The Man City V/S Leeds United game was played at a very high level, and don't be bothered, it was much higher than you can imagine.
The match toggled a few questions in my mind and here they are-
#1- The lower leagues in the EPL are much better than in any other league.
The EPL might not be the best first division, but the second and third divisions are really nice. Very intense and hardly fought games are played between a promoted side and the two favorites of the league. That's something of an achievement. While not all teams are as good as leeds, we only need to find the dark horse in the past three seasons- Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United. What are they? They are all promoted sides. They got into the top flight and all finished in the top half. Exxcept Wolves though, all got the second season syndrome, Sheffield do not look any good this season, and Newcastle barely stayed in the top flight. That's due to bench power of the wealthy clubs. They were fatigued, unlike the powerhouses who can change 11 and win.
#2- Stamina.
Leeds are known for their brutal training sessions and Man City are hardly different. Both the clubs may just be the epitome of stamina. Then you have to consider Liverpool, then Leicester. The list goes on. However, when we look at Barcelona, you have players who can hardly play out the hour mark. Sloppy passes, recurrent mistakes. It's hindering the development of FCB as a club. We need to improve our fitness to compete at the biggest stage.
#3- Just how good was the match and the teams ?
Really, A brilliant, end to end game, lots of attacking, but, how good were they ?
Yeah, I can't disagree that they were good, but on the other hand, I felt some integral parts missing. The full backs in the blue and the midfield in the white was awful. Finishing was a bit off track, and many mis-passes. Does that mean it was trash ? No. But it just shows the correctness and the footballing genius of Johan Cruyff. Those who think his style is outdated are ignorant. Bayern, Man City, Ajax, Chelsea, among others are trying to perfect the style and are still making mistakes. It still has not been perfected yet.
Why did I bring up a PL game ? Because, once in a while, there comes a match that you just have to enjoy and this was it. There is much more in it than enjoyment though. Man City are competetive in the Champion's league. We now know their weakness. It's the fullbacks. We have to keep improving as a team and see what happens, but, meanwhile, we need to observe other games learn a few things. We need to increase our stamina, our intensity, while keeping our creativity. It's hard, but it's possible.
That's it then!
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