[Chairman Steve]

If our performance tonight could be summed up in the visual form, it would be this scene from the first Jack Reacher

 

[Florida Man]

The man in the VAR room was MOTM for them. Absolutely disgraceful decision. I'm so angry right now i could crack open a can of beer and have a pizza.

You normally gluten free?

 

[mancan92]

I didn't watch the game but what was the reason their goal stood? Wasn't there VAR?

 

[SadlerMUFC]

We did everything well but finish. On anther day we will 5-0. If we continue playing like we did today the results will come. I'm obviously not happy about the outcome but the performance was good. Some times you have days like this. We move on and take it out on Burnley on Tuesday

 

[Seij]

Fielding a full starting 11 (aside from GK) and losing to a Championship team with Paddy McNair scoring a penalty against us.

....we go again?

 

[allen7]

I didn't watch the game but what was the reason their goal stood? Wasn't there VAR?

Accidental touch they said

 

[Devil77]

This reminded me how we used to lose games in the good old days. Total domination, lots of chances, a freak goal from the opposition and then just a pearl band of missed opportunities. Of course our strikers let us down today but this is a game we win 9 out of 10 times.

 

[ReallyUSA]

Pressure on = team doesn't do what it takes to win. Again.

 

[SAF is the GOAT]

Anyone can bring Ralf's quotes post match ?

 

[pascell]

After the week we've had, I'm completely deflated now. I honestly have no idea where we go from here, there's too much wrong from top to bottom and it's worrying.

 

[mancan92]

Accidental touch they said

Wow.......

 

[Wheato]

Just got home from the match.

That was a totally weird night!

Got to my seat and discovered fifteen thousand Boro fans sat next to me! We totally dominated them and should have scored five goals. Then on the 60 minute mark all of our players just ran out of gas. I can understand Pogba being rusty, but McTominay, Bruno, Rashford, Maguire, Sancho....? This winter break hasn't been a success. Cavani and Lingard given the night off?

Ronaldo had more service tonight than he has had all season, but he couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo! We missed open goals, headers, penalties and all sorts. Then they scored a goal where their striker controlled the ball with his hand, everybody in the ground saw it accept the ref and the linesman?

Erm..the actual footballs ran out of air 3 times and had to be changed? Nobody in the stadium could get a drink or something to eat because the tills were down. There were people who had travelled from different countries to watch this game, and they couldn't get a morsel of sustenance, there were people drinking out of taps in the toilets. WTF!

Extra time came and our best efforts were to bring on Phil Jones and Juan Mata!! It started sleeting, everyone was knackered, the writing was on the wall.

I watched the penalties on the tram. There's only so much a person can take!

 

[allen7]

Just got home from the match.

That was a totally weird night!

Got to my seat and discovered fifteen thousand Boro fans sat next to me! We totally dominated them and should have scored five goals. Then on the 60 minute mark all of our players just ran out of gas. I can understand Pogba being rusty, but McTominay, Bruno, Rashford, Maguire, Sancho....? This winter break hasn't been a success. Cavani and Lingard given the night off?

Ronaldo had more service tonight than he has had all season, but he couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo! We missed open goals, headers, all sorts. Then they scored a goal where their striker controlled the ball with his hand, everybody in the ground saw it accept the ref and the linesman?

Erm..the actual footballs ran out of air 3 times and had to be changed? Nobody in the stadium could get a drink or something to eat because the tills were down. There were people who had travelled from different countries to watch this game, and they couldn't get a morsel of sustenance, there were people drinking out of taps in the toilets. WTF!

Extra time came and our best efforts were to bring on Phil Jones and Juan Mata!! It started sleeting, everyone was knackered, the writing was on the wall.

I watched the penalties on the tram. There's only so much a person can take!

Feel sad for seeing all this at ground on an empty stomach.

 

[AndySmith1990]

What a tragic club we are at the moment. We make a mess of everything.

To think we've spent hundreds of millions of pounds and we still have Mata and Jones coming on. It's not their fault of course and there's much more wrong with the club than those two, but it kind of sums up what a mess we've made of recruitment.

 

[AndyMUFC]

Another fun night watching United. Everything is just destined to go wrong for this club at the moment.

It was a dominant first half and looked like it had the potential to be a comfortable night but this is what can happen if you don't take your chances and then react badly to a goal. Rangnick had to try something but we were definitely a weaker team by bringing on those subs as we had no ideas with the team we ended the 120 minutes with.

 

[ExoduS]

My frustration is that we are ALWAYS a team who are going to get better next month or next season or next year.
This can't keep continuing. We need to perform today.
No other top team spends so much money on players and personnel and accepts that this season is a write-off.

And I promise you, if we change manager in the Summer, next season will also be a write-off. Reason: because the new manager needs to assess the players on the current roster and bring in his own players the following Summer.

I share your frustration. It is tough times, but we have to weather the storm. Some thought Ole was the problem but obviously problem is a lot bigger. We just can't catch a break either. Pogba's injury, Rashford's injury, now Greenwood's legal situation/scandal etc... We shall see what happens but I am optimistic it will get better.

 

[AndySmith1990]

A lot of people can't separate the outcome with how the game actually went.

We were totally in control, apart from their 1 breakaway handball goal.

We missed an open goal, a pen, Rashy had countless lashes from 18 yards out, Ronaldo and Bruno had chances. Elanga had a header from about 6 yards out saved.

Even Keano said we could have won 4 games with the chances tonight!

And even then we lost on pens, after we'd put 6 or 7 really good ones in.

How the game went literally dictates the outcome. The two aren't mutually exclusive. We lost because we failed to play well enough to win.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

When the football gods don't want you to win...

 

[maximus419]

It's very hard to see how RR picks the players up after this.

All season it's been pretty woeful but the events of the last week are sure to be some of the worst in the club's history.

It's a complete write off now this season and I don't see the players caring enough to try and finish this season strongly.

Another thing is, I get the feeling the vast majority of supporters have kinda given up too. I mean what's in it for them? We are going to be utterly destroyed by opposition supporters for the foreseeable due to what's happened this week.

The atmosphere around the club I don't think had ever been worse. It wouldn't surprise me if RR chooses to quit his post as he knows the writing is on the wall. Money isnt everything and this is not a job or task that anyone can turn into a positive.

I'd like to be able to offer some sort of hope but as others have mentioned, the signs are it's going to get a lot worse when we play the big teams.

 

[van Nistelrooy]

No point in complaining about being robbed by the referee or VAR. The rules are clear (even though they're evidently flawed).

We had a ridiculous number of chances tonight and failed to convert them.

We're just not good enough.

 

[chiz2kul]

bar the result, missed chances, Ronaldo and Bruno, united completely and utterly dominated the game. Lots of positives IMO.
Ronaldo should be permanently off FK and PK duty imo. His value to the team keeps going down exponentially. Kind of a shell of himself. Actually sad to watch..

 

[Annihilate Now!]

No point in complaining about being robbed by the referee or VAR. The rules are clear (even though they're evidently flawed).

We had a ridiculous number of chances tonight and failed to convert them.

We're just not good enough.

It's a handball by the laws though. Nevermind this leading to a goal bollocks, its just a regular, standard handball.

If it happened in the middle of pitch, it would be a free kick. If a defender did it, it would be a pen.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

It's a handball by the laws though. Nevermind this leading to a goal bollocks, its just a regular, standard handball.

If it happened in the middle of pitch, it would be a free kick. If a defender did it, it would be a pen.

Now that we have seen the effects of that rule change, I really want to understand what went through the minds of the people at the IFAB in changing that rule for no reason whatsoever. The rulebook is supposed to eliminate as many grey areas as possible, so it makes no sense whatsoever as to why they added that grey area when nobody had issues with the old rule.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Now that we have seen the effects of that rule change, I really want to understand what went through the minds of the people at the IFAB in changing that rule for no reason whatsoever. The rulebook is supposed to eliminate as many grey areas as possible, so it makes no sense whatsoever as to why they added that grey area when nobody had issues with the old rule.

I get the rule change though, that was in case the ball hit your hand which was rooted to your side in the build up for a goal. That shouldn't obviously matter.

That rule should have nothing to do with this incident. This is just a "is it a handball?" full stop...and yes, it is a handball.

My theory is the idiot in the VAR hot seat was too busy wanking himself silly over the "handball goal" rule, he didn't stop to think if it was just a normal handball.

 

[macheda14]

No he shouldn't have. I don't agree with the rule, but it's not the refs fault it's there.

No no the ref should have seen it was a handball. We’re in this dual place where anywhere else on the pitch he would have blown and been a freekick - in the box it would have been a penalty. He didn’t blow which allowed it to go to VAR where their rule is different to the on fields ref rule. The players arms were in an unnatural position. That sounds like handball anywhere else in the pitch apart from directly before a goal scorer.

 

[lefty_jakobz]

A Wilder team coming to OT and getting a dubious (and wrong) call…seems like de ja vu

 

[steffyr2]

What's going on with Utd's inability to cross a ball? Isn't that the kind of thing that can be practiced till you get it right?

We've all seen the terrible corners, but today Luke Shaw was crossing from open play and kicking it off the pitch on the other touchline. The corners were these lofted balls like they were expecting them to land on the players head.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

No no the ref should have seen it was a handball. We’re in this dual place where anywhere else on the pitch he would have blown and been a freekick - in the box it would have been a penalty. He didn’t blow which allowed it to go to VAR where their rule is different to the on fields ref rule. The players arms were in an unnatural position. That sounds like handball anywhere else in the pitch apart from directly before a goal scorer.

It actually isn't, VAR can check for standard offences in build ups (like a foul for example) and a typical handball offence falls under that category.

The VAR somehow adjuded this to not be "deliberate handball" under the current handball rule - hands deemed in a natural position compared with body movement apparently, which is utter bollocks.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Just got home from the match.

That was a totally weird night!

Got to my seat and discovered fifteen thousand Boro fans sat next to me! We totally dominated them and should have scored five goals. Then on the 60 minute mark all of our players just ran out of gas. I can understand Pogba being rusty, but McTominay, Bruno, Rashford, Maguire, Sancho....? This winter break hasn't been a success. Cavani and Lingard given the night off?

Ronaldo had more service tonight than he has had all season, but he couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo! We missed open goals, headers, penalties and all sorts. Then they scored a goal where their striker controlled the ball with his hand, everybody in the ground saw it accept the ref and the linesman?

Erm..the actual footballs ran out of air 3 times and had to be changed? Nobody in the stadium could get a drink or something to eat because the tills were down. There were people who had travelled from different countries to watch this game, and they couldn't get a morsel of sustenance, there were people drinking out of taps in the toilets. WTF!

Extra time came and our best efforts were to bring on Phil Jones and Juan Mata!! It started sleeting, everyone was knackered, the writing was on the wall.

I watched the penalties on the tram. There's only so much a person can take!

Dude, you gave more effort tonight than anyone in our team. Well done, you've earned your rest.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

The ref and VAR decision today does open up a lot of options for our strikers, however. Now a player can jump with arms wide when trying to control a ball/cross, and just keep the arms out straight when the ball hits their arm or chest or wherever. It's now legal to control a ball like that.

 

[Wheato]

What a tragic club we are at the moment. We make a mess of everything.

To think we've spent hundreds of millions of pounds and we still have Mata and Jones coming on. It's not their fault of course and there's much more wrong with the club than those two, but it kind of sums up what a mess we've made of recruitment.

We've retained the fringe players on big money, and totally neglected genuine talent. Amad and Garner should be in the first team squad.

 

[steffyr2]

The ref and VAR decision today does open up a lot of options for our strikers, however. Now a player can jump with arms wide when trying to control a ball/cross, and just keep the arms out straight when the ball hits their arm or chest or wherever. It's now legal to control a ball like that.

Everyone stand like scarecrows in the box, spinning!

 

[Adnan]

Should've won the game comfortably but unfortunately for us we didn't take the high number of opportunities we had. But the performance was good, just let down by bad finishing.

 

[van Nistelrooy]

It's a handball by the laws though. Nevermind this leading to a goal bollocks, its just a regular, standard handball.

If it happened in the middle of pitch, it would be a free kick. If a defender did it, it would be a pen.

Handball rule changes as quoted by the Premier League for the 21/22 season:

'Handball before scoring:
The second change is on accidental handball in the immediate build-up to a goal.

If an attacking player’s accidental handball immediately precedes another player scoring, the goal will now be awarded, when last season it was likely to have been ruled out.

However, a player will still be penalised if he commits an accidental handball immediately before scoring himself.'

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

I don't care what people say here. There was and is no rationale whatsoever for changing that rule in the first place, especially in an attacking position where you create an unfair advantage that leads to a goal. Expect more chaos down the road after that shambolic example of stupidity in new rules.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Handball rule changes as quoted by the Premier League for the 21/22 season:

'Handball before scoring:
The second change is on accidental handball in the immediate build-up to a goal.

If an attacking player’s accidental handball immediately precedes another player scoring, the goal will now be awarded, when last season it was likely to have been ruled out.

However, a player will still be penalised if he commits an accidental handball immediately before scoring himself.'

Thats a different rule.

That rule (rightly) wasn't applied

The rule of this just being a normal handball however should have been applied. His hand is clear in an unnatural position...it is therefore a normal handball.

Take it to the extreme, if he caught the ball and threw it to his teammate, and the ref somehow missed it, this would have be ruled out right? Well he didn't catch it, but he might as well have.

 

[nainaisson]

When the football gods don't want you to win...

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Hmmm, who among the squad could have angered the football gods...

 

[tentan]

Should've won against a championship club easily. Just terrible.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Hmmm, who among the squad could have angered the football gods...

Two of them: a little fool wanting to be a social media influencer instead of a footballer and a rapist in dire need of getting his cojones surgically removed.

 

[Devil may care]

We played some great stuff but couldn't finish our dinner and they got a goal that should never have stood, it's disappointing as this was our only chance of winning a trophy but there was progression in how we played at least.