Yeah they progressed because they got a very easy group. BVB , Zenit & Club Brugge which they couldn't even beat
They been very poor in Europe for a very long time now.
Romelu Lukaku | Napoli watch
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
They been very poor in Europe for a very long time now.
They also didn’t lose to them. They beat Dortmund and Zenit too and people here seem to rate the likes of Sancho and Haaland. United also had a poor Turkish team that they lost to so it’s not for granted that you’ll pass the group if there are ‘poor’ teams in it. Also as I mentioned Lazio had to play 2 games without half their team due to COVID so it’s not as if they had it easy.
After the draw nobody even believed Utd would progress. Also 1 shit vs 2 shit teams is a big difference don't you think?
That is a ridiculous assumption. West Ham are so solid with Moyes and hardly any of the Spanish sides would be able to break through them. Add to that the quality of players like Antonio, Bowen, Fornals, Lanzini, Cresswell, Soucek and Rice as well. Alongside probably ending the season with the 4th best defensive record behind Atletico, Real and Sevilla, they would batter sides like Cadiz, Huesca, Valladolid, Elche, Osasuna, Valencia etc.
La Liga is a good league, but West Ham would be pushing top 7 there.
Also Fiorentina are one
That’s a weird thing to say though - nobody believed Manchester United could advance against a team that finished 3rd in Bundesliga last season? Hard to believe that a 3rd placed Bindesliga team is THAT much better than the 3rd best EPL team.
Lazio also had the 2nd best team in Bundesliga from last season and took 4 points away from them - the reason Lazio didn’t make it was actually due to weaker record against Club Brugge.
Anyway Lukaki’s goal scoring doesn’t have much to do with Serie A. Even in Europe with Inter his record is: 16 games 13 goals 3 assists, so it’s actually the exact same as the record posted above: 1 goal contribution per game.
I just checked Lukaku’s stats in England and he has quite a few seasonswith around 25 goal contributions per season - does that just mean EPL was a terrible league back then?
That’s a weird thing to say though - nobody believed Manchester United could advance against a team that finished 3rd in Bundesliga last season? Hard to believe that a 3rd placed Bindesliga team is THAT much better than the 3rd best EPL team.
Lazio also had the 2nd best team in Bundesliga from last season and took 4 points away from them - the reason Lazio didn’t make it was actually due to weaker record against Club Brugge.
Anyway Lukaki’s goal scoring doesn’t have much to do with Serie A. Even in Europe with Inter his record is: 16 games 13 goals 3 assists, so it’s actually the exact same as the record posted above: 1 goal contribution per game.
I just checked Lukaku’s stats in England and he has quite a few seasonswith around 25 goal contributions per season - does that just mean EPL was a terrible league back then?
Not so much the slower pace as the inferior level of physicality. That, plus inter are just much better in attack than United under Mourinho
Leipzig are 1st at the moment in the Bundesliga - until Bayern play.
I don't know what kind of mental gymnastics your'e doing but Utd were in a group of death with 3 good teams fighting for progression while Lazio only had BVB.
You said nobody would think United would pass when they were drawn together. The CL draw was what - a few games into the season? Surely you didn’t make the assumption Leipzig are best team in Germany after then?
Anyway I still don’t buy that no United fan thought their team is capable of finishing ahead of Leipzig.
WTF are you on about.
There was even a thread on this forum about Utd not making it through the GS.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...-news/man-utd-champions-league-group-19033525
Do you actually read this thread? Just go few posts above and you'll see. The guy makes it so easy for people to hate him.
Those teams are not always easy though. Brugges held Real Madrid in Spain last season and caused PSG problems in Paris. They actually improved in this edition by winning three group games. We also looked poor against them in the Europa league in the first leg of our knockout game against them when we drew 1-1 last season. If anything that group appeared pretty competitive from the start considering the balance of quality. Chelsea and Sevilla had the easiest group IMO
Didn't play with our strongest team
Probably also depends on the profile of the player. Both Evra and Vidic looked done physically with us but one had a decent swansong at Juve while the other was so bad at Inter I think they released him.
He's not even playing for United anymore
It’s weird and obsessive.
Saying that a top 10 EPL team would be relegated in La Liga ? I'm sorry if you believe otherwise be my guest, I don't value the bottom half of the Spanish league as you do then.
That's the issue - he arguably didn't. Nobody hates him for his first season, but in his second season he was lazy, overweight, shit and tried to blame everyone else despite him being by far the worst player on the team. He's the type of person who throws other people under the bus when things aren't going well to try to hide the fact that he himself is the biggest problem. It's not a coincidence he quite obviously became quite disliked in the dressing room.
The only thing coming close to comparing teams in Europe is the CL and EL. Other than that, it's pure conjecture to say how an English club would fare in the spanish league or vice versa.
The truth is that it is closer than people think. Just like championship teams can come up and do well in the PL.
You're too biased.
First of all Lazio finished the UCL group stage unbeaten, then they missed SIX/SEVEN starters due to COVID-19 against Brugge and Zenit away (Strakosha, Luiz Felipe, Radu, Lazzari, Luis Alberto, Lucas Leiva, Immobile) and, despite that, still managed to draw both games
How can you say they've been poor? Their CL campaing has been good so far.
In Belgium they only had 2 first team players on the bench (Andreas Pereira,Muriqi) and didn't lose, in Russia they only had 3 first team players on the bench and didn't lose, took 4 points away from Dortmund, dominated Zenit at Olimpico... and they've been poor. Incredible
We got £80m for him, arguably spending that on Bruno. It’s worked out for both parties. Happy for him, but don’t miss him.
Stephen Howson said the other day he was told by someone at the club that Lukaku threatened to injure teammates if he didn't get his move. ,T
The same Bruno who was a flop in Serie A. Mind blown for some in here, I assume.
@LayI see what you are trying to say but the bolded part applies to the EPL too.
Yes of course. My point was his record vs. top6 teams is shambolic. Compare him to Jamie Vardy for instance.
Don't even have to go that far. Rashford, with whom he played in the same team, has a very decent record against top 6 as well.
He wasn't a flop, he was a talented but inconsistent young player. He was 22 when he left, and the general feeling at the time was "how are italian sides letting him go to portugal"
he didn’t do all he could for us. That’s the reason he’s disliked.
. overweight, fat and unfit. Absolute disgrace
. Throwing players under the bus during pre-season
. Going awol during pre-season
. Throwing shit at the club ever since he left. He’s the player version of David Moyes
. Grown ass man
I’ve not mentioned once (yet) his stat padding and generally poor play, and record of 1 goal in 23 appearances against the top 6.
I’d forgive all of that, if he wasn’t such a tool that clearly couldn’t be bothered for large parts of his time at United, and can’t shut up subsequently.
some players have the right attitude, and leave in the right way. Lukaku had/ did neither.
Very involved match. Out of five goals he scored one, assisted one and helped set up two more. My Inter supporting friends say his general play has gone up a level this year.
Not one single Utd player wished him good luck when he left. Shaw publicly trolled him when Inter fell into the Europa. Safe to say he wasn't well liked.
He had and still has a good relationship with Rashford.
Blinded by hatred.
I don't understand?
He didn’t though. That’s the very reason why he’s not liked
So, in Ole's recent press conference, having been asked about Cavani he said:
"Edinson has trained well when he's been banned," Solskjaer said. "He's had a couple of days off, of course, as well - you can't train too much.
"But he's ready to go, he gives us a different option. He's a different type of striker or forward than Mason (Greenwood), Anthony (Martial) and Marcus (Rashford), so I'm glad to have him back. That's why we brought him in.
I can only imagine that when Ole is saying Cavani is a different type of striker, he means he is more of a box player than the other three, who all like to roam across the front line.
However, if Ole wanted a different type of striker, it begs the question as to why he was so quick to offload Lukaku, who, despite not being as neat in the build-up play as our current strikers, is a box player and proven goalscorer.
"Edinson has trained well when he's been banned," Solskjaer said. "He's had a couple of days off, of course, as well - you can't train too much.
"But he's ready to go, he gives us a different option. He's a different type of striker or forward than Mason (Greenwood), Anthony (Martial) and Marcus (Rashford), so I'm glad to have him back. That's why we brought him in.
I can only imagine that when Ole is saying Cavani is a different type of striker, he means he is more of a box player than the other three, who all like to roam across the front line.
However, if Ole wanted a different type of striker, it begs the question as to why he was so quick to offload Lukaku, who, despite not being as neat in the build-up play as our current strikers, is a box player and proven goalscorer.
Lukaku himself wanting a move and Inter offering huge money which might have not been an option later, probably.
I don't think Ole would have pushed him out if Lukaku himself was happy here and there was no big money offer to cover our losses. Despite all the mocking and him genuinely not being fit to be the main man here, he would have been a great option to have as a rotation in the squad in a Cavani-like role.
Because he can't be relied upon? Cavani is a completely different beast to Lukaku.
Seriously? In what way?!
Yeah, that makes sense.