[EyeInTheSky]

His goal settled the tie though.

we were 3 nil up

 

[red_devil83]

Thought Schweini looked very composed when he came on. I think he should get more minutes even if he's leaving...it's not like Carrick is a young prospect who he'd be denying important learning

 

[Sassy Colin]

Yeah, but they do tend to get more injuries when they play less than three days after their last complete game.

Since we're playing twice a week until the end of the season, we're clearly fecked.

 

[Acole9]

Got the job done tonight, very professional performance. Shame about the injuries, we could've done with subbing Ibrahimovic and Pogba really.

 

[Mibabalou]

Motm was easily the home supporters!

Proper crowed, wish we could get some sort of singing section behind one of the goals.

 

[Ludens the Red]

And what if we saved him for the final and he still got injured after 20 minutes? Players get injured, get over it.

Leave him on the bench all the time wrapped in cotton wool.

Missed the game but yeah why the feck are people moaning about the injuries and having a go at Mourinho?

Did people expect 11 reserve players out there or something? Every game now you see people talking about who should be rested and what not, this obsession with resting players and who should play in X game in order to be rested in X game. Where does it end? Should we now just stop playing important players in case they get injured? Honestly modern day football fans
You even have people debating whether or not being in four competitions is a good thing, in case players get tired and injured. People saying we should drop interest in a tournament, in case we need players to not be tired and play in other tournaments. What the actual feck>?

 

[Ramshock]

Mourinho probably regretting the side he picked, he should've played someone like Lingard instead of Mickhi and maybe Rashford upfront.

I'm praying we don't see Fellaini on Sunday!

Wise up

 

[anothermix]

wow the ref was a joke. literally played for st etienne in the 2nd half. bailly should never have gotten that second yellow and zlatan goal scoring opportunity was never an offside =_=

 

[MDFC Manager]

The tie was not over, not until Miki ended tie with his goal.

I don't understand people complaining we started with such a strong team, what should we have done, rested all 11 for Sunday? That's the difference between playing football manager on a PC and being an actual world class manager. In Mourinho's mind, we needed the first goal to kill the tie, and we got that by playing a strong side.

Imagine if we went a goal or two down in the first half, we could have ended up going out.

I trust Jose

Yeah it's what Fergie would have done as well. And that's my barometer for managers

 

[stu_1992]

Job done, it's just a shame about the injuries. I want so badly for Mkhitaryan to get a big run of games without injury because I love watching this guy play.

Ideally i would have liked Zlatan to get more rest too, but can't complain too much. Still a few days until the final.

 

[vivaronaldo]

im calling mindgame...jose tells miki if we go 1-0 up , im taking ya off.. hammy was part of the plan...

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

im calling mindgame...jose tells miki if we go 1-0 up , im taking ya off.. hammy was part of the plan...

Cool idea, soton spends hours prepare watching videos of lingard and come up with a game plan and on match day bammmm!! u got mikhied! nicee

 

[littleman]

Cool idea, soton spends hours prepare watching videos of lingard and come up with a game plan and on match day bammmm!! u got mikhied! nicee

LOL nao all we nid is Fergie comin back on April's Fools and sayin 'Hi GAIS i was just kidding about retirement im bakkkk'! we gotfergiedd!! niceeee

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

LOL nao all we nid is Fergie comin back on April's Fools and sayin 'Hi GAIS i was just kidding about retirement im bakkkk'! we gotfergiedd!! niceeee

I'd pee a little...

 

[OohAahMartial]

Professional job done. Made it boring to watch except for Pogba pinging balls through or over them all the time. One of his best performances. Shame about Mhki and Carrick but better now than they get those injuries in the Final. But we have the squad to cope with it. Presumably:
Ibra
Martial Pogba Mata
Fellaini Herrera
Or such. Makes 4-3-3 less likely though.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Didn't the ref ignore a stamp on Carrick or Micki or both and then proceed to give 2nd yellow to Bailly

 

[RedDevil@84]

So Anderlecht in next round??

 

[MullerUtd]

The fact that Jose plays a full strength team is a signal that he takes this Europa League extremely seriously, and he has prioritized it as our most important competition for this season. We have a 3-0 lead going into the second leg, and a cup final just 4 days later against a top 10 team in our league who's capable of beating any team on their day, you would have thought that he would rest some of our important players. Southampton knocked out Arsenal and Liverpool en-route to the final and that's as impressive as it gets. They are more then capable of beating us in a final. To be honest, I'm slightly annoyed that our victory came at a costly price. We lost Mhiki and Carrick to injury, and Bailly will be suspended in our first leg in the Round of 16. I don't believe in playing a weakened team in a cup competition, but if there's any games we could afford the luxury to do it, it's this game. Even so, why did Jose not sub off Mhiki, Zlatan and Pogba after we scored the first goal? The tie was virtually over. Why not rest our key players since we have a cup final on Sunday and we are as good as through to the next round? I'm blaming Jose if we look sluggish against Soton on Sunday. Nevertheless, I'm still pleased with the fact that he takes the Europa League so seriously because I've been saying since the start of the season that this is the one competition we should go all out to win.

 

[MullerUtd]

So Anderlecht in next round??

Will be happy to get drawn against them, but I wouldn't rule Zenit out yet. They are more than capable of beating Anderlecht 2-0, 3-0 at home. Surprised they lost 0-2 away, given the fact that they are the best team in the group stage, winning all their 6 group matches. Here's hoping that Anderlecht scores first tonight.

 

[Billy Blaggs]

So Anderlecht in next round??

I'd take that

 

[psychdelicblues]

The fact that Jose plays a full strength team is a signal that he takes this Europa League extremely seriously, and he has prioritized it as our most important competition for this season. We have a 3-0 lead going into the second leg, and a cup final just 4 days later against a top 10 team in our league who's capable of beating any team on their day, you would have thought that he would rest some of our important players. Southampton knocked out Arsenal and Liverpool en-route to the final and that's as impressive as it gets. They are more then capable of beating us in a final. To be honest, I'm slightly annoyed that our victory came at a costly price. We lost Mhiki and Carrick to injury, and Bailly will be suspended in our first leg in the Round of 16. I don't believe in playing a weakened team in a cup competition, but if there's any games we could afford the luxury to do it, it's this game. Even so, why did Jose not sub off Mhiki, Zlatan and Pogba after we scored the first goal? The tie was virtually over. Why not rest our key players since we have a cup final on Sunday and we are as good as through to the next round? I'm blaming Jose if we look sluggish against Soton on Sunday. Nevertheless, I'm still pleased with the fact that he takes the Europa League so seriously because I've been saying since the start of the season that this is the one competition we should go all out to win.

Irrespective of the merits of resting key players, why would any manager sub 3 players after 16 minutes? Carrick was injured less then 10 minutes later meaning Unuited could have been down to 10 men for the rest of the match, and maybe down to 9 for the last 30 minutes with Bailey sent off. Weird logic.

The tie was not over, not until Miki ended tie with his goal. I don't understand people complaining we started with such a strong team, what should we have done, rested all 11 for Sunday? That's the difference between playing football manager on a PC and being an actual world class manager. In Mourinho's mind, we needed the first goal to kill the tie, and we got that by playing a strong side.

Imagine if we went a goal or two down in the first half, we could have ended up going out.

I trust Jose

Very much this.

 

[zeekey]

Nice away win in Europe to keep the momentum going. Shut the game down superbly and still could have had a couple more ourselves. Bastian was good. Shame he hasn't been utilised more this year. A nothing sending off for Bailly. Over the two legs the St Etienne players were making the most of tackles and sadly the referee succumbed to their antics.

 

[Trizy]

Miki will be a big miss Sunday. Good game apart from that.

 

[Robertd0803]

Miki and Carrick being injured sucks.

 

[Fully Fledged]

we were 3 nil up

I know. I'm not saying he should of played just that him playing made a difference.

 

[Mihai]

The fact that Jose plays a full strength team is a signal that he takes this Europa League extremely seriously, and he has prioritized it as our most important competition for this season. We have a 3-0 lead going into the second leg, and a cup final just 4 days later against a top 10 team in our league who's capable of beating any team on their day, you would have thought that he would rest some of our important players. Southampton knocked out Arsenal and Liverpool en-route to the final and that's as impressive as it gets. They are more then capable of beating us in a final. To be honest, I'm slightly annoyed that our victory came at a costly price. We lost Mhiki and Carrick to injury, and Bailly will be suspended in our first leg in the Round of 16. I don't believe in playing a weakened team in a cup competition, but if there's any games we could afford the luxury to do it, it's this game. Even so, why did Jose not sub off Mhiki, Zlatan and Pogba after we scored the first goal? The tie was virtually over. Why not rest our key players since we have a cup final on Sunday and we are as good as through to the next round? I'm blaming Jose if we look sluggish against Soton on Sunday. Nevertheless, I'm still pleased with the fact that he takes the Europa League so seriously because I've been saying since the start of the season that this is the one competition we should go all out to win.

Are you serious? Do you think any manager will use all the subs in the 26th minute of a match?

 

[Danillaco]

Thought Schweini looked very composed when he came on. I think he should get more minutes even if he's leaving...it's not like Carrick is a young prospect who he'd be denying important learning

Yeah, thought so too. Made me think about Herrera/Bastian midfield two, with Mata, Pogba and Martil behind Ibra. Could be something very good, especially with Herrera doing the running with BFS.

Not to mention Pogba playing more upfront.

 

[Billy Blaggs]

Yeah, thought so too. Made me think about Herrera/Bastian midfield two, with Mata, Pogba and Martil behind Ibra. Could be something very good, especially with Herrera doing the running with BFS.

Not to mention Pogba playing more upfront.

Well win it

 

[Brightonian]

Yeah, thought so too. Made me think about Herrera/Bastian midfield two, with Mata, Pogba and Martil behind Ibra. Could be something very good, especially with Herrera doing the running with BFS.

Not to mention Pogba playing more upfront.

Isn't Basti a bit of a risk given that we haven't had a chance to see what he's up to this season? He's only been on the pitch for more than a couple of minutes twice in the whole season, right? You can take a risk on a forward and if he's not doing it you can always sub him off. But an off-the-pace DM can cost you goals.

Until Carrick is available again (and, in the longer term, until we buy a younger model or move Blind there), I think we have to be willing to play Pogba a bit deeper than is ideal for him for the good of the team, keep that partnership with Herrera going. Yes he's more devastating further forward, but it's not as if we're lacking in those areas with Mata, Mkhi and Martial in such good form at the moment.

 

[onemanarmy]

So Anderlecht in next round??

I would like Gent to progress, knocking Spurs out and getting them. Only 15 miles from my home Would definitely go to the game. Anderlecht isn't that much further, but I don't like the city.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Cool idea, soton spends hours prepare watching videos of lingard and come up with a game plan and on match day bammmm!! u got mikhied! nicee

Southampton watching a video of Lingard's contribution to United's season should last about 30 seconds at the most

 

[Jaxdan]

Good, solid, comfortable, workmanlike performance. Well paced and measured, and even going down a man made no difference. Could have been 2 or 3 nil. The second yellow on Bailly was soft, but he had used up any leniency by then. Rash challenge 50 yards away from your own goal. Wish they could get more efficient somehow with the offside calls. Ibra was onside by a yard and would've been one v one on the GK. Their crowd was awesome...for them anyway. They annoyed the hell out of me. Bottom line, mission well accomplished and we move on. Time to get some more silverware.

 

[mitchmouse]

Another really professional performance, which seems to be becoming Jose's hallmark. Lots of good performances obviously spoiled by the injuries to two of the guys who are, at the moment, challenging for player of the year (it will of course go to Zlatan, no doubt). Felt the second booking for bailly was a terrible decision from the ref and he also missed one of two dreadful challenges from Etienne players. Not sure who my man of the match was - possibly Carrick, just for the unfussy way he goes about his business. Pogba looked good but Carrick does it all with the minimum of fuss. Another solid performance from Romero, defence looked good but in all honesty this was the performance I expected from St Etienne in the first leg. They are very much a mid-table French side but their supporters were phenomenal. Was great to see Basti given time - once again he looked class and I wonde consider him for Sunday if Carrick doesn't make it

 

[Jaxdan]

St. Etienne is actually 5th in the table at the moment.

 

[Handsome Devil]

Shame about Mick Ryan's injury. Maybe it's not as bad as Jose is making out and he might at least be on the bench for the final.