Ivanovic's injury was a blessing in disguise for Big Sam. It was just after Silva's red card and as they were 1-0 down they brought on an attacker and went to 4 at the back. It's worked a treat for them.
Obviously the red card is a huge factor in this. But so too is Tuchel's decision to prioritise Porto on Wednesday over this game. The stars have aligned perfectly for WBA.
It's all well and good Ayling having the sense to get back onto the line. But, er, you want to actually be on line. No use defending 5 yards behind it.
Very interesting that Amazon have pointed out that this is the first PL game which Scott has refereed since our match vs Wolves, and the two handball incidents. Says everything really. The PL might not be vocal in their criticism of their referees. But that doesn't mean they're blind.
Yeah, he's been reffing in the Championship for a while. Mind you I noticed Kavanagh had the Watford-Sheff Wed game yesterday. Although I suspect that's more to do with the fact he needs to build up fitness after having coronavirus. But the PL definitely weren't happy with Scott.
Confession: Not sure if this is a controversial or unpopular opinion, but my word do I find Manchester City mind-sappingly dull to watch.
It’s been quite a common theme with Pep sides over the years. The tika taka Barca side I remember lots of people saying they found it boring. City this year are just so much better than everyone else and are so good at keeping the ball that most games can become repetitive. Throw in they still have potentially 20 games or something crazy left and the fixture schedule anyway and I think they just go into training ground mode when they go a goal or 2 up and try and coast through games to save energy
Not controversial in my book, the only time i've bothered to watch them is when they are playing Saints.