24 - Eric García

[jamrock]

They just adjusted the lenght of the contracts so they could reduce salary, same money over a longer period of time.

 

[Porque]

They just adjusted the lenght of the contracts so they could reduce salary, same money over a longer period of time.

These decisions should be made by the new board.

Absolutely crazy.

 

[Andresito]

Starting alongside Ruben Dias tonight.

 

[Messi983]

Starting alongside Ruben Dias tonight.

Why are they still playing their 5th choice CB?

Also, how did he do?

 

[Andresito]

Why are they still playing their 5th choice CB?

Also, how did he do?

Didn't watch the game with two eyes. Seemed to be pretty anonymous.

SI: Looked decent on the ball at times, but for the most part the Spaniard was a passenger in City's lacklustre buildup

Manchestereveningnews: If he coped well against the imposing frame of Moussa Marega, his lack of pace was exposed on a few occasions as opposition attacks caught him flat-footed. Also, a very curious pick.

Sportskeeda: Eric Garcia was a surprise inclusion in the team owing to the absence of Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte. Nevertheless, the young Spaniard did a decent job of keeping Porto striker Moussa Marega at bay. His passing was secure, and he won his aerial duels competently as well.

Mirror: Surprise selection by Guardiola. Failed to vindicate his manager's faith in him.

All of these gave him and Dias the same rating. 5 or 6 out of 10.

 

[behindbrowneyes]

Manchestereveningnews: If he coped well against the imposing frame of Moussa Marega, his lack of pace was exposed on a few occasions as opposition attacks caught him flat-footed. Also, a very curious pick.

The same could be written about Pique or Lenglet.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Yep. You can't play high line with slow players. He wouldn't fit here.

 

[Respekt_III]

Yep. You can't play high line with slow players. He wouldn't fit here.

So he would fit perfectly then.

 

[Batistuta9]

What is this obsession with slow ball playing defenders. Pep at city and us always go for these types of defenders. Both teams play a high line and it causes massive problems.

 

[Morten]

What is this obsession with slow ball playing defenders. Pep at city and us always go for these types of defenders. Both teams play a high line and it causes massive problems.

Bayern gets it, they play a high line but at least they have athletic defenders.

 

[Batistuta9]

Bayern gets it, they play a high line but at least they have athletic defenders.

Agree. So do Liverpool. There is a reason why they're the 2 best teams in the world.

 

[Jallo]

What is this obsession with slow ball playing defenders. Pep at city and us always go for these types of defenders. Both teams play a high line and it causes massive problems.

We are a possession team, we need defenders who can pass and handle pressure on the ball. There aren?t many athletic CB who are exceptional on the ball.

 

[Barcilliant]

What is this obsession with slow ball playing defenders. Pep at city and us always go for these types of defenders. Both teams play a high line and it causes massive problems.

Pep's obsession.
For some reason he forgot he had Puyol and Mascherano who were decent on the ball but good old fashioned hard tacklers.
I don't mind having one ball playing cb but the other has to be a pacy, physical cb.
You can't play a highline with two snails.

 

[Batistuta9]

We are a possession team, we need defenders who can pass and handle pressure on the ball. There aren?t many athletic CB who are exceptional on the ball.

I know our style is possession based, I just don't see the reason why we can't buy an athletic defender that is decent on the ball who can improve on the ball the more he plays. It's not like we need our CB's to be able to play defence splitting passes. Once you buy a slow defender, he isn't going to become fast.

I watch Liverpool, a lot of the time VVD and Gomez are in positions where they are 2 on 2 and they nearly always come out on top. The ferencvaros striker the other day was causing so many problems to pique and lenglet by himself, not due to having any real skill but because he's so much faster than them. I don't think any team would win the CL with a pairing of pique and lenglet.

 

[mc_lovin]

At this point its just a numbers game. The CBs who fit your profile are just insanely expensive - see Citys quest for one. Kounde was quoted at 80ME ffs. I seriously doubt we could even come up with the 40ME for Upamecano, whos been poached by Bayern anyway. At this point Pique, Lenglet, Araujo and Garcia look like an absolute win, even if uninspiring, on paper.

And I always hate the notion to look at other teams like Liverpool. Like "see, its easy, you just need an athletic pairing". Which is just ridiculous. What helps Liverpool more than anything is having van Dijk - thats it. There are no lessons to be learned there.