What did Slavia show? Again tragic ending, absence of ten and village pitch

Slavia lost at home to Cluj in the Conference League and really messed up. They were clearly the better team in the match, but they couldn’t take advantage of their chances, instead they let their opponent have one chance and it was a goal. What did the game show us?

Tragic ending again

Slavia seem to have completely blown their shooting powder in some league games. It can score 6 or 7 goals, but in Europe it suffers. Against Sivasspor they missed a lot of chances and ended up in a 1-1 draw, Ballkani scored three goals but also got two and could have scored many more.

And against Cluj it was the height of frustration. Sticks, tackles, lineouts, shots from good positions, none of it led to a goal. Even 22 shots and 65% ball possession wasn’t enough for Eden to roar a goal. If you can’t do it offensively, you have to at least keep a clean sheet, only that failed again after Ousou’s mistake.

The absence of ten

Slavia’s biggest pain. Coach Trpišovský himself mentioned it at the pre-match press conference that Slavia is missing a creative ten and still hasn’t replaced Nicolae Stancio. And against Cluj it was again extremely visible.

Sešiovans are too readable, too machine-like. All you have to do against them is to get into the block, park the bus in the whitewash and you’re almost won. The Slavs just can’t get into it. What’s missing is a creative sub who could invent a chance, create a surprise moment.

Slavia just play everything sideways, and in the final third, a centre or a shot from distance. But when there are 190cm stoppers in the Cluj whitewash and 175cm Sor has to fight with them, it’s a no-go.

Village pitch

What has always been Slavia’s domain is becoming its weakness. At home, it has always rolled all opponents with combination and fast play, away when the turf was bad, it occasionally scrubbed. But the new ground hasn’t caught on, and Slavia’s pitch is currently in a catastrophic state.

It looks solid from the top, but just change direction and it immediately cracks. When the camera zoomed in on the side in front of the benches in the second half, it looked like a minefield where players have to dodge to avoid hurting their ankle.

It affected Slavia’s play a lot, passes were slower, shots and centres were skipped a few times, you need more time to process the ball, it’s just not at all in line with the fast, combination play that Slavia is known for.

Bad Usor

Nobody had a good game, everybody gave a bad performance. However, Moses Usor gave one of the worst ones. He lost balls, he didn’t show his greatest asset – his shot – at all. When he could have shot from a good position, it scared the spectator in the 30th row, when he should have passed, he shot from a pointless position from a distance, which even Trpišovský shook his head over.

Practically nothing went his way, but he stayed on the pitch for the whole game. Let’s hope it was an isolated lapse and he will return to his previous form.

Source:: SK Slavia Praha