Pilgrim's Progress
The beginning...
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180 Replies
5-0 at Spurs, impressive! That was a direct competitor for the top spots...
- @Danimal5981
Yes, they were unusually poor, I have to admit. Hehe, Rashford 6 goals from 10 matches, Farias 10 goals from 6 matches. He's almost a cheat code, when he plays for you 😉
Solid win vs Bayern, and leading the group with 6 points down, you really need to make it through this one.
- @JustinCase0110
Yes, he's an interesting one. He reminds me of my experiences with Lautaro Martinez. I used to sign him from Argentina lots before he came to Europe and he always scored loads. I stopped signing him when he came to Inter and became more expensive and 'well known' (I prefer 'unknown' entities) - though in my EAFC 24 United career, he was the first signing.
The thing is, there's nobody else close to him in Plymouth colours, which makes him seem like a one-man team, but the reality is that the goals otherwise are so much shared out, which is quite how I like it normally - the threat comes from so many different places. Red Card and Injury Worries
November saw Argyle almost undone by a 71st-minute red card for Jorrel Hato in the home match against Chelsea, in which defensive midfielder Quentin Kuhn went off injured after only 5 minutes from a robust challenge. The injury will see him miss the next three months.
The Pilgrims found themselves chasing this game from the outset, as an unusually physical approach from Chelsea caught Argyle off guard and the Londoners led 2-0 at half-time. They were still 3-1 down in the 80th minute, at which point Bobby Stones changed the formation to 4-5-1 and sent on Lucien Devaux to spearhead the attack. Facundo Farias dropped back, providing the assists for Devaux’s two quickfire goals that rescued a point.
Argyle’s other two Premier League matches saw routine wins over Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest respectively. Facundo Farias scored a brace in both matches, for a return of five goals in the league this month, which stretched his lead in the golden boot chase to five over Erling Haaland in second place. Farias has now notched 15 goals in 9 Premier League matches.
Argyle’s two wins and a draw matches Manchester City’s Premier League November record and the Pilgrims remain two points behind the Mancunian side. The top two have now opened a decent gap to the chasing pack and the league is now shaping up to be a two-horse race; much like many recent seasons.
Elsewhere, left-winger academy graduate Cleber Tavares scored his first goals for the club with a brace against Club Brugge in the fourth Champions League group match.
Tavares was Argyle’s man of the match. The youngster has certainly been enjoying his chance, standing in for the injured Bukayo Saka for much of the last three months. He has not been fazed by the magnitude of the opportunity, which bodes well for his future.
Argyle's win over Brugge, and a fourth-match draw between Bayern Munich and Atalanta means that the Pilgrims not only qualify from the group, but do so as winners, as no side can catch them with two games to play.
It gives the manager the chance to give other players an experience of European match nights, although both Atalanta and Bayern are likely to complain if the Pilgrims field 'weakened' sides in the two remaining matches. Argyle will play Bayern at home and Atalanta away, so they have the opportunity to strongly influence who accompanies them into the knockout stages.
Speaking of Saka, Argyle’s record signing returned to action in the match against Blackburn Rovers, although he did not make a huge impact, at it was obvious that he was easing himself back into the pace of the game.
The Pilgrims also saw off Arsenal in the Carabao Cup at the start of the month, with a glittering 5-1 demolition of the Gunners. When Marquinhos pulled one back for Arsenal to make it 3-1, there was a faint hint of a comeback, but academy product Dani Alves restored Argyle’s 3-goal lead, before Rayan Cherki scored his second, and Argyle’s fifth in the 79th minute, to put the tie beyond doubt.
Impressive goal average by Farias. Over 1/3 of the league goals scored by him, but won't it also create too much of a dependency on one single player?
- @Danimal5981
Happily, the rest of the goals are quite well shared out. Battaglia, Cherki, Hlozek, Issaka, Devaux, etc., are all capable of scoring and do so. I get the feeling that, if Farias was out injured for any period of time, one of the others would easily step in and do the same thing.
Maybe that theory will get tested at some point... 43 goals in 13 league games. Crazy. Doesn't seem like Saka's absence has even been noticed there... Good to see him return though.
Solid performance in the Champions League too, Bayern struggling with only 1 win in 4 games. You're nailing it.
Clean Sweep in The Champions League Group
Plymouth Argyle completed a clean sweep in their Champions League group, despite complaints from Bayern Munich about their ‘weakened’ side in the last group match.
Up first were Bayern at Home Park, and they were beaten 3-1 by Argyle, despite Harry Kane giving the Germans the lead with a 28th minute penalty. Bayern dominated possession, as expected, but the Pilgrims hit them on the break three times and secured the win.
Man of the Match was the newly-recovered Bukayo Saka, who made one goal and scored one himself.
Bukayo Saka enjoys his outing vs Bayern
The result left the group table looking ominous for the German champions
...and they lodged a note with UEFA warning Argyle about playing a weakened side in their last group match against Atalanta.
Argyle duly ignored Bayern’s protestations, fielded a “weakened” side and still beat Atalanta 3-2, academy graduate Mikel Gomez scoring the winner near the end. In fact, Bayern’s complaint was unfounded because they fell foul of the ‘head to head’ rule with Atalanta, and promptly went out of the competition, despite beating Club Brugge and ending on the same points total as the Italians.
In the Premier League, Argyle passed Manchester City in the table with a double win over Manchester’s sides, including a thrilling 4-0 demolition of United and a 4-1 win at the Etihad, the latter of which owed everything to counter-attacking football and the dead eye of Rayan Cherki.
Cherki scored his first hat-trick for the Pilgrims:
...and academy graduate Lorenzo Battaglia completed a scoreline that looked far easier than the match actually was.
So, half-way through December and Argyle have hit the top spot in the table.
@JustinCase0110
Thanks. It's looking good at the moment, but as we know, there are always left-field results that can unhinge things...
