[largelyworried]

Main takeaway - ETH is spot on with who's in his first team and who isn't. I thought the first team players were decent enough, but the guys who came in as replacements, sheesh.

Seeing Maguire and Lindelof again was like being in a bad dream, one where no matter how hard you run, you never seem to go any faster.

Fred just cannoned around destroyed anything he touched, whether it was our build up play or theirs. Elanga was like one of those mid-table players who's irritating to play against but ultimately just lacks the quality to actually hurt you.

Ronaldo, christ, his legs have gone. I was honestly shocked in the first half when he tried to get away from the defender and was easily caught for pace. Forget any debates about being in the first team, that is absolutely settled. Nothing to do with style, or whether he will or won't press. He just ain't got the fitness left. Someone call Todd Boehly.

Casemiro was mostly good. His range of passing was surprisingly good, he wasn't just winning the ball and handing it off, his passes through the lines were super at times. Other than him I thought Malacia was his usual raw but enjoyable self, Martinez' passing is beautiful compared to Lindelof and Maguire, and Antony just about did enough to get a pass without being great, given how new he is to the club.

Probably didn't deserve to lose - that penalty was bent as all hell - but didn't deserve the win either.

 

[siw2007]

Didn’t manage to win this game because we fluffed our lines when we got the chance. Didn’t deserve to win this one but didn’t think we should have lost either. Penalty decision is a bad one.

 

[Berbasbullet]

Really deflated about that, ah well hope the players can brush it off and get a result at the weekend. Good test to see their bounce back ability

 

[Solius]

We are playing the 6th in La Liga last season at home. Should have closed this game long before VAR became a problem.

Irrelevant to my point tbf.

 

[sparx99]

I do wonder if we shouldn’t have just played 9-10 of the starters we’ve been using. With 5 subs they can be rested later if you get a lead. If we were playing CL most of the same team would’ve started.

Essentially what we end up with is half our team having played very little going up against the opposition who are super sharp playing every week.

Maybe tonight you play Casemiro over McTominay and Maguire/Lindelof over Varane. Otherwise play the starters. Then get 2-0 up and take them off at 60-70 mins.

 

[RoyH1]

Weird game. The circumstances, bad VAR, strange substitutions.
I hope we just treat the EL as a sideshow and focus on the league

 

[Oldyella]

Martinez man of the match.

Ref - cnut of the match.

It's crazy how much of an improvement he is over the other CBs

 

[NewGlory]

Ronaldo and Casemiro just not up to speed at all

Makes you wonder if this is why Casemiro is not starting, and not just "McT suddenly became world class".

 

[El Presidente]

Shit atmosphere, shit coverage, game shouldn't even have gone ahead

Imagine actually thinking that.

 

[Ceteris]

Do we have a plan b or c if we aren't countering teams?

This is also a clear sign that the rebuild isn't done, a few players out of the team and we look dire. Ronaldo unfortunately is done buy him out in January and buy a striker

Someone get Sancho a fitness trainer please

 

[A-man]

Well, Eriksen went off. He's the closest we've had that ressembles Scholes/Carrick in a long long time. All about control in that midfield.

That was probably the biggest reason. It also felt as we dropped deeper for some reason.

 

[TMDaines]

You don’t really want to say it when on a four game winning streak, but that sort of result could have happened in any of United’s last four. Every match has been tight on the xG and we got the negative variance this time. We’re leaving ourselves open to that every game.

Still yet to get a convincing win under Ten Hag seven matches in. Arsenal and Liverpool were thrilling, but you need to be a lot more dominant to consistently pick up points and give yourself the best chance of progressing in the cups.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Showed the drop-off between our starting XI and the second string today, and how much we rely on Bruno and Eriksen being on the pitch at the same time.

Having said that though, Ronaldo fudged 2-3 clear chances today and their goal was a joke. On another night this would have been an uninspiring win.

 

[bucky]

 

[Devil81]

Actually felt the majority played like they felt it shouldn't be played.

No atmosphere, bad decision and a really muted affair.

 

[sparx99]

Was the VAR not overturned because technically it hit his arm and isn’t a clear error? Or is it still a clear error because it’s clearly extremely harsh and not the rule?

 

[Longshanks]

Poor game but for a bizzare penalty call it would of ended 0-0 and been entirely forgettable.

When eriksen went off we lost the ability to pass through midfield and with Ronaldo playing our attacking play became entirely predictable and comfortable for sciedad to deal with. Kudos to casemerio perhaps prooving that mcfred aren't that bad after all, after that performance.

Few side notes De Gea's distribution was awful and his unwillingness to deal with a ball across his six yard box, led to the corner which led to the penalty.

Fred is not a 10.

 

[#07]

Wasn't able to see the game tonight. Don't feel like I missed much. Europa League is the second most important trophy we could win this season. Yet I really can't work myself up enough to care about it. Seen the penalty call though. Ridiculous.

 

[BlueHaze]

Might be the only one but I don't give a damn about this result. The whole thought of this tournament makes me sick so I wouldn't give a shit if they were knocked out of the group. They're better off focusing on the league results. Also, Ronaldo is trash.

 

[sparx99]

How much xG is a penalty worth? Because take that out and that’s a clear xG advantage to us.

 

[RedOrange]

Makes you wonder if this is why Casemiro is not starting, and not just "McT suddenly became world class".

McT has steadily improved and was legitimately good against Arsenal. We can cut some of the players who haven't started a bit of slack, but Fred looks awful.

We also desperately need a keeper who can make those medium passes to the fullbacks when playing out from the back. Every time we pressed their keeper just kicked it to their fullbacks on the touchline and they were able to keep more possession because of it. De Gea just hoofs it long if there's even a hint of a press, so we have to fight to get the ball back a lot of the time.

 

[Dread Devil]

Disjointed performance…too slow from the back with Maguire and Lindelof, Casemiro isn’t fit, Fred was wasteful time and again..Ronaldo just isn’t at the races…..Antony needs match fitness….

Should have been a draw but an awful decision cost us….we should still qualify though and Ten Hag knows more about the whole squad.

Some of the players got some fitness, Garnacho and McNeill got some minutes, let’s move on and back to the first squad for Palace…

 

[largelyworried]

How much xG is a penalty worth? Because take that out and that’s a clear xG advantage to us.

0.7 usually.

 

[CloneMC16]

We're horrible against Spanish sides. I'm not massively worried, because we made a bunch of changes to the team.

There was practically zero intensity in this game. A draw would have been a fair result if the VAR officials did their job correctly. The midfield and attack ended up losing us the game. The defence were mostly fine. Especially Martinez when he came on. He has quickly become a very important player for us. Casemiro, Fred, Antony, and Ronaldo were all horrible. I don't think Elanga was amazing, but he was doing better than those four. Eriksen was good again. We need him in the midfield.

Sociedad were also shite. Their only impressive player was their keeper. He was pinging passes out to the wings with ease. Excellent distribution. We need this ability in our team.

 

[Will Singh]

Martinez and Malacia are the players I want us to build our team around. They are levels ahead of the rest.

 

[bucky]

How much xG is a penalty worth? Because take that out and that’s a clear xG advantage to us.

.76 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Rightnr]

How much xG is a penalty worth? Because take that out and that’s a clear xG advantage to us.

Varies but usually around 0.7, so yeah they basically did nothing the whole game, except for that idiotic ref.

 

[sparx99]

Might be the only one but I don't give a damn about this result. The whole thought of this tournament makes me sick so I wouldn't give a shit if they were knocked out of the group. They're better off focusing on the league results. Also, Ronaldo is trash.

I don’t get that attitude. Some of Utds best moments have been in b-tier European competitions. We haven’t won very much over the last decade and this is where we are as a club. You can build a winning habit, a winning culture by having success.

 

[dan1509]

I do not think this performance should be that suprising considering that we looked just as bad against Southampton and Leicester. We are going to have a lot of issues this season against teams who sit back. Unsurprisingly, some players have been specifically scapegoated for todays performance despite us looking bad for most of the season (besides Liverpool and Arsenal). I would not be shocked at all if we look just as bad against crystal palace this weekend.

 

[stw2022]

Bizarre game to be honest

 

[cletus7]

Might be the only one but I don't give a damn about this result. The whole thought of this tournament makes me sick so I wouldn't give a shit if they were knocked out of the group. They're better off focusing on the league results. Also, Ronaldo is trash.

When you think how competitive the premier league is, this is probably an easier route to Champs League than finishing in the top 4.

 

[sullydnl]

How much xG is a penalty worth? Because take that out and that’s a clear xG advantage to us.

0.76. So ignoring that ridiculous decision they were on 0.33. Which really was backed by the eye test anyway, as they didn't create anything.

We weren't good but still unlucky to lose.

 

[Red00012]

Some strange calls by ETH
Fred as a 10 and not Eriksen
Taking off Dalot and putting Lindelof there instead of AWB

 

[BlueHaze]

I don’t get that attitude. Some of Utds best moments have been in b-tier European competitions. We haven’t won very much over the last decade and this is where we are as a club. You can build a winning habit, a winning culture by having success.

Because I am 100% sure they will not win it either way.

 

[cletus7]

I do wonder if we shouldn’t have just played 9-10 of the starters we’ve been using. With 5 subs they can be rested later if you get a lead. If we were playing CL most of the same team would’ve started.

Essentially what we end up with is half our team having played very little going up against the opposition who are super sharp playing every week.

Maybe tonight you play Casemiro over McTominay and Maguire/Lindelof over Varane. Otherwise play the starters. Then get 2-0 up and take them off at 60-70 mins.

Yes, but Ronaldo up top was THE problem. That team with Rashford in place of Ronaldo would have won.

 

[Josep Dowling]

I’d wish we would stop taking the tournament so seriously. The line up was way too strong in my opinion and I would hope to see the likes of Garnacho start from the off. And after all that we bring on players we wanted to rest and still lost. It felt like half the team weren’t match fit but I think we need to realise that’s how the likes of Maguire, Lindelof and Ronaldo play. They lack any pace in their game which doesn’t work at the top elite level.

It was obvious from the crowd that United fans aren’t interested and the tournament hinders progress in the league.

 

[swissgenius]

Took me back to Ralf days, we were shit.
Credit to Real Sociedad, they played well, very organized and smart, men against boys.

We were clearly the better team...

 

[Gandalf]

Should have been a goalless draw and that was all it deserved. Clear that the drop off to our second string is significant and most of those players won't be here in another 12 months either because of expiring deals or we will take what we can get for them. Not going to get upset about a bad result from a dodgy penalty, we will probably still make the knockout rounds although of course finishing in first place does allow you to play 2 fewer games so we can hopefully reverse the result in Spain.

On a side note, I think Lindelof might have made the case to be Dalot's primary backup instead of AWB.

 

[Belisarius]

I assumed he was the legs of that midfield, as Kroos and Modric are snails. How did such a slow midfield manage to just ignore that blatant weakness?

He may have been. But, he's lost those legs. Maybe that's the reason they moved him on.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Not that he was really at fault today, but I find it somewhat hilarious that we have lost all three games Maguire has started, and won all the ones he hasn't started.