[edcunited1878]

Yes he did well in that. He was trying to bait Traore to go down the outside of his right where the empty space was, which made him make another pass instead. In that situation, when you have a fast attacking player running at you towards your goal in open space with runners to his side, forcing another pass/delaying their opportunity in attacking your goal is always the best risk-to-reward choice.



So true .



Agree, which is why I don't understand why Lindelof's fans have a hard time understanding the criticism he gets. It's one thing to recognise but you need to act on it too. If you wanted to be generous you could say putting Varane's body on Lindelof's brain would give you the same player (covering style, reading of the game etc) but the fact is that Lindelof doesn't have this physical prowess or any other elite attribute to make up for it. It's so utterly bizzare to see him highly rated by some of our fans for essentially doing risk-adverse and minimal engagement type of defending. He's no hack and deserves his spot in the squad but the clamouring that he's not a weak link etc has pretty much been proven wrong by Varane's performance today; there's no shame in that of course.

I am a staunch supporter of Lindelof, but yeah...there's a complete upgrade with Varane and then more than meets the eye. Victor recognizes it, but he's not physically equipped to deal with it in a direct and controlled manner. When you're only 2 CBs and 2 CMs ahead, you have to be comfortable in a lot of space and more importantly, be able to execute. Lindelof doesn't do that to the level Varane does, nor will he.

 

[gabbythered]

But your vaccination hasn't been confirmed as yet. 192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1
Enter motion denied gif here.

he did a great match today , and so much yet to come, I don't know how real gave him away like that

 

[lex talionis]

They hardly ever played at centrehalf with each other to even call what they had a partnership, though.

So true. Jones was always injured and Smalling rarely ever performed at the level we had expected. Blind got a raw deal from Mourinho, as did Shaw, and Rafael got a raw deal from Van Gaal.

 

[SAFMUTD]

He seems to have settle well, on paper we have a world-class defense. Long may it continue.

 

[Sylar]

One mishap where he was bailed out by DDG. But he was brilliant. And an assist.

And he will only get better for us given his partnership with Maguire should blossom.

 

[Nicoseth]

Great debut - the guy has so much class. Great on the ball, strong, quick and composed. One of our best performers today.

 

[criticalanalysis]

I am a staunch supporter of Lindelof, but yeah...there's a complete upgrade with Varane and then more than meets the eye. Victor recognizes it, but he's not physically equipped to deal with it in a direct and controlled manner. When you're only 2 CBs and 2 CMs ahead, you have to be comfortable in a lot of space and more importantly, be able to execute. Lindelof doesn't do that to the level Varane does, nor will he.

The frustrating thing with him is that I don't think he's weak or slow fundamentally because he does have decent athletic ability. It's just that he chooses not to exert or push himself in this manner e.g high intensity sprints (when closing down a player or space) or getting right up in attacker's faces for 1-vs-1 duels. He's shown speed or power on occasions so why can't he do it more and shut down chances sooner? Of course there needs to be a balance e.g Bailly can go overboard but Lindelof is almost the other side of the coin choosing to be take a step back when the chance is there to be decisive. He's a 6.5/10, who could be a 8/10 if he really set his mind to it but that's just wishful thinking after what we've seen for the last 4 years and sometimes you'd have to call a spade what is it.

 

[bosnian_red]

Motm for me, was fantastic and a very in your face world class centerback performance. Great to see.

 

[Red_toad]

Majestic player

 

[meamth]

He is always looking to challenge the aerial duels on the right side of defense. Strikers will have nightmares when he finally got into his form.

Love him already.

 

[roonster09]

He has that presence in the defense. Very calm and composed when he defends and he isn't strictly "stay on your feet" defender too. Did very well to cover Maguire few times.

 

[Suedesi]

Excellent debut, was our best defender today

 

[MDFC Manager]

Because he should've been much stronger, much stronger. Why didn't a single player appeal it if it was such a blatant foul?

Think there might well have been appeals if the ball had gone into the net. De Gea double save plus the need to scramble the ball away meant that no one paid attention.

Having said that, he should have been stronger, I can't complain it wasn't called a foul.

 

[Strelok]

However, had that been LIndelof getting muscled out and losing that header which resulted in the De Gea double save the Caf would be going into meltdown.

I have no idea why people keep saying this. Saiss used both hands to push Varane down. Maybe it's not a fault in the PL but definitely one in any other league.

7:18

 

[Bobcat]

Majestic player

Outside of his obvious defensive ability, his composure on the ball is really going to help us massively

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

I have no idea why people keep saying this. Saiss used both hands to push Varane down. Maybe it's not a fault in the PL but definitely one in any other league.

7:18

I would say not a foul, as it is usual occurrence in PL, but Varane will learn from this and not allow it to happen again, in this instant, Varane failed to handle the situation.

 

[Strelok]

I would say not a foul, as it is usual occurrence in PL, but Varane will learn from this and not allow it to happen again, in this instant, Varane failed to handle the situation.

Yeah it's probably new to him that when you're pushed down by both hands it's not a fault. But he'll learn how to and be just fine I think. Unlike Lindelof he's very strong and tall so no worry imo.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Yeah it's probably new to him that when you're pushed down by both hands it's not a fault. But he'll learn how to and be just fine I think. Unlike Lindelof he's very strong and tall so no worry imo.

100% Agreed

 

[golden_blunder]

Did very well for 99% of the game but if Saiz scores from that header, Varane would have been culpable

You mean the one where any other time that would have been called for climbing

 

[Red_toad]

You mean the one where any other time that would have been called for climbing

The scrutiny on all of our defenders is unbearable, a lot of fans expectations do not match reality at all. Just constant pick, pick, picking at every little thing.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He was brilliant yesterday.

 

[sillwuka]

He was thrown into the fire last night and dealt with the whole game so well, that's a great first outing for Rafa.

 

[GoldanoGraham]

First outing in the EPL and he puts in a performance like that…….

Quality.

 

[Zlatan Ibrahomovic]

I like Lindelöf but this was something else.

 

[tenpoless]

The commentators were so cringe on my telly last night. "Well he didnt expect that did he?", "Kick and rush football. Adama just ran past 2 players and found himself in a dangerous position", "Welcome to Premier League", "He must be asking Harry Maguire does this happen all the time"

Well he has dealt with players like prime Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Neymar and Suarez for ages. Not to mention other world class players in the CL and beat them to the trophy. He also looked calm and composed against Wolves anyway. Why do you think he has to shit himself when facing Adama and Wolverhampton? I love the PL but the exageration and overreaction are too much.

 

[Adisa]

That is elite mentality right there.

 

[Lentwood]

You mean the one where any other time that would have been called for climbing

I don't think so to be honest, Varane never even tried to jump. We'd have never gotten that.

I'm not having a go, overall it was a very good performance. I'm just saying you have to evaluate players fairly, regardless of feel-good factor around them

 

[bond19821982]

Any highlights of his performances?

 

[Kag]

Not a massive fanny. An improvement.

 

[NewUser777]

Looked so calm and in control. Very happy we signed him!

 

[bond19821982]

Not a massive fanny. An improvement.

There isn't a better partner to Maguire. We needed a pacy, composed player who is decent on the ball and aerially. Just name one covering defender who would be a better fit than this guy ?

Marquinhos, VVD ( pre injury), Stones are the only ones I can think of.

 

[Pronewbie]

Just caught his post match interview. He looks like he's relishing the challenge. Lovely!

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

He won 2 out of 5 aerials according to the official stats (40%).

There’s no way that’s correct btw! He lost 1 header all game and that was the one that De Gea saved. Unless it’s counting headers from corners but I can literally recall more than 2 headers won.

 

[Rake]

Think he was very good. Can't recall any obvious mistakes, apart from a misplaced long pass to Shaw. After that pass, he stopped attempting them (either a confidence thing or was advised so).

One of the few positives from that horrible game.

 

[hungrywing]

found via here.

 

[A-man]

There’s no way that’s correct btw! He lost 1 header all game and that was the one that De Gea saved. Unless it’s counting headers from corners but I can literally recall more than 2 headers won.

I don’t know exactly when and where he lost the headers but it has been corrected to winning 3/6 aerials. I use whoscored for most stats but there are other sources who have slightly different definitions. Note also that whoscored count both offensive and defensive aerial duels. In Varane’s case, he attempted 5 defensive and 1 offensive, according to the stats.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

I don’t know exactly when and where he lost the headers but it has been corrected to winning 3/6 aerials. I use whoscored for most stats but there are other sources who have slightly different definitions. Note also that whoscored count both offensive and defensive aerial duels. In Varane’s case, he attempted 5 defensive and 1 offensive, according to the stats.

Right okay, that perhaps sounds slightly more accurate. I was impressed with him in the air, more so than expected. There was certainly one point where he cleared back to back corners which I thought was pretty impressive. If nothing else he’s just a big guy too, which helps.

 

[Alemar]

If nothing else he’s just a big guy too, which helps.

He looks 1 cm higher than Maguire on TV, and about the same height as Pogba. I wonder what his exact height is

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I have no idea why people keep saying this. Saiss used both hands to push Varane down. Maybe it's not a fault in the PL but definitely one in any other league.

7:18

Definitely not a foul. I don't blame Varane though. I don't expect any defender to win 100% of the aerial duels. This is why the keeper needs to patrol the 6. De Gea got away with one yesterday. A punch would have avoided the entire situation...

 

[mancan92]

Varane was fantastic today. However, had that been LIndelof getting muscled out and losing that header which resulted in the De Gea double save the Caf would be going into meltdown. With that being said, i don't expect any defender to win every single header and this is why De Gea should be out punching balls that are in his 6. He made the saves today, but we have seen too many similar occasions where he hasn't and the central defenders have taken the blame...

1st game vs 4 years. If varane is doing that consistently over the next few years he will also get pelters.