Taking Southampton North!

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Ripping it up in Europe :-) Great home results against PSG and Bayern.
 
Your form is kind of like the Spanish basketball NT of eighties and nineties: they used to be as good as their rivals. They could be one of the few teams able to beat USSR and the next day lose against weak Czechoslovaquia, or beat a strong Croatia side and the next time give up a 20 points lead to very weak China.
 
kolas79 said:
Three shots on target and three goals wow !! Your attackers were like snipers today Patrick ha ha !!
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They had to be to get anything from the game, amazing stuff!

TheOtherSpecialOne said:
Wow, what an incredible result! Looks like your players were in lethal form, 3 shots and 3 goals! Now let's hope that you can keep them at bay in Munich aswell, would be quite an historic achievement :)
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Thanks mate, fingers crossed we can do it. About 50/50 I think, could go right down to the wire!

bnpwp1979 said:
Ripping it up in Europe :-) Great home results against PSG and Bayern.
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Thanks mate, our home form has been great, especially against the big teams. Can't crack it on the road yet

Death Ball said:
Your form is kind of like the Spanish basketball NT of eighties and nineties: they used to be as good as their rivals. They could be one of the few teams able to beat USSR and the next day lose against weak Czechoslovaquia, or beat a strong Croatia side and the next time give up a 20 points lead to very weak China.
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Haha I didn't know about that but it's a very apt analogy!
 

English Premier League - Game 33 - Swansea City (Away)


Rotated lineup for this match against Swansea, as it falls with a match against Bayern 3 days either side of it. That doesn’t mean I’m not hoping for 3 points today, but our terrible away form and form against weaker sides means that I’m not expecting it!

Ayew should have opened the scoring in the 17th minute, but he missed the target from close range.

We shifted to 4-2-3-1 in the 30th minute.

Dragowski made a good 1v1 save on Kalou in the 35th minute.

He was called into action again in the 54th minute and didn’t disappoint, denying Steffen from close range.

Gitschier replaced Davis 2 minutes later.

Mane replaced Zivkovic in the 65th.

Juanmi replaced De Paul in the 73rd.

In the 90th minute we won the ball and Palombo sent it forward for Kießling, who controlled it, stepped between two defenders, and fired past Fabianski! What a great time for him to break his goal drought, and in great style too! Decision to sub De Paul rather than him vindicated!

A vital 3 points for us today, and we head to Munich on a high note! Our first away win in quite a long time, too. Let’s see if we can keep our unexpected Champions League campaign alive!


POM: Stefan Kießling (8.3, 1G, 0A)
 

UEFA Champions League - Quarter Final Second Leg - Bayern Munich (Away)


Who would have thought we’d be travelling to Germany with a pretty reasonable chance of qualifying for the Champions League Semi Finals? We’ve shown already this season that miracles can happen, both good and bad, but today we’re not after anything spectacular. A nil all draw will do us just fine.

It took just 15 seconds for our first scare, but Dragowski was switched on, and parried Lewandowski’s close range volley.

In the 12th minute we grabbed a firm hold on the tie though. We were holding possession but turned it over, and they immediately tried to counter. However, Fonte’s interception was a first time long ball, and it split their defence. Milik raced through, and fired past Neuer to put us 3 goals clear, and cancel out their away goal!

3 minutes later Pjaca’s attempted through ball for Milik was intercepted by Benatia, but the defender lost control and Milik picked his pocket. He raced towards goal again, but this time lofted his effort over the bar. That would probably have sealed it.

In the 34th minute Lewandowski showed his striker’s instinct again, pouncing on a loose ball and finding the bottom corner.

In the 45th minute disaster struck, as Thomas Müller somehow found the minute gap between Dragowski and the near post with a first time volley from Lahm’s cross. Unbelievable finish.

Zivkovic replaced Tadic in the 71st minute.

3 minutes later Müller sent in a raking ball, and Lewandowski slammed it home! All square at 4 all!

Cedric replaced Bertrand in the 76th minute. Radu went to left back, and Luan to centre.

Palombo replaced Ward-Prowse in the 80th minute, and shifted Clasie forwards.

In stoppage time, we failed to clear a corner properly, and the ball fell to Martinez, who cracked it - tipped over by Dragowski! Huge save!

Extra time beckoned.

To be continued…

​
 

15 minutes passed without incident.

111th minute. Lewandowski with the ball, 30 yards out from goal. Nothing on, so he might as well have a crack - top left corner! One of the best goals I’ve ever seen! And absolutely heartbreaking! It sealed his hat trick, and put Bayern ahead.

We had to go for broke!

In the 120th minute, a Thiago free kick found an escaping Benatia, who fortunately missed the target. Not that it would matter.

Pjaca went for glory from 25 yards in the 121st minute, but he’s not Lewandowski, and his effort curled inches wide of the top right corner.

And there ends the fairy tale.

Lewandowski dragged them into the Semi Finals at our expense. I’m left wondering what might have been, had Milik buried his 15th minute chance. I can’t fault the team though, they gave it everything, and fell to a truly world class team - player, really, in extra time. Good effort team. We will be back - not next season, but at some point, we’ll be there.

POM: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich - 9.5, 3G, 0A)

Best Southampton Player: Arkadiusz Milik (7.0, 1G, 0A)
 
Unlucky vs. Bayern they just have that extra bit of quality but, hopefully not for much longer
 
ninjaskill said:
Unlucky vs. Bayern they just have that extra bit of quality but, hopefully not for much longer
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Thanks man, you're right, they're just too strong for us - for now! We did well to push them as far as we did :)
 
Pity about that Bayern match. Still one of the better ways to go out: losing fairly and showing you had enough to stand a chance. I like that more than the way they took my Napoli side from the semis in FM15: with a referee robbery in each leg if I remember correctly.
 

English Premier League - Game 34 - Stoke City (Home)
Return to league action now, and we don’t have many games left this season. Hopefully our good form at home continues against Stoke.

In the 32nd minute Tadic played a brilliant killer ball for the run of Milik, who beat Butland in a footrace and poked it past him to open the scoring.

Arbeloa produced a critical block on Pjaca from a 40th minute corner.

Clasie slid a great ball through for Tadic in stoppage time, but Butland made a good close range save.

A really weird play in the 50th minute saw Milik and Butland race for the ball, but Butland stopped at the edge of his area. Milik took it wide though, and defenders got back in time to close him down and block his shot.

Dragowski pulled out a great save on Bakambu in the 53rd minute.

In the 56th minute Milik scored yet another goal from a terrible back pass, this time cutting back to give himself a better angle after Pulgar won a footrace but passed back too softly.

From the kickoff Stoke attacked, and Dragowski made a great save on Sarabia, but couldn’t stop him scoring from the rebound.

In the 65th minute Gitschier, Upamecano and De Paul replaced Tadic, Fonte and Wanyama. Ward-Prowse went to CM, Pjaca to right wing and De Paul to left.

In the 69th minute some superb passing took the ball forwards, Ward-Prowse to Gitschier, who sent De Paul through. The Argentinian squared unselfishly for Milik, who buried it into the bottom corner to seal his hat trick!

In the 77th minute Augustinsson played a great pass for De Paul, who belted it into the top corner from close range.

A quality performance that takes some of the pressure off our match against Man U in 3 days time. Milik’s hat trick takes him to 18 goals for the season, just 5 behind Kießling! Tadic continues to pull the strings for us, and we move up to 5th in the league, though still 7 points behind Arsenal, so top 4 is nigh on impossible.


POM: Arkadiusz Milik (9.5, 3G, 0A)
 
Death Ball said:
Pity about that Bayern match. Still one of the better ways to go out: losing fairly and showing you had enough to stand a chance. I like that more than the way they took my Napoli side from the semis in FM15: with a referee robbery in each leg if I remember correctly.
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Thanks man, yeah we gave it a good shot, Lewandowski was just too good. He scored 4 of their 5 goals across the two legs, and the winner was insane, worthy of winning any match. That sounds pretty painful, I hope you gave it to them in the press conferences :P
 

English Premier League - Game 35 - Manchester United (Home)


It would be fantastic if we could finally beat Man United here. It would make this season so much better. We’re at home, which should help. De Paul comes in for Ward-Prowse, in the only change from Stoke a couple of days ago, and Pjaca moves to the right wing to accommodate him.

Asensio slipped Higuaín through in the 20th minute, but somehow he couldn’t beat Dragowski!

In the 28th minute it was Pjanic who should have scored, this time from a corner, but once again Dragowski caught the ball.

I spent much of the first half shuffling Clasie and Wanyama between the DM and CM strata’s in order to try to avoid having to chase the game too early.

In the 48th minute a Tadic corner beat everybody, and Wanyama chased it down. He then fired a low ball back into the box, and Pjaca met it with a sensational volley which fizzed in off the near post!

In the 60th minute Asensio ran at the defence and slipped a pass through for Higuaín, who tapped it in, but was luckily offside.

In the 64th minute, just a minute after I almost subbed him, Milik doubled our lead with a powerful effort from Pjaca’s square pass!

In the 72nd minute Balic and Palombo replaced Clasie and Tadic. Palombo went to DM.

In the 76th minute De Paul’s free kick was headed on to the back post by Radu, but Fonte could only hit the side netting.

Gitschier replaced the outstanding Pjaca in the 83rd minute.

A fantastic win today, and it was well-deserved too, as we were comfortably the better side. We strengthen our hold on 5th place, although if Arsenal win even one of their last three games, we will be mathematically unable to qualify for the Champions League.


POM: Ludwig Augustinsson (9.0, 0G, 0A)
 

English Premier League - West Bromwich Albion (Away)


West Brom are fighting for their Premier League survival, and will be a formidable opponent, particularly in their own stadium, given our struggles on the road. Nonetheless, this is a rotated squad, just to give some fringe players a chance to prove they should be here next season, or perhaps put themselves in the shop window.

Less than a minute into the match, Tadic lofted a glorious ball forwards, and Pjaca ran onto it and cracked a volley, but Foster made an excellent save. Tadic displaying the ingenuity that earned him that new contract.

In the 6th minute it was Milik who sent a ball through for Pjaca, and this time the winger brought the ball down, cut inside, and slotted under Foster to open the scoring!

In the 10th minute they countered from a corner, and Beck put in a cross to an unmarked Brunt straight in front - denied by Dragowski! Unbelievable save, but he shouldn’t have even had a hope.

In the 14th minute we were hit again on the counter, and this time Dragowski denied Paloschi from straight in front, before Brunt fired the rebound into the post! Huge let off.

The cleared ball came straight back to Paloschi straight in front again, and once more Dragowski swatted his effort aside.

In the 45th minute we attacked down the right, and Cedric dribbled into the box. He cut the ball back for Mane, who smashed the post, but Milik turned home the rebound to double our lead! His 20th of the season! After his slow start, in January I was starting to wonder if I’d need a new striker next season, but he’s certainly hit his stride since then!

In the 59th minute Paloschi managed to glance a header past Radu on the halfway line, and he was away! He raced all the way to the byline and whipped a cross into the 6 yard box, where Rondon was on hand to tap it home.

Within a minute Tadic’s header sent Mane through, but he scuffed his shot and sent it wide when he should have scored.

Zivkovic replaced Mane in the 60th minute.

In the 64th minute Tadic released Pjaca down the left with a lovely ball, and the winger cut inside before squaring for Palombo, who took a touch before lofting the ball into the top left corner from 20 yards! Glorious strike!

Juanmi and Kießling replaced Pjaca and Milik - a goal and assist apiece - in the 67th minute.

In the 85th minute Cedric was released down the right by Palombo. He then cut the ball back for Zivkovic, who sent in a fairly low, angled cross, and Kießling timed his run perfectly to glance a header past the keeper. Sublime goal!

A very good performance, as we banished our road demons in style with our second consecutive away win. This was much more convincing than the Swansea performance though! Great displays across the board by most of the starters, and it was great to see Zivkovic and Kießling have an impact off the bench. Tadic, Pjaca and Milik were all devastating in attack once again, whilst Palombo scored a worldie to clinch the match ball!


POM: Angelo Palombo (8.4, 1G, 0A)
 
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