Donley/Maddison/Son on left at beginning of second half was just too offensive imo. In first half, either Pape or Bergvall were covering that part of the pitch, as well as Gray was staying back. After break, Madders was not covering, Skipp playing as 6 over Gray was having horrendous minutes before switching to CB, and finally - they put fresh legs while Donley was started having visible problems with tracking back since he got tired. So, it was multiple factors and agree that I wouldnt blame Donley that much there.
I think this is pretty spot on. Our structure seemed a lot more compact in the first half, something changed, and it was a result of one of the following:
1) Gray out of the 6 and into the #8 where he seemed less effective
2) Bergvall off the pitch for Maddison
3) Sarr off the pitch for Skipp who moved to #6
I'd have to watch the 2nd half again to check but in real time it seemed like our midfield was just a lot more "empty" in the second half. I didn't love the way our midfielders were playing on the ball in the first half but one thing was for sure - their positioning was pretty spot on.
Gray was always sat in front of the back 4, Bergvall dropping in to provide the extra man, Sarr bringing the energy. Add Donley and Porro inverted into the mix and it always felt like we had a spare man in midfield.
Then in the 2nd half our midfield suddenly felt empty. Perhaps Maddison was playing higher up in comparison to Bergvall? Gray I also don't recall offering as much as Sarr in the #8.
In my mind's eye it felt like Skipp was just constantly trying to cover tons of space on his own. He's not good enough to be our #6 but also I felt bad for him and it wasn't all down to him.
In conclusion - if Donley and Porro are gonna play inverted we need our #8s to be #8s and not #10s. And sometimes we need them to realise when they need to form a double pivot in build up to prevent us getting countered on.
We also need our midfielders to use their brain and suss out the danger. Even if the manager tells them he wants them playing on the last line sometimes they need to use their brain on the pitch and make an executive call to play deeper and protect against the counter.
