[York]

I think EtH made a tactical adjustment early in the 2nd half that changed the game in our favor. He had Fred and Sabitzer man-marking and Brighton didn't look nearly as good as they did 1st half. That was the key decision IMO and should pay dividends when we play these guys in a couple weeks.

 

[Belisarius]

Thoughts on the game:

- The referee was very inconsistent in handing out cards. He gave Shaw a yellow the first time he pulled back one of their players. But, they had a guy pull Rashford down from behind just outside the 18 and no card. Martial was pulled down at least twice, maybe 3 times and no card. And then Rashford tackled while running in behind and no card. Very unfair.

- I don't think De Gea played one short pass the whole second half. Not sure if he was panicky or under instructions because in extra time he began to play short again. If he's going to continue playing long we need to consider bringing back Fellaini and his chest control because we were automatically conceding possession over and over.

- AWB made one really determined run down the right while holding off 2 players to progress the ball which was good to see because by then our guys were tired and weren't moving well off the ball so we were having trouble progressing the ball by passing or even retaining it.

- Sancho held the ball up quite well on the left late on. Normally I get annoyed when he slows things down. But, in this case it was the right thing to do I think as it brought a little bit of calm possession and control at a time when our central mid-fielders were not able to provide any.

- I thought Shaw did a good job pressing from the back at times. But, I think we really miss Martinez passing.

- It was nice to see ETH having the confidence to use all 5 subs in an important game. And I think he did a good job choosing who and when to sub. Erickson was having to do a lot of running to help Dalot cover the left side because Rashford wasn't helping much (probably because of instructions). He left Martial on as long as he dared given his injury record. I think he probably should have taken Bruno off before Antony because his legs were done after the 90, but he rectified that soon after by replacing Bruno with Sabitzer. Thought it was a toss-up whether to replace AWB or Dalot but it was good to get Malacia on with fresh legs. Rashford was the only one of the front 5 to see out the game and AWB was the only one of the back 6 to be subbed. All told a good job and refreshing after seeing us get beaten in the Europa League final with exhausted players all over the field.

 

[sunama]

I think EtH made a tactical adjustment early in the 2nd half that changed the game in our favor. He had Fred and Sabitzer man-marking and Brighton didn't look nearly as good as they did 1st half. That was the key decision IMO and should pay dividends when we play these guys in a couple weeks.

I'd argue it made no difference.
Brighton kept coming at us; attacking us even in the 2nd half.
We needed penalties to win the game.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

AWB's challenge on Hematoma in the 32nd minute was the stuff of legends. How he was able to sneak his foot in there with such perfect timing was really something to behold.

That guy was a bloody mess out there

 

[Giggs' right foot]

Bruh

We should sign him.

We will then have both Eriksen and Mitoma - two of the most straightforward spelled names in the league yet with a bunch of people constantly fecking it up.

 

[sunama]

Accidently stumbled into the Brighton subreddit for the match a minute ago when I was perusing my phone on the bus.

It was basically a page of abuse for Bruno.

Weird bunch.

Excellent.
He is the captain and when fans hate a particular opponent (player), it usually means that he was a thorn in their side.
If we had a weak player in the team, the opponents would love him.
Back in the day, our opponents hated...and mean HATED, Roy Keane. For good reason, too.

 

[Tap]

Got to be destiny to win the same double some fans were mocking Liverpool for winning last year.

the context was different. They were being hailed as mentality monsters and arguably the best team in history and were chasing a quad.

To end up with just a domestic cup double without scoring a goal in both finals was disappointing and more of a consolation.

 

[Mockney]

Both the BBC highlights vids on YouTube have been weirdly edited to make it look like we had basically no chances and Brighton had loads… both Bruno’s chances in the first half missing from one, and Sanchez’s fingertip save from Rashford in ET missing from the other off the top of my head. If anything you’d want to make the game look more interesting, surely?

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Eat shit Pawson. Eat shit Brighton. Football won today.

Hahahhahhaa . Yessir. Just finally got to watch, my sentiments exactly.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Here's to getting embarrassed in the Final

That's the spirit!

 

[McTerminator]

Bruh

#Metooma

 

[York]

I'd argue it made no difference.
Brighton kept coming at us; attacking us even in the 2nd half.
We needed penalties to win the game.

That's fine. They weren't nearly as tidy in possession as they were before the change. We saw several unforced errors we didn't see in the first half. Can't chalk it up to fatigue given we've played twice as many games as them.

 

[moodyred]

Without Maguire, we look so much more composed at the back. Do we need anymore evidence that Maguire should not be playing even though Varane and Martinez are out.

 

[York]

That guy was a bloody mess out there

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Shout out to Wout for stepping up and striking a convincing penalty shot. He had to have known if he missed he would be hounded to the ends of the earth, but he struck it like a boss.

 

[Marcus]

Wout and De Gea engaged in a bit of mind games with March. I think Wout kissed the ball before handing it over with strong eye contact and De Gea approached and stepped around the penalty spot. Nicely done. I am sure it had an effect.

 

[atkar83]

Wout and De Gea engaged in a bit of mind games with March. I think Wout kissed the ball before handing it over with strong eye contact and De Gea approached and stepped around the penalty spot. Nicely done. I am sure it had an effect.

De Gea tried to psych out every Villareal player a couple years ago but all 11 scored. So no

 

[always_hoping]

Brave by ETH to select two English men to take penalties in a shootout and both who missed penalties in the recent shootout for England. One's that take them in sudden death are normally those that doesn't want one but was well taken ones by Weghorst,Lindelof in fairness to them.

Out of interest the last time DeGea saved a penality in a shootout?

 

[Marcus]

De Gea tried to psych out every Villareal player a couple years ago but all 11 scored. So no

Well this time he only tried to psyche put one and he did dive the right way. While I think we need a new goalie, this doesn't mean I can't give him credit in this instance.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

We couldn't play well against them at a neutral venue god knows what we will do at their stadium.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Thank god for that! Looked so much better with Fred on. Hope to see some injured players back and some players rested ahead of the final.

For sure. I love Eriksen but our midfield was an open wound. Need legs in there, can't be him and Bruno vs a team liked that.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

We were better today than I thought we'd be. More sure of ourselves on the ball, especially in our own third. Some great opportunities but it's shocking how poor we are at finishing chances.

They were much worse than I thought they'd be. At times they looked apathetic. I thought they'd be much more aggressive and high tempo. The fact that they didn't press us much was shocking, it's almost as if they didn't even study the Sevilla match and see how we utterly collapse under a high press.

Awesome to be in another final, but, lucky me, I'm in my mate's wedding on the day of the final, so unless this winds up being a morning match in the US, I'm screwed.

It's usually an early start, right? Good luck!

 

[croadyman]

Have we ever won an FA Cup shootout before

 

[Alek M]

Tough on DDG to blame for not saving any. Their pks were excellent, like ours. Except was it Wout that was almost saved?
Our defense was great.
Very entertaining game. On the edge. We had lot better chances but terrible finising. We needed to involve Rashford more.
Sick and tired of Eriksen being a pussy in midfield and shying away from challenge. He was getting run over. Our defense was outstanding.

pawson missed at least 3 yellow cards for them. WTF!

 

[Alek M]

I am pretty sure Magurie will not play for us again. Maybe at the end to say good bye to fans after 4th is secured.

 

[stoinz]

The state of the refering is crazy. It is clear that Brighton relies on fouling our players in midfield stop any turnover and transition and yet 0 cards or fouls. But when we do the same, is yellow or a talking. I was worried the entire game that one or two our players might and injured and sent off. Lucky nothiing happened.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Sick and tired of Eriksen being a pussy in midfield and shying away from challenge. He was getting run over. Our defense was outstanding.

Think people are being a bit harsh on Eriksen. He hardly ever plays central midfield at Spurs, and is only being shoehorned there because we couldn't get the ball carrier ETH wanted. So either blame the gaffer or our owners, he's already trying his best and doing things I've never seen him do before like pressing.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Mitoma should have got red card. He had 2 sliding tackles that missed the ball and hit our players. If it's Casemeiro it will be straight red.

AWB and Dalot both are very good at RB and LB. CB of Shaw and Lindelof pretty solid too.

We have many good attacking moments but our final balls let us down. The understanding and link up play for final ball was non existent.

Perfect penalties from our players!

 

[Alek M]

Think people are being a bit harsh on Eriksen. He hardly ever plays central midfield at Spurs, and is only being shoehorned there because we couldn't get the ball carrier ETH wanted. So either blame the gaffer or our owners, he's already trying his best and doing things I've never seen him do before like pressing.

wow he presses and we should be happy. Very talented player but he wants no contact. What position would he play that doesn’t require contact. I would rather have Fred McT or Sabi in a physical game.

 

[Himannv]

Tough on DDG to blame for not saving any. Their pks were excellent, like ours. Except was it Wout that was almost saved?

Sabitzer.

 

[lysglimt]

Will take a huge transfer fee.

Don't care - the guy is 21 - he could run our midfield for 10 years.

 

[NewGlory]

Defence look far more solid without slab head

Truth is, we would now have been in the next round of Europa League, if Maguire never came on pitch. Thank God for Lindelof... and for Luke Shaw being a wonderful CB, in addition to top LB

 

[NewGlory]

Wout and De Gea engaged in a bit of mind games with March. I think Wout kissed the ball before handing it over with strong eye contact and De Gea approached and stepped around the penalty spot. Nicely done. I am sure it had an effect.

Small things do matter

Much respect to Wout. He has a big heart and wonderful attitude, always

 

[justsomebloke]

I'd argue it made no difference.
Brighton kept coming at us; attacking us even in the 2nd half.
We needed penalties to win the game.

It pretty clearly did make a difference. 60-80 mins, we dominated the game, the only period we did so.

 

[nainaisson]

Really impressed with that Scottish guy Alec McAlistair. I'm amazed he never gets selected for the national team. Just as good as McGinn and McTominay, in my opinion, if not better.

 

[mikeyt]

Without Maguire, we look so much more composed at the back. Do we need anymore evidence that Maguire should not be playing even though Varane and Martinez are out.

100%! Unless we get further injuries Maguire should not start another game for us again given that hopefully this is his last season. Thought Shaw and Lindelof did really well.

 

[edgecutter]

Really impressed with that Scottish guy Alec McAlistair. I'm amazed he never gets selected for the national team. Just as good as McGinn and McTominay, in my opinion, if not better.

Think he's irish mate. He surely should be ahead of Jeff hendrix at this stage

 

[CG1010]

Strangely low quality match.

I think if Evan Ferguson was fit then Brighton would have won comfortably.

What's your point? If Varane and Martinez were fit and Rashford was fully functional, we would have probably got this in the 90.

 

[Sandikan]

Accidently stumbled into the Brighton subreddit for the match a minute ago when I was perusing my phone on the bus.

It was basically a page of abuse for Bruno.

Weird bunch.

They want to look at their own guy March. Constantly whinging, constantly on the floor.

 

[devilish]

Truth is, we would now have been in the next round of Europa League, if Maguire never came on pitch. Thank God for Lindelof... and for Luke Shaw being a wonderful CB, in addition to top LB

I watched the Euro final on an Italian TV station. The reason being that I find commentators there to be far more knowledgeable in terms of tactics and far less biased (no former players/players mates) then their English counterparts. Anyway, the commentators literally said that Maguire is England's Achilles heel and that they should specifically target his lack of pace, his weakness in controlling/passing the ball and his lack of awareness. Targeting a defender's weakness is very common and it has two key advantages. First of all because such weakness would allow the striker to find himself face to face with the keeper. Secondly his team mates will be aware of his weakness and will try to cover for it which means that they can't fully focus on their job. That creates gaps that opponents will exploit.

Maguire's signing reveals many weaknesses. Its a weakness within our scouting/negotiating department who paid silly money for a player who should have never played for United but its also a weakness in how talent is being raised in the academy. Its shocking how a 30 year old EPL proven CB is only good to play in a deep line defence were he is surrounded by players around him doing almost everything for him (ie the thinking, the scanning and closing up gaps for him). We're not in the 80s anymore were inches and physical strength is enough for a CB to play at top clubs. It's a shame because more recently England had produced some of the finest CBs in the continent (Campbell, Rio, Terry etc). Its a shame that injuries were unkind with England as Ledley King and Wes Brown could easily be added to that mix.

Rio in particular is the perfect example of a modern CB. He was fast, he was strong, his control and technique was off the charts etc. Ok you can't expect any nation to keep producing players as good as Rio. However I am not referring to the quality here but more to the ideology. For England to revert back to players like Maguire is step backwards..