We didn't do anything special in the game but there were some fundamental and encouraging changes to how we played under Carrick and Ole before.
The main difference and the biggest positive for me was the shape of the team in and out of possession. The defensive line which I was hoping to see at the start of the season was much higher which made for a much more compact team overall with less space between the lines. The defence's willingness to step out of line and win the ball helped us gain possession a number of times which in turn helped us better control the game.
The wide attackers played narrower and closer to the front two which meant when we lost the ball, we were in a much better position to counter-press as a unit and if we couldn't recover the ball soon after losing it, we were quick to drop back into shape and because our defence was playing higher and Bruno and Sancho were playing more internally, it also meant Fred and McTominay weren't left completely isolated as has happened so often in the past.
The first half hour was pretty good in terms of intensity and urgency on and off the ball. It's just a shame we couldn't sustain it for a bit longer or repeat it in the second half but having used an unchanged team that played Thursday night will surely have had an impact on that.
For all our improvement in the build up during the opening thirty minutes however, we still struggled to create clear cut chances and this is going to need addressing in the coming weeks and months. I've been saying for a long time that we need to start creating more chances in higher value areas, basically in the middle of the box from 12 yards or less, the kind of chance that Bruno scored from against Arsenal. Sancho will help to some extent with this because he's excellent at that short inside pass which he made in the build up to that Bruno goal but it'll need working on in training.
It wasn't a perfect performance by any means. There are quite a few things to be worked on of course but there were quite a few positives to take out of yesterday. I'm excited to see what we'll look like when Rangnick's had some real time on the training ground.
A Few Thoughts On Yesterday
posted on 6/12/21
There's no way we'll be relying on him to progress the ball as much, as we'll actually be playing with a midfield from now on.
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I know but he's still the best of our full-backs at doing so and he's a better defender than Telles so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him come back into the team at some point and be back to being first choice.
posted on 6/12/21
Fullbacks are the key to Ragnicks approach, otherwise you lose width both in attack and when pressing. There will be plenty of starts and sub appearances for both Telles and Shaw. They will be rotated a lot. Same could be said with AWB, but that's if he adapts. He's usually better chasing and tackling, then pressing and actually standing someone. The less said about his attacking play the better.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by The-ComeBack-Kings (U18502)
posted 3 hours, 23 minutes ago
Agreed, not a bad start for Ralf though I would have taken off McTominey for Matic in last half hour as we were running out of ideas to open up Palace's defense. Got a bit of luck with the goal considering it was Fred with his weaker foot.
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A bit of luck? Fred is the most two footed player in the league.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by Red knight (U22756)
posted 40 seconds ago
comment by The-ComeBack-Kings (U18502)
posted 3 hours, 23 minutes ago
Agreed, not a bad start for Ralf though I would have taken off McTominey for Matic in last half hour as we were running out of ideas to open up Palace's defense. Got a bit of luck with the goal considering it was Fred with his weaker foot.
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A bit of luck? Fred is the most two footed player in the league.
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They all have two feet.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by Jizz_Hornkamp (U15867)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Red knight (U22756)
posted 40 seconds ago
comment by The-ComeBack-Kings (U18502)
posted 3 hours, 23 minutes ago
Agreed, not a bad start for Ralf though I would have taken off McTominey for Matic in last half hour as we were running out of ideas to open up Palace's defense. Got a bit of luck with the goal considering it was Fred with his weaker foot.
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A bit of luck? Fred is the most two footed player in the league.
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They all have two feet.
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Some have two left feet.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by Jadon The King Sancho (U10026)
posted 57 minutes ago
I doubt it will be much of a fight if Shaw regains his form. He’s comfortably better than Telles.
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Needs to regain his form. He usually improves when he has competition.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by The Red Side™ (U11275)
posted 59 minutes ago
There's no way we'll be relying on him to progress the ball as much, as we'll actually be playing with a midfield from now on.
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I know but he's still the best of our full-backs at doing so and he's a better defender than Telles so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him come back into the team at some point and be back to being first choice.
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Yeah, but I think there will be more rotation with Ralf.
Also, he puts emphasis on set pieces. He could be a fan of Telles with his delivery.
posted on 6/12/21
Yeah, but I think there will be more rotation with Ralf.
Also, he puts emphasis on set pieces. He could be a fan of Telles with his delivery.
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There'll almost certainly be more rotation than there was under Ole but one player will still more than likely play a large proportion of the games and if Shaw finds form again it's hard to see it not being him and I'm a fan of Telles, well I was at Porto anyway.
posted on 6/12/21
comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 22 minutes ago
comment by Jizz_Hornkamp (U15867)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Red knight (U22756)
posted 40 seconds ago
comment by The-ComeBack-Kings (U18502)
posted 3 hours, 23 minutes ago
Agreed, not a bad start for Ralf though I would have taken off McTominey for Matic in last half hour as we were running out of ideas to open up Palace's defense. Got a bit of luck with the goal considering it was Fred with his weaker foot.
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A bit of luck? Fred is the most two footed player in the league.
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They all have two feet.
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Some have two left feet.
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Fred would actually be fine if he had two left feet.
Unfortunately, he has one right one.
posted on 6/12/21
Also, he puts emphasis on set pieces. He could be a fan of Telles with his delivery.
….
It isn’t any better than Shaws.