Rico had a good game imo; he made several good blocks and interceptions (including a fantastic acrobatic one denying a certain goal), great set piece delivery, bagged an assist, a couple loose moments on the ball but otherwise he was pretty damn good. And if you hadn’t noticed, his “poor positioning” seems a tactical choice from EH, our LBs always seem to be either high up the pitch or tucked in more centrally: Daniels constantly does the same thing.
Sorry, but I’m not having comments on here that he had a terrible game. The fact that EH took off him right at the end for some applause surely proves that he had a good game??
We look so much better with 4 at the back. Ake was immense, S. Cook looked slow and seems injured still? Stacey, for his first premiere league start, played well. Ramsdale was awesome, very quick off his line and might have actually saved us the game at times.
H. Wilson anonymous again, fantastic to see L. Cook back, really missed his driving performances and range of passing. Billing much more than a midfield destroyer. King looked mostly back to his best, Wilson back to being clinical, and Solanke was a great foil for them both.
All in all, a great result against a team in good form. We played a formation that mostly got the best out of a lot of our players (in both defence and attack) and that also gave us a much stronger bench, with the likes of Fraser and Lerma able to come on. And for once, can’t disagree with any of EHs choices and decisions. UTC