Ben Davies

[Finney Is Back]

I don't think Davies did too much wrong, he kept Saka wide and stopped him getting a shot away with his right foot, which from that position is what most players would do.

If you make an opponent check back inside that should be job done, because there should be a teammate doubling up with you by then.

Disagree completely. Saka gets just about every single goal he scores from cutting inside and shooting with his left foot. His right foot is pretty weak and I’d put money on him scoring less than 1 in 10 with his right from that position.

 

[SteveAWOL]

The ref having more desire to get back

If Hojbjerg had expended as much energy tracking back Odegaard as he did protesting to the referee about the foul on Kulusevski (after Saka had already slotted home) then VDV wouldn’t have had to slow down his run in order to make sure Saka couldn’t simply square the ball to his teammate for a tap in.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Disagree completely. Saka gets just about every single goal he scores from cutting inside and shooting with his left foot. His right foot is pretty weak and I’d put money on him scoring less than 1 in 10 with his right from that position.

100%
Saka is predictable
But good with it
Knowing what someone wants to do and dealing with it are very different things

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

I don't think Davies did too much wrong, he kept Saka wide and stopped him getting a shot away with his right foot, which from that position is what most players would do.

If you make an opponent check back inside that should be job done, because there should be a teammate doubling up with you by then.

But keeping him on his right foot. 1 Puts him on a foot he is less comfortable with 2. Keeps the angle of a shot at a tighter angle (compared to him opening both sides of the goal up by cutting in)

 

[Baleforce]

But keeping him on his right foot. 1 Puts him on a foot he is less comfortable with 2. Keeps the angle of a shot at a tighter angle (compared to him opening both sides of the goal up by cutting in)

the idea is, that by the time he comes inside, one of the CB's is right there too

if you are defending one on one, you want to delay until you have two one one

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

the idea is, that by the time he comes inside, one of the CB's is right there too

if you are defending one on one, you want to delay until you have two one one

That idea works if you have that information....if you don't you play the percentages. A valuable and much under used skill in football.

 

[Bishop]

I don't think Davies did too much wrong, he kept Saka wide and stopped him getting a shot away with his right foot, which from that position is what most players would do.

If you make an opponent check back inside that should be job done, because there should be a teammate doubling up with you by then.

Saka wants to cut in on his left, that's literally his play style. So no, letting him cut in is not the correct option it's the worst thing you could do in that situation.

 

[FatBloke]

Saka wants to cut in on his left, that's literally his play style. So no, letting him cut in is not the correct option it's the worst thing you could do in that situation.

Easily said, but Davies had just sprinted back to engage Saka. A mistake, sure, but if we had a few others tracking back with more urgency, perhaps VdV would have been able to engage Saka as well, and hopefully block the shot, rather than having to cover the pass back and getting stuck in no man's land.

 

[DeanoAustin]

Davies has had to run too fast to get to Saka to be able to effectively show him onto his right. That's partly his own fault for ball watching before Saka got the ball but VdV, PEH and even Romero need to be more alert to the danger around them. It's poor defending all round. While Davies could have done better, he did enough to make life hard for Saka if others had been doing their jobs.

 

[Bishop]

Easily said, but Davies had just sprinted back to engage Saka. A mistake, sure, but if we had a few others tracking back with more urgency, perhaps VdV would have been able to engage Saka as well, and hopefully block the shot, rather than having to cover the pass back and getting stuck in no man's land.

I'm not overly slating Davies for the goal just disagreeing with the idea that showing Saka inside was the correct option as stated by Baleforce. That's what Saka wanted to do, it's what he needed to do. He very rarely shoots with his right, he's not that dissimilar to Kulu in that regard.

 

[thfcsteff]

Allowing that ball to come from midfield into the empty High Street was an egergious error. I thought PEH had been brought in for his experience; take a card and foul the fudger on the ball/get to him to make that foul if nothing else.