Five Things We Learned From Watford
After a win over Manchester United it was down to earth for the Swans on Saturday when we went down to a single goal defeat at Watford giving the Hornets their first win and our first defeat of the season but what did we learn from the defeat?
1. Bafetimbi Gomis needs to spend more time onside
Gomis has had a superb start to the season and nobody should take anything away from that start but it is incredibly frustrating to watch him wandering back slowly from an offside position. It can slow down our play and certainly prevents some of our quick breaks. Being offside happens often for many strikers but making basic mistakes to be offside should be eradicated.
2. When the basics go, we look very ordinary
It was a strange game and I cannot remember too many games where the whole team underperformed like we did against Watford. You have to question what caused it to happen as I cannot believe that it all came down to the international break. So many passes went astray and we didn't seem ready to compete at all and that made us look very ordinary as a team.
3. Closing us down forces us to make mistakes
This was noticeable very early in the game and it certainly set the tone for the afternoon. Watford hurried us high up the pitch through Deeney and Ighalo and we made some simple mistakes keeping us under pressure. It was a clear tactic employed by Flores and we had no match for it.
4. There are no easy games in the Premier League
I know it is a cliché that there are no easy games but there really aren't. For every game we have to play with the same tempo and treat them the same whether it is Chelsea, Manchester United or Watford. Every team in this division is capable of beating each other and we cannot let standards slip or things like this will happen.
5. Route One Undone Us
It was a basic goal to conceded and it was simple in the making. Long from Gomes, headed by Deeney and finished by Ighalo. No wonder Fabianski reacted the way that he did when the goal went in. He would expect some protection from his defenders in situations like that and he got none.
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