That was frustrating, wasn't it? We were all over them, but as often happens, their goalie had a fine game and made all the stops. Hull was well organized and did a good job limiting our chances, too. Clinical finishing is not in our locker these days, and we could not cash in. Hull's shooting was even worse than ours, or we might have lost.
Ospina looks like a lost soul, bereft of confidence and belief. Our center backs were imperious, but Chambers worries me every time he takes the field. Both teams made a lot of changes from their last league game, and I figured our B team should kill their B team. But it was not to be; Hull earned the replay. I think we ought to do better at the KC than the Emirates. (I hope it isn't raining again.) Hull should be a little more open at home, which should help us. We'll see--but when? The fixture list is so crowded that the rules won't allow a replay for weeks. Just as well--we need to forget about this boring game and concentrate on Barcelona and the league. We'll deal with Steve Bruce's wall of beef when the time comes.
Alexis worries me. I expected him to be unplayable when he came in, but he was wasteful. Campbell has not progressed. Walcott was rather effective, I thought. Elneny is solid and seems to be fitting in well. Welbeck is still shaking off the rust. I'm disappointed we didn't win, but the team looked dangerous for long stretches and no one got hurt. Ramsey, Bellerin, Monreal, and Ozil got much needed rests. Twenty five minutes isn't going to hurt Giroud or Sanchez either.
We get to stay in London and await the best team in the world. I say Barca is going down on Tuesday, probably 2-1. The scorers will be Giroud, Messi, and Alexis in that order. I'd give you the minute the goals were scored and credit the assists but my crystal ball is experiencing technical difficulties.
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