Shows the level of Italian football. Liverpool with 0:30 goal difference in the last 5 games can still beat Inter, Napoli look weak against Benfica, who are like 7th in the Portuguese league.
Its not the levele. Its the managers and how the games are being officiated. There are 200 stops in Serie a for diving defenders
Lucca and Hojlund are both, both shit at being target men, and are not target men.... at all. Hojlund is a runner like Haaland, Lucca I'm not sure. I honestly don't think this version of Conte is the right manager for us in the long run. Offensively he is light years from the top. In Europe chances are rarely given to you, you have got to play forward and do it fast when you catch the opponent out of their defensive shape. So many times I see this team choosing to pass the ball backwards instead of going for a quick counter, when we for once have the fast players up front. I'm 100% sure its by design, and Conte needs to evolve or forever be the manager who cant do shit in Europe. We need Lukaku back so bad because I know conte wont tinker with his philosophy. We are so easy to read. Plan A: ball down the sideline, first time pass (in blind) to the forward who lays it off to a winger. If its not that its plan B: pass all the way back to GK and then a desperate long ball or plan A. Not a single player other than our GK actually looked for a longer ball in behind, despite our attack making great runs many times.
We can advance. It just takes Conte to start games with a positive and attacking approach. Not all this park the bus against every team.
He put out the same line he did vs Juve. What more can he do with the players we have available? Lucca is a bust and Politano is being ass because he lost his starting spot.
This time, I do not really feel like we need to criticize much, and I even agree with Conte. A game like this can happen with the schedule we have had and playing teams that had 3 days more rest and are not Serie A teams. But we can regret the other points lost. Overall, I maintain SA, apart from Inter, has nothing on other big leagues. You keep saying how we are great, only to be schooled by other teams, not even from big leagues.
Inter is the closest thing to a top team in Italy. They literally threw the league last season. The thing is Conte now has a team that should be close to Inter level. That is the problem. We are not. We can park a bus yes. But, in terms of being a top team that can just score a goal when a goal is needed we are faaaar from. I will reserve my judgement on Conte until Lukaku is back, because Lucca and Hojlund are not Conte forwards at all (at least not yet) I think the key (to becoming a top team) should be the Hojlund-KDB-Neres connection. Those are our 3 players with most x-factor, players that can make the difference when the opponent has tactically closed us down. Hojlund's pace is almost not matched by any defender, KDB's vision and passing foot, Neres flair and now he is adding an insane amount of concentration to his game. I wouldnt even add mctominay to this list because if you track his runs and make sure to have enough players on him he is closed down and effectively out of the game. As opposed to, you cant stop Hojlunds pace, you cant stop KDB from seeing gaps that naturally open even in the tightest of games, you cant be sure to stop Neres because he has the ability to turn multiple defenders - unlike Lang and Politano, you can stop them with almost a 100% certainty. The rest are not gonna win us a game at the highest level. Conte wants to make a Conte team, and I think Lukaku needs to play before its truly a Conte team. Even if it means sacrificing Hojlund, because right now Hojlund is a useless vice-Lukaku - he lacks the strength, awareness, technique, overall experience. What Hojlund is good at we don't do so might as well not play him for a a period.
What is wrong with conte?! Of course our players get injured when this psychopath cant even rotate between elmas and lang. Its not like elmas is much better. I bet elmas will start against juve in 3 days as well making elmas start 3 matches in 7 days. Again, its ********ing elmas not CR7. And that's just one example
Lang has already upgraded to a more successful club this season, his mind might not be here at all. And Conte also does not like him. He is exactly that kind of a good Christian who will never forget Lang for the one mistake remark almost half a year ago...
We are so ********ing shit. Conte has groomed these fools into madness. Im literally shaking my head for 90% of the time we have the ball. Every fukn time we break play and have a numerical advantage if we advance the play quickly, you know, like how most fukn goals are scored in football, WE FUKN PASS IT BACKWARDS. Im so sick of it, I hope conte leaves. We can only score from fukn corners or crosses, its sickening. Remind you we need to score goals because goal difference could become the real difference between goes through or not. AND lets not forget we are only winning because we got gifted being a man up. I wouldn't even be surprised if this ends 1-1 or we lose.
Im not even angry. Leaning more towards madness. This is the same shit we have seen from this team since the start of the season, the only player that defies this is KDB, and he is funny enough not on Conte's good side. Is he even still a Napoli player?