Stoke boss Narcis Pelach praised Viktor Johansson after his stand-out performance in the Potters’ 2-0 win at Blackburn but has told the Swedish goalkeeper he still wants more from him.
Second-half goals from Million Manhoef and Tom Cannon delivered Stoke’s first away league win since August, but Johansson was the man of the match after making a string of superb second-half saves, highlighted by stops to deny Tyrhys Dolan and Andreas Weimann in quick succession.
“He’s very ambitious,” Pelach said of his goalkeeper. “After the game I said, ‘Viktor, a great performance, but I want more’. He needs to make sure he stays humble. He can do more, he can grow more, there are more things he can do.
“Don’t get too high on this. It is just a win. We have another game on Saturday and we need to make sure we are at the maximum level…
“His character is very honest, very humble, very ambitious. But every day is a test and you need to make sure you show it every day. He performed really well but I want him to think like that to make sure he’s there for the team again.”
Stoke had to soak up pressure throughout the first half and then again after going ahead through Manhoef just before the hour, but did enough to earn a second consecutive win that moves them up to 14th in the table.
“It’s very important that we have strikers scoring goals and a goalkeeper saving shots,” Pelach added. “I have the feeling the team dominated the box. You have to make sure you stay in the game in the Championship and dominate in the box.
“I have the feeling today that in the opposition box we killed it and in our box we stopped it.”
Blackburn had 25 attempts at goal and came away wondering how they had failed to score for what is now a fourth straight game.
Johansson’s excellence was only part of the story with Makhtar Gueye guilty of a glaring miss late on.
But though admitting his players were “devastated”, manager John Eustace wanted to focus on the positive of having created so many opportunities.
“I thought we were excellent, one of the best performances since I’ve been here,” he said.
“We’re disappointed not to score any of the chances we had and we’ve got to defend better for the two goals but I thought we were really good tonight…
“Any other day we could have won the game three or four-nil. The attitude of the group is fantastic, they haven’t let me down or let the club down since I’ve been here.
“That never-say-die attitude was there to see today. Obviously we need to defend and keep clean sheets but it’s important to stay positive and that performance was really excellent.”
[(FC Seoul) Strength]: 1. Marko Dugandzic, Anderson de Oliveira, and Yazan Al-Arab all contributed in the last friendly against Barcelona. The team's foreign players performed well on offense.2. FC Seoul won 1-0 over Daejeon Hana Citizen in the last league game, securing 3 wins in the last 4 league matches.[(FC Seoul) Neutral]: 1. FC Seoul had BTTS in 2 of the previous 3 games, showing a high like...
[(Los Angeles Galaxy) Strength]: 1. Los Angeles Galaxy currently rank 8th in Group B of the Leagues Cup. Facing Santos Laguna who are bottom 3rd in Group A, Los Angeles Galaxy are aiming for three points and are highly motivated.2. Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gabriel Chaves has scored 4 goals in the last 3 games, demonstrating a very high goal-scoring efficiency.3. Los Angeles Galaxy have remained ...
[(Cruz Azul) Strength]: 1. Cruz Azul's attacking methods are diverse and plentiful, including intricate passing from the midfield, crosses from flank breakthroughs, and long-range shots.[(Cruz Azul) Neutral]: 1. Both sides have never met before, so there were no records to reference.[(Cruz Azul) Weakness]: 1. Cruz Azul are 14th in the Leagues Cup Group Stable- Liga MX table. They were winless in t...
[(Estudiantes La Plata) Strength]: 1. Estudiantes La Plata beat Racing Club de Avellaneda in the last game, securing a 2-game winning streak in the league and showing a rebound in form.2. Estudiantes La Plata conceded 3 goals in the last 5 home games, boasting excellent defense at home.3. Estudiantes La Plata received 6 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the last 10 home games, with a win rate of 60%....
[(Monterrey) Strength]: 1. Monterrey scored 7 goals in the previous 4 competitive games, averaging nearly 2 goals per game, which demonstrates outstanding attack.[(Monterrey) Weakness]: 1. Monterrey performed poorly in this edition of the Leagues Cup and have confirmed to miss the knockout stage. Thus, their motivation is in doubt.2. Monterrey were winless in two Leagues Cup games with only 1 draw...
[(FC Cincinnati) Strength]: 1. FC Cincinnati are ranked 2nd in the MLS Eastern Conference, showing outstanding overall form. They received 15 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses in the regular season so far, with a win rate of 60%.2. FC Cincinnati were unbeaten in two Leagues Cup games so far, recording 1 win and 1 draw.3. FC Cincinnati showed excellent attack in the previous two Leagues Cup games, scorin...
[(Servette) Strength]: 1. Servette were narrowly defeated 3-2 on aggregate in two legs of the second qualifying round of this season's Champions League, and now they will unfortunately have to play in the Europa League qualification. This match will be the first leg of the third qualifying round at home, and they are highly motivated.2. Servette forward Slovakian Samuel Mraz is in fit form this se...
[(FC Bayern Munich) Strength]: 1. As the Bundesliga giants, FC Bayern Munich still aim to win the titles across all competitions this season. As a preseason warm-up tournament, FC Bayern Munich will adjust their form and fine-tune their squad in the Germany Telekom Cup. They are highly motivated to secure a big win to build confidence for the new season.2. In the summer window, FC Bayern Munich si...
[(Zrinjski Mostar) Strength]: 1. Zrinjski Mostar are undoubtedly motivated to win this home game to take the initiative of advancing.2. The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Zrinjski Mostar play, has not yet started, giving them more time to prepare for their European football matches.3. Zrinjski Mostar won 14 of the previous 20 home games across all competitions, showing decent h...
[(Panathinaikos) Strength]: 1. Panathinaikos are still in the league offseason and only focus on the Cup, revealing superior fitness.2. Panathinaikos performed impressively at home as they lost only one of the last 19 home matches.[(Panathinaikos) Neutral]: 1. As the traditional giants in the Super League Greece, Panathinaikos currently have a total squad value of over 100 million Euros.2. In Pana...
- 1 Bayern Munich confirm Palhinha "transfer negotiations" as Spurs move closer
- 2 PSG Willing to Sell Lucas Beraldo – But Only If Two Demands Are Met Amid Premier League Interest
- 3 TIPS - Real Salt Lake VS Atletico San Luis
- 4 TIPS - FCSB VS KF Drita Gjilan
- 5 Daily Laugh - Raya nair
- 6 TIPS - Lincoln Red Imps VS FC Noah
- 7 TIPS - Rigas Futbola Skola VS KuPS
- 8 Man Utd, Newcastle turn to Stuttgart striker Woltemade
- 9 TIPS - FC Kairat Almaty VS SK Slovan Bratislava
- 10 Transfer rumors, news: Chelsea face dilemma over Simons