The second goal was an atrocious mistake for any professional footballer to make.
The first goal highlighted is defensive naivety. He's not good enough and that's not based on tonight. It just served to highlight his limitations.
25
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Clean sheets
- 12
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 4
The second goal was an atrocious mistake for any professional footballer to make.
The first goal highlighted is defensive naivety. He's not good enough and that's not based on tonight. It just served to highlight his limitations.
I disagree. Although it's a shame that the player we have now barely resembles that monstrous winger we used to have, he's been reliable and a pretty consistent performer while playing right back this year for me. Rafa should start every game and it's one of the issues I have with van Gaal that he doesn't get a look-in but I find that hard to hold against Valencia.
No really, some really good interceptions/tackles and dragged the ball from behind in midfield with his pace and power, I thought he handled Sanchez really wel. But ofcourse make a mistake and you turn into shit.
We can blame him for a bad pass-back but many players have done that before. It's one of these things. The first goal was mainly Di Maria's fault for me.
What I cannot abide is the utter lack of urgency and chances we created for the 34 minutes which proceeded that error.
What I cannot abide is the utter lack of urgency and chances we created for the 34 minutes which proceeded that error.
By the end he was a bundle of nerves and petrified of Sanchez. I think that mistake broke him, he's usually far more composed.
I thought it looked liked he had been given an order to follow Sanchez wherever he went - which seemed to backfire as he then found himself charging round the pitch like a madman, and constantly being out of position.
Are people on a windup? Even before their first goal he was too easily beaten 4 times and it only got worse from there.
I can only think LvG is trying to limit the damage to his confidence, either that or he's puffing the magic dragon
I can only think LvG is trying to limit the damage to his confidence, either that or he's puffing the magic dragon
Good in the first half, but after the changes, he looked shite like everyone else. Playing a foreign system in a foreign position is hard.
I was thinking more the absolute lack of presence as a defensive figure, which allowed most of Arsenal's attack to come through our right hand side. If that was a "brilliant" performance then I severely worry for the future of our defence.
For me, the first goal is not his fault. If your full back is tucked in, the onus is on the winger to drop deeper and slot in. Di Maria was asleep and did not react to the danger in the slightest.
Of course the second is inexcusable really. But he did have another decent game on the whole, and LVG said as much.
Of course the second is inexcusable really. But he did have another decent game on the whole, and LVG said as much.
Apart from his mistake, I thought he was really good. I think the first goal, where he tucked in too much could have been covered by Smalling, who swapped places with Valencia. Di Maria could have also followed Monreal, too.
Valencia was watching Monreal and then just decided to run inside instead. He needs to be talking to Di Maria and telling him to drop back if he does decide to do that and it didn't look like there was any communication between them to me.
Definitely mate, Arsenal's best player tonight. Put Monreal's and Welbeck's goals on a plate for them and he was a defensive rock for them as well stifling most of United's attacks.
What about saying to himself "feck it" and try someone else at RB instead? Until further notice, we have 2 natural defenders who can play there (Rafael and McNair) and we all know how important it is in any discipline to play a natural defender at the back.
If Van Gaal appears to have no qualms destroying others' confidence, I don't see why he couldn't do the same with Valencia.
This guy is a joke. I'm no coach but sitting there tonight on several occasions this lad was way way out of position. Like, seriously, the feck was he playing at? I can just about take his poor attacking play but the lad was all over the place.
Di Maria didn't track back either which didn't help him at all.
Di Maria didn't track back either which didn't help him at all.
His performances have improved this season, but he really fecked it up today.
I like Valencia, or at least the player he was but he is rapidly becoming an ever more pointless footballer. Can't defend all that well and he's toothless going forward not a good combination really.
But to be fair he is really good at receiving the ball turning round and passing it short to whoever's close to him, usually the player who just gave it to him. Other than this he doesn't offer much.
He was shocking tonight.
But to be fair he is really good at receiving the ball turning round and passing it short to whoever's close to him, usually the player who just gave it to him. Other than this he doesn't offer much.
He was shocking tonight.
I wouldn't go as far as say that his performances improved. He fit for a role for some time as a wingback, but that appeared to be borrowed time more than anything else.
+1 - it was a bad day fr AV and several others. It just cost us.
Playing a right winger at right back and a winger who doesn't track back at right wing was going to end in a disaster to be honest
He's not a right back. He's an absolutely finished right midfielder who has nothing to offer going forward who for some reason has been asked to play right back while Rafael sits on his hole.
He hasn't been particularly bad, sure, but I just don't think he's been anything really.
Recently I've started to really look at what players genuinely add to the team. And Valencia in any position, IMO, simply fills a gap. He does it, usually, without doing anything too terrible and he is consistent in that. Thats not what I want personally. I want players that can contribute to the kind of football that we want. A RB needs to be solid in defence, but also needs to be able to contribute well with going forward too. Valencia just seems to be there without ever really offering anything.
That being said, there are probably more important areas to sort out first, so long as performances like tonight aren't a regular thing.
Simply put, he doesnt make that stupid pass, we'd still be in the cup and not about to go 3 seasons without silverware. Totally unforgivable.
I'm pretty sure that this lead to the first goal, as he was chasing down Sanchez and remained out of position the entire time. Smalling covered for a while, however, both decided to play right center back, and allowed Monreal time and space to score.
LVG must be justifying freezing out Rafael. Rooney was our best player after DDG.
Saying Valencia was MOTM is pretty dumb
Saying Valencia was MOTM is pretty dumb
Obviously I'm one of Rafael's fans and Valencia was at fault for both goals but I'm not going to start slinging shit at him on the back of the two mistakes. He isn't a right back (that doesn't excuse the simple errors) but he is just not a right back and you have to accept mistakes are going to happen when you play someone out of position for that long.
Or maybe he was deflecting blame off Valencia like he always does and always will for any player as van Gaal does single out players as individuals.
Realistically, We were slight underdogs against Arsenal at the time of the mistake (30 minutes or so to go at home vs 90 or 120 away), and Liverpool are still in the competition so even if you only give Villa and the winner of Bradford-Reading a combined 5 percent chance of winning the cup, you'd still have to say we were a hair under 25 percent at most to win it (guesstimate: Arsenal 27, United 23, Liverpool 45, Blackburn/Villa/Bradford/Reading 5).
It was an awful mistake, though.
2 seasons... We won the title in 2013
I don't see how he has displaced a more talented winger(Nani) and a more talented right back(Rafael). You'd think maybe it's this one manager. No, this is the third manager in a row who has preferred him. Is it because he's just 'hard working' now? From 09-12(ish) he was great. Starting from 2012/13 he's completely regressed as a footballer.
Poor tactical decision to have him man mark a free role'd Sanchez. He was pulled all over the pitch and in result had himself exhausted mentally and physically.
I'm sick of him. He's reasonably quick and strong, but other than that he offers nothing. His crossing is poor, doesn't score goals and because he has no left foot he ends up turning backwards WAY too much. He's a decent backup player to have in the squad but he shouldn't be starting, and right now I wouldn't care if he never played for United again. Really hope Rafael is given another chance, he is so much better than Valencia.
He let him come inside onto his right foot every single time, which is exactly what he wanted to do. If Valencia was putting up any sort of fight Sanchez would have had to go outside onto his left foot a few times to get the ball past him, but he didnt need to do that at all. And this is the third of the game that he was actually in his right back position. For the other two thirds of the game Sanchez didnt have to beat him because he wasnt there
He made many and cant make up for them with a couple of good tackles. Those good tackles need to be on top of defending well over 90 minutes and not making individual errors not instead of them
Personally I don't blame Valencia, he only plays where he's told to play by the manager. He's not a defender and the whole world minus one person knows that.
He was bad, really bad and this without the suicidal back pass. Sanchez scared him to death him.
Terrible pass to gift Welbeck a goal. That said, I think he did ok apart from that, and I think he's done very well at RB a lot this season. His form up to tonight has been very consistent, and he's been very reliable. Not all that going forward, but usually very solid defensively. If it wasn't for the gift of a goal, I don't think we'd be here calling him all the names under the sun.
He had a tough job tonight against Sanchez, who will make mincemeat of just about any fullback. Getting rinsed by one of the best wide forwards in the world doesn't immediately make you a terrible defender, but even then, Valencia gave as good as he got in that respect. Some good tackles and interceptions. The first goal was more on Di Maria for me, as the opposing fullback is the wingers man, and Di Maria just stood on the edge of the box, marking no one.
Di Maria needed to help Valencia out, which he often didn't do, and Monreal and Sanchez had too much space to run into. They did Valencia in 2 on 1 situations more than once, and you can't really blame Valencia for that.
He had a tough job tonight against Sanchez, who will make mincemeat of just about any fullback. Getting rinsed by one of the best wide forwards in the world doesn't immediately make you a terrible defender, but even then, Valencia gave as good as he got in that respect. Some good tackles and interceptions. The first goal was more on Di Maria for me, as the opposing fullback is the wingers man, and Di Maria just stood on the edge of the box, marking no one.
Di Maria needed to help Valencia out, which he often didn't do, and Monreal and Sanchez had too much space to run into. They did Valencia in 2 on 1 situations more than once, and you can't really blame Valencia for that.
He's terrible. People have got so used to him being dogshite for the last 2 years that an average performance looks like a good one.
Got to agree with that, especially that Valencia was often left 1v2 as another fecking star-performer from yesterday didn't bother tracking back for shit, when you'd expect Sanchez alone to be doubled most of the game.