Bürki LP Hummels Akanji Hakimi Brandt Witsel Guerreiro Sancho Haaland Reus Haaland gets the start without a change of the formation. I thought Hazard did well enough the last games but you can't argue with bringing Haaland. Zagadou back on the bench.
Yeah, Haaland just continues to succeed. Refreshing to see that. There will be times where he is beleaguered but right now he is on fire and he needs to be out there while he is in this run of form. Of course Paco caught fire but we will see if Haaland can hold up.
After a rather average second half from us so far, Reus (pk) and Witsel make it 4:0 within 2 minutes.
Haland changed everything in our game, i mean everything.. He has that factor like CR had in Madrid, this kid is a machine... I just hope they will chance that release clause that is 75M, who ever get him for that price, thats a bargain..
His two goals were great examples of all the things we were missing. A presence in the middle that occupies the CBs and who can do something with the balls put in instead of that big hole without a striker and someone who can finish with force. He's also big which makes him a recipient for long balls and that reminded me of how Koller's physique was so beneficial for us in the early 2000s. Plus, he's also surprisingly fast and has the technique to play with the guys around him. I expected to lose creativity without Hazard but that wasn't the case. It was a bit strange seeing Hakimi and Reus pissed after they got subbed with a 4:0 scoreline and midweek games coming. If you want to see that in a positive light, maybe they just enjoy playing and it's a sign of their hunger.
Haland has solved the missing striker issue without needing any time to settle. Sancho also looks more hungry to prove himself every match because Haland is competition for whatever u21 prizes he wants. @Oliseh He usually scores with his first touch like today, poacher style, so its not that he changed everything about our game as much as we now have a striker who doesnt waste 1000 chances every game, so we play better than when Reus, Gotze, JBL played upfront or in a strikerless formation. The terrible tactics in the first half was mostly because we didnt sign a reliably fit striker in summer like some already demanded and had to fit square pegs in round holes. Good game. Good to see Neven.
With Haland we scored 15 goals in just 3 matches, half of that goals are Halands.. I just want someone better than Piszcek. With some good CB, out team would be superb..
Id like to see us beat Bayern this year and not next as I dont think Haaland will be with us a terribly long time if he keeps it up. I like the CL but I want to win this one so much more. We need Bayern to slip up a couple times I fear as they are rolling at the moment too.
Cos Hazard isnt that creative, and creative players like Gotze Sancho Reus filled in as striker instead of creating. Now theres Haland they can focus on making chances which unlocks our creativity. Wonder how much of it is down to Haland and how much is down to us needing this kind of striker, because everything you described can be applied to strikers on crazy streaks like Michu at Swansea, Bas Dost at Wolfsburg when De Bruyne put everything on a platter for him to finish, even Mario Gomez, Paco, Chicharito. Or Piatek at Genoa who funnily enough is at Hertha now. Wasnt it quite recent some posters here wanted Zorc to spunk crazy money on him and Joao Felix?
I agree. Simply put: we create a lot of chances and we needed that striker who's confident and hungry to score them, and also technical to fit with this bunch! I think if we had signed any striker in the first half, we'd be 1st in the standing right now. That doesn't take away anything from Haland's unique ability. Now we find ourselves in the same situation, where we need to keep praying for the rest of the season for Haland to not get injured. I'm a bit confused by how we didn't get a backup striker knowing that we'd lose Paco.
Well, we have Can now who can replace Piszczek. I’d like to see Balerdi or Morey soon too, hope one of them (Morey) will play on Tuesday instead of Hakimi who was bad yesterday Hope Haaland’s release cause is valid from 2021. If he continues like this, he’ll be worth 150m this summer. Anyway, hope he’ll stay