Solanke was signed as a natural striker so it’s tempting to judge his performance as such. He’s not really playing a striker’s role so I think he should be judged on a slightly different skill set. Either way, based on today there is some room for improvement.
I felt in the 1st half, the gap between S. Cook and Aké was too big. I guess Lerma would usually be covering that space so I suppose it was one of those games where a bit of defensive uncertainty could be genuinely be attributed to “the way we play”.
I still think S. Cook is struggling for fitness. No one is going to question his bravery, but he still seems a little slow to react and at times a bit cumbersome. It was good to see Rico put in such a strong 2nd half. He needs to maintain that level now.
I was really impressed by how King reacted to getting shunted out wide and Fraser being dropped. They were the difference makers after the break and like Rico, we need to see that level consistently now.