I'm not sure why we keep attacking up the left flank without attempting some switch-off play. We keep plowing into their low block and squandering opportunities. A long pass into space on the other side would discombobulate them enough to get some clear shots on frame. I like the subs though. Sebastian is pushing the right buttons.
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Sparta Prague in full time. That was ... unsatisfying. We kept trying the same attacking pattern and kept getting the same results. We just didn't do enough to throw them off balance.
We needed to be much more aggressive on the attack today and more clinical in the box. It was by no means a bad idea to run the attack through Führich. But we didn't do anything to pull them apart, and too many promising attacks ended with him carrying the ball inside and just getting smothered. I kept looking for a long pass to the other channel and either Chase or El Bilal Touré to carry it to the end line and try a cutback pass. But we barely made the effort. Everything was in the 18 in front of their defense.
Schedule crunch today, but just because I don't have the stamina to do the entire lawn in one day. Gotta cut the back. But I'll be streaming the match and should be able to dial in on the second half. Furchtlos und Treu!
Well, that got dramatic. More later after everyone has caught up. I only caught the very end. My chemo meds make me tired, and on top of it my red blood count is a little low, so I had to cut the grass in two sessions. (Had to be finished today because the leaf drop has begun.) Hate missing a match, but it's crowded today. New York City FC, the Mets and the New York Giants are all playing at the same time. Whose idea was that? LOL
Here we go: Juventus. I won't comment until later because of the start time, but I'll be watching. Will check back either later tonight or tomorrow sometime to chat it up. FurchtlosUndTreu
48' Undav finally sinks a shot, 0-1. VAR check ... although off his shoulder, they are calling it a hand ball. Still 0-0.
85' PK for VfB. Up steps Millot who missed his last PK. He hits it close to the middle and Juve GK easily saves it. Duh. Who was captain at this point to allow Millot to miss yet another PK? I would have had Stiller take the PK.
And VfB hang on for a 0-1 win in Turin, Italy. Outstanding result. They were the better team on the day.
I thought Deniz was hard done by on that one. Hit his shoulder. But we didn't let it get us down and kept fighting for the win. Truth be told, we outclassed Juve on the day, except for maybe a 10-minute span after the subs in the second half. Then we caught our second wind and turned the momentum back in our favor. Really superb effort, especially after the whupping we took from Bayern. El Bilal Touré impresses me every match. Terrific goal. Sebastian may need to re-think his XI ...
UCL Matchday 4: VfB Stuttgart - Atalanta Wednesday at 21:00 in Stuttgart, and 14:00 in my time zone. Unfortunately, it is the same time as my favorite club's match (Feyenoord) against Red Bull Salzburg, so I won't be watching VfB live.
While I was watching Feyenoord crash and burn at home against winless Red Bull Salzburg (1-3 loss), VfB were losing at home 0-2 against Atalanta. Not a good day for my CL squads. VfB are now on 4 points in the table with a group of 3 other squads, positions 25-28. This is the group that drops out of the competition after the 8 matches are done.
Not a great position to be in. By the way, Stefan Bienkowski has a nice piece on Angelo Stiller in the excellent Gegenpressing Newsletter today. It's for paid subscribers, but their content is very much worth a few bucks a month: https://gegenpressing.substack.com/p/angelo-stiller-is-the-midfield-glue
VfB 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt in full time. What a match. I won't spoil it, but watch the replay, or at least the last 20 minutes. What a furious comeback. We actually outplayed them up to that point, but all the breaks went their way, and they were up 3-0 as the match was winding down. We very, very nearly escaped with a point. Wow.
With international break this coming week and weekend, I will have time to watch this match. I rarely watch int'l matches.
Sorry, I put this comment in the wrong thread. It was a Bundesliga match. My pre-chemo meds (meaning wine LOL) made me a little loopy this weekend.
Thank you! First infusion on Friday, so here we go ... At least I'll be off the pills I've been on for the past year. I've barely been able to string two thoughts together. Sucks.