I wasn’t able to watch the match yesterday. It’s obviously disappointing to lose in the manner we did, but we are still well positioned in the EL group and sitting atop Serie A. While we have good depth in terms of substitution options, our bench players aren’t strong enough/ready to start against the starting XI of a good team like Lille. It’s going to take time to get to that point, but we are moving in that direction considering we have talented, young players like Tonali, Diaz, Hawg, and Leao that are going to develop into very good players.
And we have a couple of glaring holes: Most notably a Kessie alternative. I think our 23 man squad is strong enough to really do well in a single competition like Serie A, but it’s far from ready to handle three completions. We will get there in a few years.
If we were going to lose a match, I would have chosen a Coppa or EL match without hesitation. Back to business this weekend with a victory over Verona. Top 4 is the priority, and we are on track.