Liverpool vs Man City - Premier League (19/20 - Game 12)

[Irishnev]

Anyone else reckon the ederson injury is bull**** and that he will play

You don’t say - I’m expecting Sane, peak Kompany and Laporte to start also

[Mr Pink]

He wants to meet Sean Cox and his family before the game on Sunday. ****in hell Jurgen, you are a legend.

Still ****s me off, that the guy that did it, only got 3 and a half years.

Hope Sean has picked a good game to return for!

[Mr Pink]

Anyone else reckon the ederson injury is bull**** and that he will play

Was thinking that earlier today, but don’t think pep has anything to gain from pretending he’s out and springing him on us last minute. Not like it’s de bruyne - our tactics wont change based on which keeper plays (apart from maybe shooting a bit more).

Would be insulting to bravo to use him as bait like that, don’t think it’s peps style. Speaking of Bravo, he must be crapping himself at the prospect. First league start in over a year and it’s at anfield... in a must win game... with a weakened defense in front of him... a few days after getting sent off for a Forrest Gump-esque attempt at a challenge.. that’s a lot of pressure. Hope the anfield crowd makes him feel welcome!

[Assassin]

If Edison is out, We will press even harder, bravo is ****e with the ball at his feet

[Liverpool]

we've tore teams apart who play 352 we've struggled more with teams who turn it into a 541. If I was Pep i'd be going with the same 4141 as last year but with the bonus of KBD in the side.

Something like

----------- Ederson
Cancelo-Walker-Stones-Mendy
------------Fernadinho
KBD--Gundogen--Bernando--Sterling
-------------Aguero

Sterling and Aguero in behind Lovren/Trent with KBD crosses, would probably peg back our fullbacks.

[dom9]

If Edison is out, We will press even harder, bravo is ****e with the ball at his feet

:lightbulb:

[labourRed]

:lightbulb:

[Slinky Skills]

You just know it's true as well. Lol

[ame]https://twitter.com/TheAnfieldWrap/status/1192816083553705986[/ame]

[Norbs]

Actually think this is a negative. Guardiola will be able to play ultra defensive citing that Bravo dictates the change in tactics without having to look like he's bottled it.

I think we can expect a few high balls over the top. They'll be able to exploit a known weakness of Lovren's

[poorscousertommy]

I thought Bravo was alright with the ball at his feet?

If it is mind games maybe he’s thinking De Geas last minute recovery contributed mentally to our only dropped points this season?

Probably not but it’s a theory!

[PTP]

I’d take 0-0 all ****ing day at the moment 👍😂 / a boring, no drama, no var, flat 0-0

[dom9]

A thesis on Claudio Bravo courtesy of the scribes at The Athletic

https://theathletic.com/1363310/2019/11/09/life-without-ederson-what-man-city-gain-and-what-they-lose-with-claudio-bravo-in-goal/

Heading into this weekend’s blockbuster matchup at Anfield, Manchester City have a bit of a crisis on their hands. Already short of five first-team players — David Silva, Rodri, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte — through injury, matters were made significantly worse when Ederson was forced off at half-time against Atalanta on Wednesday with a thigh injury. On Friday, City boss Pep Guardiola said his No 1 will not play against Liverpool, leaving backup Claudio Bravo to start.

The image many Premier League fans likely have of Bravo is that of a goalkeeper who couldn’t keep the ball out of the net as he struggled to adapt to the rigours and demands of the league upon his arrival in 2016. That he was sent off in the 81st minute on Wednesday for a reckless challenge outside of his box after replacing Ederson won’t improve that image.

Though many will question his ability heading into the Liverpool match, the reality is Bravo is still a very good goalkeeper, much better than the one we saw at his lowest point back in 2016, and still more than capable of helping his team to a result. After all, it was largely Bravo’s heroics in the 2017-18 League Cup campaign that helped City win the first part of their domestic double that season. After missing the 2018-19 season due to a ruptured Achilles, Bravo played against Liverpool in the Community Shield, and once again produced in the shootout to help City to victory.

While it would be hard to expect Bravo to be an equal replacement for one of the best keepers in the world in Ederson, what can City reasonably expect from Bravo come Sunday?

Strengths
Distribution and build up play: Like Ederson, Bravo’s greatest strength is arguably his ability and comfort with the ball at his feet. That ability — in addition to his familiarity with Guardiola’s system dating back to their time at Barcelona — was a primary reason Bravo was brought to Manchester in the summer of 2016.

Guardiola expects his team to essentially be made up of 11 outfield players, with one who happens to be able to use his hands. The expectation that the goalkeeper possesses the same comfort on the ball as the playmaker in midfield is the foundation to Pep’s system. Having the goalkeeper as an extra passing pivot when building up possession allows the central defenders to split out wide and the fullbacks to push further up the pitch, forcing the opposition to pressure the goalkeeper and open up space elsewhere — often on the opponent’s weak side — for Guardiola’s team to exploit.

In addition to being comfortable on the ball, it is also vital for City’s goalkeeper to be able to assess situations in front of him, think two or three steps ahead and accurately play the ball to his team-mates’ feet or into space for them to run onto the ball and jumpstart attacks. This is a role at which Bravo has excelled for City. Even when there were questions being asked of his more traditional goalkeeping skills back in 2016, his capability with the ball at his feet was never in doubt.

His performance against Huddersfield in 2017 is a great example of the quality he has, both in his ability and judgement when in possession.



As exceptional as Ederson is in regards to his distribution, Bravo is a close second. Build-up play shouldn’t be a problem for Guardiola’s men in the Brazilian’s absence. With Liverpool likely to use a high press against City on Sunday, Bravo’s ability to accurately spray his passes to targets 30-40 yards away and avoid the first (and sometimes second) line of pressure will be vital for City, and help them break down, and possibly even discourage Liverpool’s pressure.

Speed and agility: Bravo doesn’t have the size or reach that Ederson does to cover the furthest edges of his goal, but he makes up for it with his quick reactions, speed and agility.

Again, after his first-year struggles in Manchester, it may be hard to imagine any area of his shot-stopping skill set is still a strength of his but, when at his very best, it is his agility — specifically in the tightest areas, and with the opposition barreling towards goal — that really shines.


While it is a goalkeeper’s footwork — the side shuffle and cross-over step — that gets them from point A to point B over longer distances to make a save, often from shots further away from the goal, it is a keeper’s ability to change direction quickly that helps them make small adjustments to shots in the box at a moment’s notice to make saves. Bravo does the latter extremely well by keeping his footsteps small and almost in continuous contact with the ground, giving him a strong centre of balance and allowing him to react and adjust himself in any direction for a shot on target. When the game moves as fast as it does, especially in the tight confines of the goal area, it is often the efficiency of a goalkeeper’s quick movements that determine whether a save is successful or not.

His agility, combined with a quick first step off his line, also make Bravo difficult to beat in one-v-one situations. When the striker is free and clear on goal, the Chilean keeper focuses on remaining patient, keeping his chest/body square to the ball and holding his ground, keeping himself as big as possible up until the last moment before the shot. In the time it takes for the striker to put his head down to shoot, Bravo closes the space between them.

The stops against Wolves in the 2018 EFL Cup pictured below are great examples of Bravo’s efficiency in breakaway situations.







One-v-one situations may be an area where he holds an advantage over Ederson. While Bravo is more patient in his approach, Ederson is a bit rash, unafraid to rush off his line in an attempt to force the attacker into a missed chance or a shot he can save. This can result in the occasional big-time stop from Ederson but it has also, at times, can lead to an easy goal for the opposition when it would have been better for him to remain patient and closer to his line.

Penalty kicks: This could be the wildcard for City against Liverpool. Over the course of the past few seasons, Bravo has built up a reputation as a penalty kick hero for City.





Spot-kick situations are largely a mental battle of patience between the shooter and goalkeeper, and Bravo’s previous success with turning away the strike could very well play on the minds of Liverpool’s nominated kicker should they be awarded a penalty on Sunday.

Weaknesses
Cross management: The way Ederson deals with crosses and dominates his area against balls lifted into the box is second to none. He takes an aggressive start position a few yards from his line and isn’t afraid to come and challenge the ball, even when on the farthest outskirts of his box and amidst a mix of team-mates and opposing players.

This range helps give confidence to his backline in particular and team-mates in general, as they know that any ball into the box belongs to their goalkeeper. This also allows City to play a very high line, both in open play and from set-piece situations.









Bravo, however, is much more reserved in crossing situations. He likes to position himself deeper and rooted to his line, preferring his defenders to deal with long balls into his box. There are times when he will come off his line and extend himself but they are few and far between compared to Ederson. You can also tell that each time he does venture towards a cross, he doesn’t always display the most confidence in doing so — especially when surrounded by bigger bodied opponents.

This will likely be an area where City will have to adjust their game to suit Bravo in goal. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will be dropping their back line much deeper on crossing situations than they would if Ederson were in goal — Guardiola likes to keep a level of consistency to his team’s formation and playing style regardless of who is playing — but it does mean the defenders will have to be a bit more “switched on” and willing to challenge and win the balls into the box themselves than they usually would with Ederson present.

Confidence and lack of game time: Confidence and consistency are the ultimate qualities we look for in goalkeepers, and Ederson’s ability to play at a high level and full of confidence has been key to City’s success over the past few seasons.

A confident and in-command goalkeeper is reflected in the rest of the team’s play. They feel the confidence from the back and it allows them to trust their own decisions, knowing that, in the worst-case scenario, the keeper will be there to bail them out. It helps bring a calmness to each player; their movements become relaxed, fluid and natural. Everything in front of them happens a bit slower as they see the game clearly, making them able to think a few steps ahead.

Before his arrival in the Premier League, Bravo was an authoritative figure in goal for Barcelona, known for his leadership and focus. When he first moved to City, he was a shell of his former self, often lacking confidence and conviction in much of his play. But when looking at the complete picture, it shouldn’t have been that surprising.

In Spain, he was the backstop of arguably the best team in the world, and a part of a dressing room that had a unified culture, belief and understanding of the way that they wanted to play every single day. At City, a lot of those comforts were stripped away from him. Even though City had won titles before his arrival, they didn’t have a total understanding of the way Guardiola wanted his team to play and the type of culture he wanted to implement. Bravo, being one of the few players familiar with Guardiola’s system, had a lot of pressure on him to be the catalyst for change on the pitch — something that is hard for any single player to take on alone.

All of this led to Bravo feeling more pressure, stress and uncertainty in his own play, which inevitably resulted in soft goals that, under different circumstances, likely wouldn’t have happened.

Just as a team can feed off of their goalkeeper’s confidence, the rest of the squad suffers when the keeper isn’t feeling it. The outfield players can sense the uncertainty from their keeper, and it is reflected in their own play. They start to question the keeper’s decisions and make mistakes of their own. The keeper’s lack of confidence has the potential to create chaos in the whole squad. This was a major issue for City in 2016-17, so much so that Ederson was signed the following summer.

It’s been a long time since Bravo has played consistently. He was injured for much of last season, and has only made a few appearances in cup competitions this time around. He last played a Premier League match against Southampton on the last day of the 2017-18 campaign. So it is hard to know exactly what to expect against Liverpool.

There is, however, one distinct difference between this City team and the one he stepped into in 2016 that could help him on Sunday: the culture and level of comfort in Guardiola’s system are both far improved from three years ago.

Even though he lacks significant match time, his familiarity with the squad and the understanding that he is only a temporary placeholder until Ederson gets back — and not the guy who will be shouldering all the responsibility long-term — should help ease some of the nerves going into the match. If Bravo is able to get his feet underneath him and make a big save or two early on, it may be just enough to give the rest of the team the confidence necessary to leave Anfield with an important result.

(Photo: Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

[Liverpool]

They need to provide an executive summary so we can all pretend to have read the whole thing

[labourRed]

I’d take 0-0 all ****ing day at the moment 👍😂 / a boring, no drama, no var, flat 0-0

People said the same last year and we lost the league by a point. A draw could easily be the difference between winning the title and coming second. So, no offence and all, but I'm looking for all three points.

[Buzzo]

I’m thinking ideally a win.

If not a draw, but I definitely, definitely don’t want a defeat.

That sound about right