Manchester United vs Liverpool

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GRon said:
Anyone else think the biggest legacy of the-one-we-do-not-talk-about will be letting Vidic go? If we had Vidic in this team, we would be a much better unit defensively.
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I don’t think so. He would be the best we have in aerial duels, but other than that what would he offer?

His mobility would be a problem, he’s not so good in one-on-one and his passing is average. No chance he can play on the side of the 3 CBs, and playing him in the middle makes no sense what so ever.

This system we’re playing requires everyone to contribute in build-up play. As much as I like him, it’s a good think we moved on.
 
If we had come up against a more clinical team then the game would've been out of sight. Evans was all over the place and it seemed like he was actually trying to gift them a goal, so we desperately need reinforcements there before the Swansea game. It was a good test of LVG's system though and players like Sterling and Coutinho caused real problems with their movement, but we needed games like that to ensure all bases are covered before the first game.
 
United weren't good, but Liverpool were probably worse over 90 minutes. They're lacking a lot. Looked like united playing a well drilled defensive outfit out there, that couldn't cope for the full game
 
ivaldo said:
It wasn't a penalty and they hardly comfortably controlled the game in the first half, they took advantage of some sloppy defending from a newly formed back 3 in a new formation, that'll go after a few more games. The rest I can agree with.
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I think some of the sloppiness from Smalling, Jones and Evans came from their mistrust in the waterlogged surface and the knowledge that they had pacey players to punish any mistake.
 
Considering Jones got some of the ball (dumb challenge though) I think it´s fair to say he played a pretty epic match actually. Obviously got into trouble one or two times like all our defenders, but he looked to be one step ahead of Smalling in terms of distribution and like Smalling, he made some great tackles and interceptions too. That David Luiz style chasing all the way up to the Liverpool CB´s was hilarious, Jones was my hero last night. People got really emotional over that penalty, but he played some really good passes straight after making that wild tackle, which is a very good sign.

Ander Herrera was pretty bad after the first 20 minutes, as bad as Fletcher I think, made some silly tackles too. Still great to see he kept on looking for a splitting pass, something he managed to deliver when he passed to Chicharito for the equaliser.

Shaw played some really intelligent passes and crosses throughout the match, very pleased to see that.

Jonny Evans played like a 14 year old girl, made me sad.
 
Glock17 said:
It's rarely good to view a game by it's scoreline. You can win 3-1 with very little of the ball, parking the bus and a few set pieces, you can lose 3-1 by having 20 shots and the opposition having 3.

At 0-1 Liverpool let us have the ball and were more than comfortable to press us into mistakes and hit us on the break. Sure, we had more of the ball, but does that mean we were controlling the game if they were letting us? If we were able to take advantage of it and have some impetus then maybe, but since we weren't really able to put this 'control' to any good use, and as soon as it got to a point that Liverpool wanted to stop us coming further then it stopped.

I thought Herrera was pretty mediocre by his own standards, in a premier league game he'd have likely got multiple bookings and a penalty for that performance. He gave the ball away carelessly, and only really showed quality in the ball to Hernandez.

That's where our quality shone through in a burst - a great ball, a great cross, a great finish. We were able to gain some confidence and picked up here, and quickly made it 2-1 with a some good play and a bit of luck.

From then on we managed to control the game for the most part, but we were still allowing Coutinho, Sterling and somewhat Ibe to bypass our midfield and bear down on our defense needlessly. If they'd had Sturridge playing, perhaps they'd have punished us for it.

I'm not saying there were no positives to take from the game, there definitely were.. but the system and players definitely need some time, and there's clearly work to be done. I don't think it should be considered a good performance by our own standards, a good result mind and with some promising signs and courage to take away from it, but plenty to work on also.
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A considered and sensible reply. That'll never catch on ;-)

I've watched LVG post match interview (too tired to watch it last night) and he agrees that this wasnt our best performance. This is the first full pre-season match I've seen (highlights only for me) so I'm comparing it to how we played under Moyes, and I'm seeing a lot of positives
 
Delighted with the win over Liverpool, even though it is pre-season. We went behind for the first time this summer and responded very well once van Gaal got to have a word with the players. There's still plenty of creases for him to iron out but what's really encouraging is the style of play and the type of goals we're scoring, the pressure we put opponents under, it's a million miles away from last year.

Jones has hopefully got the silly lunges out of his system in time for Swansea. He's got all the tools, just needs to use his head more and he'll be solid. Smalling is an excellent defender. Blackett also continues to prove me wrong! A real prospect. One new signing here and we'll be ok.

Herrera is just what we needed as well. A bit of a fouling machine so needs to watch that but he's aggressive and assertive. Two things we've missed in MF for a while. In an ideal world we sign someone of real quality to go next to him but I'm not counting on it.

Shaw is nailed on to be a star if he keeps his head down and stays injury free. Rooney looks as fit as I've ever seen him & is linking up really well with Mata. And last but not least, special praise for Ashley Young. What a difference. Hats off to him for turning it around & he's cemented his place in the side.

The signs are there. We still have RVP and Januzaj to come in and a new signing or two. A great start for LvG and his staff. I can not wait for the new season to start!

As for Liverpool, they looked good at times, they press really well but can't maintain that all the time and no matter how much the scousers downplay Suarez going, it's going to effect their attack no end. A few times last night they could have broke away & hurt us, and I thought if Suarez was there he'd have made something out of a few difference passes and loose balls but Lambert and the supporting players are just not as sharp as Luis, naturally.

They'll be right up there though with us imo battling for 3rd/4th. Can't see either team being ahead of Chelsea and City, as of now.
 
It Is no surprise united looked sloppy though, 2 days ago they were playing Madrid, and the travelling etc they are playing Liverpool. So to beat Madrid and Liverpool 3 1 is pretty damn impressive
 
The way I see it, we were quite shit compared to our performance against Madrid, they were quite shit compared to their performance against Milan, and we won. And that was about it.

Pitch looked heavy from the start and was ripping up badly, so that might have been a factor. Either way I highly doubt Van Gaal was at all happy with the performance.

Few players covered themselves in glory (pretty much everyone's passing was all over the place in the first half). Have to say I'm surprised by the caf's MotM, because for me the standout performer by a mile was Shaw. Barely put a foot wrong, which was particularly noticeable when Evans was having some kind of inexplicable clusterfeck next to him.
 
I thought Liverpool suffered from the same issues as last season, Once you get out of that first half high press they do, they usually get tired and in the second half and you wear them down. In fact Barcelona under Pep suffered from the same thing, They were just better at keeping the ball when tiredness started to get in so it didn't matter too much to them.

The back lads had a bad game possession wise. They just looked nervous or tired I dont know. But I am glad we played Liverpool so that LVG can see what happens when we play high pressing teams like that. All in all, LVG has been luckier than Moyes in terms of preparation because, he has faced much better teams that should tell him more about his team than if we went and played those Asian teams we played last season.
 
0ne-eyed_joe said:
hsUgJ8n.jpg

Ta daa...
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Was Evans taking the picture?
 
gooDevil said:
Keane hasn't shown any of the form he had before he was injured some 2 years ago. With such an injury, I'd want to see him get that form back before giving him a place in the team.

James Wilson is a better option at this point.
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He's talking about Michael not Will.
 
Good to see the 2 players who were struggling were taken off at half time (Evans and Fletcher). Shaw looked much better in this game and I like the way the centre backs press up the pitch.

We look very creative and can only see us getting better.
 
RedStarUnited said:
I thought Liverpool suffered from the same issues as last season, Once you get out of that first half high press they do, they usually get tired and in the second half and you wear them down. In fact Barcelona under Pep suffered from the same thing, They were just better at keeping the ball when tiredness started to get in so it didn't matter too much to them.

The back lads had a bad game possession wise. They just looked nervous or tired I dont know. But I am glad we played Liverpool so that LVG can see what happens when we play high pressing teams like that. All in all, LVG has been luckier than Moyes in terms of preparation because, he has faced much better teams that should tell him more about his team than if we went and played those Asian teams we played last season.
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We were awful against those Asian teams last pre-season. That should have been a better indicator to Moyes regarding how awful we look and he should have done something about it, rather than getting in iPads. Fkng Moyes. Still makes my blood boil.
 
First half we were terrible but I'm putting that mostly down to playing two days before the match this morning against Madrid. Louis must have gave them a right talking to at halftime because we came out for the second half a much better team. Tyler Blackett once again impressed when he came on, Jones was rash as always giving away a silly pen, Smalling was excellent and Evans wasn't up to much. Herrera struggled a bit in the midfield because he needs a good player to partner him. Fletch has been great this tour but he was awful for the first half last night. He's played a lot this tour so I'll put it down to match fitness. Herrera was out there trying to do two jobs for most the match.

Young had another brilliant game which was good to see. Shaw, Rooney (first half he was anonymous but picked it up) Mata and De Gea all did great too.

I think we struggled with Liverpool in the first 45 because they pressed so much. It's clear we need an experienced centre back.
 
Aside from a few sloppy moments in midfield and at the back, I don't think that we were ever terrible. You'd think people would know the definition of that word after last season. We look a team again and that's the important thing about it. LVG seems to have done terrific job at keeping everybody happy so far, just as SAF did with a big squad. It's definitely showing on the pitch.
 
Looks like a fairly definite penalty to me, might have got a tiny bit of the ball, but they get given 99/100 do those.

Also thought a World Class GK might do a fair bit better (get something on them anyway) with the Rooney & Mata goals - fortunately they look like persisting with Mignolet, who stops only marginally more than Pepe in his last 2 seasons.
 
Lambert looks every bit a 4 million pound player...

Delighted with the result and we managed it whilst not playing particularly well, which was all the more pleasing.

Yes it's a friendly and I'm sure the scousers will be keen to shout "it was only a friendly". They're right, of course. In the grand scheme of things it's meaningless. However, I remember comforting myself a lot last Summer saying "it's just a friendly". Winning matters. End of.
 
Well, not the best performance by us, though understandable to some degree given we just played Madrid 48 hours before kickoff in front of over 109,000, then had to get on a plane to Miami and play on a sub par wet field in humid conditions.

I thought we were much worse in the first half. Liverpool never looked great by any means, but could've been at 2-0 by halftime had things gone their way. Evans was very poor in particular, but none of our back three looked comfortable on the ball or with their passing. Jones had a mixed review, obviously giving up the penalty when he didn't have to, but also made some good plays as the game progressed. I thought Smalling was the best of our back three. Also, Blackett was good when he came on. A lot of potential there and I think he can push into the first team in coming years.

Herrera and Fletcher looked out of sorts. They have both played a lot for pre season so I suspect fatigue has at least a part of the blame. Mata couldn't find space in the first half, but once it opened up in the second he looked dangerous and got his reward. A lot of people giving Young high praise. I wouldn't go that far. Yes, he whipped a few good crosses in, but also passed the ball directly out of bounds more times than I can remember. His defensive work also will not be up to par against top tier teams. I thought Luke Shaw was all around solid. Very good to see. Still wish he would take defenders on more, but he barely put a foot wrong all match.

Chich...will be on his way. Just doesn't have enough all around game. On top of that he missed the one chance that he is in the game to score. Rooney was quite good, worked hard and did well as captain.

Second half was obviously much better. Space began opening up and Liverpool started to look worse and worse. The two quick goals completely deflated them. Then at the end they started to look very combative and aggressive, which made me smile. It might have been a "friendly" but they know this match gave our fans bragging rights again, and set the stage for a season of resurgence.

Hard to complain with 5 wins out of 5 games under a new boss with a new tactical setup. Looking forward to who comes and goes in the next 12 days.
 
montpelier said:
Also thought a World Class GK might do a fair bit better (get something on them anyway) with the Rooney & Mata goals - fortunately they look like persisting with Mignolet, who stops only marginally more than Pepe in his last 2 seasons.
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Yep. Also weird that Rodgers keeps trying to sell him as some kind of ball-playing keeper. He actually seems to be quite average on the ball, and his distribution is incredibly poor whenever he has to kick it more than ten yards. Look at De Gea, who can bosh it out to the wingers and get it pinpoint 9/10 times. Mignolet pretty much kicked the ball out of play every time he wasn't allowed to just do their boring 'pass it back and forth between the CBs and the keeper under no pressure for five minutes' game.
 
gooDevil said:
Keane hasn't shown any of the form he had before he was injured some 2 years ago. With such an injury, I'd want to see him get that form back before giving him a place in the team.

James Wilson is a better option at this point.
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I think you've confused Michael & William man.. :angel:

But yeah, Will was exceptional before his injury. I hate to say it, but he's lost his spark & may never get it back for us..
 
Gutted I fell asleep at halftime! :mad:

Luckily I recorded the game.

Wow - great performance in the second half.

Young MoTM for me.

Always great to beat Liverpool ;)

I can't wait for the season to start!

C'mon United!! :devil:
 
Regardless of what anyone says about the value of the game, it's still one both sides would rather win than lose.
 
Crashoutcassius said:
United weren't good, but Liverpool were probably worse over 90 minutes. They're lacking a lot. Looked like united playing a well drilled defensive outfit out there, that couldn't cope for the full game
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The promising thing was that even though we didn't play at our best, or close to it we created many chances and got into quite a few promising positions. The system obviously works very well, I didn't expect a great performance given we just played RM less than 48 hours before
 
Good result, poorish performance.
In the first half, we were hurried, and panicked a bit under the high press by Liverpool. It will be no different every week in the League, so good for the team to experience it, rather than the sauntering around the Europeans do. Evans, Fletcher and Mata had poor halves, which was a surprise after their performances earlier in the tour, so glad they were replaced at half time, or just after.
Felt LvG calmed them all down at half time, and with a bit of tactical tinkering, negated the threats posed by the scousers.
Knowing how LvG would rather have youngsters and players he can mould, I think Blackett and Lingard are playing themselves into the first team. Blackett looked more composed than Evans and his distribution was miles better as well. Lingard instead of Turnback Tony all day for me, better in every dept.
Mata, I know a lot of you love that little smile, but he's not good enough. A panic buy to try and help Moyes, but the reasons Jose got rid and why he doesn't get in the Spanish first team are glaringly obvious. His one footedness, for a start, is not what is required of a no.10. A no.10 should be a conduit between midfield and attack, moving the ball quickly and seamlessly, left and right, without ego.
eg,
Herrera ----Vidal
-----Mata-------
Rooney---RvP
or
Herrera----Vidal
----Kagawa---
Rooney---RvP

Kagawa is by far the better, more dynamic, more balanced, egoless fit. I've got everything crossed we don't sell him.

So all in all a great tour, and 3-1 against Liverpool to win the competition. A pretty perfect start for LvG.
 
Dunno what all the excitement is with Young's performances
Herrera has disappointed but generally we look right
Chicharito played really well against pool hope he stays
 
Great second half performance after out equalising goal. The game completely changed with Liverpool unable to cope with our high pressing!(the complete opposite to the first half).

I'm still slightly worried about the first half performance though. If Suarez/Sturridge had been playing we could have been 3-0 down!

Our defenders look shit scared!

Fletcher was poor.

Herrera had his best half of football in the second half since the L.A Galaxy game putting himself about.

Shaw was impressive bursting forward. His best performance so far.

Yes we won, it's pre-season and it's nice to put some sort of a marker down against our rivals BUT as I said straight after the first half ended, the game has highlighted we need more quality. We need a central midfielder and a central defender urgently!

What makes the situation even more stupid is the way Ed Woodward makes it clear we can buy anybody for any price yet nothing seems to be happening?

Hopeful some business gets down as LVG gets back in Manchester.
 
Pentame said:
Should not have been a penalty.

Edit: Thought I added it in the link, but watch from 0:58

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After seeing that i understand Jones reaction. He got the ball first and it was not the penalty. But regardless of that it was stupid think to do.
 
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