At the Last Cooking on Gas Ratings V Valencia
By Matt Sadler
May 2 2019
After an awful start where we could've been 3-0 down, we responded well and went in at half time 2-1 up after a double from Lacazette. Nobody would've felt truly confident going to Spain with a 2-1 aggregate advantage.
Lacazette missed a couple of chances to extend our lead, and you started to wonder whether we'd regret those misses, but Aubameyang scored late on, making it 3-1 on the night and in the tie.
The way we're playing away from home this tie is far from over, but we're in a great position going into the second leg.
RATINGS:
Cech - 7. Made a good save in the first half and off his line quickly in the second half. Mustafi - 7. Really good first half and did well overall. Sokratis - 7. Solid, and he was called into action a few times. Koscielny - 7. Continues his good form, but you could see he was limping after every run towards the end. Maitland-Niles - 6. Okay but there is a fine line between being composed and being too casual! Xhaka - 6. Mixed bag. Occasionally sloppy in possession, but set up the second and nearly found Aubameyang with the pass of the night in the second half. Guendouzi - 5. Thought he struggled. Wrong decision to start him for me. Kolasinac - 6. Typical he gets into great possessions but wastes the opportunity, though he did find Aubameyang for the third. Ozil - 6. Improved as the game went on. Lacazette - 8. Scored two, worked hard and used the ball well, but missed a couple of big opportunities in the second half. Aubameyang - 8. Worked hard, made chances and scored a vital third late on. One of his most complete performances for us? Subs: Torreira - 6. Looked better when he came on. Mkhitaryan - 5. Tried to impact the game. Monreal - N/A. Not on long. More discussion on ratings here
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