Shout out to Mata too. Only attacker with a good vision. He should nail down that RW spot and no more rotating that position constantly, Mata will come good if he gets a continuous run in that position. Yes he is not pacy or dribbly but he is the only one with control and the ability to rotate possession.
PL W FA Premier League
Manchester United 2:1 Leicester City
Post-match discussion
Fri, 10 August 2018
Good to get the win but let's face it we'll lose more than we win playing like that.
He was pretty crap apart from that play in the goal.
Just got back from the bar. Decent curtain raiser. Pereira and Fred both looked very good. The thing that struck me the most was the ball Pereira played to Sanchez in the 88th month. Damn near in his own box, he turns and fires a perfect for Sanchez to control. Who else in the squad is capable of that? Maybe Pogba? Sensational vision and range.
The back 4 as a whole were outstanding I thought. Darmian did well against a good, fast player in Damarai Gray and Shaw battled Pereira very strongly all game. Hell of a finish from him as well. Bailly was fabulous. All over the place, mopping things up. He and Lindelof generally dealt with Leicester quite well. They’re a good team with some nice players and they’ll create chances but I can only recall the one smart stop on Maddison from DDG. Again, have never and will never see the need for a “commanding” center half in this league where very few teams have a battering ram center forward. Defenders who are better on the deck are preferred, particularly in Europe. Those two need more games to really gel into a good partnership.
Interesting performance from Pogba I thought. Obviously had much more freedom from the off with the two behind him and definitely put himself about but that was about it from him. Took the penalty well and had some nice touches but the linkup between himself and Sanchez didn’t really materialize today. Work in progress.
Speaking of, I thought Sanchez was quite poor. Tried hard and had good ideas but nothing really came off for him. Should’ve been hooked for Martial in my opinion but José wanted his work rate knowing Leicester would throw bodies forward.
I thought Mata was very good. Such a clever footballer and found pockets of space often. Played some nice passes and a few good ideas that didn’t quite come off as well but the ball to Shaw is what we’re looking for isn’t it? Getting Mata into those pockets will be key, I think, creatively for United
Rashford worked hard up against Leicester’s two big bastards but didn’t have much to work with. The game went through the wingers and fullbacks. But I genuinely believe that he is a left winger now. He’s very good at running with the ball and committing people. He’s not a back to goal guy, and likely never will be.
Lukaku should be finishing that tbf but he looks hungry. Battled and held it up by winning some headers. Fellaini and McTominay did well when they came on. McT’s disguise ball to Mata to take two Leicester players away from him so he had space was an underrated pass. He’s quite comfortable on the ball and obviously puts himself about. He’ll be a solid contributor this season. Fellaini the same. Some nice tackles and overall did well defensively.
Also, I blame De Gea for that goal. But I’m sure I’m the only one.
All in all, 3 points, some decent football and plenty of positives.
The back 4 as a whole were outstanding I thought. Darmian did well against a good, fast player in Damarai Gray and Shaw battled Pereira very strongly all game. Hell of a finish from him as well. Bailly was fabulous. All over the place, mopping things up. He and Lindelof generally dealt with Leicester quite well. They’re a good team with some nice players and they’ll create chances but I can only recall the one smart stop on Maddison from DDG. Again, have never and will never see the need for a “commanding” center half in this league where very few teams have a battering ram center forward. Defenders who are better on the deck are preferred, particularly in Europe. Those two need more games to really gel into a good partnership.
Interesting performance from Pogba I thought. Obviously had much more freedom from the off with the two behind him and definitely put himself about but that was about it from him. Took the penalty well and had some nice touches but the linkup between himself and Sanchez didn’t really materialize today. Work in progress.
Speaking of, I thought Sanchez was quite poor. Tried hard and had good ideas but nothing really came off for him. Should’ve been hooked for Martial in my opinion but José wanted his work rate knowing Leicester would throw bodies forward.
I thought Mata was very good. Such a clever footballer and found pockets of space often. Played some nice passes and a few good ideas that didn’t quite come off as well but the ball to Shaw is what we’re looking for isn’t it? Getting Mata into those pockets will be key, I think, creatively for United
Rashford worked hard up against Leicester’s two big bastards but didn’t have much to work with. The game went through the wingers and fullbacks. But I genuinely believe that he is a left winger now. He’s very good at running with the ball and committing people. He’s not a back to goal guy, and likely never will be.
Lukaku should be finishing that tbf but he looks hungry. Battled and held it up by winning some headers. Fellaini and McTominay did well when they came on. McT’s disguise ball to Mata to take two Leicester players away from him so he had space was an underrated pass. He’s quite comfortable on the ball and obviously puts himself about. He’ll be a solid contributor this season. Fellaini the same. Some nice tackles and overall did well defensively.
Also, I blame De Gea for that goal. But I’m sure I’m the only one.
All in all, 3 points, some decent football and plenty of positives.
Eh what? Mata moves with the pace of a snail and will be lucky if he scores 3 league goals this season. And what's the point of having the ability to control and rotate possession when he hardly gets that chance, as he will be bullied off the ball? He's completely over the hill and beyond.
Had a much better second half but yeh thought he was ok at best to be honest. Gunna be a massive headache that right side, guessing Lingard will be shoe horned in.
Even Lingard performs better centrally and becomes useless when he's asked to dribble past players and cross.
We literally have no right wingers. That's why I think we should switch it to diamond with Young and Shaw as fullbacks and Sanchez and Lukaku 2 strikers with Lingard behind them as a 10.
Well in a way you could say it followed a lot of last season, come out the blocks the opening ten minutes and then the play gets sloppy and we retreat and play defensively.
I though pretty much every player did good things and sloppy things too, is the first game of the season though after all. Think there were some positives though.
Bailly at times reminded us of what we didnt see last season, powerful, strong beast one on one, really hope he can iron out the crazy moments as he is the one genuine very good and commanding centre back we have.
Luke Shaw ahs been written off by so many and his positional play was fairly poor at time, but both defensively and offensively there were glimpses of the player some of us still hope can break free IF he gets a run of games.
In central midfield there was a lot more fluidity. Pereira although out muscled on a few occasions really bought a calmness on the ball in possession at times reminded me of Scholes making space for himself and kept the ball moving, Fred although looked like he was understandably at times trying too hard and tired looks a good partner for Pogba, Pogba seems intent on being a big player. I can also see that with thatmidfield on the break Lingards runs could make a big impact this season.
The negatives for me would have to be the front three. Sanchez had two or three stand ot moments, but generally he was all puff and sloppyness like last season, really hoping we get the proper Sanchez this year. Rashford again didnt look like a centre forward and Mata just doesnt convince me for all his net and tidy play.
Darmian again looked like he would get done anytime he was ran out but I wouldnt be surprised to see him move in the next couple of weeks.
In summary even if all the players perform this season I still think we are weak in two or three positions at least, but IF they can perform and play the right way, with Fred, Perreira, Shaw, Pogba and Sanchez having good seasons and who knows maybe even Dalot, maybe even Martial, the side can be a competitive one.....still feel too many ifs and buts but hey
I though pretty much every player did good things and sloppy things too, is the first game of the season though after all. Think there were some positives though.
Bailly at times reminded us of what we didnt see last season, powerful, strong beast one on one, really hope he can iron out the crazy moments as he is the one genuine very good and commanding centre back we have.
Luke Shaw ahs been written off by so many and his positional play was fairly poor at time, but both defensively and offensively there were glimpses of the player some of us still hope can break free IF he gets a run of games.
In central midfield there was a lot more fluidity. Pereira although out muscled on a few occasions really bought a calmness on the ball in possession at times reminded me of Scholes making space for himself and kept the ball moving, Fred although looked like he was understandably at times trying too hard and tired looks a good partner for Pogba, Pogba seems intent on being a big player. I can also see that with thatmidfield on the break Lingards runs could make a big impact this season.
The negatives for me would have to be the front three. Sanchez had two or three stand ot moments, but generally he was all puff and sloppyness like last season, really hoping we get the proper Sanchez this year. Rashford again didnt look like a centre forward and Mata just doesnt convince me for all his net and tidy play.
Darmian again looked like he would get done anytime he was ran out but I wouldnt be surprised to see him move in the next couple of weeks.
In summary even if all the players perform this season I still think we are weak in two or three positions at least, but IF they can perform and play the right way, with Fred, Perreira, Shaw, Pogba and Sanchez having good seasons and who knows maybe even Dalot, maybe even Martial, the side can be a competitive one.....still feel too many ifs and buts but hey
Or maybe a back 3 of Bailly, Lindelof and Smalling so we can be a bit more balanced. We don't have a top No.10 to play diamond.
The midfield of 3 would be the key, we can use Matic if we want to be more defensive, or even Lingard if we want to attack more. Pogba, Pereira, Fred, Herrera, McTominay, Fellaini are fantastic options for our midfield.
Shaw/Young and Valencia/Dalot should improve their game in order to provide width. If we have 3 defenders, it could be easier for them to go forward and attack more.
I said exactly the same just now in the Sanchez thread. Think it would be worth a try as it would hopefully get the best out of Sanchez and Lingard whilst Pogba seems to like drifting wide left anyway. It’s just our fullbacks really aren’t great to rely upon for the control and width we’d need on the flanks.
Happy with the performance, based on the lack of fitness and availability. I thought the midfield 3 moved the ball much quicker and made better forward passes than last season, although the outlet was usually Sanchez who was having a stinker. Nothing he tried came off. I thought Martial would replace him, but as Jose said in the post match interview, he had to take Fred off as he was on a yellow card, and Pogba was running out of fuel. I'm chuffed for Luke Shaw. I've been dying for him to put on a performance like that for 3 years. He is miles better than Ashley Young, and he knows it. He nearly said as much in the post match interview where he said how gutted he was watching the world cup, thinking that should be him. I just hope Jose has faith in him and gives him the game time he needs to cement himself into the starting 11. Darmian was a weak link tonight, but Pereira was on hand to smell the danger and bail him out. He was also excellent and his range of passing was Carrick-esque. The right side is still a problem, I don't think that Mata is the solution. Another hangover from last season was also on display, sitting back and letting the opposition have the ball. I have never seen a successful team use this tactic. It baffles me why we do it, when there are so many players in our team who can keep the ball. Mourinho also mentioned post-match that he saw glimpses of the way he wants to play. I saw it too. Alexis on another day could have turned those breaks into chances. Lets not forget that they all need to get into the rhythm of playing again and with that comes the match fitness they all need.
Top of the league!!
Top of the league!!
Happy with the 3 points
Agree. I also said in Sanchez that with his erratic passing he's shite at playmaking. He has to change his style to adapt to him losing a yard of pace and that's by putting him in a position close to the goal as possible and expect him to finish not to create.
I think Young on the right and Shaw on the left can provide good width in the diamond formation. It just suits almost every other player in the team.
Post match interview with Shaw, G Nev and Carragher -
Same ol same ol
Leicester is a good team. I'm glad we started on the right foot and got the maximum.
I agree we could try a diamond formation with Lingard behind Lukaku and Sanchez. Might just be a viable option in some games. Relying on the full backs for the width would mean Valencia and Young would be most suited to it though. Being natural wingers...
feck off yourself, if my post is preventing you from enjoying the match then the issue is with you. Who are you to dictate what should be said or not ?
No issue with that game. I look back to LVGs first game of the season, so progress. Periera and Fred moved the ball with efficiency and some decent pace. Lindelof and Baily looked decent. What let us down was our width with Mata and Sachez failing to stamp any authority on the game in the first half. We seemed to press a little higher up the pitch compared to last season which is encouraging also. 3 points first day.
Time to forget the transfer window now and get behind the team AND the Gaffer.
Time to forget the transfer window now and get behind the team AND the Gaffer.
Few chances and play was roughly as expected, except that I thought Alexis had found some sort of form, but sadly not. Undoubtedly, he'll be back and play the full game next time. There's nothing he can do to be dropped.
Midfield looked composed most of the game. Bailly and Lidelof okay.
As for Luke Shaw I hope he can build on this. The LB position is there for the taking. We looked very shaky in last 10-15 minutes but glad we got that crucial second goal! We actually defended corners and set pieces quite well.
Get in!
As for Luke Shaw I hope he can build on this. The LB position is there for the taking. We looked very shaky in last 10-15 minutes but glad we got that crucial second goal! We actually defended corners and set pieces quite well.
Get in!
Yeahhh 3 points. Was a difficult game, wasn’t the best performance and Leicester played very well but the team put in a great effort to get the win.
Still disappointed to see the team sit back so much after going 1 0 up but will give the team benefit of the doubt as the lead up wasn’t perfect.
Huge credit to Luke Shaw, I thought he was excellent and I loved his passionate celebration. Also was impressed with Andreas who did well in a tough match. Rashford struggled as front man but he isn’t a target man.
I know it’s only small but it always irked me watching subs in the warm up loafing around instead of doing something. So I was happy to see that they had a proper warm up this time.
Still disappointed to see the team sit back so much after going 1 0 up but will give the team benefit of the doubt as the lead up wasn’t perfect.
Huge credit to Luke Shaw, I thought he was excellent and I loved his passionate celebration. Also was impressed with Andreas who did well in a tough match. Rashford struggled as front man but he isn’t a target man.
I know it’s only small but it always irked me watching subs in the warm up loafing around instead of doing something. So I was happy to see that they had a proper warm up this time.
Leicester deserved more out of this but I’ll obviously take the win and am very happy we started off with three points.
Fred, Shaw, Pogba, Bailly, Pereira and Lindelöf did really well, Mata was the best one of a really poor front three. Sanchez is the type of guy who is gonna Divine opinions as he obviously runs and works a lot but he hardly influenced the game offensively and I hope Martial receives a fair chance against him. Rashford was also disappointing although Lukaku didn’t do much of notice either when he came on.
Overall, DDG and Bailly has some heroic moments which really bailed us out. We struggled with their pace in the wings but Darmian did as well as he could have given how fast and tricky Gray is. Nonetheless, several flaws in our game were exposed and several players are under pressure to show more than they have, particularly our front three (including their subs).
Fred, Shaw, Pogba, Bailly, Pereira and Lindelöf did really well, Mata was the best one of a really poor front three. Sanchez is the type of guy who is gonna Divine opinions as he obviously runs and works a lot but he hardly influenced the game offensively and I hope Martial receives a fair chance against him. Rashford was also disappointing although Lukaku didn’t do much of notice either when he came on.
Overall, DDG and Bailly has some heroic moments which really bailed us out. We struggled with their pace in the wings but Darmian did as well as he could have given how fast and tricky Gray is. Nonetheless, several flaws in our game were exposed and several players are under pressure to show more than they have, particularly our front three (including their subs).
Very level headed guy. He talks really well and composed for a young player still. He's got his head screwed on, just needs to keep adding to the performance today!
I usually only read & not post on here, but going through this thread cant believe the amount of negativity! We won the first game of the season. Played some good football at times. Sanchez looks hungry for it, Pogba seems like he is actually bothered to show what he is capable of, and it might not be all lost for Shaw.
Im aware its only one game and a lot of things still need to be fixed, but lets atleast enjoy the victory and try looking at the positives.
Im aware its only one game and a lot of things still need to be fixed, but lets atleast enjoy the victory and try looking at the positives.
Iam going by what I seen and by most of your fans posts on here and thats all I can go off. Iam happy with Jose being there as you aint moving forward with him and the sensible United fans can see this. He won two trophies two seasons ( the season before last ) ago but thats just papering over the cracks and again your sensible fans or clued up fans can see this . You finished second last season but still a lot of your clued up fans are still not happy. Most clubs supporters would love two cups and a second place finish in two seasons and me being a Liverpool fan I wouldn't say no to that this season or next. It feels like some of you are are settling for little cups and a top four finish and see it as some sort of progression. Iam a Liverpool fan as you know and grew up on constant success. To put into the Manc equivalent I would have been born in the early 90's. I've seen my team knocked off its perch mate.
Anyway.... Jose .. like Ive said since the day he went to Old Trafford is not taking you forward. He's quick fixer these days and has no longevity which if I remember correctly was the Moyes plan.
He called Pogba a monster!!! Sack him!
I really liked that interview . Have to say some very likeable guys in our Squad
Second half was decent and enjoyable for an opening game, in the circumstances. First half was absolutely terrible.
In fairness it took Pogba 45 minutes to get up to pace. He was very impressive after half time and the team noticeably picked up as a result. He took the pressure away from the other two which allowed the whole team to look more comfortable.
Fred and Pereira both effectively playing their first PL game in the same midfield was always going to be a big ask. Both did well but you could see they weren't adjusted to the game.
Sanchez played like mid 20s Rooney. I admire the fact he keeps trying the difficult things and as a result created a couple of very good chances, but so many times he just lost the ball or made the wrong decision. Needs to stop trying too hard and over thinking everything.
Mid season and with a strong tean that would be a poor performance. Opening day with players who have never played in the league or barely had a training session, I think you take the second half quite happily.
Leicester are better than most PL teams to be fair. They don't often role over or not play their own game.
We'll definitely need to improve but I don't think it was realistic to expect a high end performance in an opening game, after a pre season without over two thirds of the squad.
In fairness it took Pogba 45 minutes to get up to pace. He was very impressive after half time and the team noticeably picked up as a result. He took the pressure away from the other two which allowed the whole team to look more comfortable.
Fred and Pereira both effectively playing their first PL game in the same midfield was always going to be a big ask. Both did well but you could see they weren't adjusted to the game.
Sanchez played like mid 20s Rooney. I admire the fact he keeps trying the difficult things and as a result created a couple of very good chances, but so many times he just lost the ball or made the wrong decision. Needs to stop trying too hard and over thinking everything.
Mid season and with a strong tean that would be a poor performance. Opening day with players who have never played in the league or barely had a training session, I think you take the second half quite happily.
Leicester are better than most PL teams to be fair. They don't often role over or not play their own game.
We'll definitely need to improve but I don't think it was realistic to expect a high end performance in an opening game, after a pre season without over two thirds of the squad.
Really impressed with Andreas Pereira. Showed some great composure in that midfield, and never panicked when the opposition player was close to him. However, it was a generally poor performance from the team, a lot of misplaced passes, simple mistakes that invited pressure. We were lucky in some moments, and we had to resort to David De Gea brilliance once again.
Good result. Once our counter attack clicks we'll be tough to beat.
Aw Shaw looked so happy, that little extra celebration by him at the end put a real smile on my face
Rashford really poor today, never going to make it as a striker at united, possibly as a winger. But have serious doubts about that too, as average as Sanchez was he offered far more then rashford did and I'm sure jese and martial would have offered more to. Definition of an over rated player built on english hype
Why you watching 90 minutes of United v Leicester as a Liverpool fan?
How did Fred do?
Dunno if this has been mentioned, but the 1st video is of the Shaw goal too
He adds something different in the midfield.
Positives;
* Great range of passing. Was pinging the ball all over the park with accuracy.
*Tenacious. He's quite fiery and likes to buzz around biting ankles when not in possession.
*Comfortable in tight areas. Really helped move the ball on quicker in our transitions from front to back.
Negatives;
*Looked lightweight. Got knocked off the ball a bit. Will need to adapt to the physical side of the PL
*High risk midfielder. Can be both positive and negative I suppose. Lost the ball a bit in risky areas but is happy to take said risk if it means playing forward.
*Temper.
All in all I was happy with him. He has a good engine and is very mobile. Reminds me of Ramires but with a bit more quality on the ball.
Thanks. Sounds like a decent buy for you. Coming from the Ukranian league, it’s only natural he needs time to adapt to what is probably the toughest competition in the world. Can’t say I hope he succeeds, mind
Thanks. Sounds like a decent buy for you. Coming from the Ukranian league, it’s only natural he needs time to adapt to what is probably the toughest competition in the world. Can’t say I hope he succeeds, mind
It's promising. Andreas Pereria played as the number 6 and was superb. I think Fred and Andreas will both be important this season along side Matic and Pogba. Our centre midfield options are much better than they were.
I'm interested to see how Keita gets on as he is similar to Fred in some ways.
Man of the Match
Runners-up
-
20%
Luke Shaw
-
15%
Eric Bailly
-
14%
Andreas Pereira
-
4%
David de Gea
-
3%
Fred
-
1%
Victor Lindelof
-
1%
Juan Mata
Player Ratings
Total Average Rating
Highest Rated Player
Lowest Rated Player
Compiled from 733 ratings.
Score Predictions
720,71,160
- Man Utd win
- Leicester win
- Draw
Detailed Results
- 27% Man Utd 2:0 Leicester
- 15% Man Utd 1:0 Leicester
- 14% Man Utd 2:1 Leicester
- 10% Man Utd 1:1 Leicester
- 8% Man Utd 3:0 Leicester
- 7% Man Utd 0:0 Leicester
- 6% Man Utd 3:1 Leicester
- 3% Man Utd 4:0 Leicester
- 2% Man Utd 1:2 Leicester
- 2% Man Utd 0:2 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 0:1 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 0:5 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 5:0 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 4:1 Leicester
- 1% Man Utd 1:3 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 5:1 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 4:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 2:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 5:5 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 3:2 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 1:5 Leicester
- 0% Man Utd 0:3 Leicester
Match Stats
- Man Utd
- Leicester
- Possession
- 46% 54%
- Shots
- 8 13
- Shots on Target
- 6 4
- Corners
- 2 5
- Fouls
- 11 8
Referee
Andre Marriner
Man Utd Lineup
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replaced by Marouane Fellaini
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replaced by Scott McTominay
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replaced by Romelu Lukaku
