NICE BOYS FC
Arsenal vs Porto didn’t go the way we expected, but it kind of went the way we knew it could because we’ve been there in the past against teams like Milan who would always take advantage of Wenger naivete.
You can’t sugarcoat this one; we didn’t perform to the level of post-Dubai 2024. We didn’t move the ball fast enough, our attacking offering was limp, and we got pulled into a drunken street fight.
The Champions League is unique in the sense that good European teams are very honest about their weaknesses and they’ll counter them by doing things they are good at. ‘Don’t play ball against Arsenal, don’t let them have their way at corners, and take advantage of their youth’ was the brief and it was executed masterfully. Porto were very good at what they needed to be good at – and they capped a Champions League masterclass with a stunning goal from about 25 yards out.
The ball was in play for 51% of the game – the Bayern vs Lazio game had a 66% figure. I think the Premier League changed the rules when the number was hovering around 57% at the start of the season. Porto has Jose Mourinho dark arts DNA. They slowed the game down with theatrics that were on telenovela levels of cheap drama. Every tackle resulted in a twisted fall, every corner saw about 6 players hit the deck like a dark episode of Band of Brothers, and the ref fell for it all. What was masterful about it was the amount of players participa...
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Newcastle boss Eddie Howe seeks reunion with Arsenal star in cut-price transfer
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