FairWooney

Interesting to see DCL playing a lot on the right wing like he used to do before he started scoring so much. Not great for my fantasy football team but giving Richarlison a chance to get more central!

I can see where @Bailey is coming from, there were periods where we were relying on our defenders to put in challenges in and around the box to stop them teeing something up. The defense handled them brilliantly but they were getting very close and the Liverpool side with the confidence and fluency of last season would have probably managed to get one through. That said we have done similar in other big games this season and come away with points and right now that is the how best for us to play against those teams. I'd love to see us going toe to to toe with the top teams and looking every bit as good as them and able to attack them and look like the better team but right now I think Carlo has us set up well to play to our strengths and come away with points in games where we're not the favourite. I'd say in the second half we could definitely have been going for the kill a bit more and too often resorted to punting it away and not pushing out when had we had a bit more composure we could have have troubled their centre backs more. I'll accept though that the players were probably feeling the pressure of the game situation and not taking chances, being more cautious than they would otherwise be. That's not Carlo's decision though and I saw him on camera at one point urging them to get out. I don't think we have any tactical problems in these games, it's the games where we are expected to win that he needs to master

Agree with what's been said Doucoure continues to look a beast, Richarilson is looking much more himself and is probably enjoying a chance to play up top, even if it is with limited service. Davies had a few mistakes where he tried to do too much with it then lost or played a sloppy pass but worked really hard, won the ball back a few times (4 in fact, more than anyone else) and generally did a good job. Iwobi I was impresed with also, was good on the ball when we got it, some good feet and looked to get forward with it. As has been said, doesn't always get that final ball right. Digne apart from that one poor ball in the second half when he was free to tea up Richarlison looked good in midfield, a good move in a game like this I think where had he been at left back he'd have never got forward and we really need his attacking influence. I couldn't really slate anyone, they all put in a shift and in patches, especially in the first half look threatening on the break and doing enough defensively. Hopefully they can mix that with a bit more of the ball and attacking play on Saturday

is King more centre forward of left wing? If he's more of a centre forward i'd play him there seeing as we know Richarlison does a good job on the left. I'd want to see whoever is on the left out of those 2 joining the other in the box though at times. Digne not mentioned as an injury so looks fine to play, if he's got a niggle i'd give him a rest but if not then I agree with your back 4, Coleman gives us a great attacking outlet that is well worth having in a game like Fulham.

fingers crossed it's not a full on pulled hamstring that sees him out for the next month. Didn't seem too bad when he came off and hopefully was taking precaution coming off before it could get any worse. I was thinking it would be good to start King on Sunday anyway and rest DCL for the next 2 big games but that looks probably forced now! Hopefully he'll be back for next week though.

Great all round team performance, the 2 first goals saw some top quality link up play and finishes, the way we bounced back after conceeding was quality and we played some really good stuff all first half. Not as much attacking wise in the second half but they kept pushing and every player put in a great shift front and back. Davies had a good game no doubt though he put in dangerous looking diving tackle at one point that just missed the player and would have probably given him a red. Doucoure - was awesome as ever, a beast of a player on the ball. (didn't cover great for their first goal though) Sig - is looking much better, put in some hard work, some good attacking play setting up a couple of goals and took his pen well enough. Defensively a few errors. Richarlison - Worked really hard, looked up for it and will definitely have benefited from banging in a couple of good goals. Coleman - came on as sub and gave us an instant attacking out on the right, love his buccaneering attacking runs, did a great run on the counter attack up the left at one point too. Still a great backup and think we should keep him on for another year when we get a new right back. Digne - Put in a great shift both going forward and at the back Dom was looking good too, hopefully he's ok. I'd be happy for him to get a rest of the bench if not fully fit on Sunday and allow King a start to make sure he's fit for Wednesday.

calfs too big for his socks?!

You're never going to get perfect performance from a keeper all of the time, very very few keepers will ever give you that but as well his great saves I also felt he commanded his area better than Pickford does. Maybe his size helps with this but I felt a lot more confident at times with him there.

That attacking run he made... His athleticism and strength is outstanding that's without mentioning his defending! top top signing that's settled in better than anyone could have hoped

Some really good defensive performances, weirdly the FPL app gave their man of the match to Calvert-Lewin! He did do a good job though as he often does in games where he's having to take pressure off the defense. Godfrey was outstanding, so impressed with how he's settled in and his quality. His ability to drive forward as well is amazing. The run he made in the first half where he got tackled half way through then just came back out with the ball was better than most attackers. Mina also did a great job, some top defending and like Godfrey made some good forward runs but did make a couple of silly challenges that gave away fouls in dangerous places. Sigurdson much to the disguest of all the haters put in a good performance, took his goal well, a good corner for the second and a couple of other good balls and generally more involved. Richarlison worked really hard, some good defensive work as well as doing a good job when he did get the ball at either keeping possession or trying to make something happen. He was annoyed at coming off but it was clear to see why to add that bit more to the defense. i've gone for Doucoure though, he was an absolute beast, some of his runs with the ball, generally picking someone out, he made a lot of attacks happen and was involved everywhere.

we'll sign King 5 minutes after the deadline by Fax!

surely someone has to come in, we can't fill the bench at the moment! Bernard clearly isn't wanted and Carlo doesn't really believe Gordon is up to making an impression on the first team just yet. Ideally Gordon would have done with a Championship loan but we can't afford to let him go out right now without a release clause (no one does that these days!). Midfield: Allan, Sigurdsson, Doucoure, James, André Gomes, Gbamin*, Davies, Onyango Wingers/Forwards: Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi, Gordon, That gives us 7 centrally based midfield players plus James who while I'd say is best in the middle will more likely continue to play on the right in most games. Including James we have 4 players who can play on the wing and 2 players that can play up front though given Richarlison's form in front of goal that doesn't inspire me! We really could do with someone who can offer quality backup to the wings/up front whether that be 1 player or two. It looks like we're not bothering with a new right back till the summer now.

The defense performed brilliantly and Keane and Mina especially stood out for me this game. However I was really impressed with Gomes yesterday, he put in a real shift and in a game where we struggled to get forward he kept trying to drive us forward in the second half. Showed a lot of strength and fight to try to take us forward. Though his tacking is often pretty poor he was getting stuck in (more tackles than anyone on the pitch) Also played some quality long passes forward. James as well from an attacking stand point did a good job, looking much more up for the fight and keen to make things happen again now. Lovely finish especially on his right foot.

That ball was fantastic, the commentators said about how Richarlison didn't need to be offside but I think it was just a little too tight for him to have made it had he not had that slight start. All the same the vision for the pass was outstanding. A couple of other moments I remember from him, a lovely flick over the defenders to create a chance that DCL ran on to and knocked over the keeper, reminded me of the kind of ball that Xavi or Iniesta would do for Messi in those games where they'd be spending ages trying to find a gap in a teams wall of defense. The other he brought a ball down at the back of the 6 yard box with beautiful control, took a turn then then a showboaty cross leg pass (don't know what you call it!) straight into the path on one of our players to take on a shot. With Richarlison, Coleman and Digne especially he has plenty of options to pick out which brings the best out of him. One thing that DCL maybe needs to work on is getting those in and out runs to give him a ball through like he did for Richarlison. He does have decent movement and finds his way into a spot on the 6 yard perfectly but needs to work on giving a good option to run on to a little more often. I see it sometimes though and it'll come more often as they continue to play together.

James had more passes than anyone apart from Doucoure last night, unusual as usually the most passes are the centre backs of centre mids for us. 81 passes. Only 3rd (equal) most accurate passes then he's trying to do a bit more with it than Doucoure or Holgate! 69 out of 81 isn't bad going considering some of the passes he played! Such as the 8 key passes! (out of 15 total for the team) One random start that Sheffield Wednesday won on...most dribbles! they attempted a pretty mad 20 and 9 were successful, we were 3 with 1 successful! We just preferred to pass them off the park!

lol My bad for not reading previous posts before seeing yours! And there was me thinking about looking through the highlights to pull out a picture of him smiling in an embrace with the team when they ran over to him to celebrate the 3rd goal!

Romey he's not in the team to run around, Carlo bought him as a luxury player who will create chances and that's what he's there to do. He doesn't put in the most effort chasing back and that's partly why i'd prefer to see him as a number 10 rather than on the wing. Not only would this give him more involvement in the game but it would also take some responsibility off of defending as the central area has a lot more cover than the wing. As it is he drifts right into the centre anyway a lot of the time (i'm sure Carlo has permitted this). As to looking happy, Richarlison always looks unhappy but I don't think we should be benching these 2 for their lack of fun! I'm sure he enjoyed himself, Wednesday sat off him and gave him lots of opportunity to express himself, play it around and create chances, a luxury for him compared to the average prem game.

As they want him to get game time i'm surprised they'd send him to us as he will still get limited time when DCL is fit again which should only be a couple of weeks away unless it's a really bad hamstring injury. He sounds a good player though

He'll miss the FA Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday won't he? Cups normally count for suspensions

fair points guys, I guess they change of position is indeed what had an affect. I wouldn't particularly choose to play him there again mind

Sig has been much better of late but was anonymous in a good team performance last night. 26 touches (Gomes had the same in the 30 minutes he played) dispossessed twice, lost it once due to bad control made one interception 1 key pass and 1 decent cross in his 17 passes at just 82% accuracy. I know it's not all about stats but I had to take a look just to confirm I hadn't missed him contributing something to the game! Looked pretty pissed off when he came off too, hopefully narked with his own performance rather than being removed!

Good performance all round especially after we all looked in bewilderment at the team sheet! We looked really good on the ball, Rodriguez looking really lively constantly looking to pick players out, with Iwobi and Digne really benefiting from his vision and left boot. Our game has really missed that link up of Rodriguez knowing that Digne and Richarlison will be making runs down the left so it's great to have that option from Digne back. The only thing missing was someone i the box most of the time for Digne to pick out. Great defensively as well, the whole team contributing, Iwobi for example had the most tackles with 4 (successful) but Keane, Mina and Godfrey especially kept us strong. Really good to see the way Carlo could make the team adapt to the situation and not look lost with a different set up against a tough side. My pick for man of the match is Iwobi. He was constantly looking to attack them, make runs into the box and working hard up and down the pitch.

not a clue what to expect, hopefully they've put in some training on this set up!

Agree with that team as long as Digne is feeling fit and well after today's game. Good to have pretty much first choice line up available again Hopefully see a performance to match

We were shite, Olsen did his job well, Doucoure as I'd expect improved us when he came on. Coleman when we were attacking was pretty involved and I thought Gomes was generally alright. Tosun also took his goal and the offside one very well. Can't be arsed to cast a vote! Let's hope we play better in round 4