This was hard because of GB. Get behind…. Against at team with 10 behind the ball. He should have subbed way sooner. GB didn’t adjust anything. Pepi got a knock on, Robinson got a deflection and then TNT had to open up. This was in spite of GB.
I agree with this. We generated a lot of chances early on in the first half hour or so of the game, but the crosses didn't find feet and the shots were wildly off the mark. The last 10 minutes for me weren't materially different in strategy; we just got the execution better. Pepi got the deft touch that barely missed in the first half. Jedi got the shot on frame that everyone sailed high and wide in the first half. Flo got the proper weight on the through ball to Gio in a spot that could be finished. Those redirections, shots, and perfectly weighted passes were all missed in the first half. Tactical changes at half or with the subs didn't cause the execution to improve.
I honestly didn't have a huge problem with the tactics deployed. It's always really hard to break down an opponent when they're compact in the box and force you to shoot from distance through traffic. A 4-2-2-2 versus a 4-3-1-2 isn't going to change that. You just have to execute at the end of the day. The issue was personnel placement, IMO. Tillman isn't a winger so the square peg naturally didn't fit well into the round hole. Also, Gio is great on the wing, but he and the rest of the team are better when he's the #10. McKennie has played a lot on the wing for Juve this season so I'd start him there next game with Paredes on the opposite wing with Tillman and Musah in the center of the park. Then put Gio in between the center mids and Balogun/Pepi and go have a field day. That's too much talent with the ball at their feet in the most dangerous area of the box for even a compact defense to hold down for 80 minutes. Keep the wingers wide and let the wing backs have space to drive at defenders too. Lastly, drive to the byline and play crosses back to the 6 at an angle from behind the defense. You can't constantly try to break down a compact defense with all the defenders in front of you. They get pulled out of position more when you spread out and when you get behind them.
Now there are things you can do to widen the margin for error on some of your crosses, passing lanes, and shots and we did one of those which is to make the defense run a lot even though they're compact and tire them out. The one we didn't do enough of is spread them out. This was especially bad in the first half. Tillman and Paredes were too narrow crowding opportunities for Jedi and Dest to drive at defenders and get shots or create better passing lanes. Part of that may be the 4-2-2-2 formation and part of that may be putting a central midfielder in Tillman out on the wing, but we allowed the defense to stay compact and didn't try to stretch them out. We also didn't move the ball quickly enough in the first half. Lanes were available, but runners moved too late or passes were played too slowly. When defenders are so close the windows of time and space to make passes are smaller and the need for precision escalates. We just weren't precise enough and read the game too slowly in the first hour+ and then took too long to figure out how to spread the defense out once we slowly improved our movements off the ball.
I thought Jedi was as good as I've seen him. He only had to make a few defensive plays, but he was perfect on those plays and made the right decisions after them. The danger he created offensively all night was exceptional. Most of the best chances were generated by him.
I thought Aaronson was as active as ever when he came on and his movement took how dangerous we could be to another level. He had 3-4 glorious opportunities to score, which may be more than any other player the entire game. I'd suggest he start the next match, but he MUST finish those chances. 2-3 of them were ones you just can't miss from where he was and be batted .000. I'd keep Paredes out there for another look.
The only discernable tactical change I noticed was when Pepi and Aaronson came on Gio moved from the wing to the #10. The formation seemed to change to a 4-4-2 where Pepi and Flo were forwards and the midfield shape shifted to a diamond where Aaronson and McKennie moved to the wings, Musah stayed central, and Gio shifted centrally into a natural #10. This change and Aaronson coming on are the things I credit for the onslaught of late goals. Gio was really solid all night, but his last half hour were elite. That's why, GB, you need Gio at the #10. Figure it out quickly so we don't have to suffer through stagnant football anymore.
McKennie was great all night. He's so active and relentless and he made a lot of really great decisions to get the ball into dangerous places. I felt he was one of the few who executed well all game.
You can't evaluate the defense much from a game like this, but Ream did get beat pretty badly once and Jedi tracked back 20 yards to bail him out. I'd much prefer to see CCV and Richards as the center back pair on Monday. I'd be okay with MRob too. T&T have to win by 4 goals Monday so they can't come out compact like last night. The defense will be tested a little more the next time out and I think Ream isn't part of our strongest back line.
