[automaticflare]

The attacking transitions today were just magical. Thats the best I have seen us go from defence to attack in years. And Pogba was the biggest reason for that, he is sensational in transitions.

Yep and you know why because we had lingard playing instead of miki or mata
Have been saying this is what we have missed all season

Amazing what having even a half decent player playing that role does to the team
It's a complete transformation

Not saying mata is a bad player but has been playing poor

Miki is just a bad player since he came here

 

[Janson]

Apparently we were inviting too much pressure after going up 3-1 with 25 min left.

Some would complain about sitting back even if we were up by 5 goals with 10 minutes to go. This place is hilarious.

 

[Loke]

Yeah Yeah.
xxxx will beat us. yyyy will beat us.
Line them up one by one and we'll beat them, just like we spanked you. Just like we spanked Watford. Just like we beat Brighton. Just like we spanked Newcastle.

BTW, off-topic: I checked up the league table and RedCafe's darling manager Poch, seems to be 10 points behind us right now. I can't believe that some fans believe he is good enough to manage MUFC, especially after the debacle we had with Moyes. At presnt, he is a mid-table manager and he needs to improve, before he can move to a bigger team. If he moves too soon, he may suffer the same fate as Moyes (ie. a step too far).

when did you spank us?

maybe I should get huddersfield town lined up too?

Oddly enough football doesn't work like that, especially not in a derby.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. If being played off the park is getting trounced 3-1 at home then I hope United get played off the park in all tge the big games.

You mean away. Your last bit doesn't make sense.

But oddly football can work that way and i do think what i said, but we'll see i guess

 

[Robbo's Shoulder]

Definitely. I'm more concerned that Mourinho didn't satisfactorily have a better plan B, at least when they cam on after 45 minutes to keep possession and maintain control. Our midfield options on the bench had only Herrera so I guess he didn't have much of a choice?

What do you think we could have done better to avoid getting battered like that for almost 60-70 minutes?

Isn't 25% possession a really low number for a team that has scored 3 goals. On the one hand it makes us seem super-efficient at scoring, and on the other it makes us look like we had no control of the ball apart from those attacking plays that provided our goals.

Ignore the stats, they are meaningless. Look at and savour the result, you know? 3-1 away at Arsenal, why the moaning?

 

[Loke]

If they'd had 33 shots on target and De Gea made 15 saves, they'd have scored 18 goals

there are actions called blocks too and keeper doesn't take credit for those, so you can't just blatantly say we'd have scored 18 goals.

 

[MZX7]

Ignore the stats, they are meaningless. Look at and savour the result, you know? 3-1 away at Arsenal, why the moaning?

I'll enjoy and savor the result. It's not moaning as much as concern that the best defensive team were made to look that ordinary defending a 2 goal lead.

The satisfaction is more about seeing Wenger's face during and after the game. Poor guy didn't know what hit him!

And De Gea! Oh man, that dude can save an MPEG file on a calculator! What a goalkeeper!

 

[RedStarUnited]

Yep and you know why because we had lingard playing instead of miki or mata
Have been saying this is what we have missed all season

Amazing what having even a half decent player playing that role does to the team
It's a complete transformation

Not saying mata is a bad player but has been playing poor

Miki is just a bad player since he came here

Mata couldnt press and make the first goal like Lingard did. And he definetely isnt making the run for the 3rd goal.

Miki should be capable of everything Lingard does and yet somehow isnt. Its sad.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Watching the game today I still feel that the Pogba/Matic midfield is not quite right. We need another top class midfielder, but I'm not sure who.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

when did you spank us?

maybe I should get huddersfield town lined up too?



You mean away. Your last bit doesn't make sense.

But oddly football can work that way and i do think what i said, but we'll see i guess

Just think of today as payback for Arsenal stealing a point at Old Trafford last season with your first and only attack of the game.

 

[TheReligion]

when did you spank us?

maybe I should get huddersfield town lined up too?



You mean away. Your last bit doesn't make sense.

But oddly football can work that way and i do think what i said, but we'll see i guess

You said Arsenal played United off the park. They didn't and they lost the game 1-3. United even had 10 men for over 20 minutes.

If Pogba had stayed on I'd wager we would have got another too.

 

[TheReligion]

Apparently we were inviting too much pressure after going up 3-1 with 25 min left.

Some would complain about sitting back even if we were up by 5 goals with 10 minutes to go. This place is hilarious.

Funny isn't it? After Pogba went off I don't recall Arsenal having one decent chance. We looked very comfortable imho

 

[MacabbiUnited]

Working at a local sport's bar in my town called Giggsy, named after Ryan Giggs, watching the game ina great atmosphere ans it was one hell of a game.
Granted we sat back for most it, didn't expect otherwise, but that was one nerve wrecking match.

DDG was god like today, some of his saves are just unbelivable.
Lingard was great, pressing almost always running for every ball,had a great performence today. Must admit I'm not a big fan of him, but he canbe a usuful squad player.
Martial and Lukaku were good. Martial with a sublime assist and Lukaku helping in the buildup. Lukaku will get back to scoring form. The most important thing is that he keeps contributing in any way he can and doesnt force the game upon homself. We scored 7 goals inthe last 2 games without a single goal from him.
I reckonLukaku to break his draught next week.

Pogba send off was unfortunate.

 

[Jojo <3 Mou]

I predicted the score! Can't believe it.
The team fought really excellently and were clinical.
The game was waaaay too open for me though. Too much excitement . Mourinho really needs to increase the "bus parking lessons"; we were relying on Dave way too much.

All in all excellent result! On to CSKA and City! Let's win!!!!

 

[NotQuiteManc]

Phew! What a game!

Great result, great goalkeeping, not so great defending at times by the CB (first half clearances or attempts to clear or head the ball away were very poor, but second half improved as a team).

Lingard, Mourinho's Park Ji Sung. Works hard for the team, doesn't shy from defensive duties, maybe not as three-lunged but better finishing.

Martial is such a different player when playing at CF with Lukaku. He may moaned at being substituted early (again) but I think Mou wants to conserve him for the derby.

For future, United might need new CM to do the defending more, like Kante, or Vidal, or Naigollan. Players of that ilk for this sort of game.

 

[Mr PG]

Lukaku hasn't been benched yet as so far jm likes his work-rate while he plays himself back into form but a tipping point is in the horizon where this won't be enough and he will be benched if he doesn't improve quickly

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Do people still feel the same amount of happiness to win even though we were very fortunate?

 

[breakout67]

Do people still feel the same amount of happiness to win even though we were very fortunate?

We were not lucky. We have a world class goal keeper for a reason, you have to be perfect in your shot selection or else he'll save it.

Its like saying a team is lucky that a world class striker scores 3 goals in 3 shots. That's within expectation because he is that good.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

We were not lucky. We have a world class goal keeper for a reason, you have to be perfect in your shot selection or else he'll save it.

Its like saying a team is lucky that a world class striker scores 3 goals in 3 shots. That's within expectation because he is that good.

It would be - except i didn't say we were lucky because of de gea saves.

Arsenal missed a lot of easy chances, all of them weren't saves by de gea and some of them were shots that de gea saved that shouldn't have been savable shots. We were lucky in many of those moments, and probably only had one decent chance that we didn't score, which is above average

 

[cyril C]

Ignore the stats, they are meaningless. Look at and savour the result, you know? 3-1 away at Arsenal, why the moaning?

We were at around 35% against Watford as well. SO we play counter-attack football instead of passing and passing and passing, what are you complaining at? It only works if the opposition like to play ball, so let them have it. At the end of the day, what counts is whether our high pressing and counter-attack was effective. I do agree that we play too deep after 0-2, and asking for trouble. I think Mourinho changed that after 1-2. It could have been a cruising victory if not the red card.

 

[breakout67]

It would be - except i didn't say we were lucky because of de gea saves.

Arsenal missed a lot of easy chances, all of them weren't saves by de gea and some of them were shots that de gea saved that shouldn't have been savable shots. We were lucky in many of those moments, and probably only had one decent chance that we didn't score, which is above average

Arsenal missed a lot of easy chances because they aren't that good and we have a world class keeper. The Arsenal players do not have a divine right to score easy chances.

It is reasonable to say that you are unlucky if you do not score from 1 or 2 chances. But if you miss several chances then it is a systemic problem.

The fact that we won 3-1 in a game where we had less chances is clear evidence that we were deserved winners, because we performed much better in high pressure moments.

 

[JustAFan]

Apparently we were inviting too much pressure after going up 3-1 with 25 min left.

Some would complain about sitting back even if we were up by 5 goals with 10 minutes to go. This place is hilarious.

? Did you watch the game? Arsenal had us pinned back most of the game, only DeGea and a good bit of luck kept Arsenal from scoring 3 or more.

 

[SteveJ]

Predictably, we're not getting enough credit for this performance. We looked ominously threatening on the attack, in stark contrast to Arsenal's line-dancing around our box to no effect...like a mating dance by an impotent duck.

 

[Dumbstar]

Arsenal missed a lot of easy chances because they aren't that good and we have a world class keeper. The Arsenal players do not have a divine right to score easy chances.

But by that logic you had no divine right to score all those easy missed chances or woodwork that kept you drawing games last season and thus finishing in 6th place. However all I heard was your fan base lamenting on those missed chances and how 6th place was a false position, etc.

It goes both ways.

 

[breakout67]

But by that logic you had no divine right to score all those easy missed chances or woodwork that kept you drawing games last season and thus finishing in 6th place. However all I heard was your fan base lamenting on those missed chances and how 6th place was a false position, etc.

It goes both ways.

WUM rule no.1:

instead of addressing the poster; fall back on to a narrative so you can generalize his/her view point

 

[Android1974]

Lukaku hasn't been benched yet as so far jm likes his work-rate while he plays himself back into form but a tipping point is in the horizon where this won't be enough and he will be benched if he doesn't improve quickly

He's not out of form, he's just not scoring lately. But the team is. And it's not even that he's missing that many chances, did he missed one yesterday even? His collective play and work rate is fine, if you ask me and the manager.

 

[Dumbstar]

WUM rule no.1:

instead of addressing the poster; fall back on to a narrative so you can generalize his/her view point

Ok if you think I'm just wumming I'll leave.

 

[SER19]

We were missing our two best centre backs in both these games and a still very rusty rojo played 90 in both,it showed a little but let's not pretend any team in the premier league would struggle without their starting centre back pair. We just happened to win twice.

 

[breakout67]

Ok if you think I'm just wumming I'll leave.

Well yes, instead of seeking my own view point you decided to use the 'fanbase' view point, whatever that means (maybe you took an online poll?).

Its a lot easier to create a strawman and fight that

 

[Mockney]

Sums up my mood nicely. Been a while since I’ve enjoyed a MOTD this much. All about savouring the result now. Derby anxiety can feck off. Will be more than enough time for that in the week ahead.

If you can’t enjoy beating Arsenal 3-1 away in one of the most exciting games of the season, what are you in it for?

 

[UnofficialDevil]

What a match! I dont think any football was played in the centre of the pitch. Arsenal were very good at attacking we were great at counter and De Gea was god.

 

[minoo-utd]

That is why Jose brought Mkhitaryan, to do what Lingard did today, but the man gone disappointed very much and hopefully Lingard be consistent now. That was a real great win, yes the had the ball and should have scored a few but despite that we were solid and Jose knows exactly what he is doing and when.

 

[Snowjoe]

State of some of you miserable bastards.

 

[Il Prete Rosso]

Soon.

...as for the Pogba decision..

1 - he got the ball
2 - foot going down after ball contact is made, he has no where else to land other than where he did
3 - defender put himself in a vulnerable position (see above point)
4 - impossible for Pogba to adjust his foot as it's on it's way down in a fraction of a second
5 - if anything could have been shown a yellow. Red is in no way justifiable considering how the play itself unfolded.

..should be a fairly straight forward and easy appeal...

Can't believe you think that to be fair. Everyone looking at the game with me thought that was a clear red card. Pogba did that intentionally.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

Lukaku, Martial, Lingard and Pogba provided an ncredible counter attacking threat. Best countering performance for years.

Ideally we'd play the same against City, but not sure we have a player who could replace Pogba in that role. Herrera will have to play as he's the only other midfielder to partner up with Matic in the middle but I just can't see him able to do the same thing.

Might mean there's even more importance on the other 3 to do the deed.

 

[Manny]

Fecking loved that. What a great game.

That's two great games in four days.

 

[SteveJ]

For an hour at the Emirates, as Arsenal surged back from the indignity of conceding a 2-0 deficit, David De Gea was a one-man spider’s web, leaping and tumbling and spreading his limbs with startling grace and agility to keep Arsenal at bay.

Most notably there was a mind-boggling double-save 11 minutes into the second half, De Gea plunging with whip-crack speed to get a hand to Alexandre Lacazette’s low shot, then leaping up to deflect Alexis Sánchez’s follow-up over the bar.

This was goalkeeping that seemed to bend the normal physical rules, that defied any sense of reasonable cause and effect. As De Gea ambled off to retrieve the ball Arsenal’s players looked genuinely pained not to have scored, ready to appeal, fruitlessly, to the referee, or the fourth official, or God.

Except at the Emirates God was wearing a turquoise shirt and playing in goal for the visitors.

 

[shaky]

? Did you watch the game? Arsenal had us pinned back most of the game, only DeGea and a good bit of luck kept Arsenal from scoring 3 or more.

The only reason Arsenall were playing intense attacking football was because they were 2-0 down. They wouldn't have us pinned back if it was 0-0. Would you be happy if we were 2-0 down to Liverpool at home, as long as we had most of the chances afterwards? Probably not, because like Arsenal's efforts against us, it would count for absolutely nothing.

 

[breakout67]

'Arsenal’s players looked genuinely pained not to have scored, ready to appeal, fruitlessly, to the referee, or the fourth official, or God.

Except at the Emirates God was wearing a turquoise shirt and playing in goal for the visitors.'

 

[SteveJ]

The opening goal arrived with disarming ease as Arsenal’s defence collapsed at the first hint of pressure like a fine-milled wafer biscuit dunked in a mug of boiling tea.

 

[VancouverUtdFan]

Can't believe you think that to be fair. Everyone looking at the game with me thought that was a clear red card. Pogba did that intentionally.

Yea, he definitely nicked the ball intentionally alright like players do hundreds of times a day. Didn't know when that became straight red worthy.

Usually when you do that sort of thing - you know play the ball and all, you expect your foot to land back and meet the earth. Not his fault the defenders limb was there. Physics and common sense wise it's an impossibility for Pogba to have changed the positioning of his landing in that little time over such a small distance AKA literally a fraction of a second. And again why should he be in a position expected to do so in the first place? Not a reckless play whatsoever, just playing the ball normally which has happened since the beginning of time. Not his fault the defender was in such an awkward position that he covered his ONLY landing spot.

...and I'm saying this from a neutral POV no bias whatsoever. Would say the same regardless of which team or player or affiliation. Just calling a spade a spade. Idk might be a British or Euro thing where people don't do that because they're so passionate/bias to the side they support; here in Canada though we call it how it is when watching any sport whether it be hockey or (american) football etc. Don't know why it's so hard to apply here...