Profit making challenge

mask0991 said:
Last time I checked, you were at Tottenham. Just caught up with this - great progress!

Doing great at Dortmund. Good luck with the Bundesliga. Hopefully, you can keep Barbosa. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, yeah a lots changed since the days at Tottenham lol. Going well in the league but we really need to keep Barbosa!
 
January 2018

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January was a really short month for us with the winter break starting at the beginning of the month.

We went on to have 3 friendlies, the first one against Osaka AC from Japan who we have an affiliation with. We duly went on to win with a comfortable 2-0 win. Douglas Costa and Erik Lamela with the goals.

Oberhausen came next who are in the Regional West Division in Germany. Again, a very comfortable 3-0 ensued. Kevin Volland, Gabriel Barbosa and Dani Parejo with the goals.

Greuther Furth was the last friendly for this winter break. Greuther are currently top of the German second division. A 3rd win in a row came with a 4-0 win of the second division side. Jonas Hoffman scored 2, Ferreyra and Douglas Costa rounding off the match.

This match brought an end to the winter break! Our first league game back was an away trip to Hamburg.

Hamburg 1 - 3 Dortmund

We got off to a great start against Hamburg with a 3-1. Hamburg were in 5th place before the match so this could have been a potential slip up. A brace from Javier Pastore got us on our way before, fit again, Robin Knoche added a 3rd to the scoreline.
Hamburg got one back late on but never looked to get back in it.

Dortmund 2 - 0 Hertha

The final game of the month was against relegation threatened Hertha. This was another game in which we dominated, an early goal from Thomas Vermealen got us underway before Kevin volland bagged the second to ensure we end the month at the top of the table.

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We finish the month a massive 10 points clear of rivals, Bayern. We're now more than half way through the league so Bayern have it all on to claim back 10 points!

We had a pretty quiet January in terms of transfer activity, with just one signing being confirmed:

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A £13.6 million offer was made to former club, Tottenham for midfielder James Ward-Prowse. Ward-Prowse was fantastic for me at Tottenham in my final season and i was delighted to bring him to Dortmund.

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Ward-Prowse went on to make his debut for us in the final game of the month against Hertha. Playing very well and assisting the final goal.

The final news of the month saw star striker, Gabriel Barbosa winning the European Golden Boy award.

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Barbosa had been in fantastic form, banging in 23 goals in 38 games. Barbosa is still only 21 so its a frightening thought how good he could be in a few years.

The best news this month was the fact that we kept Real Madrid's grubby mitts off Barbosa. Barbosa came to see me last month saying he wanted to leave for the Spanish giants but we'll keep him until the end of the season ... at least!
 
February 2018

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Dortmund 6 - 0 BMG

We started the month in fantastic form with a 6-0 thrashing of 6th place BMG. This has to go down as one of the best performances of the season. Barbosa scored yet again to put us 1-0 up before Erik Lamela doubled our lead. Mkhitaryan then grabbed a third just minutes before defender, Marcel Schmelzer grabbed the fourth all before half time. Sokratis and Luka Jovic the bagged the 5th and 6th.

Frankfurt 1 - 2 Dortmund

An away trip to Frankfurt followed which again we won fairly comfortably. Yet again, Barbosa got himself on the score line before Pastore bagged a second.

Kaiserslautern 2 - 4 Dortmund

Another good win although defensive mistakes could have cost us on another day. We raced into a 3-0 lead with goals again from Pastore and Barbosa (2). The home side then got back into it and pulled 2 back in 10 minutes. However Barbosa then completed his hattrick to stop any comeback happening.

Dortmund 2 - 1 Nurnberg

The deadly duo strike again, this the 3rd game in a row that goals have been split between Barbosa and Pastore. The away side got a late consolation in injury time.

Esbjerg 0 - 0 Dortmnd

A thurely disappointing result in the Europa League. We had over 60% of the ball and 33 shots with 14 on target but still failed to score. We limited Esbjerg to one shot in total and 0 on target. At least we get to bring them back to the Westfalenstadion with the scored level.

Bremen 1 - 1 Dortmund

Another draw which we probably should have won! Javier Pastore back on the scoresheet but Bremen levelled it late on. Bremen could argue they should have won as they missed a second half penalty. This draw keeps us unbeaten since the start of the year.

Dortmund 2 - 1 Esbjerg

Back to the europa League and back to winning ways. The duo strike yet again as Barbosa and Pastore both get themselves on the scoresheet. We went 2-0 up before halftime but a late goal from Esbjerg made it a nervy finish with them just needing 1 more to win on away goals.

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Our reward for beating Esbjerg is a winnable next round game against Marseille. We haven't been great in the Europa League so if we have any hopes of progressing any further then our performances really need to improve.

This brought an end to the month!!

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After another impressive month, we actually pulled even further ahead of Bayern who are now 14 points behind us, albeit with a game in hand.

I dont want to speak too soon but surely the title is now ours!

The only difficult news we had to deal with this month were the contract negotiations with Kevin Volland.

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I cant blame Volland for requesting this improved deal as his performances really have been superb. I agreed to begin talks and listen to what sort of contract he'd be looking at.

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Volland came back and demanded a staggering £155k per week with a whopping £5.7 million in agent and signing on fees also requested.

After trying to negotiate this deal, his agent came back with a final offer.

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This just isn't going to happen! With our financial rules it means this contract extension just cannot happen! Its a shame because I really wanted to keep Volland. He's contracted until 2020 but I'll have to look to sell him fairly soon otherwise he can leave on a free which would just be criminal.


 
March 2018

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Dortmund 0 - 0 Stuttgard

March didn't end that well with a disappointing 0-0 draw against a mid-table Stuttgard side. Again, we probably did enough to win the game but poor finishing cost us the 3 points here.

Freiburg 2 - 3 Dortmund

Back to winning ways straight away. We were made to work for it though. Fieburg took a shock 1-0 lead before Pastore scored yet again to level. Barbosa then put us 2-1 up before Frieburg levelled. Mkhitaryan the grabbed the winner with just 20 minutes to go.

This was an important game as Bayern dropped even more points before the match.

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A shock 5-1 defeat away to Leverkusen surely puts an end to Bayerns title challenge.

Marseille 2 - 0 Dormund

One of the most disappointing results of the season so far! We were probably a little nieve here after going 1-0 down we tried everything to get back into it and only achieved conceeding a second late on. This now makes it a very difficult home leg in a couple of weeks.

Dortmund 3 - 0 Hamburg St Pauli

Back to league action and back to winning ways. A hatrick for Barbosa ensured we got the deserved win. The game was never really in doubt.

This was an important win for us as this was the game that secured Champions League qualification.

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Dortmund 2 - 1 Marseille

Although we won the match, this is still a disappointing night for the club and all the fans. Barbosa and a Virgil Van Dijk own goal got us back on track but an away goal for Marseille made sure they made it through to the Quarter finals at our expense.

This brings an end to a disappointing Europa League campaign, i expect better in Europe next season!

Schalke 3 - 1 Dortmund

Our final game of the season ended in defeat as our nearest challengers Schalke embarrassed us. We have to make sure that we see the season out and not let our challengers build any momentum.

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This brings an end to the month with the club still in a strong position.

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Our lead slipped slightly at the top of the table with Schalke now only 8 points behind and Bayern 9 behind. I'm a little worried about our form going into the last games with Bayern and Leverkusen still to play.


More bad news!
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Ilkay Gundogen is the latest player asking for a move away! This time Barcelona the club who have turned his head. Man Utd wanted him at the beginning of the season so there could well be a chase for his signature at the end of the season.
Gundogen only has a year left on his contract so now would be the time to sell if he decides he wants to leave Dortmund.

 
End of season 2017-2018



With just 6 games to go, we needed a minimum of 10 points from the 6 remaining games to win the league.

We started the run in with a tough game against leverkusen, who had just beaten Champions, Bayern 5-1.

Dortmund 2 - 0 Leverkusen

It turned out to be a fairly easy win. Barbosa scoring yet again with Erik Lamela hitting the second. More good news here is that Schalke lost in the same weekend which stunted their title challenge.

The table looked like this after this win:

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Although Schalke lost to BMG, Bayern managed a win away against Hoffenheim. This means we now lead the league by 9 points with just 5 games to go, although one of those 5 games is against nearest challengers, Bayern.

This means we just need 6 points from the remaining 5 games ... surely this is do-able.

An away trip to Wolfsburg followed.

Wolfsburg 3 - 2 Dortmund

This was always going to be difficult as Wolfsburg are going for the 4th and final champions League spot but I always thought we had enough to beat them. We started well and raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from Kevin Volland and Javier Pastore. We then just completely collapsed and conceeded 3 goals in the second half which now gives Bayern a real chance of catching us.

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Fortunately, Bayern only managed a draw against Hertha so we still have a comfortable lead of 8 points. Schalke also only managed a draw which effectivley rules them out of the title run in, Their now 10 points behind with 4 to go.

We had a home game next against Mainz, this was really a must win with Bayern to play afterwards.

Dortmund 7 - 2 Mainz

What a statement! A 7-2 victory against a mid-table Mainz side. Barbosa scored the first just before Kevin Volland started and completed a very good hattrick. Sokratis then got the 5th before goals from Pastore and Gundogen ensured we got the emphatic win.


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Even though Bayern won, it was still a great weekend for us! 8 points clear now with just 3 games to go. We now just need 2 more point from those 3 games, however the next match see's us up against Bayern.

Next up was the big 6 pointer against Bayern, if we fail to get at least a point here then it really will put the pressure on us in the final 2 games of the season.

Bayern 3 - 1 Dortmund

This gives Bayern a glimmer of hope! poor performance from us leads to a deserved loss. We started well and even went 1-0 up through Pastore but then Bayern turned on the style and scored 3 in quick sucession. Lewandowski scored a brace before Kovacic got the third.


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With just two games to go, against Hannover and Hoffenheim, the pressure is on! 2 points from the two games will guarantee the title!!
 
The run in 2017-2018

With 2 games to go with needed just 2 points to secure our first title for 6 years.

The first of those 2 games came against a Hannover side who desperatley needed the points to stay in the division.

Dortmund 3 - 0 Hannover

WE'VE DONE IT!!
We raced into a 3-0 lead within half an hour after an early brace from Javier Pastore and a converted penalty from Barbosa. This ensures the title is ours for the first time since 2012!!

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Despite Bayern beating BMG they still fall short as we move 5 points clear with just a game to go!

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We now just had one game to which really didn't matter!

Hoffenheim 3 - 2 Dortmund

Although this game didn't mean anything, this is still really disappointing. You always want to go out on a high but some poor defending ensured we wouldn't finish the season with a win. We probably made too many changes here and allowed Hoffenheim too much of the ball.

 
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CHAMPIONS 2017-2018​

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The league was a massive bonus for us last season, i wanted to challenge for the title but really didn't expect to win it!

I was disappointed with our performance in the Europa League, a much improved showing in the Champions League is needed next season.

The German cup was also disappointing, although it was unlucky that we drew Bayern so early on!

Now the season has finished, its time to go through the end of season awards:

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Although Pastore had a fantastic season, I'm a little surprised that Barbosa didn't at least get a mention! He didn't even finish top 3.

Pastore though, is a deserved winner! Pastore ended up with 16 goals and 13 assists in his 38 games played. I'm really please that Pastore had such a great season, I was a little nervous with his transfer simply because £15 million for me is a lot of money but its certainly paid off!

Barbosa though, did have a great season:

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Barbosa even broke the goalscoring record for a Dortmund player. His 37 goals this season knocks Lewandowski off the records book. Thats 37 goals in 44 games with another 9 assist's.

Lets hope we can keep hold of the lad.

I was keen to see how former club Tottenham had got on this season.

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And it looks as though our hard work is being kept up. A second place finish just behind Man Utd is almost identical to my last season in charge.

They've certainly spent the money since I left though.

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They've spent over £60 million in total, including nearly £30 million on Munir from Barcelona. I tried to sign Munir in the first season at Spurs for but he rejected our contract offer.

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They're spending a fortune on wages as well. Munir is on a whopping £210k per week. Christian Erikson has tripped his wages and is now earning £150k per week. Zaha has had a similar wage increase to £135k per week.

 
Pre-Season 2018-2019

With the new season only weeks away, we'll have to be busy getting the squad ready to retain our league title and also try and compete in the Champions League.

First of all, after helping us claim our first title since 2012, Erik Lamela re-joined his parent club after a season long loan.

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Lamela had a decent season with us, scoring 6 goals and assisting 10 times in his injury hit campaign. Despite him having a good season, I'm not interesting in signing him permanently due to his injury record. Also Juve want about £20 million for him!

After this we had a real job on keeping one of our best players.

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Man city offer a total of £24 million for inform Kevin Volland. We rejected this offer as I doubt we'd find a replacement for that money who fits into our wage structure.

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Man City now increase their offer for Volland to just over £29 million. Again this offer was rejected.

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Another increased offer, this time to just over £35 million. We're now getting to a stage where we can't turn down this kind of money. This offer was rejected but any other increases will be seriously considered.

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A massive offer of £43 million. After considering, we rejected this offer simply because the majority of the funds are to be paid in monthly instalments. We would only receive £12 million up front.

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Man City make a final offer of £50 million for Kevin Volland. Unfortunatley, this meets a buy out clause in his contract meaning we have no option but to accept. In truth i'd probably be accepting this anyway as £50 is a huge amount!

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Its a shame that we don't have a decision to make here as the amount offered matches a release clause in his contract.

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This is a big disappointment. I didn't want to lose him but ultimately we didn't have a choice. I'm desperate now to find a decent replacement.

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This is really an offer i cannot turn down. Gundogen had a great season and is one of our most important players. But this is his last year of his contract and he's demanding £180k per week to renew it. I have to either sell him this season or allow his to leave for free next season. This is too good to turn down.

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This is a sad day for Dortmund, but we really we didn't have a choice. I'm happy to bring in £39 million which could rise to £42 million. Its now going to be a real challenge to find a replacement.

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Looks like not everyone was happy with the Gundogen transfer.

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After Gundogen left, we have a couple of the squad unhappy that we accepted the offer.

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It looks like I managed to appease the squad by telling them a replacement was due to come in who was every bit as good as Gundogen.

Our first bit of good news of the pre-season followed shortly. And it couldn't come soon enough!

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I'm thrilled to be working again with Phil Jones. Jones was immense at Tottenham and was a big part in our success. He had a buy out clause in his contract for £24 million which after weighing up, decided was well worth it. Sokratis, Vermaelen and Knoche are okay but I don't feel I can challenge for both the league and Champions League with just them.

Followed by some more good news!

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I'm pretty pleased with this signing. For only £8 million I'm pleased to bring him in. He should be a decent replacement for Gundogen.

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Asmir Begovic was the latest signing for the new German champions. Begovic signs on a free transfer after his deal with Stoke was allowed to run down. Begovic really should add competition to Roman Weidenfeller, I'm currently undecided who will be my number 1 at the start of the season!

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Young left winger, Bruno Renan is was the next signing also joining on a free transfer. Renan will act as cover but shows signs of becoming a great player in the future, he's still only 19 so has plenty of time to improve.

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Andriy Yarmolenko becomes the 5th addition of the squad this pre-season, albeit only on loan. He should be a decent replacement for Kevin Volland who has moved the other way to Yarmolenko's parent club, Man City.

We were then met with some more bad news!

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Our star man and best player, Gabriel Barbosa requests a transfer to Real Madrid. This is the second time he's asked for this transfer in the last 6 months.
Fortunately, no offer came forward meaning I didn't have a difficult decision to make. I think we'd really struggle if we lost him, Volland and Gundogen in one season!

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Surprisingly, Robin Knoche has made the same request. Im shocked at this as I really don't feel he's good enough for Real Madrid. I was looking forward to see him partner Phil Jones this season but if an offer comes in then I'll look to accept it to save him causing problems within the squad.

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We then signed Gil Romero for what seems to be a bargain at £6.25 million. I feel that with him and Blind coming into the squad then this should give us our replacement for Gundogen.

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Surprisingly, Real Madrid did in fact come in with an offer for Robin Knoche. Madrid offered a total of £17.4 million, however only £4.5 million of this was to be paid up-front. I tried negotiating this offer but after a couple of attempts Real pulled out saying it was too expensive.

With just a couple of days before the Super Cup against rivals Bayern, we had one more piece of transfer activity!

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Bayern center back, Dante signs just in time to face the old enemy. I dont know why my coach report has only given him a 2 star rating, i think he'll really challenge Knoche to partner Jones at center half.


That brings an end to the pre-season! BRING ON THE SUPER CUP!!
 
Nice work on transfers mate!

Sold for a **** of a lot and got in decent players too.

Have a look at Savitskiy and Malcom as a Volland replacement
 
Average Joe said:
Nice work on transfers mate!

Sold for a **** of a lot and got in decent players too.

Have a look at Savitskiy and Malcom as a Volland replacement
Click to expand...

Thanks mate! I'll have a look at both of those, I nearly signed Malcom last season but went for Pastore instead :)
 
Super Cup

Just before the super Cup against Bayern, we received some injury news for one of the more influential players within the squad.

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Javier Pastore is ruled out for 6 weeks and will miss both the start of the league campaign and the big Super Cup clash!

With the game about to kick off, its time to look at the formations for both sides.

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Bayern line up as expected with the exact same 11 as they had last season. None of their new signings (Sadio Mane, Jeison Murillo and Siyanda Xulu) feature in the starting line up.

Dortmund on the other hand, thrown in 5 new signings straight into the starting line. New signing, Asmir Begovic, Dante, Daley Blind, Gil Romero and Yarmolenko all start. Kagawa also replaces the injures Javier Pastore.

The big talking point however is the starting role given to new signing Dante. Dante only signed a matter of days ago and replaces last seasons star center back, Robin Knoche. It will be a big task for the former Bayern man to keep his ex colleagues in check.

LET SEE HOW WE GET ON ...


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A great win which see's us pick up our first piece of silverware of the new season. We again allowed Bayern to have most of the ball, just like we did last season, and tried to hit them on the break. I thought it was going to be a long day when Bayern went 1-0 through Muller after just 20 minutes. But a fantastic brace from Barbosa won us the game and the Super Cup.

MAN OF THE MATCH - KOVACIC (Yarmolenko for us)
Yarmolenko was brilliant all game in his debut for the club! All our good attacking play came through him!

View attachment 271094Both Yarmolenko and Barbosa played brilliantly and really won us the game. We also looked good at the back with new center half pairing of Phil Jones and Dante.

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August 2018

So after beating Bayern in the Super Cup, our next competative game came in the German cup first round against Third Division side, Waldalgesheim.

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Good result in a game in which we were heavily favourites. Barbosa went on to score a hattrick meaning he now has 5 in the first 2 games! Dante got his first for the club after his recent move from the enemy. Fellow new signing, Gil Romero then rounded off the scoring with the 5th.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA

The draw for the second round saw us drawn against another Third Division side in Cottbus.

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Next up we had a tough game against Hamburg who finished 5th last season:

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Off to winning ways against Hamburg who finished 5th last season. We played really well here and dominated throughout. New signing Yarmolenko put us 1-0 up with n early penalty before Barbosa scored yet again to double the lead. Shinji Kagawa then turned on the style with a brace, in between a goal for Hamburg which briefly got them back in it.
MAN OF THE MATCH - KAGAWA

We then faced Kaiserslautern in the last game of the month.​
View attachment 270132This was a really disappointing result, our first slip up of the season! We started badly and never really had enough clear chances. Yarmolenko continued his good form and brought us level but we just couldnt find the winner.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ANDRIY YARMOLENKO

During this month we found out our fate in this seasons Champions League ...

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​

I think it is safe to say we've been drawn in the 'GROUP OF DEATH'. Former winners Juventus and Liverpool join us in Group A with Sweden side Goteborg.
 
September 2018

We began the month with a difficult home game against rivals and biggest challengers, Bayern. In the week leading up the match, we had some injury news!

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Leading striker, Gabriel Barbosa injured for 4 days which means he's a big doubt for the game against Bayern.

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Star center back, Phil Jones, is also a doubt and could be out for 9 days! This surely doesn't bode well for the clash against Bayern.

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What a result! 2 wins out of 2 against Bayern in the first couple of games of the season. We went back to our counter attacking formation which served us so well last time. We were without the injured Barbosa but Phil Jones just made the game with low fitness. Our goal however was slightly fortunate, a handball from Dante at the edge of the area ensured Yarmolenko converted his second penalty of the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Luka Jovic

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What a disappointing result! This was the game we needed to win, the easiest game of the group! The only positive is that Juventus and Liverpool also drew meaning all 4 teams are on 1 point after the first game. Buts its certainly advantage them as we let a golden opportunity slip.
MAN OF THE MATCH - FREDERIK RANNOW (MKHITARYAN for us)

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Well this turned out be harder than I imagined. We beat them 4-0 last season in a winter break friendly so I was expecting an easy win, not for them to take the lead. A brace from Barbosa spared our blushed here before Ward-Prowse scored a great free-kick from 25 yards.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA - Barbosa has now scored 8 goals in 5 starts in all comps this season, he is truly unstoppable at times.

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An easy enough win! Goals from the two in-form player, Yarmolenko who bagged a brace and Barbosa who scored his 9th goal of the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH - YARMOLENKO - Yarmlenko is really proving to be a great signing. He's matching the performances of Kevin Volland so far, lets see if he can keep this up for the rest of the season.

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A decent result against our nearest challengers so far this season. We went 1-0 thanks to a goal from Pastore following good work from Barbosa. Sebastian Rudy then conceded an unnecessary penalty with their striker going nowhere. This then made it 1-1 which is how the game finished.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER PASTORE

The transfer window window also finished during this period.

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We finished pre-season with a healthy profit of over £50 million, mainly due to the sales of Gundogen and Volland.
Our biggest transfer in was Phil Jones who came in for £24 million.
The league table looked like this at the end of September:

View attachment 270104I'm pretty happy with our start and find ourselves just one point of top and 4 clear of last years main challengers, Bayern.​
 
October 2018

We started October with a tough trip to Turin to face Juventus in Group A in the Champions League.

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Great result which I really didn't see coming if I'm honest. We went 1-0 down just after half an hour after a great goal from Pogba. But in the second half we really came good and Barbosa scored after good work from Pastore. Then Yarmolenko converted his 3rd penalty of the season to ensure we record a great away win.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER PASTORE​

Our Champions League group looked like this after the Juve game.

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We sit in second spot after this cracking win, level on points with Liverpool in top spot and 3 clear of Juventus.

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A great win! In truth, BMG were never in the game and never threatened. A first half hattrick from Barbosa really made sure of the points before Pastore scored only his second of the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA - Now scored 13 in 9 starts!

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A really, really disappointing game! We went with our counter attacking formation again which we used so well against Bayern twice this season. This now leaves us 1 point behind Hoffenheim with them having a game in hand. This was our first defeat of the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH - STEFAN AIGNER (Gil Romero for us).

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What a great result in a game we really couldn't afford to lose. We started really poorly and duly conceded after poor defending allowed Berrardi to score his first of the night. It then took us a while to get back into it but 10 minutes before half time Barbosa struck to level the game. We then started the second half really well and took the lead after Sakho fouled Pastore in the area, Yarmolenko duly converted the penalty. Liverpool, however, almost immediatley hit back and levelled with a great free kick from Berardi. Just as the game looked to peter out for a draw, Barbosa grabbed his second of the night after good work from Pastore and Mkhitaryan.
In the other game in group A, Juventus drew with Gotebor meaning we top the group by 3 points and are 5 clear of 3rd placed Juve.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA - 17 goals now in 12 starts including 3 in 3 in the Champions League.

View attachment 270095This really puts us in a great position to qualify. We're now 3 clear of Liverpool who occupy second and 5 cleat of Juventus in 3rd.


​

After this great Champions League game, our attention turned to Hoffenheim in the League. Hoffenheim have been surprising everyone and are still top of the league going into this game:

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This means we really have to beat them to close the gap from 4 points. A Hoffenheim win would take them 7 clear already!

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A great win in a game which we really had to win. Goals from Pastore and Daley Blind won us the game. This now puts us just 1 point behind Hoffenheim, surely their challenge cant last a full season.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER PASTORE - Slow start to the season but picking up now.


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View attachment 270089That win against Hoffenheim brings is right back into the title race. We're now just 1 point behind them.​
 
November 2018

November started with a very winnable game against Hamburg St Pauli.

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We got off to a really good start here, going 2-0 up and looked in control until Pauli got one back just before the hour mark. They then scored again 4 minutes later and defended well to hang on to an undeserved win. This now leaves us 3 points behind Hoffenheim in top spot after they beat Greuther Furth 2-1 to reclaim top spot.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ANTE BUDIMIR (James Ward-Prowse for us)

Our attentions then turned to the Champions League in a game in which could secure qualification with a win.

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Liverpool deserved the win here in truth, they were far superior. Juan Jesus got Liverpool on track with an early goal from a corner. We then came back into the game with a great goal from Barbosa. Liverpool then upped their gear and turned it on. Balotelli then struck the decisive blow just after an hour. Even worse news here was Juventus beating Goteborg meaning the race for 2nd place is really hotting up. Juventus are now only 2 points behind us.
MAN OF THE MATCH - MARIO BALOTELLI (Barbosa for us)

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This now means we have it all to play for in the last 2 games. Our next game is against Goteborg in which we can guarantee qualification with a win and the other result goes our way.


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A very good win in a must-win game! Gil Romero put us 1-0 with a well struck goal after just 8 minutes. Barbosa then doubled the lead just 3 minutes later. We never really looked back from there and comfortably saw the game out.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Gil Romero


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What a shocker! We lose 3 points here against a very poor Nurnberg side who we should have beaten with ease. Even worse is Hoffenheim won yet again meaning they pull 6 points clear of us.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Oguzhan Aydogan (no one for us)

​
Next up we faced IFK Goteborg in the Champions League, before the game the group table looked like this:

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Both us and Liverpool had 7 points with 3rd placed Juve on 5 points. A win against Goteborg and either a Liverpool win or draw against Juventus would ensure we qualified for the first knockout game.

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What a win! Javier Pastore put us 1-0 up after just 30 seconds before Yarmolenko then doubled the lead. A Gabriel Barbosa then bagged a brilliant hattrick to ensure the points were ours.
In the other game, a last minute equaliser from Liverpool ensure they drew 2-2 against Juventus and in turn made sure we qualified from the group of death. The equaliser was all important from Liverpool as a Juventus win would have put them top with us second and all to play for going into the last game.
MAN OF THE MATCH - GABRIEL BARBOSA - now scored 23 in 20 games (special mention to Schmelzer who assisted 2)

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​
We then faced Mainz in the league which we needed to win to keep pace with Hoffenheim.

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A really comfortable win! Late goals from Pastore and Yarmolenko. We actually played really well here and truly deserved the win. This now leaves us 3 points behind Hoffenheim with them having a game in hand.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER PASTORE - scored 5 in 12 starts


​
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The drop points against Hamburg St Pauli and Nurnberg mean we now fall 3 points behind Hoffenheim who also have a game in hand!


We had some further bad news this month:

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Mkhitaryan was ruled out for 5 months meaning he's going to be out for the majority of the season!



 
December 2018

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A really good start to the month with a comfortbale win in a game which had 'splip-up' written all over it. An early, and rare, goal from Daley Blind got us off to a good start with Javier Pastore getting the second. We remain 6 points behind Hoffenheim with 14 played and stay 1 clear of Bayern.

MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER PASTORE

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A great win! I know this game didn't mean a lot (not to us anyway) but its still really good to get the win here. Luka Jovic got us on our way after getting a rare start due to Barbosa being rested. Pastore then scored his 3rd in 3 games to double the lead. The only downside was seeing Sven Bender, making a rare appearance, getting sent off just seconds after coming on as a late sub. Liverpool ended up beating Goteborg 3-0 meaning the final table looked like this:

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The biggest news to come out of the group stage was Bayern only finishing 3rd behind Benfica and Real Betis, they ended up finishing 6 point behind Betis. Southampton also capped off a wonderful 18 months or so by qualifying for the 1st knockout round after beating of Ajax and Sampdoria in group H.

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A very good win in a game which we needed to win! Yarmolenko scored early on to put us on our way, Barbosa then grabbed a brace to ensure we went home with all 3 points. We had to win this game as Hoffenheim had beaten Bayern 2-0 earlier on in the day.

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This now means we pull 4 points clear of Bayern but still remain 6 points behind Hoffenheim who are starting to worry me now with their challenge.

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What a disappointment! We never got going in truth and went 1-0 down just before half time. We then won a penalty on 54 minutes which was converted by Yarmolenko. I really thought we'd kick on from then but we didnt and the game just petered out.

MAN OF THE MATCH - BENEDIKT SALLER - (Yarmolenko for us)

The only good news here is that Hoffenheim lost 1-0 to Hamburg St Pauli. The table looked like this after the game:

View attachment 266922
So we now find ourselves 5 points behind Hoffenheim still wit just 16 games.

​
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A Gabriel Barbosa brace ensured we took away all 3 points. A late consolation goal from Bastians made it a nervy finish but we definitely deserved the victor.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA

More good news here is that Hoffenheim again slipped up, this time by drawing 1-1 with Schalke meaning the table now looked like this.

View attachment 266916
We now close the gap on Hoffenheim to just 3 points whilst remaining 2 clear of Dortmund!

We did also have some bad news this month:

First up Gabriel Barbosa requested a new contract as a result of his fantastic form over the last 18 months or so.

View attachment 266915

View attachment 266914​

When i started negotiations with him, his starting wage was a staggering £170k per week with huge signing on fees for both him and his agent. This really isn't do-able with our financial rules so i told him to wait until the end of season in order to keep him until then.

View attachment 266912

The other bad news was an injury to in-form winger, Javier Pastore who was injured against Hertha and could be out for 3 weeks.

 
January 2019

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January was a pretty quiet month for us with the winter break taking up more than half the month. We managed to fit in a couple of friendlies in the break against lower league sides. Two routine victories which we cant really take any notice of ensured we entered back into league action in good form.

View attachment 266909
So much for hitting the month in good form! This is a really disappointing result. Luka Jovic scored his penalty which looked to set us on our way to 3 points before some poor defending from Marcel Schmelzer and even poorer goalkeeping from Begovic cost us 2 points. The biggest news to come was an injury to Yarmolenko who is ruled out for 3 months!

MAN OF THE MATCH - VALON BEHRAMI (Luka Jovic for us)

The biggest disappointment however was an injury sustained to Yarmolenko who had been in such good form!

View attachment 266908
The influencial winger will be out for 3 months and will miss an important time of the season.

View attachment 266906
A good game in which we played well and deserved the victory. The first half was pretty even after they equalised minutes after Jovic put us 1-0 up. We then turned on the style in the second half and goals from Barbosa and Ward-Prowse followed in quick succession. Jovic then bagged his second of the game to ensure the victory.
MAN OF THE MATCH - LUKA JOVIC

The month was also pretty quiet in terms of transfer activity as well, that was until the final few hours of transfer deadline day anyway:

View attachment 266905
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Karim Benzema and Lucas Boye both arrive as back up and competition for Gabriel Barbosa. I felt we were really light up front and relied on Barbosa far too much, an injury to him would end out title challenge. We were even lighter as Luka Jovic is having to play left wing as replacement for the injured Javier Pastore.

Dusan Tadic also signed after an unsuccessful spell with Real Madrid. Tadic again comes in as cover for both wing position and gives us more flexibility as we can now move Jovic more centrally if we so wish. The only bad news is he's cup tied for the champions League.

Talking of the Champions League, we also got to know our opponents for the next round:

View attachment 266901

I feel this is a very winnable game. Betis are only 8th in La Liga and are a very beatable side at this stage of the Champions League.

View attachment 266900​
 
February 2019

After a pretty poor, and uneventful, January it was important we made a good start to March by beating rivals, Bayern!

View attachment 266899
Well that didn't really go to plan! Changes have to be rung here after this battering! Lewandowski showed his class by banging in a hattrick before Timo Werner scored the 4th late on. Our chances weren't helped when Marcel Schmelzer was sent off for a second bookable offence. You can't expect to get anything against this great Bayern side with only 10 men. This leaves us in 3rd spot, 3 points behind Bayern in second and 6 behind Hoffenheim who remain top.

MAN OF THE MATCH - ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI (No one for us)

View attachment 266898
Back to winning ways! A very good performance after such a battering Bayern gave us in the last game. A Luka Jovic brace followed by Gabriel Barbosa's 29th of the season ensured Greuther were tossed aside. This now leaves us a point behind Bayern in second as they only managed a draw against Nurnberg and only 3 points off top spot as Hoffenheim lost 3-0 to Leverkusen.

MAN OF THE MATCH - LUKA JOVIC

The table after this win looked like this:

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Bit of a struggle but 3 points none the less. A moment of magic from new signing, Karim Benzema who was making his debut as sub. His backheel set up Pastore for a great chance which he finished well. Both Hoffenheim and Bayern also won this week meaning this keeps the pressure on but we remain 3rd.

MAN OF THE MATCH - PHIL JONES

View attachment 266895


Another good win, this time along with a very good performance. Barbosa, Gil Romero and a rare goal from Dante, now back in the side ensured we take away all 3 points.

MAN OF THE MATCH - LUKA JOVIC

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Hoffenheim drew this weekend and Bayern are yet to play which means we are now only 1 point off Hoffenheim who are still top and 2 clear of Bayern in 3rd, although they do have a game in hand.

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I cant actually believe this scoreline. Betis beating us 3-0 and in truth they could have had more. Barbosa had a couple of chances to get an all important away goal but his finishing was not up to his normal level. We've got it all to do in the home leg now!

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​
 
March 2019

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Again we didn't play well here but a great second substitute appearance from Karim Benzema ensured our title hunt is still on. I thought we would have to wave goodbye to our title hopes after going 1-0 down but Benzema showed real class in all 3 goals.

MAN OF THE MATCH - KARIM BENZEMA

This now means we remain a point behind Hoffenheim and 5 clear of Bayern, although they do have 2 games in hand which could take them top with their superior goal difference.

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A good win with goals from Benzema, Gil Romero, Barbosa and Ward-Prowse. We really dominated here and really deserved the win.

MAN OF THE MATCH - JAMES WARD-PROWSE

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A 1-1 draw here just about keeps our title hopes alive although a win would have really put us in prime position. A Barbosa equaliser keeps us 1 point behind leaders Hoffenheim and 3 in front of Bayern who still have 2 games in hand with just 8 games to go.

MAN OF THE MATCH - KARIM BELLARABI (Phil Jones for us)

Next up was the return leg against Real Betis where we had to overturn a 3-0 deficit.

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What a win! This has to be the best result we've ever had!! 3-0 down from the first leg, our chances looked bleak. But 2 early own goals really gave us a chance, Barbosa also grabbed the 3rd from the penalty spot just before half time. I was worried that Betis would come back strong in the second half but an early 4th from Benzema put us infront on aggregate for the first time. Luka Jovic then scored a 5th before Barbosa finished off his brace to make it 6. What a result!!

MAN OF THE MATCH - GABRIEL BARBOSA

View attachment 266878
A very comfortable win with goals from Luka Jovic, Barbosa, Jones and Gil Romero. We totally dominated here with St Pauli never showing anything.

MAN OF THE MATCH - PHIL JONES

This result capped off a perfect weekend with both Bayern and Hoffenheim both losing!

View attachment 266877
View attachment 266876

This puts us top of the league, 2 points clear of Hoffenheim and 6 clear of Bayern, who still have 2 games in hand. 7 games to play, so 7 wins should win us the league. Bayern are capable of winning all their remaining games and matching our points which will mean it goes down to goal difference. We're currently 3 goals better off that Bayern but they have 2 games to catch up.

ALL TO PLAY FOR

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View attachment 266874​
 
April 2019

The first news we got this month was the draw the Champions League Quarter Final.

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Well it was always going to be a tough draw, Real Madrid it is then! I would have preferred either CSKA Moskow, Southampton or Befica but if we want to win this thing then we have to beat the best anyway!

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Well, so much for winning every game! We now rely on the other sides slipping up again. Schalke defended really well and a great goal from Aboubakar got them the win.

MAN OF THE MATCH - VINCENT ABOUBAKAR

The only saving grace here is that both Bayern and Hoffenheim drew meaning we stay top.

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The only difference this game week has brought is that our lead has slimmed to just 1 point but worse than that, it means if Bayen win all their remaining 8 games they are guaranteed to be champions.

​
Some good news came just in time for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid as Yarmolenko resumed full training and was declared fit for the biggest game of the season so far.

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We started really well here but just couldn't hang onto our lead. Yarmolenko's shot was deflected and landed straight to Pastore who netted an easy chance. We looked really good right up until Blind played a stupid ball back to the goalie which Welbeck stole and finished to draw level. Toni Kroos then put his side ahead late on. The tie's still alive, the away goal could play a big part but it would look so much better had the scores stayed level.

MAN OF THE MATCH - TONI KROOS (Pastore for us)


​
View attachment 266867

Great comeback! I was getting worried after going 1-0 down early on here and even more worried when we were still losing after an hour and being down to 10 men after Vermaelen saw red. Vermaelen only started due to a suspension to Jones and a slight injury to Dante. We then turned on the style after equalising through Barbosa, further goals from Benzema and Yarmolenko as well as another from Barbosa ensured we kept top spot.

MAN OF THE MATCH - BARBOSA

The best news was that both Hoffenheim and Bayern slipped up again.

View attachment 266865

We now find ourselves 4 clear of Hoffenheim who i think are now out of the running and 7 clear of Bayern who still have those 2 games in hand. Its quite simple now, win the next 5 games and we retain the title.

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​
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WE'RE THROUGH!!

What a win! a fantastic defensive performance against a great Real side. Javier Pastore goal just before the hour mark puts us through to the semi's on away goals. In truth, Real had several chances to level and really should have done with chances from Ronaldo and most notably Gareth Bale who had the beating of the whole defence all game. We stood tall and managed to keep out one of the best forward lines in the world.

MAN OF THE MATCH - GARETH BALE (Pastore for us)


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The draw for the semi final swiftly followed where we were drawn against last years champions, Chelsea.



View attachment 266860

What a ridiculous game of football ! We struggled to create chances all game and never really looked like scoring. Then with just over 10 minutes to go Phil Jones was sent off making our job even harder! I knew a point was useless as we need to win all remaining games so we threw on Benzema and Lucas Boye and pushed everyone forward. This paid off after just a couple of minutes when Benzema fired past the goalie. Then inexplicitly we conceeded as Mainz equalised after a poor error from Rudy. Just before conceeded we brought on Dante to tighten things up, Dante then headed home the winner from a late, late corner. This was much harder than it should have been but a wins a win.

MAN OF THE MATCH - JAVIER LOYOLA (Javier Pastore for us)


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