[DSG]

I feel I watched a different match than most of the Caf.

The entire team was dreadful in the first half. Martial, Shaw and Lindelof were at fault for the goal.

72% possession for Juve at Old Trafford for a CL match in the first half. I think we were scared of making a mistake, and thus constantly gave the ball back to Juve.

They outclassed us in midfield. Yes, Pogba had a few nifty turns here and there, but gave the ball away too many times. In contrast, Pjanic ran the show. Not a single mistake... This is partly due to setup as we were in in 4-4-2 or more like a 4-4-1-1 when defending. But still, the three midfielders for Juve completely controlled Matic and Pogba. It easily could have been 2-0 at half.

I get that there was a lot of support for Lindelof as MOTM, but I thought he was awful in the first half. Several giveaways when playing out of the back, and some of the passes were literally to the feet of the Juve players. In the 2nd half he fought and covered a lot of ground quickly a few times. But I don’t think it makes up for the abysmal first half.

It’s clear that we don’t have an attacking identity. Under no circumstances were we going to score from a header. Juve is just too damn good in the air and they pack the box.

I will applaud the effort of the players in the second half even though the quality was not there. We fought for every ball. Unfortunately, it was (and will continue to be against top teams) not enough.

 

[The Boy]

Please let us sign a striker in January or asap, I'm starting to think Glen Murray is an upgrade at this point.

Hands off

 

[Stacks]

Only positive I saw was lindelof defending very very well. Other than that, shit.

Aye Lindelof looked a proper defender today

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Aye Lindelof looked a proper defender today

Imagine him next to one of those Juve CB's.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I didn't get to see the game but caught the goal while I was working. Was that Matic who was jogging behind Dybala and didn't bother to track him on the goal???

 

[Rampant-red]

All muff and puff. Simply not good enough

 

[kouroux]

Hands off

I like Murray, his scoring record isn't impressive but his all around play is so good. He knows how to use his body, Lukaku could learn many things from him

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

Outside of the obvious ones, people have to understand that the modern game needs full backs who contribute.

Ashley Young is not ever going to contribute. Compare him to the other top teams full backs....

Yeah when I mention the defence settling I do so only to say we did well nullifying Juve on the counter. Dave made some great saves but against the likes of Canelo, Ronaldo and Dybala we stood up well in that second half.

However attacking wise Young is not offering anything, while neither wing is operating how we would ideally like. Little to no overlapping, a lack of chemistry where neither FB nor wide forward seems to know when to go or drop in and the kind of speculative crosses Juve's defence can swat away all night long.

 

[Sereques]

Meltdown club. Middle post in particular is appalling

It's a sarcastic post for people blaming the current state on the squad on Ed for not buying those defensive pair.

 

[Red_Ramirez]

Outclassed 1st half

More effort in the 2nd half but not enough goalmouth action

 

[Sing you a song]

Aye Lindelof looked a proper defender today

I think Lindelof really looked the part last night and will come good he just needs the right partner .When Gary pallister arrived at United he was an absolute shocker for months but developed into a fantastic CB and his partnership with Bruce was one of our very best .
Our biggest problems are up front

 

[C3Pique]

Can we just start every game 1-0 down?

 

[Slevs]

Shit happens, we tried and it didn't work out. We go again.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Can we just start every game 1-0 down?

Which is no good if the game ends 1-0.

 

[SER19]

It's a sarcastic post for people blaming the current state on the squad on Ed for not buying those defensive pair.

I got that. But its still a dig at mourinho and nobody thinks we didnt beat juventus because we dont have maguire. Waste of a post

 

[Fracture90]

Not surprising at all. When there's no flashes of individual brilliance to win us the game and mask our awful performances, we're exposed for utterly diabolical footballing side we are.

 

[Zlatattack]

We were always going to lose to Juve. Two good halfs of football don't take away from our clear deficiencies.

 

[Relfy]

I'm not quite on board with the general uproar on here. We were beaten by a superior side. Juve have won the league for something mad like 7 years running. They've reached a couple of CL finals the last 3-4 years. They have a better team and squad than us. We're just re-establishing ourselves at this level. I'm not saying I expected us to lose quite as easily as we did, but we have to appreciate that this Juve team is one of the favorites for the CL for a reason.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

We have no coherence in our football style whatsoever.

 

[El Zoido]

Not surprising at all. When there's no flashes of individual brilliance to win us the game and mask our awful performances, we're exposed for utterly diabolical footballing side we are.

Basically this. The standard of football is godawful. It’s actually hard to believe a club of our stature could be so bad at the basics of football. One moment stuck out to me, when Young was fouled down the right flank and Mata put in a free kick that went flying over everyone’s heads. Think it almost went out for a throw in.

But this is normal for us. 4 out of 5 crosses in to the box do the same thing, free kicks, corners, open play, they go nowhere and offer nothing. I don’t understand how we can be this bad but we are.

 

[tidraKS]

His post match conference is just ridiculous.

"They had [Gonzalo] Higuain, [Mario] Mandzukic, [Paulo] Dybala but they want more. They want Ronaldo. They had [Andrea] Barzagli, [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Daniele] Rugani, they are not happy, they want more," Mourinho said.
"They want Bonucci and they go for the best players in the world. So, big club with a big past but with also a big desire to have a big future."

He is mentioning Barzagli who is 37 years old or Rugani who was not even on the squad last night. It's the same as somebody saying for us, we had Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Fellaini and we wanted more, we went for Fred, which is an absolutely ridiculous claim.

Juventus beat us last night without even trying hard. I agree their team is a bit better in terms of quality, but not so much as last night showed. So, the difference here is just the coach. Juventus in Allegri have one who tries hard with what he has on the team, has a positive approach, there is movement all around the pitch, players know how to keep the ball, how to move with it. If you see there, you can see Ronaldo, Dybala, Pjanic, Chiellini, Sandro and Bonucci as world class players, but there are also Cuadrado, Matuidi, Bentacour, Cancelo who played just as great as the others. So, it's not just about individual quality of the players, but as a team they are years ahead of us.

In Mourinho, we have one who only moans and cares about him and his history all the time and doesn't care about the club at all, and after the game where he has much talent in the ground to try new ideas, he moans that he didn't have Fellaini for plan B. I'm sorry for all who defend Mourinho all the time, but I'd really like this nightmare to end. I know we failed for our last 3 choices, but we need a manager who is positive at the moment, but knows how to play, knows how to keep the ball, move with it, move without the ball, play as a team. Because at the moment, if Martial doesn't beat 2-3 players on the left, or Pogba doesn't do anything good individually, we are zero dangerous. I'd really go with Wenger until the end of the season just to see if we improve our game.

 

[Fracture90]

Basically this. The standard of football is godawful. It’s actually hard to believe a club of our stature could be so bad at the basics of football. One moment stuck out to me, when Young was fouled down the right flank and Mata put in a free kick that went flying over everyone’s heads. Think it almost went out for a throw in.

But this is normal for us. 4 out of 5 crosses in to the box do the same thing, free kicks, corners, open play, they go nowhere and offer nothing. I don’t understand how we can be this bad but we are.

We're unbelievably static in the attack, it all boils down to chucking the ball to Martial or Young/Valencia and pray they can produce something or at least cross it and hope to hit someone with it.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Even the meltdowns have stopped being entertaining.

Bleak times. Embarrassing group of players not to be up for a big European tie, bin the lot of them and start again.

 

[daveoliver91]

Big difference between the two clubs, the lack of quality is extremely obvious.
Wonder with SAF how this would be handled.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Even the meltdowns have stopped being entertaining.

Bleak times. Embarrassing group of players not to be up for a big European tie, bin the lot of them and start again.

If his teamtalk was like his press conference, then no wonder they weren't up for it. They were beaten before they even took to the pitch. Teams like Juventus are good, maybe better than us, but they are not unbeatable.

 

[Parma Dewol]

We were always going to lose to Juve. Two good halfs of football don't take away from our clear deficiencies.

Pretty much how I'm feeling this morning.

There was a genuine buzz around OT last night, it seemed a lot of people turned up early in recognition of the size of the task. It had a truly big-game feel about it, and the atmosphere was electric to begin with. Thought we started quite well, but once that goal went in we seemed to lose what composure we had, and for long spells it was a classic case of men against boys.

Credit to Juve, they might not have been blistering but they are such a clever side. Whenever we looked like we might build up a head of steam, they had the ability to control the tempo, retain the ball and completely take the sting out of our attacks. Another clear difference between the sides was that they didn't seem to make a terrible mistake for practically the entire game. Confidence was flooding though them from back to front (helped no doubt by our inability to close effectively), but the contrast was stark; we were giving the ball away readily at times, they hardly relinquished it the whole game. It was a game between a side with seven league titles on the bounce and a side that has been in the wilderness for years. It showed.

Got to be honest, in my head I'd convinced myself that 30 minutes of decent football against Newcastle and a good half against Chelsea was enough to think we'd turned a corner and would give Juve a game. Reality check, we're not even close to their level right now.

I think the worst part for me was toward the last 10 minutes, when the acceptance of defeat started to filter through the stadium. Atmosphere was dying out and it just didn't feel like we could get back into it. 1-0 down at home I always have hope that we'll get a draw or even a complete turnaround, but last night I couldn't help but think "they're just too good for us." That really was a sad thought.

 

[MUFC OK]

• Training match for Juventus.
• No pressing/intensity/belief from United
• No subs despite £50m Fred on the bench
• Our manager was fairly happy to lose 1-0

 

[El Zoido]

Even the meltdowns have stopped being entertaining.

Bleak times. Embarrassing group of players not to be up for a big European tie, bin the lot of them and start again.

I thought they were up for it, but the lack of quality is evident. Also the tactics are incomprehensible. I’d love to see these players playing for a better manager.

 

[MUFC OK]

Even the meltdowns have stopped being entertaining.

Bleak times. Embarrassing group of players not to be up for a big European tie, bin the lot of them and start again.

Embarrassing was the word that springs to mind, we aren't even good enough to go gung ho, we don't know what that is.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Pretty much how I'm feeling this morning.

There was a genuine buzz around OT last night, it seemed a lot of people turned up early in recognition of the size of the task. It had a truly big-game feel about it, and the atmosphere was electric to begin with. Thought we started quite well, but once that goal went in we seemed to lose what composure we had, and for long spells it was a classic case of men against boys.

Credit to Juve, they might not have been blistering but they are such a clever side. Whenever we looked like we might build up a head of steam, they had the ability to control the tempo, retain the ball and completely take the sting out of our attacks. Another clear difference between the sides was that they didn't seem to make a terrible mistake for practically the entire game. Confidence was flooding though them from back to front (helped no doubt by our inability to close effectively), but the contrast was stark; we were giving the ball away readily at times, they hardly relinquished it the whole game. It was a game between a side with seven league titles on the bounce and a side that has been in the wilderness for years. It showed.

Got to be honest, in my head I'd convinced myself that 30 minutes of decent football against Newcastle and a good half against Chelsea was enough to think we'd turned a corner and would give Juve a game. Reality check, we're not even close to their level right now.

I think the worst part for me was toward the last 10 minutes, when the acceptance of defeat started to filter through the stadium. Atmosphere was dying out and it just didn't feel like we could get back into it. 1-0 down at home I always have hope that we'll get a draw or even a complete turnaround, but last night I couldn't help but think "they're just too good for us." That really was a sad thought.

They are good, because they are well coached and have people who do their scouting properly and make good purchases where they are needed.

 

[Fracture90]

We were always going to lose to Juve. Two good halfs of football don't take away from our clear deficiencies.

This same Juventus failed to beat Genoa this past Saturday, finished 1:1.

 

[Treble]

Distance covered:

United 105
Juventus 112

The better team works harder. Which partly explains why it is the better team.

Things won't happen without hard work. This team can't match the effort of most other teams out there.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Embarrassing was the word that springs to mind, we aren't even good enough to go gung ho, we don't know what that is.

Don't think it is that they haven't known what gung ho is, just think they have forgotten what it is.

 

[Smores]

I'm not quite on board with the general uproar on here. We were beaten by a superior side. Juve have won the league for something mad like 7 years running. They've reached a couple of CL finals the last 3-4 years. They have a better team and squad than us. We're just re-establishing ourselves at this level. I'm not saying I expected us to lose quite as easily as we did, but we have to appreciate that this Juve team is one of the favorites for the CL for a reason.

Doesn't matter the children throw a strop when we lose no matter what happened or who we're facing.

There were plenty of positives to take from last night as well as some concerns but it wasn't a bad european night by any stretch and the second half we made a good go of it.

If this is the response we get losing 1-0 to one of the top teams in europe then our fans are fecking deluded.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

People have been saying for ages that they don't think they are fit enough, but that isn't it. It's that we just let other teams have the ball and just hope they lose it then we attack. Problem there of course is teams like Juventus don't lose the ball.

 

[MUFC OK]

Don't think it is that they haven't known what gung ho is, just think they have forgotten what it is.

Rashford for example, has in the past shown he knows how to lift the crowd - running at the opposition, taking them on, that's what fans want to see, but theres a reluctance to do that against, admittedly world class players.

But the attitude should be 'Hang on, I'm playing against supposedly one of the best fullbacks in the world here, I am going to have the beating of him and show how good I AM', but I don't think he even believes that right now, and that can be said for the whole team.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Rashford for example, has in the past shown he knows how to lift the crowd - running at the opposition, taking them on, that's what fans want to see, but theres a reluctance to do that against, admittedly world class players.

But the attitude should be 'Hang on, I'm playing against supposedly one of the best fullbacks in the world here, I am going to have the beating of him and show how good I AM', but I don't think he even believes that right now, and that can be said for the whole team.

Yep. If we are going to say we are inferior, then just think that we could pull off a giant killing. As I have said they were beaten before they even got on the pitch.

 

[Betson]

I don't think it is an issue of players not been up for it , I think some here still need a reality check about the quality of our squad. It is average , and when we come up against the big teams we are going to be shown up like we were for large parts of the game last night. It was embarrassing at times seeing how far out of our depth we were last night considering the money we have spent on this squad, we looked like minnows taking on one of the big boys, We used to be one of those big teams but on the field at this level we just don't cut it anymore at or even near the top.

Mourino is correct to say we just don't have the quality of the top teams in England or Europe but he needs to also hold his hand up and admit that some of the players he has brought in for big bucks were not top quality additions either.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I don't think it is an issue of players not been up for it , I think some here still need a reality check about the quality of our squad. It is average , and when we come up against the big teams we are going to be shown up like we were for large parts of the game last night. It was embarrassing at times seeing how far out of our depth we were last night considering the money we have spent on this squad, we looked like minnows taking on one of the big boys, We used to be one of those big teams but on the field at this level we just don't cut it anymore at or even near the top.

Mourino is correct to say we just don't have the quality of the top teams in England or Europe but he needs to also hold his hand up and admit that some of the players he has brought in for big bucks were not top quality additions either.

So we might as well give up then? What is the point of us being in europe. Might as well give it a miss. Not good enough for the PL so why bother with that either.

 

[afrocentricity]

Major Positive:
Best game Lindelof has had since we signed him

Did he look like he has settled in now?

Gave them far too much space...we were also lethargic for the most part.

Damn these impressions are disheartening. What are your thoughts Spoons? Depressed? Pessimistic? Optimistic?

I got blown while listening to the match. Happiest 90 minutes AND i still gathered Lukaku is useless.

Fecking hell poor woman... 90 mins?!