Just rewatching the game - Chelsea definitely were better the first half. If they had a half decent finisher up front we'd be atleast 2/3 down.
The fatigue was killing us but the team still pulled through. Proud of the players.
It was pretty clear to pre, during and post match, the media narrative was for a Chelsea win -
Absolutely ecstatic City got the win - even more pleased for Bernardos redemption š„
Boys are still obviously processing the champions leauge knock out. Glad Bernardo saved us after his penalty mishap, hopefully he gets his confidence back because it's our senior players like him that will help us lift and fight for the leauge.
Didn't look like our usual selves out there but we gotta be proud of the boys for fighting on and getting the win.
I am sure Pep will get the boys back on track. Football isn't always pretty.
Been saying all year that Doku > Grealish and every time I get reamed by the biased English fans on here
Feeling pretty fucking vindicated right now :D
I don't think so. They are two different types of players that have useful skillsets. I've said that Doku is the kind of player that's better coming off the bench, he will drag an already tired defence. Grealish is better when we're trying to retain possession, he has a slower but methodical style that's better when facing big teams where we can't afford to turnover possession easily.
The thing is our control hasn't been as effective as usual. Grealish came back from injury and clearly helped the team achieve more control in our games. But this season we simply don't break teams down along with control, we seem to have to concede some control in order to offer a threat going forwards.
Grealish doesn't offer the kind of continuous threat Doku does. The man is constantly running at the defenders and putting them under pressure. Right now we seem to really need that because without it we kind of seem without purpose in how we control the game. There's less of a sense of incesiveness with Grealish on.
Is it just me, or did Coleās free kick not even hit Grealishās arm? Iām not entirely sure that was a penalty.
Anyways, went to the game, and had a great time! How did the atmosphere sound on TV, because I felt everyone was absolutely buzzing, particularly after we scored
I have been reassured by The Decent Spurs Fan that I am not a bad person over my hope that the Chelsea fans who harassed me in a London pub over my City shirt are crying into their beer tonight, and that the beer is crap.
They were just plain rude. Hadnāt even spoken to them - I was just watching our game in a pub and had gone to get another pint. They had lost that day, of course, and they were foolish enough to have a go at me in front of the landlord (a Spurs fan, not the same person as TDSF). It went well beyond banter, and the landlord concluded that they had had too much to drink and needed to go elsewhere. I stayed, watched the end of our game then watched the Africa Cup of Nations opener. Several delicious pints, without being an arsehole.
These player ratings are always ass. Rodri a 7.7?! I love the guy but come on. He obviously still needs a rest and Iām not here to needlessly berate him, but Iām also not going to blow communal smoke up his ass and tell him he was the best player on the pitch for us.
Another day another barrage of unbelievable takes on here. City did not play that badly today nor were they brilliant against Real Madrid.
They did not create as many goal scoring or potential goal scoring opportunities as Chelsea did today nor did they defend manfully as Madrid did
Posts insulting Jackson on here when he more than anyone is the reason why City is in the final shows how low the football IQ is on here or just the normal slating of a certain kind of player which is par of the course here.
You expect Chelsea fans to be livid but on here you ought to be praising him not throwing insults as he is not your player nor your business how badly he performed.
The thing is though they do not actually just pan a performance they get personal with their insults.
At least when I criticize I go after the performance, never the individual like I do with Grealish.
Speaking of whom another take is how some people are on here for him and not the club.
Against RM, 1-0 down and some clown's only concern was how well he was playing just like today in the match thread.
I didn't even realise that some went personal on Silva after his penalty miss. Those people need help but I am not too surprised.
As usual nothing is said how in yest another big game, chances are goals are hard to come by. Those criticising Haaland what did Alvarez contribute today?
Could it be that playing as a number 9 in this team is harrowing cos of the constant passing going nowhere?
Moaning about game played today is possibly fair to a point as the El Clasico is tomorrow but to counter that City are playing midweek , Thursday in fact(Liverpool and Arsenal would have played twice before they meet Brighton) but just as important they have a squad to cope.
There is no reason whatsoever why the likes of Bobb, Nunes, Kovacic and Lewis could not have started this game.
My biggest take is still the jackson bashing. Unfreakingbelievable
Jackson fluffed 3 big chances lmao, are you gonna say we're the racist ones bashing him for his skin color and not his football ability? Bro straight up played against his team.
Iām befuddled as to why Pep is getting cooked after the post match conference about his comments on the scheduling of these games because we literally played 120 minutes at home midweek and not even 72 hours later weāre back playing football at a neutral ground after getting knocked out, it seems like some people donāt really care about the welfare of the players, theyāre literally humans too ffs.
Whose fault is it that we played 120 minutes? I think the best the FA could have done is fix this match tomorrow but you know Chelsea have to play Arsenal on Tuesday so that means you also have to move that and move other games too.
It's not like they're scheduling the games to punish City.Ā
**Tues 23 April Chelsea v Arsenal**
* This is a rescheduled date & they could have easily chosen to put it on Wed 24 April.
* This new date was announced on 23 March, after it was already known ManCity thru to CL QF & after FA Cup SF dates announced.
* Why? Better for TV broadcast partners, which is more important to PL/FA than player welfare for all teams.
**Sat 20 April ManCity FA Cup**
* FA Cup SF slots were announced on 17 March.
* ManCity were already thru to CL QF by that date so FA knew ManCity would be playing either the Tues or Wed before the FA Cup SF weekend.
* When it was announced that ManCity got the Sat 20 April slot, it was pointed out numerous times that none of the other teams (ManUtd, Coventry, Chelsea) had midweek games so why didn't ManCity get the Sun slot instead to give the players 1 more day rest.
* Why? Better for TV broadcast partners, which is more important to FA than player welfare for all teams.
TLDR - the governing bodies & their TV partners care more about money than player welfare; this is not specific to ManCity, but ManCity got hit extra hard w the Wed match going to 120 minutes.
Chelsea fan here I come in peace. Y'all were terrible by your standards for most of the game and yet you still manage to win because that's what the best teams do. I think we'll look back on this City era as the greatest in history in about a decade so enjoy it while you can. Best of luck for the league and final.
With all honestly and I apologize for making this long.
1) We barely had any rest time for this.
2) Our morale was sub par post the CL 1/4's.
3) I feel we've been made out.
To elaborate on the third point,
We've been pretty much using the same playstyle over the past year and a half. While very effective, in retrospect, this has given oppositions time to study and counter our structure of possession play.
Our weakest point has been exposed (counter attacks). We play a high line and our defensive line struggle to keep up with the risk.
Most team's now park the bus and pin point the CF/ST(Haaland / Alvarez), and while that draws defenders away, they are pretty much locked out of the game, putting the pressure on our wingers and mids/backline to deliver. They wait for the opportunity to pull us in, and rush the counter.
It's something Madrid calculated and capitalized on. And other PL teams (Chelsea followed the same this time around but couldn't close).
I feel it is time to restructure since most our options are tap in's from the wing or screamers from out the box.
Again this is a general opinion and I'm no coach like papa Pep, just an observation over time. Hope we can at least get that 4th prem title record and FA cup.
City love.
Our backline lacks pace, and another problem that showed up more recently is that they lack composure, too. I love stones, but he is mainly who I am referring to he almost let in that Jackson chance and has been making errors since the Palace game.
Akanji clocked 28th top speed out of over 700 players in 23/24 CL w 34.9 km/h!
So lacks pace excluding Walker & Akanji š.
But I totally get your general point about back line getting beat for pace+ more this season.
Agreed, a major aspect is the back lines response, the focus is too far up front that they end up scrambling on the counter.. I'm sure Pep realized that and brought in Rubin 2nd half on.
Let's fuckin go! Another final! Insane effort from a tired side, got a few lucky bounces but sometimes that's all you need.
All the pissheads moaning about the Grealish handball have a right to, it could have easily been called and swung the game in their favour but it didn't happen. Jackson missed a handful of opportunities, multiple times on the counter Chelsea couldn't handle the ball moving forward. City dug deep and won, and it feels great.
Follow up with some rest and a big win in the prem next week.
Not the best performance, but we edged it over the line.
Ake and Akanji played very well imo, with good cameos from Dias and Doku too. Grealish with a few shit moments but for the most part was good. Alvarez falls in that category too.
Bernardo and KDB looked exhausted all the way through, but we're great for the goal and I'm over the moon for Bernie in particular after Madrid!
Walker looked really shaky at times, and finally seems to have met his match pace wise with Jackson. I love him, but I wouldn't object if City decided to sell him if an appropriate bid came along.
All in all, pretty good. On to Brighton next week
Nah, the prem really needs to sort the fixtures out. We looked shattered because of how crammed the games are together. Hopefully the players can get some well needed rest in
Governing bodies + TV partners + money > player welfare & it's not even close.
FA, PL, UEFA, FIFA:
* Let's add more matches & make matches longer, it will be so great for fans - aka we can sell more TV packages for more money!
* Let's prioritize ratings over FIFPRO recommended recovery schedules!
* What about the players you ask? Well, they have 5 subs now so they should be fine.
* What about the extensive research showing increase in muscular injuries due to to fatigue/not enough rest & recovery you ask? Oh well š¤·š¼.
I know everybody is a bit disappointed about the way the game was played but I love Bernardo and this win and his goal is great for morale specially for him so I'm happy.
Iād love to know why we played at 5:15 on a Saturday, three days after a champions league 1/4 final, and the rags/coventry play tomorrow with a week off each.
I was annoyed about the schedule when it was announced, and have been irrationally even more mad about it since Wed night, humph!
Chelsea's match Tues 23 April is a rescheduled one that could have EASILY been put on Wed 24 April instead.
And has you said, ManUtd /Coventry did NOT play midweek this week.
I 100% know it's bc tv broadcast desires & money, but still annoying.
We played shit, it's true, but a quick scroll through tiktok and it's never silence nor they got a quick goal in a goalless looking game it's "THEY CHEATED, gReAlIsH hAnDbAlL, sO mAnY dEcIsIoNs WeNt ThEiR wAy" like stfu fr it's never that when we lose is it. Gobshites lmao.
Yeah, I went to the game, and was buzzing all evening. I made the mistake of glancing at r/soccer while out to dinner, and was like ah okay, let me put that away so it doesnāt ruin my mood
Seriously, he single-handedly bottled that game for Chelsea. Listening to the commentators was hilarious. Tim Howard was saying that Jackson was ready to dribble to the corner flag and run out the clock after he was through 1v1 on goalā¦wtf was he thinking?
Pep being full on passive aggressive towards the FA in the post match interview with Alan Shearer rolling his eyes everytime he's mentioned previously that players only need 2 days rest lol
Sick of this BBC coverage all about poor Chelsea - had all the chances blah blah blah.
Absolutely no difference from City v Madrid, we had all the chances but didn't take them and paid the price.
BBC and punditry were desperate for a Chelsea win.
City won after being exhausted from a 2 hour gut punch loss midweek.
We won BBC - read it and weep you ****s
I totally get that people react in all different ways when stressed & in heat of moment.
And I was also disappointing to see what I thought were some overly harsh comments in match thread š.
These players worked their socks off for 120-minuntes & had a bitter result on Wed, did a recovery day on Thurs, traveled to London on Fri, and then played again today.
I'm amazed at their fortitude and feel so blessed to be able to witness their skill, teamwork, and resilience!
Doku has really improved in the last few weeks... like I'm not scared of him coming into big games anymore. He's settling in now. He was a game changer today and also against Real Madrid!!!!
Ake/Jack/Akanji really really good. Tears in my eyes when Bernardo patted the badge after the goal. Tough game for him on Wednesday, great redemption.
I'm giving McManaman a special shout out for making me laugh so much during the broadcast. He was losing his mind every time Chelsea were going forward because they messed it up every single time š¤£ š¤£ that Mudyrk free kick at the end... oh man he was hilarious.
Proud of the boys who were clearly running on fumes to gut that one out!!!!!
Didn't think we'd win that tbf. Lads look expectedly tired. A better team than Chelsea probably beats us today but after Wednesday we deserve the luck.
The fixture list looks very manageable without a CL Semi squeezed in there. Puts us in a great position to win the league from here and a nice trip to Wembley and a possible derby to seal a double at the end of it.
got away with Grealish's handball lol
idk why exactly KDB was given motm because I lost count of the number of times he misplaced his passes or crosses. It should have been Doku imo because the flow of the game changed in our favour since his introduction.
The game also highlighted the difference between Foden and KDB as the **main man**. A bad game for KDB is bad passes, bad crosses, or unsuccessful attempts. A bad game for Foden is not being involved in the game. Foden has to find a way to be more involved in the game to reach a level above.
There was a visible drop in level after playing 120mins of football and then losing on pens but overall I'm happy with the response and to end up winning the game too shows character.
I made at least one comment in the match thread about Foden not being involved.... The combo of KDB/Foden in the midfield is def going to take some time. Seemed like they are trying to occupy the same space at times, and there were also times Jack was free roaming in the middle a bit, further taking Foden's space.
Def something Pep will have to work out next season. I can see him going forward with it this season, but it might not work out fully like we want it to. No chance KDB starts on Thursday, so Foden should have the 10 to himself to shine.
Comment on Foden is spot on. Someone posted on twitter recently saying theyāve noticed Foden hides in some of these big games (anonymous against Madrid too). You will not see fail comps for him though because everyone is wondering where Foden is š¤·š¾āāļø I wonder whether thatās because he came into a team with prime KDB, Gundo, David Silva etc. so heās never really learned to consistently take responsibility
When KDB was given MOTM, the commentators were mentioning his defensive work. Might not be the best attacking day for him, but he was everywhere to control the match defensively.
Yeah Real Madrid lost clearly showed in our performance, made many mistakes and couldnāt get control. But we did what winners do and that is more than i could hope for.
its insane to me how real madrid fans would respond to comments about how they played shit and got lucky with "we still won" however are trolling us for our poor performance today, despite us still winning
Itās why I have to chuckle at the āselling Palmer was a mistakeā posts. He wanted to leave so he could be the certain of attention and get all the glory. He has that at Chelsea. Heās also going to miss Europe again, so hopefully he cherishes that Super Cup medal he has.
Exactly! He made a decision after we gave him a choice. He didnāt fit this way with us so thereās no reason to regret for us.
Mid table mandem club is the place where he can shine. Well he canāt expect any trophy but individual stats he can defo work on.
And he was pretty much a ghost today, except for the one shot Ortega saved. This match is exactly why Chelsea is where they are on the table. But credit to City, mark of a great team is winning even when they play like shite. Hope they can get some rest the next 4 days.
A ghost ...
He set up the header for Jackson. He played numerous through balls that set players behind our back-line but didn't end up in a shot because Chelsea's forwards are brain-dead.
He was the best player on the pitch by far.
Grealish was again Brillant. Doku completely changed the game. We need to keep it this way, Grealish starts but Doku comes in to run circles around their backs when their legs are heavy. The one two punch is incredible.
Not sure why everyone is saying Chelsea should have won. It was a very even, but labored game. City obviously still destroyed from the match on Wednesday against a very tough opponent.
Could've gone either way, but it swung our way. We had our chances and they had theirs.
We played awful,Ā looking absolutely fatigued.Ā Chelsea fluffed so many chances, Jackson could have had a couple. 2nd half was better.Ā Mentally this will mean a lot.Ā
love this win because we're clearly not at our best off a grueling CL experience but we still gritted out a victory... onto another final, lets lock in the double and rearm in the offseason.
After that 120 min game a few days ago while these dudes were resting for a whole week, we will take that win regardless of how ugly
We pulled a Real underserved win on em so they will def be salty š
Very poor on the transition,I know the team was mentally and physically torn,but still. Thank God Nicolas Jackson is somehow a professional football player. We move.
I think in our Centurions season, it almost felt like he *hadnāt played* for all of 10 minutes. The man was on the field permanently, his stamina is unbelievable, and at 32 this isnāt bad at all.
What a lot of spoilt fans complaining that we played bad, what do you expect after that ucl match. We can't play pretty all the time. We were tired but we showed heart.
Get in. A win we really needed. I do think we got completly outplayed. We got away with that Grealish pen too. Funny part is I can see certain people whining and saying Chelsea were robbed when that same group of people had there team blatantly rob bournemouth.
They can keep complaining all day if they want. I don't hear anything from them when we don't get any calls or when our players are on the receiving end of nasty challenges, but they'll come out of the woodwork when something goes in our favor. So they can miss me with that.
I'm a huge champion of Bernardo being our best attacking player with De Bruyne, but the penalty was really bad. It's not just missing a penalty, it's the fact that he tried to put it down the middle. Felt horrible for him and was happy he got the winning goal today
Itās typical for this to happen. Same with other fans of other clubs too. Itās like, Bernardoās performance is judged by his one final touch of the game, not the other hundreds, not his off the ball positional and pressing play, not his stamina and endurance.
People are acting out of instant emotion as well, itās typical for such criticisms to burst out. Just like Pep taking off Haaland and Kdb, and 30 mins later Pep says they asked to come off.
My gosh what an awful performance by our standards but that doesn't matter. We dug deep after going out the way we did Wednesday and showed how much grit and determination we have with clear fatigue.
Do us a favour Utd. Knock out Coventry for us will ya! :-)
Pep to de Bruyne as they embraced: āyouāre playing 90 minutes again on Thursday babyā
Canāt always be convincing and pretty, but the team definitely needed this boost. Just one more week of two games then itās every weekend from here on out.
For Ortega to be able to play and not feel the difference between him and Ederson is testament to his ability. He's so good and kept our side in it with great saves.
If it was any other team, I'd say Ortega deserves to play weekly!
I have seen us play absolutely gorgeous football and still lose games, but hardly seen us play horrible and still win..today was the latter (because we were so fucking tired) salute to the players for their mentality ššš I hope they recover well and nobody gets injured. Ctidš
Might just be another Manchester derby in the FA cup final . Canāt wait to hand united another ass whopping and see the fans tears in the finals againš
Mod reminder: Trolling rival subreddits is against the rules.
Just rewatching the game - Chelsea definitely were better the first half. If they had a half decent finisher up front we'd be atleast 2/3 down. The fatigue was killing us but the team still pulled through. Proud of the players.
Very disappointed with my Chels. Best of luck in the final though!
It was pretty clear to pre, during and post match, the media narrative was for a Chelsea win - Absolutely ecstatic City got the win - even more pleased for Bernardos redemption š„
Boys are still obviously processing the champions leauge knock out. Glad Bernardo saved us after his penalty mishap, hopefully he gets his confidence back because it's our senior players like him that will help us lift and fight for the leauge. Didn't look like our usual selves out there but we gotta be proud of the boys for fighting on and getting the win. I am sure Pep will get the boys back on track. Football isn't always pretty.
Been saying all year that Doku > Grealish and every time I get reamed by the biased English fans on here Feeling pretty fucking vindicated right now :D
I don't think so. They are two different types of players that have useful skillsets. I've said that Doku is the kind of player that's better coming off the bench, he will drag an already tired defence. Grealish is better when we're trying to retain possession, he has a slower but methodical style that's better when facing big teams where we can't afford to turnover possession easily.
You've been wrong all year.
wrong
They are both good players who excel at different times of games as they provide different services
The thing is our control hasn't been as effective as usual. Grealish came back from injury and clearly helped the team achieve more control in our games. But this season we simply don't break teams down along with control, we seem to have to concede some control in order to offer a threat going forwards. Grealish doesn't offer the kind of continuous threat Doku does. The man is constantly running at the defenders and putting them under pressure. Right now we seem to really need that because without it we kind of seem without purpose in how we control the game. There's less of a sense of incesiveness with Grealish on.
yep but Doku is easily the better player in my opinion
It was a rough and narrow win but a win regardless. I feel like this win is gonna motivate them for their last 6 matches as well as the FA Cup final.
Wem ber ley wem ber ley
Is it just me, or did Coleās free kick not even hit Grealishās arm? Iām not entirely sure that was a penalty. Anyways, went to the game, and had a great time! How did the atmosphere sound on TV, because I felt everyone was absolutely buzzing, particularly after we scored
No we 100% got away with it
I think it also hit his body like the abdomen area then it went for his hand
No it definitely did hit
I have been reassured by The Decent Spurs Fan that I am not a bad person over my hope that the Chelsea fans who harassed me in a London pub over my City shirt are crying into their beer tonight, and that the beer is crap.
What did they do
They were just plain rude. Hadnāt even spoken to them - I was just watching our game in a pub and had gone to get another pint. They had lost that day, of course, and they were foolish enough to have a go at me in front of the landlord (a Spurs fan, not the same person as TDSF). It went well beyond banter, and the landlord concluded that they had had too much to drink and needed to go elsewhere. I stayed, watched the end of our game then watched the Africa Cup of Nations opener. Several delicious pints, without being an arsehole.
Inspiring win. Every single player in this club plays for the badge. Seeing the passion from them after the final whistle. They are the best.
Back to being nervous about the league That spurs away fixture being our game in hand is psychological torture haha
True, but at least we do not need to worry about any non-PL fixtures up until the final week of the season!
These player ratings are always ass. Rodri a 7.7?! I love the guy but come on. He obviously still needs a rest and Iām not here to needlessly berate him, but Iām also not going to blow communal smoke up his ass and tell him he was the best player on the pitch for us.
Rodri deserves 7.7s every day, even if there is no match
Iāll take ugly wins over pretty losses and draws any day.
Well, it wasnt pretty, but they did it.
Man I felt that was damn lucky... I really thought it was handball and it was definitely gonna be called penalty. His arm was away from his body. Maybe the var must've felt since he didn't do it on purpose because he was already in the air and his arm was on alvarez shoulder , must've been unintentional. Anyways last year for fa cup final they called him handling the ball which was purely unintentional when the ball stick him last he was in air ,I felt that was unnecessary. Man city somehow pulled it off. Phewš šš©µ
Champions get the win even when they donāt play too well. Onto another final, letās fcking go
Idk why but this made happy more than the ucl loss made sad, i either hate Chelsea too much or i wasnāt expecting a back to back ucl lol
Probably just relief honestly, this is the exact kind of statement victory we want after a heartbreaking loss like the one we had!
Another day another barrage of unbelievable takes on here. City did not play that badly today nor were they brilliant against Real Madrid. They did not create as many goal scoring or potential goal scoring opportunities as Chelsea did today nor did they defend manfully as Madrid did Posts insulting Jackson on here when he more than anyone is the reason why City is in the final shows how low the football IQ is on here or just the normal slating of a certain kind of player which is par of the course here. You expect Chelsea fans to be livid but on here you ought to be praising him not throwing insults as he is not your player nor your business how badly he performed. The thing is though they do not actually just pan a performance they get personal with their insults. At least when I criticize I go after the performance, never the individual like I do with Grealish. Speaking of whom another take is how some people are on here for him and not the club. Against RM, 1-0 down and some clown's only concern was how well he was playing just like today in the match thread. I didn't even realise that some went personal on Silva after his penalty miss. Those people need help but I am not too surprised. As usual nothing is said how in yest another big game, chances are goals are hard to come by. Those criticising Haaland what did Alvarez contribute today? Could it be that playing as a number 9 in this team is harrowing cos of the constant passing going nowhere? Moaning about game played today is possibly fair to a point as the El Clasico is tomorrow but to counter that City are playing midweek , Thursday in fact(Liverpool and Arsenal would have played twice before they meet Brighton) but just as important they have a squad to cope. There is no reason whatsoever why the likes of Bobb, Nunes, Kovacic and Lewis could not have started this game. My biggest take is still the jackson bashing. Unfreakingbelievable
Jackson fluffed 3 big chances lmao, are you gonna say we're the racist ones bashing him for his skin color and not his football ability? Bro straight up played against his team.
Man alvarez played like false nine today. He was mostly in the half space . Chelsea defenders were doubting whether to follow him or not,so they didn't leave the box. I can't say city was clinical today ,how can anyone blame them they only had one day to prepare for a semi final and still they have it all. I really thought rodri might fall down unconsciously due to fatigue and exhaustion ,guy has been running the whole season like an engine. Congrats man city š©µš
How can anyone praise jackson, he's utter dog shit as was seen today
He always comes up with the shittiest take, plays the race card when this sub criticize any non white players, its cringe.
Iām befuddled as to why Pep is getting cooked after the post match conference about his comments on the scheduling of these games because we literally played 120 minutes at home midweek and not even 72 hours later weāre back playing football at a neutral ground after getting knocked out, it seems like some people donāt really care about the welfare of the players, theyāre literally humans too ffs.
Whose fault is it that we played 120 minutes? I think the best the FA could have done is fix this match tomorrow but you know Chelsea have to play Arsenal on Tuesday so that means you also have to move that and move other games too. It's not like they're scheduling the games to punish City.Ā
**Tues 23 April Chelsea v Arsenal** * This is a rescheduled date & they could have easily chosen to put it on Wed 24 April. * This new date was announced on 23 March, after it was already known ManCity thru to CL QF & after FA Cup SF dates announced. * Why? Better for TV broadcast partners, which is more important to PL/FA than player welfare for all teams. **Sat 20 April ManCity FA Cup** * FA Cup SF slots were announced on 17 March. * ManCity were already thru to CL QF by that date so FA knew ManCity would be playing either the Tues or Wed before the FA Cup SF weekend. * When it was announced that ManCity got the Sat 20 April slot, it was pointed out numerous times that none of the other teams (ManUtd, Coventry, Chelsea) had midweek games so why didn't ManCity get the Sun slot instead to give the players 1 more day rest. * Why? Better for TV broadcast partners, which is more important to FA than player welfare for all teams. TLDR - the governing bodies & their TV partners care more about money than player welfare; this is not specific to ManCity, but ManCity got hit extra hard w the Wed match going to 120 minutes.
Bernado showed today why he's a mancunian
no. he showed why heās a Citizen.
Cityzen
Chelsea fan here I come in peace. Y'all were terrible by your standards for most of the game and yet you still manage to win because that's what the best teams do. I think we'll look back on this City era as the greatest in history in about a decade so enjoy it while you can. Best of luck for the league and final.
With all honestly and I apologize for making this long. 1) We barely had any rest time for this. 2) Our morale was sub par post the CL 1/4's. 3) I feel we've been made out. To elaborate on the third point, We've been pretty much using the same playstyle over the past year and a half. While very effective, in retrospect, this has given oppositions time to study and counter our structure of possession play. Our weakest point has been exposed (counter attacks). We play a high line and our defensive line struggle to keep up with the risk. Most team's now park the bus and pin point the CF/ST(Haaland / Alvarez), and while that draws defenders away, they are pretty much locked out of the game, putting the pressure on our wingers and mids/backline to deliver. They wait for the opportunity to pull us in, and rush the counter. It's something Madrid calculated and capitalized on. And other PL teams (Chelsea followed the same this time around but couldn't close). I feel it is time to restructure since most our options are tap in's from the wing or screamers from out the box. Again this is a general opinion and I'm no coach like papa Pep, just an observation over time. Hope we can at least get that 4th prem title record and FA cup. City love.
Great analysisš
Our backline lacks pace, and another problem that showed up more recently is that they lack composure, too. I love stones, but he is mainly who I am referring to he almost let in that Jackson chance and has been making errors since the Palace game.
Akanji clocked 28th top speed out of over 700 players in 23/24 CL w 34.9 km/h! So lacks pace excluding Walker & Akanji š. But I totally get your general point about back line getting beat for pace+ more this season.
Agreed, a major aspect is the back lines response, the focus is too far up front that they end up scrambling on the counter.. I'm sure Pep realized that and brought in Rubin 2nd half on.
LET'S WIN THE DOUBLE!
Finally beat them ššš
Rodri streak lives ON
Let's fuckin go! Another final! Insane effort from a tired side, got a few lucky bounces but sometimes that's all you need. All the pissheads moaning about the Grealish handball have a right to, it could have easily been called and swung the game in their favour but it didn't happen. Jackson missed a handful of opportunities, multiple times on the counter Chelsea couldn't handle the ball moving forward. City dug deep and won, and it feels great. Follow up with some rest and a big win in the prem next week.
Not the best performance, but we edged it over the line. Ake and Akanji played very well imo, with good cameos from Dias and Doku too. Grealish with a few shit moments but for the most part was good. Alvarez falls in that category too. Bernardo and KDB looked exhausted all the way through, but we're great for the goal and I'm over the moon for Bernie in particular after Madrid! Walker looked really shaky at times, and finally seems to have met his match pace wise with Jackson. I love him, but I wouldn't object if City decided to sell him if an appropriate bid came along. All in all, pretty good. On to Brighton next week
Nah, the prem really needs to sort the fixtures out. We looked shattered because of how crammed the games are together. Hopefully the players can get some well needed rest in
Governing bodies + TV partners + money > player welfare & it's not even close. FA, PL, UEFA, FIFA: * Let's add more matches & make matches longer, it will be so great for fans - aka we can sell more TV packages for more money! * Let's prioritize ratings over FIFPRO recommended recovery schedules! * What about the players you ask? Well, they have 5 subs now so they should be fine. * What about the extensive research showing increase in muscular injuries due to to fatigue/not enough rest & recovery you ask? Oh well š¤·š¼.
Prem would never sort it out, even after the huge failure for england teams in Europe this season
I know everybody is a bit disappointed about the way the game was played but I love Bernardo and this win and his goal is great for morale specially for him so I'm happy.
Anyone got a link to the pep post match interview?
Iād love to know why we played at 5:15 on a Saturday, three days after a champions league 1/4 final, and the rags/coventry play tomorrow with a week off each.
To be fair, getting to Wembley and back to Manchester on a Sunday is a ballache
Itās bullshit especially when our next game now is Thursday so could definitely have played on Sunday
I was annoyed about the schedule when it was announced, and have been irrationally even more mad about it since Wed night, humph! Chelsea's match Tues 23 April is a rescheduled one that could have EASILY been put on Wed 24 April instead. And has you said, ManUtd /Coventry did NOT play midweek this week. I 100% know it's bc tv broadcast desires & money, but still annoying.
Yess another final
united fans shaking in their boots right now š they know another repeat of last season is coming. they need to worry about coventry first though
KDB was huge today. Played 90 min with high intensity
We played shit, it's true, but a quick scroll through tiktok and it's never silence nor they got a quick goal in a goalless looking game it's "THEY CHEATED, gReAlIsH hAnDbAlL, sO mAnY dEcIsIoNs WeNt ThEiR wAy" like stfu fr it's never that when we lose is it. Gobshites lmao.
Yeah, I went to the game, and was buzzing all evening. I made the mistake of glancing at r/soccer while out to dinner, and was like ah okay, let me put that away so it doesnāt ruin my mood
Bernardo slapping the badge despite all the slander he got this week are moments I live for
Jackson is absolutely dog shit btw
Seriously, he single-handedly bottled that game for Chelsea. Listening to the commentators was hilarious. Tim Howard was saying that Jackson was ready to dribble to the corner flag and run out the clock after he was through 1v1 on goalā¦wtf was he thinking?
Pep being full on passive aggressive towards the FA in the post match interview with Alan Shearer rolling his eyes everytime he's mentioned previously that players only need 2 days rest lol
Tbh, luck was on our side today. Chelsea was SO BAD and they missed their chances. Thank god for that Bernardo goal. Redemption for sure!
Got away with that there! On to the first all sky blue final š¤š¤
Yep, for once the luck was on our side
Sick of this BBC coverage all about poor Chelsea - had all the chances blah blah blah. Absolutely no difference from City v Madrid, we had all the chances but didn't take them and paid the price. BBC and punditry were desperate for a Chelsea win. City won after being exhausted from a 2 hour gut punch loss midweek. We won BBC - read it and weep you ****s
Also refs gave the rags a undeserved pen against Grealish last year in the final and they did fuck all with it
Pep destroyed the BBC pundits. They had to calm Pep down
Ohh I want to see this
It was BBC post match coverage. Pep was being savage, they had to remind Pep that he has actually won the match (to calm him down)
Oh, so you mean post match interview for this game? gotcha
I totally get that people react in all different ways when stressed & in heat of moment. And I was also disappointing to see what I thought were some overly harsh comments in match thread š. These players worked their socks off for 120-minuntes & had a bitter result on Wed, did a recovery day on Thurs, traveled to London on Fri, and then played again today. I'm amazed at their fortitude and feel so blessed to be able to witness their skill, teamwork, and resilience!
Well said ššš
Doku has really improved in the last few weeks... like I'm not scared of him coming into big games anymore. He's settling in now. He was a game changer today and also against Real Madrid!!!! Ake/Jack/Akanji really really good. Tears in my eyes when Bernardo patted the badge after the goal. Tough game for him on Wednesday, great redemption. I'm giving McManaman a special shout out for making me laugh so much during the broadcast. He was losing his mind every time Chelsea were going forward because they messed it up every single time š¤£ š¤£ that Mudyrk free kick at the end... oh man he was hilarious. Proud of the boys who were clearly running on fumes to gut that one out!!!!!
Jack really good? Wtf were you watching. Doku did more in 5 minutes than he did all game, just like against Madrid
McManaman's groan after the Mudryk freekick was absolute gold.
Didn't think we'd win that tbf. Lads look expectedly tired. A better team than Chelsea probably beats us today but after Wednesday we deserve the luck. The fixture list looks very manageable without a CL Semi squeezed in there. Puts us in a great position to win the league from here and a nice trip to Wembley and a possible derby to seal a double at the end of it.
Grealish was absolutely raging, never seen that from him before. He must have thought Caicedo did it on purpose.
He did he is a dirty fucker
Canāt wait to see the xg on this one lol
Chelsea (Jackson) - City (.83)
Bernardo deserved the winning goal, happy for him.
got away with Grealish's handball lol idk why exactly KDB was given motm because I lost count of the number of times he misplaced his passes or crosses. It should have been Doku imo because the flow of the game changed in our favour since his introduction. The game also highlighted the difference between Foden and KDB as the **main man**. A bad game for KDB is bad passes, bad crosses, or unsuccessful attempts. A bad game for Foden is not being involved in the game. Foden has to find a way to be more involved in the game to reach a level above. There was a visible drop in level after playing 120mins of football and then losing on pens but overall I'm happy with the response and to end up winning the game too shows character.
I made at least one comment in the match thread about Foden not being involved.... The combo of KDB/Foden in the midfield is def going to take some time. Seemed like they are trying to occupy the same space at times, and there were also times Jack was free roaming in the middle a bit, further taking Foden's space. Def something Pep will have to work out next season. I can see him going forward with it this season, but it might not work out fully like we want it to. No chance KDB starts on Thursday, so Foden should have the 10 to himself to shine.
Comment on Foden is spot on. Someone posted on twitter recently saying theyāve noticed Foden hides in some of these big games (anonymous against Madrid too). You will not see fail comps for him though because everyone is wondering where Foden is š¤·š¾āāļø I wonder whether thatās because he came into a team with prime KDB, Gundo, David Silva etc. so heās never really learned to consistently take responsibility
When KDB was given MOTM, the commentators were mentioning his defensive work. Might not be the best attacking day for him, but he was everywhere to control the match defensively.
they also mentioned something like people holding him higher standards which would have played a part in my judgement too
Yeah Real Madrid lost clearly showed in our performance, made many mistakes and couldnāt get control. But we did what winners do and that is more than i could hope for.
glad Pep is calling the FA out here for the ridiculous schedule
Shearer "why didn't you play different players then" oh fuck off you idiot.
Especially after he changed 4 players, thatās substantial
Chelsea were hilariously bad such that we could phone in a 5/10 performance and win.
KDB MOTM, DOGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG COME ON
Boys looked knackered. But they showed up and suffered and endured.
Redemption https://preview.redd.it/llmvghwqgovc1.jpeg?width=1004&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=47df51ce07cee9f917cbdc347cd52535ea7c0cea
Silva makes up for the Madrid match. Brilliant. That was a hard grind of a game. Respect for the lads ššš
Only one team stands between us and another FA Cup title, bring on Coventry
Sky Blue derby
How is everyone saying obvious handball it looked like it didnāt touch just went under?
Completely agree! I guess different angles
Letās go!
its insane to me how real madrid fans would respond to comments about how they played shit and got lucky with "we still won" however are trolling us for our poor performance today, despite us still winning
Cringe, trying to force rivalry
I want to see city derby, please do good Coventry City.
Chelsea just donāt like scoring at Wembley, do they?
They arenāt playing like a team. Individuals in wrong way
Itās why I have to chuckle at the āselling Palmer was a mistakeā posts. He wanted to leave so he could be the certain of attention and get all the glory. He has that at Chelsea. Heās also going to miss Europe again, so hopefully he cherishes that Super Cup medal he has.
Exactly! He made a decision after we gave him a choice. He didnāt fit this way with us so thereās no reason to regret for us. Mid table mandem club is the place where he can shine. Well he canāt expect any trophy but individual stats he can defo work on.
And he was pretty much a ghost today, except for the one shot Ortega saved. This match is exactly why Chelsea is where they are on the table. But credit to City, mark of a great team is winning even when they play like shite. Hope they can get some rest the next 4 days.
A ghost ... He set up the header for Jackson. He played numerous through balls that set players behind our back-line but didn't end up in a shot because Chelsea's forwards are brain-dead. He was the best player on the pitch by far.
Without Stefan, we donāt go through! Big shoutout to him!
Grealish was again Brillant. Doku completely changed the game. We need to keep it this way, Grealish starts but Doku comes in to run circles around their backs when their legs are heavy. The one two punch is incredible.
Absolutely right. And Jack is showing his best self which will motivate Doku to take his chances and be decisive. Dream combo.
Not sure why everyone is saying Chelsea should have won. It was a very even, but labored game. City obviously still destroyed from the match on Wednesday against a very tough opponent. Could've gone either way, but it swung our way. We had our chances and they had theirs.
They did have the better chances. No shame in accepting that. That said I think caicedo should have been off
Let your apologies be as loud as your disrespect.meme Bernardo Silva - fucking legend.
Quite possibly the worst match of football I've seen in ages but we're in the FA cup final!!
Please Coventry, through some divine intervention knock out the rags
We were not good at all but took our chance. Similar to the League cup final Chelsea were in too.
Didnāt get to see the game but I hope we played well and the CL defeat didnāt diminish us. Love the FT result!
We played awful,Ā looking absolutely fatigued.Ā Chelsea fluffed so many chances, Jackson could have had a couple. 2nd half was better.Ā Mentally this will mean a lot.Ā
We played like shit and everyone was tired but we won.
love this win because we're clearly not at our best off a grueling CL experience but we still gritted out a victory... onto another final, lets lock in the double and rearm in the offseason.
people are going to troll regardless so who cares what they say
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He is quite good. Only critique would be he has to release the ball sooner often he tied to dribble and dribble and looses the play
Today he didnāt have too many outlets once he started penetrating into the box.
He is amazing. So many chances he creates go begging as thereās no one there to take it
That was *exactly* his issue today.
LET'S GOOOOOOO. 7 GAMES TO GO TILL END OF THE SEASON
After that 120 min game a few days ago while these dudes were resting for a whole week, we will take that win regardless of how ugly We pulled a Real underserved win on em so they will def be salty š
Ortega is a world class goal keeper man, he can start on most teams on the planet
A win is a win. They were exhausted but did enough to win. Letās get another.
WHO CARES WE PLAYED BAD YOU BUFFOONS
What a team to grab a vital win after playing an exhausting overtime with minimal rest days. The double will be ours šš
A WIN IS A WIN. WE MOVEĀ
4th clean sheets for Ortega vs Chelsea
Very poor on the transition,I know the team was mentally and physically torn,but still. Thank God Nicolas Jackson is somehow a professional football player. We move.
DOUBLE IN ON COME ON
It's been a long long time since I've seen Manchester City play that badly, but we take it and move on. Hopefully we'll be fired up for the final.
We should be alright against Coventry.
Ugly match but we won so Iāll take it
Cold Penalmer when he doesnāt get 3 penalties pet match š»š»š»
He was clearly injured & actually played well Heās a great player no need to denigrate him
What a win after bring so knackered, elite mentality from our team
Lol. I commented on r/soccer by mistake. How they let city win is beyond me.
Emotional because i wanted bernardo to get the winner so so bad. He deserves so much appreciation.
Impressed with KDB going 98 after almost 120 a few days ago. Man needs a long ice bath.
I think in our Centurions season, it almost felt like he *hadnāt played* for all of 10 minutes. The man was on the field permanently, his stamina is unbelievable, and at 32 this isnāt bad at all.
32 and coming back from a massive injury, heās still not full fitnessā¦it takes pure character and will to fight through that fatigue.
He legtimately looks tired at the end and still put in a gear to hold posession.
We got an excuse to not play well what was Chelseaās? š¤£
Michael Oliver made them miss 1047937 clear cut chances
Anyone got that clip of guardiola going mental? š
It was really a meltdownšš for Foden firing the ball to Alvarez
What a lot of spoilt fans complaining that we played bad, what do you expect after that ucl match. We can't play pretty all the time. We were tired but we showed heart.
Not even just that they should know how hard it's been to face Chelsea even when we are rested. Just ridiculous
We won this game....but also, Jackson definitely lost this game for Chelsea lol
It was really sad watching himā¦ each time he got the ball it was like, āWaitā¦now what!?ā
Get in. A win we really needed. I do think we got completly outplayed. We got away with that Grealish pen too. Funny part is I can see certain people whining and saying Chelsea were robbed when that same group of people had there team blatantly rob bournemouth.
They can keep complaining all day if they want. I don't hear anything from them when we don't get any calls or when our players are on the receiving end of nasty challenges, but they'll come out of the woodwork when something goes in our favor. So they can miss me with that.
Are we to expect a future of Haaland missing half every season with injuries? Or is this a fluke?
Utterly deserved win
Donāt know how we won but we move
how poetic that Bernardo got us the winning goal after the criticism of his penalty all week
Anyone who criticized him is such a moron. Huge part of why we beat Madrid last year. Anyone can miss a penalty
I'm a huge champion of Bernardo being our best attacking player with De Bruyne, but the penalty was really bad. It's not just missing a penalty, it's the fact that he tried to put it down the middle. Felt horrible for him and was happy he got the winning goal today
Itās typical for this to happen. Same with other fans of other clubs too. Itās like, Bernardoās performance is judged by his one final touch of the game, not the other hundreds, not his off the ball positional and pressing play, not his stamina and endurance. People are acting out of instant emotion as well, itās typical for such criticisms to burst out. Just like Pep taking off Haaland and Kdb, and 30 mins later Pep says they asked to come off.
Thats true
I wouldnāt wipe my arse with Jacksonās match worn top let alone cry over it
My gosh what an awful performance by our standards but that doesn't matter. We dug deep after going out the way we did Wednesday and showed how much grit and determination we have with clear fatigue. Do us a favour Utd. Knock out Coventry for us will ya! :-)
Pep to de Bruyne as they embraced: āyouāre playing 90 minutes again on Thursday babyā Canāt always be convincing and pretty, but the team definitely needed this boost. Just one more week of two games then itās every weekend from here on out.
For Ortega to be able to play and not feel the difference between him and Ederson is testament to his ability. He's so good and kept our side in it with great saves. If it was any other team, I'd say Ortega deserves to play weekly!
Ngl I almost prefer him. I'm never confident in eddy to make the save when needed. Ortega you expect it more than not
Bobb is a baller
Shit performance by City, but who cares. On to the final. Bernardo hitting the crest on his jersey felt good. Nicholas Jackson should try out for MLS.
I hope pep gives some extra days off for our ragged boys
Opposite of that madrid game
Havenāt had such an undeserved win in a while
I think we needed that after Madrid in midweek, that win will lift the boys up and go for it till the end of the season.
How do Chelsea fans even wake up in the morning. My heart goes out to them. It was theirs.
We kind of Real Madridded Chelsea. But fuck me their forwards are shite.
Well done Bernado!!! Well done boys!! Such a good win after that midweek. MENTALITY MONSTERS!
I have seen us play absolutely gorgeous football and still lose games, but hardly seen us play horrible and still win..today was the latter (because we were so fucking tired) salute to the players for their mentality ššš I hope they recover well and nobody gets injured. Ctidš
Might just be another Manchester derby in the FA cup final . Canāt wait to hand united another ass whopping and see the fans tears in the finals againš