Bürki LP Hummels Akanji Hakimi Brandt Witsel Guerreiro Sancho Reus Hazard Must win for us but Köln won their last 4 games in the league. Götze, Haaland and Alcacer on the bench. I'm wondering whether in certain situations Alcacer+Haaland could work because they are different types. Duos like Werner+Poulsen that complement each other seem to have worked well.
Guerreiro scores in the first minute. Feels odd to score that early instead of receiving the early goal.
And now Köln were in a good position to equalize. Köln's player was completely free just in front of the box. It's insane that we cannot get our defensive problems in order.
2:0 Reus. Good result so far but not entirely great game by us. We basically scored from 2 long balls by Hummels.
If we aren't careful, we'll throw away another game. We can't keep control for long, let them press us to make backpasses to Bürki and we lose easy balls. Köln aren't solid in their back as well so more goals on either end wouldn't be surprising.
I wish we more often win that easy as today.. With Haland now, im not concerned about attack, what concerns me is defence, 28 goals in out net in only 19 matches so far, thats is alarming and that is the biggest reason i want Favre to leave. I just dont see him fixing this problem, tactical when it comes to defending, Favre is a poor coach. His players often doesnt know where they have to be positioned when we are defending, that Koln goal is just one of the example how players are lost in space, 1 player goes behind our whole defence,they just dont see him, like he is invisible.. How is that even possible?
What worries me even more is that even if players are underperforming over a long stretch of time, they are lined up over and over again (Akanji). It doesn’t seem like Balerdi and Morey will get a chance any time soon. I don’t have anything against Gio Reyna, but I’d play Balerdi and Morey before him. Line up today was the same as last week (and if I’m not completely mistaking it was the same 1st 3 rounds in hinrunde too), and even the subs are the same. If we continue like this, all those not trusted will want to go after the season.
When it comes to Haland, this boy has to play in the starting 11, he is the only guy in our squad that has that natural killing instinct, i would say even more than Paco. Did you see his reaction after Reus shot, he attacked goalie like he knew where the ball is goin, thats just pure talent, thats not luck, he has that nose for goal.. I bet if he start against Berling, he can easily score Hattrick again...
I was thinking about whether Paco and Haaland could work together to break a parked bus. They operate so differently that I don't think they'll trip on each other. Paco is creative enough that I think it could work. With Reus, Sancho, and Hazard/Brandt feeding them and Hummels launching some balls over the top, I think it would be fun to watch. I would like to see them try it versus someone like Bremen in the Pokal, since you could always sub out one of them to revert to a more standard formation if it isn't working, and the other team is likely to be saving their powder to avoid relegation.
You could certainly push him onto either wing ... its a position he played at Barca. Makes no sense to let him go if u think about it ... with Sancho leaving come the summer. Reus - Halaand - Paco, with Hazard and Gio as backup. I doubt Dortmund'd b able to get anyone near his quality for the purported 25 or so mil they seem to b willing to let him go for. Strange ...
I watched the game again yesterday, following Akanji and Witsel more closely. Even if the first had a fair game, he didn’t contribute with any creativity. His passes were mostly short (a couple of long passes had no address), and he had great many passes back to Bürki which only resulted in long balls and lost possession. On one occasion Hummels yelled at him for being out of position, watching the ball too much and not the player. It was a big chance for Köln. Witsel is a great player, good on holding the ball, but he also lost it couple of times in dangerous position. What is most important is that he’s slowing the game unnecessary many times. There are moments he could play the ball quickly to initiate a counter, while he’s holding to the ball for too long. Last but not least, our set pieces are hopeless, both offensive and defensive. Wonder what they do on trainings.
It wasn't really a great game for many players. Reus was below average, Witsel was below average, Sancho was actually pretty bad except that one glorious shot. Koln are not good. It was a day where, for once, a bad team played at their own level and we only played halfway down to them. It was good for morale and stats, but it wasn't a masterpiece.