Matchday 35 (April 21-23) thread

allstonite

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Alright Salah got one and they got the 2 goal lead. Time to put him back in bubble wrap till Tuesday
 

PedroSpecialK

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Salah gets #31, great ball from Oxlade-Chamberlain

Ahmed Hegazi decided to make this his last Premier League game for a while, doling out a light punch on the stomach to a fallen Danny Ings. No doubt about a retrospective ban
 

PedroSpecialK

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2 losses and a draw against West Brom this season
3 wins and a loss against City

Sounds about right

edit: I will say, Stuart Attwell had a pretty poor match - the free kick awarded for the second goal was not only brutally soft, but wasn't taken from the spot Attwell marked. Oh well
 

koufax32

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I mean, if we all storm Anfield at the same time and kidnap Lovren, they can’t really stop us, right?
 

candylandriots

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I’m just going to proud- (as opposed to humble-) brag that I just went to a 2. Bundesliga game and am rushing home to get to watch Crystal Palace. I think I’m going to be about 10 minutes late but it’s worth it.
 

candylandriots

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I think Wilf has a legit penalty claim there, but Doucoure definitely should have seen a card there. Wasn’t he booked earlier?

Edit: yes he was, he should be off for that shove if you ask (biased) me.
 

Kliq

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I can’t believe I have to watch Sanchez play CB in what is probably going to be the hardest FA Cup match left.
 

Kliq

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Fox’s audio is fucked up for me, anyone else having a problem?
 

Kliq

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It’s like someone keeps smacking their hand on top of the crowd speaker. It’s really annoying.
 

Kliq

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Pathetic performance; nothing dangerous after the first United goal.
 

coremiller

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Spurs and Poch exposed again in a big knockout match. There’s no Plan B to regain control or switch things up, never mind C or D.
I don't know if I'd go that far. This game was mostly about finishing. Spurs did not get convincingly outplayed today like they did last week against City. The chances were basically even. Spurs were much the better side for most of the first half and if they convert one of their several half-chances in the first half it's a very different game. United's goal in the second half came basically out of nothing.

That said, Poch isn't blameless today. The LB situation is a problem. Ben Davies is a decent PL player but he's frequently a liability against top-class opposition. A fit Danny Rose would have helped a lot today. Poch's tactical switch to take Davies off totally backfired. Playing Moura inside and Vertonghen as a wing-back made no sense. Vertonghen isn't fast enough to play there. Moura's dribbling is wasted in a congested midfield, Spurs had no width on the left, and United always had an outlet into the space behind Vertonghen. If they were going to bring Lucas on, they needed to play him wide and let him run at United's fullbacks, who were already both on yellow cards.

It also seemed clear that Kane was well below 100%. I understand it's hard to drop him, but he seems well below full fitness, Spurs have depth at the attacking positions (they left Lamela and Lucas on the bench), and they were fine going forward without him against Chelsea.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I don't know if I'd go that far. This game was mostly about finishing. Spurs did not get convincingly outplayed today like they did last week against City. The chances were basically even. Spurs were much the better side for most of the first half and if they convert one of their several half-chances in the first half it's a very different game. United's goal in the second half came basically out of nothing.

That said, Poch isn't blameless today. The LB situation is a problem. Ben Davies is a decent PL player but he's frequently a liability against top-class opposition. A fit Danny Rose would have helped a lot today. Poch's tactical switch to take Davies off totally backfired. Playing Moura inside and Vertonghen as a wing-back made no sense. Vertonghen isn't fast enough to play there. Moura's dribbling is wasted in a congested midfield, Spurs had no width on the left, and United always had an outlet into the space behind Vertonghen. If they were going to bring Lucas on, they needed to play him wide and let him run at United's fullbacks, who were already both on yellow cards.

It also seemed clear that Kane was well below 100%. I understand it's hard to drop him, but he seems well below full fitness, Spurs have depth at the attacking positions (they left Lamela and Lucas on the bench), and they were fine going forward without him against Chelsea.
I agree that Spurs weren’t outplayed overall but I’d say United looked the better team, and Spurs generated very little in attack, from 1-1 onward. Spurs were better early and could have gone up 2-0, but once United equalized and adjusted to the high pressure, there wasn’t an effective counter adjustment from Poch.
 

PedroSpecialK

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In an incredible (but ultimately believable) turn of events, Hegazi was not charged by the FA for his punch on Danny Ings.