Kept improving through the half, to the point where they ended as the clear better side, but they probably need 3 points from every remaining match against sides at Spezia's level to threaten the title, and they're not getting enough yet.
With our luck Pirlo gets the boot and they replace him with a guy who wins games playing butt ugly soccer and sits Wes on the bench.
I would hope that Pirlo gets at least another transfer window or two to re-shape the squad before he'd get axed, if they at least make the top 4 this season.
Riveting television as everyone watches the referee adjust his watch for two minutes. Look for it on the highlight reel.
McKennie steals a backpass to the keeper and rolls it across the six, but Chiesa is beaten to it and it is cleared.
How many turnovers a game does he force just by hustling? Simple thirty yard sprint forces the keeper to play it long.
Wow - it counts, took longer for VAR to check the goal than Morata and Bernardeschi had been on the field.
I think if you want to win by playing butt ugly soccer, Wes would be central to that. What he lacks in Pirlo-esque elegance he makes up for in grinta.
Grinta is sexy, IMO. Some of the best games the USA played were pure grinta. Games we treasure. I guess they're hard to watch for the side that lost to us with 65% possession and 5-to-1 shots on goal, though.
I absolutely don't disagree, and I've loved each and every one of those games. We've been conditioned to love it by some very tough, gritty, unglamorous USMNTs but given the choice of a Pep era Barca team or Klopp era Liverpool team or a Landon Donovan banging home the 90' winner against Algeria team I don't know which I'd choose if we had the players. Part of me as a US fan will always feel like an underdog and in 20/30 years time when we have world beating players at every position and are the (insert great team du jour) of the world, it'll feel really weird. Maybe WM will even be coach and/or his Italian-American dual nat son will be lining up at the 6.
The way that Juve ended the game is how I believe the team should line up moving forward. It maximizes the strengths (attackers and CBs) and helps minimize the weakness (CM) kind of like a 3-4-2-1 -------------------------------------Tek ------------------Danilo-------Demiral-------Alex Sandro ----------------------Bentancur---------Rabiot Chiesa-----------------------------------------------------Bernardeschi ----------------Kulusevski-------------------Ronaldo ----------------------------------Morata Everyone healthy, I think it should look like this: -------------------------------------Tek ------------MdL----------------Bonucci-----------Chiellini ----------------------McKennie---------Arthur Cuadrado--------------------------------------------------Alex Sandro ----------------Chiesa-----------------------Ronaldo ----------------------------------Morata
McKennie gets deep for a cross toward Ronaldo at the penalty spot, but cleared for a corner. Late stoppage time now.