I'm Noticing A Disturbing Trend Week After Week That Creates Goals

This is the kind of thing that flies under the radar but is becoming more harder to ignore even when we win games. Kounde and Cubarsi are not performing to the level required of their shirt. Time and time again they are beaten with the long ball, which usually results in the first goal. They seem to be always 2 seconds behind when the offside trap is beaten.

Their performances are sub-par when compared to last season. Cubarsi in particular lacks pace and is dreadful in defending spot kicks. He is easily muscled off the ball because he also lacks physicality. Kounde seems to have forgotten the basics: A defender must position himself between the goal and attacking player, not the other way around as he so often does. He is too easily beaten by a speedy winger.

I believe they need competition for their respective staring spots. No secret our defence has been porous this season and these 2 are the biggest culprits in my opinion. Until Flick figures out how to plug the gaps these two create, I don't see us winning the CL.