Mappa

Gyokeres is not really my type of striker and I did not want us to sign him. I am a big fan of Ødegaard and believe he is one of our best players. But after re-watching the game, my issue with Gyokeres’ performance last night is still aimed squarely at Martin and our midfield. And that’s because I remember last season. The lack of penetrative runs. Too many players playing to feet. Nothing in behind. The horseshoe of boredom. One of the main reasons we signed Gyokeres is because he’s so decisive with his runs off the ball. They command a pass. But last night, no-one was reading his movement or paying any attention to what they command. Especially not Ødegaard. We kept playing as if we didn’t have a centre-forward on the pitch and just another midfielder, which he is not. As you can see in this passing map - he was totally disconnected. Wanting Gyokeres to play differently, like Jesus did after coming on, defeats the entire purpose of signing him. Instead, we need our midfielders to start playing differently when Gyokeres is on the pitch. More vertical, fast play with passes in behind. We were doing that fairly well in the last few games before Gyokeres’ injury but with Ødegaard back in the team, we have fallen straight back into old habits. I suspect it’s something Mikel intends to work on next week when we finally have time to train again.