[Wheato]

Leicester lost today by 3 goals. We are now level on goals. If we beat West Ham, we go third. Just need to raise our spirits and limp across the line.

 

[golden_blunder]

Some thoughts:
Hope that EB is ok!
DeGea wtf has happened this guy?
What’s with the silly goal kick routine?
Players look knackered
Chelsea are hackers, sly with it

 

[SmashedHombre]

Annoyed at the lined up, annoyed at the formation, annoyed at the performance, annoyed at the result and annoyed that we've just further fatigued our entire first XI for some reason.

 

[NewGlory]

100% in agreement. I forgot to mention that its time for de Gea to, at the very least, be benched. He can't just get away with such awful performance, yet again. I've defended him so far, in hopes he would find a way back to his old self, but he seems to be even further away now. Clearly, the supporting way of dealing with his problems hasnt worked, so its time for the kick up the ass.

The problem is: you can't just bench your starting goalkeeper. It's not like with other players. Once you bench a goalkeeper they need to go. Nobody has ever come back from losing starting goalkeeper position due to poor performance.

It is time for De Gea to go. We have a replacement for him and David has gotten enough chances. Keeping him at this point is hurting the team. SAF would have seen him gone long ago. Club above anybody

 

[Jericholyte2]

My take on the result / performance:

• Would much rather have lost today than on Wednesday. With Leicester losing this was still a positive day for us.
• Shows the lack of faith in squad players such as Lingard/Pereira/Dalot, so I expect them to be shifted out this next window.
• As per last point, shows the drop in quality of the squad means the first XI are knackered both physically and mentally. All our games since the restart have been must win and, with most of our squad starting the last 5-6 games it’s bound to take its toll.
• Yes DDG dropped a clanger for the second goal but I’m hating this media narrative (acknowledging he’s been nowhere near prime for the last 18months] about him being at fault for all three. I’m not having that! All three were down to stupid mistakes in the back 4 before it even got to him and I don’t see what he could do for goals 1 and 3.
• Matic doesn’t have the mobility to be our 1st choice DM against big teams.
• James will quickly end up on the pile with Lingard and the others unless he picks up another trick and quick.
• Lastly, am I the only one who thought the ref and VAR completely bottled the Zouma/Martial challenge? One replay showed Zouma kicked Martial - it’s a foul and , as last man, a red card offence!

 

[Forevergiggs1]

The only positive I can take from today is after 6 years I finally got to see Martial with a smile on his face. Priceless

 

[Ludens the Red]

Had time to think... We were tired worn out outfit. Those cnuts on BBC didn't mention the 48hrs extra rest once, bastards. More important games ahead.

Some thoughts:
Hope that EB is ok!
DeGea wtf has happened this guy?
What’s with the silly goal kick routine?
Players look knackered
Chelsea are hackers, sly with it

I personally feel were overstating the tiredness and fatigue angle in particular in these games against Chelsea and Southampton . Perhaps that’s easier to do then look at things like tactics, set up, team choice, our players and style of play.

Southampton came to Old Trafford having played two far more difficult games just before playing us and if you look at their teams from those games, not many changes. Yet they were able to smother us and perform better for most of the game. They have lots of injuries and a smaller squad might I add.

Chelsea and Southampton both pressed very high and in packs. It’s clear we have lots of players who struggle to deal with a press. We also set up badly in both games in trying to deal with that and our coaching staff weren’t able to see these things and make changes. Our players being clueless, panicky and lacking calmness under pressure is being repackaged as”fatigue” and “tiredness”.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The problem is: you can't just bench your starting goalkeeper. It's not like with other players. Once you bench a goalkeeper they need to go. Nobody has ever come back from losing starting goalkeeper position due to poor performance.

It is time for De Gea to go. We have a replacement for him and David has gotten enough chances. Keeping him at this point is hurting the team. SAF would have seen him gone long ago. Club above anybody

David De Gea has.

 

[Berbasbullet]

I personally feel were overstating the tiredness and fatigue angle in particular in these games against Chelsea and Southampton . Perhaps that’s easier to do then look at things like tactics, set up, team choice, our players and style of play.

Southampton came to Old Trafford having played two far more difficult games just before playing us and if you look at their teams from those games, not many changes. Yet they were able to smother us and perform better for most of the game. They have lots of injuries and a smaller squad might I add.

Chelsea and Southampton both pressed very high and in packs. It’s clear we have lots of players who struggle to deal with a press. We also set up badly in both games in trying to deal with that and our coaching staff weren’t able to see these things and make changes. Our players being clueless, panicky and lacking calmness under pressure is being repackaged as”fatigue” and “tiredness”.

I do agree with this and feel like people are over stating this fatigue thing.

We’re clearly quite incapable of dealing with the press and our pressing in return is proper poor, we don’t setup traps, we don’t do it collectively, it’s pretty poor.

 

[tenpoless]

I don't really care that much tbh. The main focus is to get CL spot, that's where the money and prestige comes from (also makes it easier to sign players).

But it's a shame that we didn't properly rest the first teamers. Win the last PL games and I'd be happy enough. Who gives a feck about Arsenal cup.

 

[croadyman]

I actually think Romero is better and more focused than De Gea. DDG's list of howlers keeps growing. Ole needs to make a big decision on his No 1 soon.

Yeah was shocked when Romero didn't play today, Chelsea were smart as they decided against using their keeper who is prone to a gaffe too

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I personally feel were overstating the tiredness and fatigue angle in particular in these games against Chelsea and Southampton . Perhaps that’s easier to do then look at things like tactics, set up, team choice, our players and style of play.

Southampton came to Old Trafford having played two far more difficult games just before playing us and if you look at their teams from those games, not many changes. Yet they were able to smother us and perform better for most of the game. They have lots of injuries and a smaller squad might I add.

Chelsea and Southampton both pressed very high and in packs. It’s clear we have lots of players who struggle to deal with a press. We also set up badly in both games in trying to deal with that and our coaching staff weren’t able to see these things and make changes. Our players being clueless, panicky and lacking calmness under pressure is being repackaged as”fatigue” and “tiredness”.

Even if we are tired it’s a crap excuse. Everyone is playing a load of football now. We need to suck it up and perform. If we don’t then we’ll undo all our good work from the recent run of good results.

If we win our last two games then I’ve no problem with the poor performances today and against Southampton and I wouldn’t be drawing broader conclusions from them. Every other team has had some shit displays since the restart. Including Chelsea, Liverpool and City. They’ve all bounced back though. If we can’t do the same then I’m going to be worried (and VERY pissed off)

 

[Denis79]

Highlight of the game! The technique, the skill!

 

[NewGlory]

David De Gea has.

When did he loose the starting position? The boring Dutchman benched him like for one game maybe.And they said it was because he was thinking about contract too much. That isn't it

 

[Pogue Mahone]

When did he loose the starting position? The boring Dutchman benched him like for one game maybe. That isn't it

He was dropped for Lindegard. Then reclaimed his place when Lindegard got injured and he got a second chance. And this is just an example of goalkeepers called David De Gea who got their place back after being dropped. There are other examples.

 

[Ludens the Red]

I do agree with this and feel like people are over stating this fatigue thing.

We’re clearly quite incapable of dealing with the press and our pressing in return is proper poor, we don’t setup traps, we don’t do it collectively, it’s pretty poor.

Exactly, I don’t look at games like this and Southampton and go “oh it’s cos of tiredness”. I want to know why we’re not able to play like that and do these intricate pieces of well thought out play.

Like I know the team and Ole don’t go home and read the cafe after games but basically what’s happened this week on here is a lot of us have gone into this game worrying and going on about fitness and fatigue. We then go out there having made a load of changes, played badly, lost and then gone immediately to the excuse of fatigue.

Even if we are tired it’s a crap excuse. Everyone is playing a load of football now. We need to suck it up and perform. If we don’t then we’ll undo all our good work from the recent run of good results.

If we win our last two games then I’ve no problem with the poor performances today and against Southampton and I wouldn’t be drawing broader conclusions from them. Every other team has had some shit displays since the restart. Including Chelsea, Liverpool and City. They’ve all bounced back though. If we can’t do the same then I’m going to be worried (and VERY pissed off)

Yeah exactly, everyone is in the same boat. There’s not many teams who have been making wholesale changes every game. Nobody was expecting us to go through the restart winning every game either but we need to critique poor performances for what they are rather than just blame tiredness.

 

[Open Goal]

Am I allowed to post in this thread? Im still learning the rules, I apologize.

 

[Bubz27]

Seeing that Zouma foul on Martial again, why isn't it a red card? Initially I thought that it wasn't a penalty so they can't do anything but they can look at red card offences. Chelsea down to 10 men at 0-0 makes this a very different game.

Zouma clearly kicks Martial's foot. That is not a debate.

It really grates me how we saw dozens of replays of Lindelof on Zaha and Bruno v Villa and this was given less than 30 seconds in the studio with all saying it wasn't even a foul.

The narrative has been set and it benefitted Chelsea big time today. Ole needs to do more than laugh off Romeu's red card stamp on Greenwood and Lerma's knee high, studs up challenge on Martial. Because no one mentions them and everyone and their dog is talking about how many penalties we've had this season.

 

[Jericho]

It should have been obvious to Ole at this point that any amount of tinkering with the first team selection has usually resulted in killing our momentum.

 

[Yagami]

Am I allowed to post in this thread? Im still learning the rules, I apologize.

Yes, of course, mate. Opposition fans can post anywhere us United fans can.

 

[Bastian]

Only silver lining was it didn't go to extra time.

 

[tjb]

This was an important loss really. It clarified things we already knew.

A. Our depth in attack in our front 4 is pretty poor.
B. Neither Mctominay nor Fred can replace Matic.
C. Lindelof isnt good enough for our first 11.
D. De Gea needs to be heavily evaluated, maybe replaced.

Those are issues than can be fixed in one or two windows.

 

[Open Goal]

Yes, of course, mate. Opposition fans can post anywhere us United fans can.

Alright, its safe to post then. Thank you for clarifying for me!



There have been a number of signature performances for Chelsea in Frank Lampard’s first season in charge – Ajax away in the Champions League, Liverpool at home in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the Premier League all readily spring to mind – and here was another one.

Defeating Manchester United to reach a third FA Cup Final in four years was achieved through shocking goalkeeping from De Gea, some collective mind-freeze from those in red but also with Lampard out-smarting his opponents tactically, with his team selection and with the way he motivated his players. In other words, Chelsea beat United all ends up. This was as comprehensive as it gets and was humiliating for the defeated. At the same time, this was Chelsea’s first win over United since the 2018 FA Cup final which, also, just happened to be the last time that De Gea played in this competition. Of all the questionable decisions taken by Solskjaer for this fixture, including his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of his cup alternative, Sergio Romero, was surely one he did not think would cause controversy. But so poor was De Gea’s performance that the 29-year-old’s future, because of his continued inconsistency, has to be in serious doubt.

This is a long way from being the “world’s best” as Solskjaer insisted the Spaniard was still not so long ago and the clamor to bring back Dean Henderson, and not keep him on loan at Sheffield United next season, will only increase. At 29, De Gea should be in his prime but he is increasingly a liability while that new four-year deal he signed last year to make him the club’s highest-paid player, and the world’s best paid-goalkeeper, looks like a bad call.

United let this one slip away as Chelsea’s first two goals slipped through De Gea’s fingers. Even before those howlers, though, Lampard’s side should have been ahead as they dominated a first half that was extended by 12 minutes because of a worrying head injury to United defender Eric Bailly who was taken to hospital. The Ivorian was one of three centre-halves fielded by Solskjaer who appeared overly worried about his team having played three times in a week, having less rest and so went on the defensive. He tried to counter-attack and found out that simply blunted his attack as he appeared to ask Bruno Fernandes to do it all.

Lampard sensed that also. He, too, deployed a three-man defence but with far more intent and with the impressive Olivier Giroud proving too much of a handful for Harry Maguire who was left bandaged by his clash of heads with Bailly but will also need his confidence patched up after this. The United captain’s torrid evening was capped by an own goal, Chelsea’s third, and although it meant De Gea was beaten at his near post it was probably the only one he conceded where he was not categorically at fault.

There is no way that could be said about the other two goals. In the 56th minute of the first half Cesar Azpilicueta, who combined well with Reece James throughout, crossed low with Giroud stealing in front of Victor Lindelof. Once again, Lindelof had shown himself slow to react but still Giroud had only guided the ball goalwards with the outside of his left boot and it surely lacked the power to beat De Gea. Instead it caught him out with the ball squirming through his fingers to trickle over the goal-line.

After that, to be frank, it looked like United felt sorry for themselves. Bailly was replaced by Anthony Martial and their shape was better but they did not give themselves a chance to recover as early in the second-half there was an even more horrendous error with the United defence also, again, at fault as left-back Brandon Williams played a careless pass infield which was collected by Mason Mount who strode forward. Nevertheless there appeared minimal danger, especially when Mount’s low shot from 20 yards appeared to lack power – only for De Gea to dive to his left but fail to turn the shot away, with the ball slipping through his hands and into the net. It was, to say the least, extremely strange technique. De Gea looked in a daze. At the second-half drinks break he stood apart, with assistant manager Mike Phelan speaking to him, before he threw his water bottle down and walked back to his goal. There were a couple of routine saves, however, before he was beaten again as Antonio Rudiger stretched to meet Marcos Alonso’s cross but the ball came off Maguire to beat De Gea. Could he have saved it? Maybe if he was in top form and not at rock bottom.

United had some chances – Marcus Rashford, Maguire and Nemanja Matic could all, maybe, have done better – before Chelsea substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi caught Martial and Fernandes had stepped up, and with a skip he beat goalkeeper Willy Caballero from the penalty spot.

By now, though, their malaise was complete. There would be no cavalry charge from United as they slipped to their first defeat in 19 games and did so in such a limp, acquiescing manner. That is not to detract from Chelsea who were utterly dominant and unquestionably deserved to set up an all-London final, and a repeat of the final three years ago, against Arsenal. Lampard deserves the plaudits; De Gea (and Solksjaer) knows he will receive the brickbats.

 

[Sagittarius13]

What did Ole do? that was my thought when I saw a three CB at the back.

He remind me when I play FiFa and do that kind of crap. De Gea's performance was disappointing but the direction of the game would've been different if we'd had a proper formation and first IX. Ole was clearly experimenting and it is clear to me that his priority is to finish in Top 4, so I thing Ole doesn't really care about this Cup.

Sorry for bad english, I'm mexican and a bet to a Chelsea friend so I'm a bit drunk.

 

[Stig]

Although we lost to two terrible goal keeping errors and on own goal - Fat Frank out thought Ole. They just pressed and pressed and pressed and we couldn't pass it out. You can only play as well as the opposition let you play -- and Chelsea didn't let us play and we continued to try and play out, and we continued to fail at it.

Frank was brave; committed 5 and 6 players high up the pitch and flooded our half of the field with the rest of the team. Surely we had to play some long balls over the top for the front three to run on to try and keep Chelsea honest, but no we just kept trying to put 15 short passes to get out of our own half; and couldn't do it.

 

[DevilRed]

Highlight of the game! The technique, the skill!

Thats really damning on Matic more than anything else.

fecking harry looking for a pass and Matic barely even moves into space or tries to make himself available.

Matic needs dropping. He can't be playing 2 matches a week. Just can't. He is reverting back to his old self.

A central midfielder is needed this summer along with a centre back and right winger.

 

[tenpoless]

Thats really damning on Matic more than anything else.

fecking harry looking for a pass and Matic barely even moves into space or tries to make himself available.

Matic needs dropping. He can't be playing 2 matches a week. Just can't. He is reverting back to his old self.

A central midfielder is needed this summer along with a centre back and right winger.

What do you mean? he was right in front of Maguire, why did Maguire keep on spinning around as if Matic was a Chelsea player (well to be fair he was at some point). It makes no sense. The way I see it, because Maguire is good with his feet and supposedly a ball playing centre back, he felt an obligation to play a bit with the ball before delivering a pas. This is up to Ole to fix it. He had players pressing him, it wasn't a good time to be playing around. It's a good thing to do when the opponents are parking the bus, not pressing or playing a highline. Even Jones type of defending where he would have just blasted it for a throw in is a better defending than this, a chance for regroup at least. This one is a nightmare.

 

[RedRonaldo]

I still don’t understand why we didn’t rest our players, why? Our players are definitely looking jaded and tired in last couple of games, they need more rest. Is the top 4 finish not top priority anymore, but FA cup is? Not to mention our first team is now truly beaten and we are losing the momentum and confidence, in the most critical stage of the season. We should have just start our B teams against Chelsea, then at the very least our players would become more refresh when playing againt West Ham in 3 days time - a must win game for us.

 

[NewGlory]

He was dropped for Lindegard. Then reclaimed his place when Lindegard got injured and he got a second chance. And this is just an example of goalkeepers called David De Gea who got their place back after being dropped. There are other examples.

Oh, we are going that far back?

The time you are recalling - was it not just SAF trying to figure out who should be first-choice and giving both Lindegard and De Gea equal chances?

I think it's not accurate to compare that situatiom with a well-established 1st goalkeeper getting benched for a prolonged time and expecting him to bounce back from that

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I didn't watch the full match but would I be right in saying that we couldn't deal with their press. From what I saw we couldn't really pass it out and resorted to hammering it aimlessly forward a lot of the time. We also got suffocated easily by Southampton. Leicester will do the same to us at their place in the final game of the season imo.

 

[DevilRed]

Got to move on from this loss. Was not unexpected. We fielded a weakened team with less time to prepare and also tired legs.

The injury to Bailly basically undid our plan for the 5-3-2. The change in formation cost us not just in terms of our defensive shape but also caused major lapses in concentration as OGS mentioned in the presser. It was the turning point.

Still, there were some awful performances from lindelof, DDG and Fred. Maguire looks like he is running on fumes. Dan James was nullified too.

We've just got to concentrate on the next two which are infinitely more important.

I do hope the players can muster the strength and concentration to go out there and win the next two matches. We are capable but it will take alot of fight and effort. It won't be easy as you can bet your arse that west ham will be running and pressing us all match.

 

[Fridge chutney]

Chelsea just come across as a dirty team. It would be funny if they didn't make top 4.

 

[sammsky1]

Alright, its safe to post then. Thank you for clarifying for me!



There have been a number of signature performances for Chelsea in Frank Lampard’s first season in charge – Ajax away in the Champions League, Liverpool at home in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the Premier League all readily spring to mind – and here was another one.

Defeating Manchester United to reach a third FA Cup Final in four years was achieved through shocking goalkeeping from De Gea, some collective mind-freeze from those in red but also with Lampard out-smarting his opponents tactically, with his team selection and with the way he motivated his players. In other words, Chelsea beat United all ends up. This was as comprehensive as it gets and was humiliating for the defeated. At the same time, this was Chelsea’s first win over United since the 2018 FA Cup final which, also, just happened to be the last time that De Gea played in this competition. Of all the questionable decisions taken by Solskjaer for this fixture, including his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of his cup alternative, Sergio Romero, was surely one he did not think would cause controversy. But so poor was De Gea’s performance that the 29-year-old’s future, because of his continued inconsistency, has to be in serious doubt.

This is a long way from being the “world’s best” as Solskjaer insisted the Spaniard was still not so long ago and the clamor to bring back Dean Henderson, and not keep him on loan at Sheffield United next season, will only increase. At 29, De Gea should be in his prime but he is increasingly a liability while that new four-year deal he signed last year to make him the club’s highest-paid player, and the world’s best paid-goalkeeper, looks like a bad call.

United let this one slip away as Chelsea’s first two goals slipped through De Gea’s fingers. Even before those howlers, though, Lampard’s side should have been ahead as they dominated a first half that was extended by 12 minutes because of a worrying head injury to United defender Eric Bailly who was taken to hospital. The Ivorian was one of three centre-halves fielded by Solskjaer who appeared overly worried about his team having played three times in a week, having less rest and so went on the defensive. He tried to counter-attack and found out that simply blunted his attack as he appeared to ask Bruno Fernandes to do it all.

Lampard sensed that also. He, too, deployed a three-man defence but with far more intent and with the impressive Olivier Giroud proving too much of a handful for Harry Maguire who was left bandaged by his clash of heads with Bailly but will also need his confidence patched up after this. The United captain’s torrid evening was capped by an own goal, Chelsea’s third, and although it meant De Gea was beaten at his near post it was probably the only one he conceded where he was not categorically at fault.

There is no way that could be said about the other two goals. In the 56th minute of the first half Cesar Azpilicueta, who combined well with Reece James throughout, crossed low with Giroud stealing in front of Victor Lindelof. Once again, Lindelof had shown himself slow to react but still Giroud had only guided the ball goalwards with the outside of his left boot and it surely lacked the power to beat De Gea. Instead it caught him out with the ball squirming through his fingers to trickle over the goal-line.

After that, to be frank, it looked like United felt sorry for themselves. Bailly was replaced by Anthony Martial and their shape was better but they did not give themselves a chance to recover as early in the second-half there was an even more horrendous error with the United defence also, again, at fault as left-back Brandon Williams played a careless pass infield which was collected by Mason Mount who strode forward. Nevertheless there appeared minimal danger, especially when Mount’s low shot from 20 yards appeared to lack power – only for De Gea to dive to his left but fail to turn the shot away, with the ball slipping through his hands and into the net. It was, to say the least, extremely strange technique. De Gea looked in a daze. At the second-half drinks break he stood apart, with assistant manager Mike Phelan speaking to him, before he threw his water bottle down and walked back to his goal. There were a couple of routine saves, however, before he was beaten again as Antonio Rudiger stretched to meet Marcos Alonso’s cross but the ball came off Maguire to beat De Gea. Could he have saved it? Maybe if he was in top form and not at rock bottom.

United had some chances – Marcus Rashford, Maguire and Nemanja Matic could all, maybe, have done better – before Chelsea substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi caught Martial and Fernandes had stepped up, and with a skip he beat goalkeeper Willy Caballero from the penalty spot.

By now, though, their malaise was complete. There would be no cavalry charge from United as they slipped to their first defeat in 19 games and did so in such a limp, acquiescing manner. That is not to detract from Chelsea who were utterly dominant and unquestionably deserved to set up an all-London final, and a repeat of the final three years ago, against Arsenal. Lampard deserves the plaudits; De Gea (and Solksjaer) knows he will receive the brickbats.

Very good match report. All true as well. Hope you enjoyed your win and enjoy the final too!

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Ole and some of the players don't want it enough.

 

[Revan]

He was dropped for Lindegard. Then reclaimed his place when Lindegard got injured and he got a second chance. And this is just an example of goalkeepers called David De Gea who got their place back after being dropped. There are other examples.

He lost it twice actually under Fergie. First time in his first seasons after making a few mistakes. Second time after making a single half-mistake (if I am not mistaken it was against Fulham, and Vidic was more to be blamed). In both cases it was quick though, 4-5 matches or so.

There is no reason why he should play the next two matches. Maybe give him a match against LASK so he can get the medal if we win the competition, but Romero should start the next two league matches and Europa from quarters and next on.

Btw, there are many examples of other keepers losing their position and coming back. Hart at City under Mancini, and probably the most famous case of young Casillaslosing it to Cesar, to then get it back in the final when Cesar got injured, play well and then become one of the biggest Madrid legends of all time.

 

[TheLord]

False dawns. False dawns. Quite a few of them!

What is clear from this mauling is that City, and especially Liverpool, are head and shoulders better than Chelsea and United! Chelsea and United are evenly matched - they've have had terrible days and we've had shockers too. The league table is an accurate reflection of the quality of the top four big clubs.

All that said, I cannot overstate the importance of the next two league matches for United, particularly the next one against West Ham. If United miss out on the CL, it will be disastrous not just for the next season, but probably for several seasons to come. Chelsea already have a better spending power compared with United and with the extra cash from CL revenue and a better transfer window, the gap between the two clubs may be huge next season.

That may change if we win the Europa, but I wouldn't be too optimistic about winning the Europa when we cannot even finish in the top four in the domestic league or win any domestic cups.

 

[Roane]

De Gea has started making a lot of errors but Romero isn't at the same level as De Gea not even close. I know he hasn't been making errors but he also doesn't make the saves De Gea can and does its just too many mistakes now. I think maybe Henderson isn't ready yet, but let him come back next season and do what Sir Alex did with De Gea and Lindegaard let them fight it out if Henderson has the mental strength to force De Gea out of the top spot all the better for it.

I'm not convinced that we would be worse off with Romero. I get what you are saying regarding the saves DDG can make but I've always felt Romero is more commanding of his area and when watching live games I've always felt the defence are more confident in front of him which makes it less likely for the need to make some of the saves DDG has to.

I've also always felt that DDG gets himself into position where he has to make to those saves when better positioning or not always retreating to his line would not necessitate those saves

 

[Himannv]

The biggest concern I have here is team selection. We really should have rested more first team players and given us more rest before West Ham (which is the bigger game obviously). That would have meant that Romero played here and the likes of Bruno got a much needed rest.

 

[zenith]

Something I did not get was that even if we rotated players why did we not do it with any sense whatsoever.

Fred and Mctominay compliment each other very well and midfield and could easily have played together, so why bother with matic.

Also, why not start Ighalo, rashford and James on their natural positions. It could have provided much better balance to the attack, instead of James as a second striker, which was not going to work in a million years.

The selection in defence was still fine but when there, we could have gone regular 4 at the back with TFM and Eric.

The selection was a bit weird for sure

 

[elmo]

Do we have any update on how Eric is?