Ratings & Reactions: Olympiacos v Villa

[thunderball]

At this level, at this stage of a competition you need your best players. We struggle to execute our plan when we lose Kamara’s (and Tielemans) calm and positioning, and the physicality that Ramsey/Zaniolo/Rogers bring. McGinn and off-colour Luiz cannot paper over the cracks, they become ineffective.

It’s an area we need to strengthen. Rome wasnt built in a day. It’s been a brilliant season.

Edited May 10 by thunderball

[TRO]

5 hours ago, ozvilla28 said:

Yeah injuries take a toll to a certain extent,  but all teams have injuries now season end. That team was good enough to do the job no exuse. Tiredness is nothing to do with playing a pass or cross or playing with want and aggression we looked timid. Short of leadership to.

Tiredness, is a popular and legitimate call, but there have been games over the season, which have had similar traits to these 2 legs......I think we need to observe deeper, and I think Unai will.

I think if we achieve Champions league status, you will see a different complexion of a team, next season.....some are just not good enough, on a consistency basis.

I think for El Kaabi to get 5.....tells its own story......maybe one that slipped through the Scouts net over the last 10 years.

Their first goal on the night, was a sorry affair, with Torres and Digne in no mans land......why Digne did not track back, I am lost on that.

I thought, they looked like scoring every time they ventured forward.

Edited May 10 by TRO

[TRO]

33 minutes ago, cb_82 said:

Villa 1 Man City 0

Look at the difference in the strength of the team and depth & options n the bench - That team/squad walks through if fit, wasnt to be with whats happend and i think its obvious 3/4 or those playing last night arent fit 

Proud of the lads, europe secured for next year, just hope its the elite version as we deserve it

 

• 1E Martínez
• 4Konsa
• 3Diego Carlos
• 14P Torres
• 12Digne
• 31Bailey
• 44Kamara
• 6Douglas Luiz
• 7McGinn
• 8Tielemans
• 11Watkins

Substitutes

• 2Cash
• 15Moreno
• 17Lenglet
• 19Diaby
• 22Zaniolo
• 24Durán
• 32Dendoncker
• 41J Ramsey
• 42Marschall

9 of them played last night....Only Kamara and Tielemans missing.

The bench is weaker, sure.

Edited May 10 by TRO

[TRO]

14 minutes ago, thunderball said:

At this level, at this stage of a competition you need your best players. We struggle to execute our plan when we lose Kamara’s (and Tielemans) calm and positioning, and the physicality that Ramsey/Zaniolo/Rogers bring. McGinn and off-colour Luiz cannot paper over the cracks, they become ineffective.

It’s an area we need to strengthen. Rome wasnt built in a day. It’s been a brilliant season.

It's been well documented, tried and tested. ..Luiz and McGinn, don't work together in the pivot.....I understand, why they was played there, but it hasn't worked in the past, under previous managers, so why should it now?

We have to look to improve, in the summer.

[TRO]

31 minutes ago, Wurzel said:

 

By the way this is Villa fans, applauding the winning team after the game. Utter, utter class, I am so proud of all of you.

Wow................sheer class.

[TRO]

I have to say, Olympiacos impressed me in so much of their work.

[cb_82]

28 minutes ago, TRO said:

9 of them played last night....Only Kamara and Tielemans missing.

The bench is weaker, sure.

Maybe but In my opinion our best side has Kamara in there with Mcginn in that forward role and Ramsey/Rodgers left - Moves that team forwards from last night 50% in my opinion

The bench is so key to, with teams being able to make 5 subs you can effectively change half your team and bring on fresh legs/change shape/different styles etc

[VillaJ100]

Ripped off in the first leg, their striker had the luckiest offside beating runs he'll have in his entire career, they had ten times the energy and despite being tired we were also shit, could barely string two passes together for half that match. Full strength we'd smash these as Fiorentina will in the final.

[Zatman]

Thr best team won and I know why we lost but at end of the day Olympiakos wouldnt get 6 points in the Champions League

We need to be careful with our expectations if get to the Champions League as the level is a lot higher

[fightoffyour]

Disappointed. I thought we played well enough over the two legs for the tie to at least be in the balance.

Seemed like everything went against us in both matches - be that unlucky deflections, penalty non-awards and misses, or just conceding at absolutely the worst times - we never got the rub of the green once in 180 (or closer to 200) minutes.

We started calmly and controlled yesterday, looked confident and threatening enough to affect the result, then got done on the break by a goal that one of our best players will feel he should've done better with.

And yet, I still felt if we get one back before half time, effectively 0-0 on the night and come at like we did at the start of the match, we're still in this. Be it Cash getting half a metre further forward for that ball across the box or Bailey's fizzing strike getting looped into the net (or perhaps not blocked at all) like their crap goal in the first game did, nothing at all would fall for us.

We didn't get that goal before half time, and we didn't come out like we did at the start of the first half. The tie was over.

I had a dream at some point this morning that we were one nil down and everyone thought it was over, got a goal back on about 85 mins, then another on 90 with 8 of injury time added. with 96 on the clock, we get a corner, and it's converted directly into the net (didn't we used to see those all the time?), but the ref had already blown the whistle for something about nothing in the box. We still lost. I'm thankful it didn't play out that way at least.

[El Zen]

Not to take anything away from Olympiacos, but I still think we’ve been incredibly unlucky over the two legs. That being said, we look like there is absolutely nothing left in the tank for us and that we just desperately need Spurs to drop the necessary points and the season to be over.

[The Fun Factory]

It should be good experience for the players to get some European football back at Villa.  I just hope we don't have to wait another 42 years for the next semi final.

Although we were heavily fancied by the bookies at the end of the day we only won 1 of our last 4 ties, and  2 out of our last 7.

 In our first 7 games we won 6 of them, which showed as the step in class in the knockout stages we found  it harder.

We all desperately wanted a claret and blue repeat of last year but West Ham had already had a good run in the Europa the year before and were that little bit more experienced than us. Plus without sounding churchlish they had an easier draw.

[cb_82]

18 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Thr best team won and I know why we lost but at end of the day Olympiakos wouldnt get 6 points in the Champions League

We need to be careful with our expectations if get to the Champions League as the level is a lot higher

Of coure it is, but it will be a different more experienced Villa too if we get there

 

They were better team in the moment but our fully fit team/bench beats Olympiakos so lets not do us down to much 

[cb_82]

7 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

It should be good experience for the players to get some European football back at Villa.  I just hope we don't have to wait another 42 years for the next semi final.

Although we were heavily fancied by the bookies at the end of the day we only won 1 of our last 4 ties, and  2 out of our last 7.

 In our first 7 games we won 6 of them, which showed as the step in class in the knockout stages we found  it harder.

We all desperately wanted a claret and blue repeat of last year but West Ham had already had a good run in the Europa the year before and were that little bit more experienced than us. Plus without sounding churchlish they had an easier draw.

Agree, West Ham finished 14th in the league alongside a much easier path where they played someone in the Semis that we played in the group

Larnica/Gent/Az is much easier than Ajax/Lille/Oympiakos

 

[DaveAV1]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

9 of them played last night....Only Kamara and Tielemans missing.

The bench is weaker, sure.

Fine margins my friend and you can’t just dismiss the bench, it’s the kind of depth that makes a difference, when the chips are down, that we need I’m afraid. Onwards and upwards!! We have the basics right at the club now, for the first time in this brave new post Ellis age and during too I might add!! We’ve done worse since the old bugger went though as we all know! But hopefully our trajectory is now greatly improved and heading in a possitive, upward, direction! UTV!! No time to mope I’m off fishing this afternoon!! Tight lines everyone! 

[adamo]

Can someone explain me how your coach decide to play with  3 CB against us when he needs 2 goals to tie the game? i was surprised to see that from him. Bad coaching in  entire  game........

Edited May 10 by adamo

[Podster]

If we are in the champions league next season we will get eaten alive unless we make some serious investment in getting better quality into the squad

 

 

[MrBlack]

16 minutes ago, adamo said:

Can someone explain me how your coach decide to play with  3 CB against us when he needs 2 goals to tie the game? i was surprised to see that from him. Bad coaching in  entire  game........

Our bench explains why. We don't have enough fit players thanks to injury. We have 8 first team players that our out injured at the moment. Didn't really have a choice sadly.

Our bench had two Goalkeepers, and 3 youth players that have barely played for us on it.

[Teale's 'tache]

Not much went right for us throughout the tie, Olympiacos did the basics well, were efficient going forward, and had a bit of luck when they needed it, and those were probably the key differences between the sides.

I don't mind trying something a bit different by going three at the back and trying to get the full-backs up the pitch, we had to try something and in general it worked out okay, we dominated the ball and created bits and pieces, but we simply weren't ruthless enough and then there were defensive lapses we simply couldn't afford. It's very easy to get caught on the break when searching for goals and we seemed to be wary of it by not committing too many forward too soon, but then we still got caught out anyway.

We are tired, both physically and mentally, we talk about injuries and the players we miss, but also the injuries mean we can't rotate others and keep them fresh, Luiz, McGinn, Watkins and Konsa in particular have barely missed any games and they just look totally gassed. It seems like a few of the others are carrying niggling injuries as well, but having to play anyway, and that's exactly how we are performing right now, tired in the mind as well as the legs, nowhere near 100%.

That's football, sometimes things don't go your way, 2 games left and hopefully, we are due a good performance or a bit of luck in one of them.

Let's get behind the boys and roar them on these last few games.

[avfc1982am]

23 minutes ago, adamo said:

Can someone explain me how your coach decide to play with  3 CB against us when he needs 2 goals to tie the game? i was surprised to see that from him. Bad coaching in  entire  game........

Only 2 fit central midfielders so playing 3 CB's behind them using the FB's as wingers made perfect sense. As the other post says, we just have too many injuries to play the system and way we wanted to last night or in the first game at Villa Park. Emery's hand was forced to play that way last night so in fairness I don't think any Villa fan blames him for the final result.