Gelson had a really average game...when was the last time he absolutely destroyed a quality defender in a game? He better not be regressing.
I think part of the problem is he has added defensive duties. If he was given more freedom to stay forward I think he could be more dangerous.
PICCINI E MATHIEU FALHAM JUVENTUS Looks like Piccini and Mathieu will miss the game against Juve on Tuesday. Pretty sure we all saw that coming. Braga game likely as well as it looks like they both could miss extended time. As soon as I saw Mathieu sit down and signal for the bench he looked done, but then I saw him walking decently on his own and thought maybe it was minor. Piccini didn’t look good though. Without knocking on Piccini I hope Mathieu is in better shape, Ristovski, while still an unknown certainly leaves us more comfortable than our options at CB I guess it’s good that following this week we have the international break.
Yeah muscle injuries are never less than a week so this is not surprising. While we get a chance to see Ristovski in action (unless JJ goes crazy and plays Bruno Cesar) the centre back presents more of a concern. Andre Pinto has an opportunity to show what he's worth - William could also be an option at CB
William at CB is an interesting option. I recall he played fantastically there in preseason when Mathieu was out. And with Battaglia, Fernandes and Podence playing well, all could get time on the field. Not sure our next 2 opponents are ones I’d wanna role with William at CB though. Unfortunately neither is Tobias/Pinto. We really should’ve either kept Oliveira or contracted another CB. Mathieu going down at some point was inevitable.
No Coentrão either, 3/4 of our defense isn’t playing and Coates is sitting on a yellow. Could be a disaster lol