[dirkey]

I was just thinking about this: would the team have been just as good if Chelsea had played liked most 'visitors' do this season, basically 'park the bus'? Was the game 'good' because Chelsea also wanted to 'play'? Just a thought.

They only "wanted to play" because we scored early. They'd have been content sitting back and counter attacking had it stayed goalless.

 

[sammsky1]

 

[SirAF]

I'm still buzzing

Tomorrow all eyes will be at the Anderlecht tie.

 

[Zoo]

I've missed this buzz. No matter what happens from now until the end of the season it's important that Mourinho gets full support and backing. He will get it right.

 

[AndyMUFC]

Brilliant performance, Rashford and Herrera in particular were both outstanding and Rashford's partnership with Lingard up top was a joy. Chelsea were awful but that was our best performance of the season without a doubt.

 

[Ban]

 

[Treble_Winning]

Conte now has to adapt. Other managers will soon take a cue from the Mourinho playbook and set up this way against Chelsea. Even if they win the league this year (which is by no means guaranteed now), next season will be tough for them. If he can win back to back titles I will admit that he is a world class manager in the same bracket as Mourinho. Till then, Mourinho has shown the way to beat him.

Even if other teams just double man-mark Hazard, that alone would probably reduce Chelsea's efficiency by 70-80%. We nullified him today and they had zero shots on target.

 

[carlosp]

Apart from that i think we just had a misunderstanding. I do think that Conte deserves credit for what he's done so far, but i don't buy the narrative that Chelsea were a mid table team before he took over the reigns. We already seem to have an agreement on this issue, so all good, i guess.

To be fair, Chelsea have had no CL or Europa Cup games and were knocked out of the EFL Cup too so had minimal games up to this year thus enhancing their chances while many of their other opposition teams had games. I find it funny that people mention Liverpool having no games yet don't mention Chelsea in the same breathe. All the games took a toll on us and I am grateful when we lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup. It's given us a slight breather.

 

[3KDré]

I really like Lampard as a pundit. He remains relatively unbiased and he has a good understanding of the game.

 

[dirkey]

It was a shocking lineup and the first time under Jose he's gotten that type of performance from the team. Get the feck over yourself. Smart money was on it not working.

Classic. Loads of silly posts proven completely wrong .. but the smart money was on it not working. I guess multiple league + champions league winning manager Jose didn't know what he was doing, pure guess work.

Mate, you've had a mare today, just stand up and own it.

 

[TheReligion]

The atmosphere sounded great today.

Honestly people talk about atmospheres in Germany but that constant chanting doesn't inspire a team as much as an atmosphere like today. So raw and passionate. Shame it can't be as consistent as crowd in other countries. Otherwise it would make a difference to our home form.

One of the loudest atmospheres I've heard in PL history of all teams.

 

[TehRed]

If Keane was the physical embodiment of Fergie on the pitch, then Herrera is the same thing to Jose. His execution of Jose's plan allowed the rest of the team to execute their plans with less worry about the attacking threat of Hazard. A tremendous team performance, led by Herrera.

 

[Ronaldo's Mum Eh?]

I knew we would win. I called it in the Match thread.

So happy. We're in the race for top 4. I want top 4 and europa league. Herrera is so important to us..we need to give him a new deal asap.

Rashford will also have heaps of confidence now after that performance.

 

[Mourinhonista]

To be fair, Chelsea have had no CL or Europa Cup games and were knocked out of the EFL Cup too so had minimal games up to this year thus enhancing their chances while many of their other opposition teams had games. I find it funny that people mention Liverpool having no games yet don't mention Chelsea in the same breathe. All the games took a toll on us and I am grateful when we lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup. It's given us a slight breather.

Too many matches with a tight squad won't go down well, but we have a big enough squad and beating Chelsea on home soil could have given us a big lift, IMO. Mourinho thought similarly, therefore he put out a strong team. There still seems to be a tad of bitterness about that event, the red card keeps being mentioned here and there, IMO.

Having more matches gives you match rhythm and allows you to experiment on some things. So it's not all bad, but of course i get what you're saying.

 

[RoyH1]

Phenomenal game. Most satisfying game in ages.

Ander was absolutely class.

 

[Jonnymufc]

Ohhhhhh that felt good. Just a monster of a performance. So proud.

Unitedtilidie

 

[Sultan]

The team played for Jose

 

[sammsky1]

The team played for Jose

why do you say that? haven't they played for him all season long?

 

[Mibabalou]

Haven't felt like this after a match in a long time, absolutely buzzing!

 

[Oldham]

Fuuuuugung fantasic performance by the team. Loved it

 

[TheReligion]

@golden_blunder enjoy the two up top today Geebs?

 

[Abdou0230]

First time since Mourinho arrived I see an actual tactical plan being implemented. The players seemed to know what exactly they are supposed to do. I hope this continues.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Mourinho has just performed a tactical masterclass and bamboozled everyone.

No matter how the score ends up, I think a fair few owe our manager an apology.

What a manager. He is the special one.

can I do it?are you all ashamed, crybabies!

Gone

I don't get why people do this, do they think people will be upset that United actually surprised them and won? I personally take more joy from these sort of wins.

 

[Womp]

I don't get why people do this, do they think people will be upset that United actually surprised them and won? I personally take more joy from these sort of wins.

It just goes to show, all these kneejerk reactions with pointless negativity is such a waste of time. There's a reason Jose is arguably the best manager in the world and we simply watch the sport. Sometimes it's better to wait until the match starts before getting your pitchforks out, a team with the best players isn't always the right team. Something Jose has proven time and time again.

This place has been depressing as feck enough as it is the past few weeks.

 

[sunama]

Here's the post match analysis.

 

[Nakhon Phanom]

I think last night was probably the best United have played since Sir Alex retired.It was a joy to watch.
They all played well but special mentions for Rashford,Herrera,Lingard,Rojo and Bailly.
I also thought Fellaini and Pogba also played much better than of late.....Young,too was an inspired captain.
Blimey,that's nearly all of them !! So,well done also Dave,Tony and Matteo.

Zlatan has been an outstanding goalscorer for us this season but our style is slower with him in the team.
An interesting one for Jose to ponder........

 

[11101]

I don't think I've ever rated anyone a 10 before but Herrera was flawless today.

 

[Tarrou]

Great stuff, looked like a handball to me, but that proves it wasn't.

Well it definitely hit his hand, but it wasn't intentional

 

[carlosp]

Really like Statman Dave's breakdown of the game.

 

[Jonno]

First time since Mourinho arrived I see an actual tactical plan being implemented. The players seemed to know what exactly they are supposed to do. I hope this continues.

Takes time to mould your squad, to think many on here criticised Mourinho for every step he's taken to mould this team.

 

[Jonno]

I think last night was probably the best United have played since Sir Alex retired.It was a joy to watch.
They all played well but special mentions for Rashford,Herrera,Lingard,Rojo and Bailly.
I also thought Fellaini and Pogba also played much better than of late.....Young,too was an inspired captain.
Blimey,that's nearly all of them !! So,well done also Dave,Tony and Matteo.

Zlatan has been an outstanding goalscorer for us this season but our style is slower with him in the team.
An interesting one for Jose to ponder........

I think against high-line opponents who want to attack and score, pockets of space are created all game long which make Rashford and Lingard such potent threats. That line up against a side parking the bus just doesn't (at this stage) cut it. Zlatan scores goals against anyone, so he is the best option we have against defensive teams. He's going to score over 30 goals this season, most of which have come against deep defensive opponents, who manage to snuff out Rashford, Lingard and Martial mostly. Zlatan is still needed for the majority of games.

 

[stu_1992]

Best performance post-Ferguson, especially when considering the quality of opposition and who we were missing. Can't think of a player having a bad game, but obviously Herrera and Rashford were the 2 stars. I am liking this new found confidence in Rashford. Long may that continue.

 

[don't sign old players]

Rashford played an astonishing game.
Lingard was brilliant, that partnership is awesome. Full credit to Jose for thinking of that. It certainly wasn't what Chelsea was expecting.
Herrera as the deepest mid is good as it gets. This is why I'm not inclined to favor a new DM. I think Herrera's tackling and positional awareness are the major improvements in his game this year, and he can probably improve even more. He's the closest thing we've had since Keane.
Fellaini was excellent yet again.
Pogba is beginning to embrace his defensive duties at last.
I still can't see why everyone wants to sell Ashley Young.
Valencia excellent as usual.
I think Darmian has played his way into the team. His United career is just beginning to blossom.
Just what I've come to expect from Rojo & Bailly.

 

[mav_9me]

Gonna be a disaster. Not sure if Mourinho wants to destroy their game or ours ....can't help but laugh.

Didn't see my post quoted.

Beyond thrilled to be proven wrong.

Couldn't see the match after first 15 mins, but clearly the performance seems to have been excellent. Watched the first half so far and completely controlled it. More than the result its the complete performance which has made the day.

 

[RedDevil@84]

This. Has put me off to be honest and I don't log in or post that much. It's downright embarrassing at times and even more so that there is a rawk thread

Glad I stayed away from the match thread (I rarely do anyways, as I don't like to type much while watching the match)
But the comments were ridiculous. Many of them showing pure hatred for Jose rather than any criticism. Yes, I thought we are not really going to win with that lineup. And will play for a 0-0 mostly. But the reaction was way OTT.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Some people seem to think Darmian has changed or his career has started.
But I think caf will be back to hating him after a match where we as fans expect him to help offensively.

 

[GM K]

For those who say Jose only parks the bus, I hope this convinces them otherwise.

We have actually outplayed Liverpool (At home. Away was even), Arsenal, Tottenham and chelsea (at home). We outplayed City in the second half of our home game and totally outplayed them in the EFL Cup. So where was the bus parking?

Some were saying he is shit against the big teams. They need to go and check, he is a big game manager. I doubt if any top manager has a better record than Jose when it comes to the big games.

Yesterday was beyond outplaying. It was total domination.

I have said it several times, very few managers come close to Jose when it comes to adapting his play. He does not have a single way of playing. He tweaks his team to fit. This is what United got when we signed him. He can be a jerk, but he's a pretty brilliant manager.

 

[GM K]

In that game, Rashford and Lingard showed exactly what is wrong with Martial and Shaw.

 

[rpg]

I was just thinking about this: would the team have been just as good if Chelsea had played liked most 'visitors' do this season, basically 'park the bus'? Was the game 'good' because Chelsea also wanted to 'play'? Just a thought.

I would say no. We got the early goal and Chelsea playing an expansive game. Their game plan was Hazard but he stayed inside Herrera pocket whole game. If they parked the bus, we would struggle to break them down like always. And credit to all the players for executing the game well.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I want us to stick to this going forward. By playing Zlatan and Rashford as a partnership till the season ends