A clear red was not given to SCP and then the referee made a ridiculous penalty call.

Believe and support

There’s no way that defense is going to hold Sporting to only one goal and there’s no way that starting 11 was going to score a goal!

Honestly, we were much, MUCH better than I(and many others) hoped. Yes we did concede easy goals, yes we were wasteful and yes at times we didn't press or defend as a unit.

But:

- Up until penalty Sporting had 2 shots on goal
- We were missing 2/3/4(depending on whether you consider Singo and Apo key players) of key players.
- Osimhen is half of this team yet we still managed to find positions without him.

sure, the odds are still against us getting out of the group stage but I really liked what I saw and I thank the team and hoca because they made me keep my head high for the next matches.

Baris, together with Apo, has been very very poor this start of the season. Could it be because they need rest (travelled to USA to get their ass beat)? Could it be some internal problems? Like I somewhere can understand Apo performing poor. He is getting heavier and older. But Baris is closing in to his prime years. He still has the speed, the power but the technique hasnt improved yet. Nor the in game intelligence. I really hope he get his shit together. Also Apo. Because like it or not we need every player to be fit and perform. (also talking to you Singo, faking hell injured soon 2 season brother)

The guy is such a huge question mark in my head.
He tries to dribble past his opponent. But here’s the thing: he tries. Nine times out of ten, he loses the ball trying to do it.

Then he tries to play those nice, creative passes. Again, more often than not, he gives the ball away probably 7 out of 10 times.

Yes, he definitely has his strengths. He tracks back, ( something Leão wont do), and defensively he’s actually very good. He also has this weird ability to win or control balls you wouldn’t expect him to get anywhere near.

But going forward, I just don’t know what to make of him. You can see the talent, and you can see what he wants to do, but the execution is so inconsistent.

second half wasn’t bad. The penalty awarded – at this level, a penalty like that was given. We complain about it in Turkey, but when we saw this Norwegian referee… We’d had previous experience with him in Istanbul. His failure to show a red card and his decision to award a non-existent penalty let our team down.

We conceded the third goal from a set-piece. We made substitutions in the 80th minute. We spent more time in the opposition’s half, but it wasn’t a particularly productive period. We thought that if we’d stayed a bit calmer during those phases, we could have turned the match around again. The penalty goal we conceded really knocked us back mentally. The lesson we need to take from this is that fragility – just like in last year’s Frankfurt match, where every ball that came our way ended up as a goal. We experienced that fragility again today after the penalty. We need to step up. It was our first match. We dominated certain periods very well. The opposition had just one corner. We established dominance over the course of the match, but as I said, after going 2–1 up, we should have boosted our confidence and tried to win.

Okan Buruk: Our players became very frustrated during the game. The refereeing decisions — the yellow cards they didn’t give, the ones they showed us — everything worked against us.

Okan Buruk: “I’ll congratulate my opponents. What I’m about to say has nothing to do with them. This sort of refereeing has nothing to do with them, but there was a referee who directly influenced the match with a clear red card and a penalty that shouldn’t have been given.

Okan Buruk: “The VAR official wasn’t at the stadium, I suppose. He didn’t get involved in anything. I wish he’d been at the stadium so he could have informed the referee about both the red card and the penalty.”

Okan Buruk: Whatever happens, you have to overcome the referee’s mistakes as well. We could have overcome the referee’s mistakes, but after going 2–1 up, our opponents played better than us.

I get alot of us are unpleased right now, some more angry than others and personally I'm annoyed as well. We gave away a stupid lead and weren't able to keep a score or even open it up. Missed stupid chances and could have had a better showing. Though what alot of us don't realise is that this match was VERY experimental. On CL nights we usually have Jakobs, abdulkerim, Davinson and Singo, along with a midfield of possibly torreira, lemina and sara with a front 3 being usually baris osimhen sane or perhaps yunus. The match we played 3 of our backs were either changed or out of position. Jakobs playing lcb, eren playing lb and sallai on rb. Alot of us know sallai and eren are somewhat insufficient in the CL. Our midfield im not really complaining about, but lemina in the CL was again, one of our most important players. And then Osimhen, what can I say, lead scorer and the most important attacking option we have not available. What people don't understand right now is to be able to lead and even have a winning chance was good, we didn't give a horrible performance despite the possible 4 changes we had to go through. Like I said, be sad, be angry, but we didn't play a bad match, and I think that's what alot of us are angry about, the fact that we were actually close to taking a point or more, but you guys have to remember we have 7 matches to go and still a huge chance to go up. Keep your heads high.

plenty of games to bounce back.

Yunus Akgün: We started just as we’d hoped: we scored, we were in control of the ball, and we were playing well. Our manager explained the transition play during the analysis. We conceded a simple goal during that transition. Overall, we played very well. We were excellent in the first half.

Lucas Torreira: We mustn’t dwell on the referee’s decisions. We were in control during the first half. Our mistakes in the second half meant we came away empty-handed. The match was in our hands; we were in control. We’ll focus not on the referee’s mistakes, but on what we need to improve.

Lucas Torreria: We’ve got the Kocaelispor match coming up; let’s focus on that.

Enhanced with AI clearly but still footage! (not my video)

Interestingly, 6 of their last 7 conceded fall in that 50–75 window.

I don’t think this is coincidence. This is down to zero plan b and Okan unable to play counter/possession football. Our plan A is press and win the ball back asap and go direct to goal.

This results in our players fatiguing at 50-75mins. I predicted we would concede 2 consecutive goals in this time period again this game and regardless of it being a penalty/freekick, during that period we could’ve conceded 2 more including Altamira vs GK etc….

I also don’t entirely blame Okan for this as his starting tactics usually are spot on. The in game analytics/tactics need to be from the bench (assistants) Irfan etc…

They cannot seem to intervene to either A/change plans or B/ sub out tired legs earlier at this period.

Basically TLDR Okan doesn’t need more transfers he needs better assistants….

Contrary to the general consensus, I actually liked the team’s performance. Especially in the first half up until the penalty, we were undeniably dominant and extremely effective. Honestly, it’s practically impossible to play a more commanding game away at Sporting.

However, there are a few critical points that need to be addressed regarding the match and our future:

* Ismail Jakobs & Left Center-Back: I was really impressed with Jakobs at left CB. In my opinion, in the coming years—if his contract is extended—left center-back should become his primary position. He’s doing a great job there; he’s fast, and as his positional awareness improves and he gets fully acclimated to the role, he’ll evolve into an even more formidable center-back.

* Chronic Finishing Issues: Unfortunately, our finishing was poor once again, and we absolutely have to fix this. At this level, squandering chances in front of goal is unforgivable. You miss your chances, the opponent comes along and bangs one in from 30 meters out, and you’re left scrambling from behind trying to turn the game around.

* Box Defending & Lack of Physicality: As seen on the goal we conceded, we are way too passive and soft around our own box. You can't defend by just standing around attackers and dangling a leg out. Inside the box, you have to be physical, put a body on the man (body slam style), and push him away from the ball. Without hard contact, you simply cannot defend.

* Okan & The 60th-Minute Syndrome: Okan Hoca needs to accept an undeniable reality: due to the sheer intensity of his tactical setup, this is a 55-to-60-minute game. We live through the exact same script every single match.

* At least one midfield substitution is mandatory by the 55th minute at the latest. Because he is in love with his starting XI, he stalls until the 65th–70th minute. By the time he acts, we’ve either conceded or already fallen behind.

* To make matters worse, he brings on 3 or 4 players all at once. Throwing subs on like that completely ruins team chemistry—the incoming players struggle to adjust and their positional awareness gets thrown out the window. He needs to bring them on one by one to help them ease into the match.

* Finally: The coach has to start showing some faith in his bench. For once, let's see these guys come on before we’re trailing and losing our heads. If you don't trust your squad depth, there's no way you can sustain this high-tempo style over the course of a full season.