Last night, even during that good spell early on, highlighted some weaknesses of Henderson and Allen. The former can´t turn on the ball. His back to goal play is tragic for a box to box midfielder. It leads to slowing down our built up, choosing wrong passing options and it seeds a nervousness into the side.
Allen can do this. He always receives a ball on half turn so can´t be easily pressed into trouble. Joes problem is all mental. I´ve been pulled out for this claim many times but it was all there to see last night, again. The number of poor first touches and bad passes was ridiculous. And it has nothing to do with ability as he has shown, when on song, how technically great player he is. He just doesnt trust himself enough, hes scared on the big stages, and then just goes into his shell like in the first half yesterday and it all falls apart, even his pressing and movement.
You can talk about work rate, quickness, "creativity" of these two in comparison with Lucas all night, but without ability to do the right things in tight spaces under pressure - no matter which side of the pitch youre facing - and a mental strenght to actually execute it in Allen case - you´ll always look vulnerable, esp. against intelligent side like Madrid. 180% vision, and confidence. Could it be trained, coached, or improved?