I’m writing this on Sunday evening. I have yet to recover. You may be reading this on Thursday and still be all over the place! It was one of those games that are hard to enjoy, but the euphoria hopefully will endure (well, at least until the next match).
The performance says so much about what we can hope for in the coming months. Martin Ødergaard continues to stagger me with his energy. How he keeps going for the full match – urging us all to make more noise, running everywhere, making tackles, trying to thread through passes – and still is able to walk to the corners of the ground to thank us at the end. What an amazing young man.
And the substitutions suggest what a string squad we have. We won without Saka. With Partey fit, and the front three back to its favoured formation and full fitness, we could have a winning formula and strong combination to see us truly in contention.
That’s not to denigrate Eddie Nketieh. He was immense today – one sliding tackle following a determined covering run maybe saved us from being caught on a very dangerous City counter – and in games when the ball can reach him in the box, he’s the man. But seeing Jesus out wide isn’t the best for anyone. Speaking of whom – what a performance from him, too! Never relented.
This blog could go on praising the team for ever! Rice didn’t give away a single foul, I thought the centre-backs obliterated Haarland and after a dodgy, shaky opening, the whole team got its act together and looked string and confident Someone near me commented that the tactic seemed to be to slow it down and not get caught on the break, which may explain some of the delays from Raya that frustrated large chunks of the crowd. But it was a clean sheet and a win. Against ‘arguably the best team in the world’ Who can argue with that?
RS October 8