the first leg.

You can spout on about being tired and injures etc but that was not just tired, that was insipid. No one played well. They weren't on the same wavelengths at all.

The arrogance shown by a lot of people to suggest we were favourites for this tournament is unbelievable. We played rubbish against most European opposition all season, well before injures and tiredness could be blamed. We've been too casual and naive throughout and escaped against Lille. Lightning doesn't strike twice.

So there goes out first chance of proper silverware in decades, and unlikely to have a better one. But we decided to play this competition half arsed from game one.

We were guaranteed to win this competition. We were guaranteed to win this semi. We were guaranteed to have 5th as a Champions League spot. We are guaranteed to be 4th... 

Not unless you bloody earn it and bar a game or two, in 2024 we have NOT deserved it.

I'm angry, I'm writing full of emotion and may regret some words tomorrow... but I'd be bloody embarrassed by that performance as a Villa player tonight. Olympiacos had our number but to give their keeper ONE save to make all game is frankly pathetic.

Praise Emery all you like, he got his approach is first leg wrong and clearly didn't get the set up or attitude right for this game either.

We are now relying on another team to be worse than us to get anything out of a season that promised so much.

And yes, in a month's time I may be thankful and can look at the season overall as a successful one... but tonight I'm furious.

[Galway Lion]

Usual suspects making their return for the match reaction tonight. Boring no marks, couldn’t be bothered to read past first pages.

Bet we don’t hear from them after Tuesday!

[VILLAMARV]

Chastening and frustrating but credit Olympiacos and Mendilibar, the best team in both games won.

We all know it's a case of what might have been with the injuries we're suffering, but I really hope we have a plan B for games like this nect year.

It's such a hard watch when we're chasing the game and we're still just aimlessly dicking around with it. Mendilibar knew how Emery woud set up and his players have carried out his plans to near perfection.

Of course it's amazing to be here after the journey we've been on with this club but I was hoping we'd have something to really celebrate for the first time since my youth.

We can console ourselves with having another pop at it next year. Respect to Olympiacos. Still a great season for us. UTV. VTID

[MCU]

3 minutes ago, UpTheVilla26 said:

They ain't even a decent side. 

If Fiorentina get at them, like we didn't, they will win the final at a canter. 

Over the 2 legs, I thought we were pathetic. Several players have been utterly useless. For a semi-final, you'd be hard pushed to see a weaker, slower, lacklustre display. 

Yes, it's been a long season but these players need to get used to that if we have ambitions of being top 4 and getting into Europe every year. 

Squad needs plenty of work over the summer. 

They put 6 goals past us over 2 legs… think you need to give them a bit of respect. They 100% deserve to be in the final and I hope they win it…

[maltesemike]

3 minutes ago, AndyM3000 said:

Yeh that's my issue if you've watched him play RW before. Put Tim in from the off, push McGinn further forward and put Bailey in his actual position.

Not slating Emery, I just think it was too passive and we should have played a more attacking set of players. Not many options for sure but could have taken more risk IMO. 

What players? Everyone’s injured. Team picked itself tonight.

[foreveryoung]

1 minute ago, Davkaus said:

I always appreciate your match opinions, even this one that I disagree with, but I'm genuinely stunned by this. I think we were the better team for the opening 10 minutes, got sucker punched, and proceeded to look lethargic and out of ideas for the following 80 minutes. 

Was gonna say exactly the same. Could have quite easily been another 4 tonight if they could be bothered. It's grace they played in 2nd gear.

They gave us the ball for 95 minutes tonight, an even then we could break them down and did frack all with it.

As the players need to learn, Emery needs some new tactics to break down these low blocks, when teams park the bus. We even struggled with Sheffield United when they did it, an they've shipped over 100 goals this season.

[TomC]

First, credit where credit is due. Olympiakos played well.

Our attack got into good positions; our opponent was simply brilliant. Their backline cut out every cross tonight and Tzolakis made a couple fine saves. They put 6 past us over two legs and the majority of them were because they had the right tactics, and the right forward in El Kaabi, to cause our offside trap all sorts of problems.

Our defense isn't working. Our GA in the league is high and we gave up 6 over the two legs of this tie. A large part of that we miss Kamara (and Tielemans), and Doug and McGinn don't work in the double pivot. But this tie has made me think that maybe we're too over-reliant on our offside trap. Unai will never ditch it entirely, but you have to recognize when an opponent is equipped to beat it and bring a different plan when they are.

The match thread contained a lot of back-and-forth about whether fatigue is an excuse. I think it's important to differentiate between fatigue and lack of players. The latter is the bigger problem. We're playing players out of position.

I really hope we don't pull a Leicester and fall to 5th in the league. That said, I feel a little more confident because it's Spurs chasing us.

Munroe impressed in the 5 minutes he played.

 

 

[MWARLEY2]

Disjointed. Thats how i would sum up the home and away legs.  First leg we folded under pressure. 2nd leg we played better but not how we needed to. The passing seemed to be at a pace that said we needed one goal not 3.  Its something that has really annoyed me in Europe. We  are down to the bare bones and those barebones are knackered and devoid of creativity.  I feel that if Emery has a no excuse culture then he cannot be absolved of blame for tactics that didnt work  . A real shame to miss out on winning something. 

[sharkyvilla]

Fair play to their striker, he completely cooked us over the two legs, especially the timing of his goals.  Such a shame to end like this but an experience to learn from for next year, whichever competition we are in.

[The Fun Factory]

It's the usual at Villa- just when we look about to achieve something big we mess it up. Losing tonight and the deep freeze of stadium expansion just reinforces the feeling this is about as good as it going to get.

I am probably sounding more pissed off then I should do, for that I apologise.

[roonst83]

Second best over both legs. Squad depth absolutely depleted and players running on empty. No creative spark in there and we lacked in the DCM role in Kamara or Tielemans. 

Best chance at winning a trophy in years has gone. The way we beat Lille was our swan song. I just don’t think we played well in this competition overall - despite the poor quality of opponents for most of it. 

We blew this last week and have to credit Olimpiacos for their management and efficiency over the tie. 

[bannedfromHandV]

Real shame to not make it to the final but a bridge too far for our depleted squad in the end.

They probably deserved to go through, though I think the tie could have gone differently had they not got the soft penalty shortly after we’d pulled it back to 2-2 in the first leg.

I think with all due respect to them, a fit and firing Villa wins that but it’s all ifs and buts.

Reaching a semi final in our first euro campaign for over a decade is not to be sniffed at, hopefully we use the experience to spur us on to do better in next seasons euro adventure.

Second half we became really sloppy and incoherent, Luiz’s passing got progressively worse, Digne and Cash took too many touches when we did carve out space for them, Diaby largely anonymous again, Bailey clearly playing at about 60% and still the best player on the pitch for us.

[Brumstopdogs]

El Kaabi was difference between the two teams scoring 5 against us. We simply couldn't deal with him.

Overall very proud of the team who have given their all and got us to a semi final and further in Europe this season than any English side despite our injury crisis.

Let's make sure we get a Champions League place now. UTB!

[HalfTimePost]

Needing 3 Goals at the start of the game and getting nothing is proper worrying for our last two games

[Talldarkandransome]

I hope I never had to sit by some of you lot at a match

[Paul33]

Game was lost as soon as Diaby appeared on the teamsheet !

[Wainy316]

They played better and they sang louder. Fully deserved.

Steep learning curve but the future is bright.