Main pluses for me were Clyne and Gomez. Stoke obviously like to get wide and get crosses in and we limited that pretty well, which was mostly down to the full backs. As a result our back 4, while not fantastic, were a bit better than usual.
My main negative is that, as for most of last season, we created so little going forward. Took a great long ranger from Cou to get the goal, apart from that we didnt create a single good chance. Early days so I'm not reading too much into it yet. We worked hard and were committed and reasonably solid, which is at least the minimum we needed to show.
On Benteke, yeah he was isolated. If we are going to play 1 up front, then high balls up to his head are no good. He cant flick the ball onto himself, and its near impossible for him to keep possession if its coming to his head.
We could give him a strike partner to feed off him, but I would stick with on his own for longer, but make sure we play the ball into his feet instead of his head. His touch is decent, and obviously he can hold defenders off, creating time for the 3 AM's to get up and support him.
The main reason I'd stick with the 4-2-3-1 is that I think it gets our best players on the pitch ( I'd like to see Lallana, Coutinho and Firmino all playing. We could also play 4-3-3 for physically tougher/away games, with Can on instead of 1 of the 3 AM's, but that still would mean Benteke on his own up front.)
I think Brendan ( rightly) will stick with Benteke on his own for the next few games, but emphasise playing it into his feet not his head. If that doesnt work, then putting Ings up next him will be plan B.
(When/if Sturridge is fit, then 2 up top might become plan A.)
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