Claudio Marchisio - Managing Empoli

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

We were stupendous this season. Sure we won all the domestic trophies which is almost taken for granted now but we also picked up the Champions League trophy as we have turned ourselves into a club who is now regarded as one of Europe's elite clubs.

The difference? Andre Nascimento!!!!! My teenage sensation cost me £55m but he smashed in 61 goals in all competitions which is 23 more than anyone else has got for me before! To be fair it wasnt just down to him. Our defence, strengthened by the arrivals of Gvardiol and Rama plus the emergence of Ivan Guarracino as my first choice keeper, were fantastic and we only conceded 15 goals in the league and once went 14 games straight without conceding. Also Vinicius Junior really moved up several levels as he scored 27 goals.

We only lost 1 league game but so did Juventus (who beat us) but we scored over 100 goals and won 103pts which would normally see us have the title won with 5 or 6 games to go but Juventus were so strong and we had so many games in hand that we didnt actually seal the title until the penultimate week of the season. In the Supercoppa we beat Inter Milan 6-3 in a thrilling final with Vinicius Junior scoring 5 goals in a wonderful individual performance.

In the Copa Italia we reached the final and hit 4 past Roma when we got there to claim the trophy.

In the Champions League we were sensational. We cruised the group stage as we won all 6 matches, scoring 20 goals in the process and putting 4 past Arsenal both home and away. We then played Atletico Madrid and despite losing the first leg 2-1 away we got the job done at the Empoli stadium. Juventus were up next and after winning the first leg 2-0 we lost the 2nd leg by the same scoreline but got through on penalties after a marathon shoot-out. We knew we had a chance of winning it when we beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield and although we lost the 2nd leg at home we still reached the final albeit against a weaker Borussia Dortmund side and we saw them off 2-1 to claim our first Champions League trophy.

With such a young squad my team can only get better and for once I havent got any pre-arranged transfers for the first team squad!

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SERIE A

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SQUAD

Goalkeepers - At the start of the season both of my first team keepers got injured so La Vecchia got a surprise 2 appearances before Guarracino got fit. Guarracino was immense as he kept 30 clean sheets in 49 appearances. Audero did get a few appearances but due to his injury and Guarracino playing in the cups he became unhappy so I loaned him out to Sevilla.

Defenders - Surprisingly I strengthened the defence in the summer as I paid a club record £77m for Gvardiol who was excellent at CB alongside Vanheusden and £66m to Hoffenheim for Rama who was a beast at RB. Jorge who is still just 22 had another splendid season at LB and my backup defenders hardly got a look in tbh with Simone Berardi not even getting to start a game.

Midfielders - Tonali and Gravenberch did their thing in the centre of midfield with Tonali pulling all the strings. Boonyarit Boonmak was their backup and he did well when called upon and is developing into a world class player. Di Matteo didnt get much games to impress but he is developing well also.

At AMC Ronaldo Camara had a better season as he got into double figures for both goals and assists however Eljif Elmas was very disappointing after a standout season last term. Jadon Sancho arrived at the club to play RW and while he did very well with 11 goals and 15 assists I still think he can give us more. Over on the LW Vinicius Junior had the best season of his career with 27 goals and his 5 goals in the Supercoppa will long be remembered. Emanuel Vignato was in and out of the side but he can be pleased with how he performed as he scored 10 goals.

Forwards - Andre Nascimento came in from FC Porto for £55m and while we didnt really need him it was the best signing I have made. He propelled the club into the next level with his 61 goals and he is getting better and better and won the European Golden Boy, Kopa Trophy and European Golden Boot as well as a load of domestic accolades.

Diego Esedin and Moise Kean are also top notch strikers but they didnt get much chances to impress unfortunately.

My Player of the Season - Andre Nascimento
My Young Player of the Season - Andre Nascimento
Must Do Better - Eljif Elmas
Donkey of the Season - Marco Kana

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SUMMER PLANS

I dont know really! I only have about £30m to spend so there isnt much room to do much but I will sell a load of players as usual but I cant see how I can strengthen the first XI. One thing I am going to do however is make the English league playable and take over Newcastle but I will only manage them during the transfer windows just to see what I can do with them!

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BRAZIL

Friendly

Lineup - Ederson (Alisson), Eder Militao (Calegari), Marquinhos, Luiz Felipe, Jorge, Arthur (Douglas Luiz), Gerson, Rodrygo (Glaucio), Chrys (Evander), Vinicius Junior*, Martinelli (Richarlison)

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[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

This has been a quiet summer for us as I have just signed 1 player for the first team but at the same time I have offloaded a load of players for £159m. This summer has certainly been one of signing just the right player that I have identified and I have also promoted a couple of players from my U20 squad.

I was busy however with Newcastle but this is not a Newcastle save lol but I will point out that I did sell one player to them but only for the same price that everyone else bid and I also let them have a couple of loans for free so I am not taking advantage of having 2 teams.

Here are my departures.............

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PLAYERS OUT

Juventus were the most generous as they gave me over £50m for the 2 players I signed on a free last summer. They paid £28m for Urbano Ferreira and £27m which could rise up to £38m for Adan Moreno.

Regarding players that have actually played for us I let Eljif Elmas join Lyon for £25m. He had a standout first season for us but was pretty poor last season and in all he made 74 apps and scored 19 goals. Marco Kana has also left as he joined Benfica for £22.5m (£30m) and he was quite disappointing in truth and we also sold Emil Audero to Watford for £20m. He was my first choice keeper for a few years and ended up making 153 appearances for the club.

All the rest of the players leaving were U20 players. Kjaergard joined Werder Bremen for £8m, Chirio joined Genoa for £5.25m, Pandolfo left for Lecce for £4.1m and Gundersen rejoined Venezia for £3.9m. The one player that I sold to Newcastle was Regi Juliansyah for £3m.

As for loan deals Caterino and Reyes have joined Juliansyah at Newcastle, Berardi is off to Rostov and although there were plenty of others the most notable was Cizek to Marseille and El Shami joined Monaco on loan again.

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PLAYERS IN

I did sign 2 pre-contracts in order to loan them out and sell them in the future and I have done that with Fabio Silva and Bright Arrey-Mbi so the only player I have signed is Daniele Polverino who arrived from Fiorentina for £55m. He is just 21y/o and has 1 cap for Italy and he can play at CM or AMC. He had been on my shortlist for a few years and I made the move to get him this summer.

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SQUAD & SEASON AIMS

I have decided not to replace Kana in the squad in order to give Simone Berardi more game time. Polverino replaces Elmas in the squad while I have promoted Luca Manzoni and Vicente Alarcon into the first team squad. My starting XI wont change so it is all about keeping things ticking along.

Regarding my season aims the title is a must and now we know we can win the Champions League that is always going to be an aim for the season but it is not an expectation.​

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

UEFA Super Cup

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden*, Gvardiol, Dimarco, Polverino, Gravenberch (Marinello), Sancho, Alarcon (Vignato), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Esedin)

We put 4 past Arsenal twice last season so decided to do so again here as we claim the European Super Cup. Zinho Vanheusden was our unlikely hero with 2 goals while I gave debuts to Polverino and Alarcon.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon (Vignato), Vinicius Junior (Manzoni), Nascimento*

Nascimento kicks off his league campaign with a hat-trick. He hit 5 hat-tricks in the league last season and it will be interesting to see how much he gets this season.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho*, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

Move over Nascimento!!!! Jadon Sancho was the hat-trick hero here as he put on a 10 out of 10 performance. We were slow to get going but in the 2nd half we tore them apart.

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SUMMARY

Just the 3 games this month but we won all 3, picked up the European Super Cup and scored 12 goals so not too shabby a start! Nascimento is continuing to score goals for fun and Jadon Sancho has started the season with 3 goals and 4 assists in the 3 matches so his start to the season has been unbelievable.

In the Champions League we have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Qarabag.

I didnt sign anyone else in the transfer window but I did let a few players in the U20 side leave on loan.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JADON SANCHO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge*, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon (Boonmak), Vignato (Manzoni), Nascimento

I expect better than this! We were dominant throughout but only had a solitary Nascimento strike to show for it.

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UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Russo, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon, Vignato (Manzoni), Nascimento*

Before the game Guarracino got injured and will be missing for over a month so my backup keeper Russo came in and he kept a clean sheet as we won fairly comfortably. Nascimento scored a fantastic hat-trick but he also picked up an injury and will be out for a month.

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Lineup - Russo, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge*, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon (Di Matteo), Vignato (Kean), Esedin

We didnt miss Nascimento too much as his replacement, Diego Esedin, came in and scored twice. Moise Kean came off the bench to play on the left wing and he also scored twice but one was disallowed.

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Lineup - Russo, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch, Sancho*, Alarcon (Di Matteo), Vignato, Esedin (Kean)

A boring victory. Gravenberch and Sancho got the goals but going forward we werent that great. We have yet to concede in 5 league games which is not bad I suppose.

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Lineup - Russo, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Marinello), Gravenberch, Sancho*, Alarcon, Vignato (Manzoni), Esedin (Kean)

We conceded our first goal of the season here just after Diego Esedin missed a penalty but thankfully we fought back to win and the winner came from Vicente Alarcon. My Chilean attacking midfielder hasnt hit the ground running with us so maybe this will be a game changer.

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UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Russo, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali*, Gravenberch (Camara), Sancho (Vignato), Alarcon, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Esedin

Sandro Tonali scored a total fluke to win us the match here. He lofted in a free-kick from near the halfway line and somehow it evaded everyone and ended up in the back of the net. Ronaldo Camara made his comeback from injury here.

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SUMMARY

We had some injury problems this month with Guarracino, Nascimento, Vinicius Junior and Camara all being ruled out for various periods of time. Despite missing 4 regular starters we have kept on winning however although the performance levels have dipped a little as when last season we were largely blowing teams away but we are getting the job done.

I have just noticed that while our new stadium is getting renovated and expanded we have been playing at Fiorentina's ground so we have been smashing the attendance records and gate receipt records which is nice to see and our very next fixture is away to our gracious hosts and local rivals lol.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JORGE

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SERIE A

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BRAZIL

Friendly

Lineup - Ederson (Pranzetti), Eder Militao, Marquinhos (Gabriel), Luiz Felipe (Ibanez), Jorge (Wanderson), Arthur, Gerson, Glaucio, Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Junior* (Richarlison), Gabriel Jesus

This is my 6th match in charge of Brazil and Vinicius Junior has scored in 5 of them. He got a double here but got injured so will be out for 3 weeks. Egypt's scorer El Shami is a wonderkid that I have at Empoli who I have loaned out for the last couple of seasons.

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[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

Lineup - Russo, Rama, Vanheusden, Garcia (Berardi), Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Polverino), Sancho (Vignato), Alarcon*, Vinicius Junior, Esedin

Fantastic. Remember essentially this was an away fixture as we are sharing a ground with Fiorentina so to wipe the floor with them so convincingly is very pleasing. The only shame was that Diego Esedin failed to get a hat-trick as he missed a penalty in between his 2 goals.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Garcia, Gvardiol, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch (Camara), Sancho, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior, Esedin (Nascimento)

What I have learned from this game is that Diego Esedin shouldnt be taking penalties as he missed his 3rd in a row here. Thankfully Sancho and Vinicius Junior scored the goals to make us win and we should have scored far more.

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UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Marinello), Berardi, Garcia, Dimarco, Boonmak (Di Matteo), Polverino, Vignato, Camara, Manzoni, Esedin*

I went with my backups here and they were outstanding in the first half as we rattled in 4 goals in the first half. However in the 2nd half we didnt score anymore which is just not acceptable considering they were down to 10 men.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Garcia (Berardi), Gvardiol*, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Polverino), Sancho, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento (Esedin)

Our 100% record continues with this win. Nascimento tucked away a penalty and Gvardiol scored his first goal for the club which was a nice moment.

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Lineup - Guarracino*, Rama, Garcia, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon (Camara), Vignato (Manzoni), Nascimento (Esedin)

Guarracino was the only reason we escaped with a point here as Juventus bombarded our goal but somehow we escaped with a point.

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SUMMARY

We didnt concede a goal this month so defensively we were excellent and apart from the Juventus match we were pretty good going forward too. We had some really tough fixtures this month against the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina so to win all but one and draw the other is pretty decent.

We have got all of our players back from injury now so I expect our performances to go up a notch or two now.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOSKO GVARDIOL

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SERIE A

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BRAZIL

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers

Lineup - Ederson, Eder Militao, Gabriel, Luiz Felipe, Jorge*, Arthur (Douglas Luiz), Gerson, Rodrygo, Matheus Cunha (Chrys), Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus (Richarlison)

What a comeback!!!!!

We went 2-0 down early on and we were stunned but credit goes to my players for fighting back to win this game. Rodrygo pulled a goal back and then we had 2 goals disallowed before halftime but in the 2nd half Luiz Felipe headed and equaliser and Chrys scored via a free-kick to give us all 3pts.

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CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers

Lineup - Ederson, Dodo, Marquinhos, Luiz Felipe, Jorge (Wanderson), Arthur, Gerson (Evander), Rodrygo*, Chrys, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Jesus (Martinelli)

Thank god Rodrygo knows how to take penalties!!!! He scored a hat-trick of them as we beat a stubborn Chile side. We were 3-0 up and cruising but then Chile scored 2 quickfire goals to have us in a nervous state but we got another penalty which Rodrygo duly smashed home.​

 

[Futbology]

Hi @Klippybo!

First of all, thanks for keeping the thread so consistent and fun. It's always a joy to watch how you develop your teams.

If you don't mind, can you post your tactics anytime soon? Your squad seems to have a great synergy and I want to know how well they fit into your system. Have you been using similar tactics throughout or have you been experimenting around?

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Guarracino, Berardi, Marinello, Garcia, Dimarco, Boonmak (Di Matteo), Polverino, Vignato, Camara, Manzoni*, Esedin (Kean)

This was very much identical as our first meeting as we were 4-0 up at half-time and then failed to score anymore goals in the 2nd half. Diego Esedin missed yet another penalty and had a goal disallowed.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Garcia, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch*, Sancho (Vignato), Alarcon (Camara), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

Yet another clean sheet and yet another victory but we arent hitting the heights like we did last term. Nascimento is scoring but not in 2s or 3s but hopefully that will come.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Di Matteo), Gravenberch (Boonmak), Sancho, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior*, Nascimento

Vinicius Junior took his excellent form for Brazil and displayed it domestically here with his 2 goals. We have now gone 38 matches unbeaten in the league which is the equivalent of a whole season which is quite impressive.

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UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic (Di Matteo) (Alarcon), Berardi, Garcia, Dimarco, Marinello, Boonmak, Vignato, Camara, Kean (Manzoni), Esedin

We only needed a point to win the group so I took a chance and played my backups and we got the point that was required but I am gutted that we conceded a stoppage time equaliser.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon (Camara), Vinicius Junior (Vignato), Nascimento*

For over an hour we struggled here and only had 1 goal to show for our efforts but then we scored 3 in 4 minutes - all from free-kicks as Sancho got on the end of 2 deliveries and then Nascimento thundered one in.

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SUMMARY

Our league form continues to be strong as we have only conceded 1 goal so far this season but I still think we can do much more going forward but having said that Nascimento has still scored more goals than games played! Inter Milan are keeping up with us however and we are only 1pt ahead of them and we have yet to play them so that will be a huge clash.

In the Champions League we have won our qualifying group and have a dead rubber match against Borussia Dortmund where I will play my backups to give them a run out.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

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SERIE A

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BRAZIL

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifier

Lineup - Ederson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos, Luiz Felipe, Jorge, Arthur, Gerson (Evander), Rodrygo, Matheus Cunha (Chrys), Vinicius Junior*, Gabriel Jesus (Richarlison)

Another game for Brazil and 2 more goals for VInicius Junior. He now has 8 goals in 9 caps under me for Brazil.

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CONMEBOL World Cup Qulaifier

Lineup - Ederson, Eder Militao, Ibanez, Luiz Felipe, Jorge (Wanderson), Arthur (Douglas Luiz), Gerson (Evander), Rodrygo, Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Junior*, Gabriel Jesus

WHAT A WIN!!!!!

Vinicius Junior is at it again as he scored a fabulous hat-trick as we put 5 past Argentina. We went in front thanks to a stunning free-kick from Eder Militao and Vinicius Junior scored with a fine finish to make it 2-0 however they still had time to pull one back before half-time. Then in the 2nd half the referee started giving penalties away ***** nilly as firstly Esedin handballed but Rodrygo had his effort saved. Then Vinicius Junior was brought down and Rodrygo converted.

Vinicius Junior then scored his 2nd, they immediately pulled a goal back but near the end Rodrygo was brought down in the box for another penalty which Vinicius Junior converted to claim his hat-trick.​

 

[Klippybo]

Hi @Klippybo!

First of all, thanks for keeping the thread so consistent and fun. It's always a joy to watch how you develop your teams.

If you don't mind, can you post your tactics anytime soon? Your squad seems to have a great synergy and I want to know how well they fit into your system. Have you been using similar tactics throughout or have you been experimenting around?

Cheers for your kind words. Not many people comment these days so every comment is greatly appreciated as it proves there are people out there reading it lol.

Anyway I havent changed my tactics at all apart from one half season which was back in my 3rd season. Other than that it has been 4-2-3-1

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden (Garcia), Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch, Sancho, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento*

Nascimento gets his 2nd hat-trick of the season here and we get our 8th clean sheet in a row.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama (Tadic), Vanheusden, Gvardiol, Jorge, Tonali, Gravenberch (Polverino), Sancho, Alarcon (Camara), Vinicius Junior, Nascimento*

This was almost a rerun of our previos game except this time Nascimento didnt get his hat-trick.

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UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Guarracino, Tadic, Berardi, Garcia, Dimarco, Boonmak (Marinello), Polverino, Vignato, Camara (Alarcon), Manzoni (Kean), Esedin

With the group already won I went with my backups and they were ****** terrible. It took Dortmund a while to get their goal but we never threatened once and deserved to get beat by more in all honesty.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol*, Jorge (Dimarco), Tonali, Gravenberch, Sancho (Vignato), Alarcon, Vinicius Junior (Kean), Nascimento

A good away victory. Nascimento scored in his 6th league match in a row and we now have 10 clean sheets in a row in the league.

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Lineup - Guarracino, Rama, Vanheusden, Gvardiol (Garcia), Jorge, Tonali (Boonmak), Gravenberch (Polverino), Sancho*, Alarcon, Vinicius Junior, Nascimento

A wonderful result. We conceded just our 2nd goal of the league season early on and that seemed to anger us as we smashed 4 past Roma here in their own stadium. Roma are one of the tougher sides in the division so to beat them away so handsomely is very pleasing.

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SUMMARY

We head into 2028 in fine form but we are still slap bang in the middle of a title race as we just cant shake Inter Milan off. We won all 4 league games this month with Nascimento firing in goals left right and centre as he netted 8 times and we also got a superb 4-1 victory over Roma although that game saw us concede our 2nd league goal of the season.

In the Champions League my backups lost 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund but we had already won the group so it didnt really matter. We have been drawn against Arsenal in the next round and we always do well against them so I am happy with that draw.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE NASCIMENTO

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SERIE A

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