[Real Name]

Some of the comments here are well over the top. You'd think he had a howler, and that's just not true.

 

[Real Name]

I think we all watched that and there is no chance he was dribbled past 0 times. Whatever they perceive dribbling past to mean has to be wrong if their conclusion is 0 here. Saka destroyed him in almost every 1v1. Pretty sure the only duel Malacia beat him in was right at the end of the match.

Saka passed him literally once.

 

[King7Eric]

Some of the comments here are well over the top. You'd think he had a howler, and that's just not true.

He did have a bad game in the sense not that he made many mistakes, but he was just up against a forward he had no answer for. He seems a great young prospect but there's a massive difference in skill level between him and Shaw. The only thing is Malacia seems the kind of player who you know what you'll get out of every game. With Shaw, he can be imperious at times and then lose concentration horribly. Today showed against top players we'll need Shaw this season and hopefully he rediscovers his form from the season before last soon.

Today will be a great learning curve for Malacia and that's what he needs as well at this stage.

 

[Ali Dia]

I really like the intensity and aggression from himself and Martinez.

 

[Real Name]

He did have a bad game in the sense not that he made many mistakes, but he was just up against a forward he had no answer for. He seems a great young prospect but there's a massive difference in skill level between him and Shaw. The only thing is Malacia seems the kind of player who you know what you'll get out of every game. With Shaw, he can be imperious at times and then lose concentration horribly. Today showed against top players we'll need Shaw this season and hopefully he rediscovers his form from the season before last soon.

Today will be a great learning curve for Malacia and that's what he needs as well at this stage.

He did have an average game but honestly I dont remember him making so many mistakes.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

Struggled quite a bit today. Still, I like what I've seen from him so far, and he will only get better. Quite telling that Shaw hasn't had a look in in the last 3 games.

 

[CloneMC16]

Some of the comments here are well over the top. You'd think he had a howler, and that's just not true.

If Shaw played like that, the majority of comments here would be very different. I like this lad, but no chance did he have a good (even an average) game today.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

His worst game for us but won't get much harder games than playing against Saka who is excellent. Still showed determination, physical strength and guts.

 

[Fabio Rochemback]

Some of the comments here are well over the top. You'd think he had a howler, and that's just not true.

He got rinsed today, but howler would be a bit unfair, because Saka was great. I think he would give any fullback in the world a problem playing how he did.

 

[tomaldinho1]

He's been fantastic so far but today was his toughest game so far, Saka is a fantastic footballer who is a lot faster than I thought.

We’ve seen Saka absolutely roast all FBs in the league, his acceleration is just ridiculous. Malacia kept at it, his one big error was letting Saka turn in the box for that right foot shot.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

Didn’t think he had a bad game, definitely not as bad as some of the posts on here suggest.

Took one 50/50 decision (wrong) which allowed a shot… that it? I watched Cole and Irwin get beaten at times.

 

[Bastian]

Didn’t think he had a bad game, definitely not as bad as some of the posts on here suggest.

Took one 50/50 decision (wrong) which allowed a shot… that it? I watched Cole and Irwin get beaten at times.

He made quite a few errors, but he also contributed a whole lot. He was beaten at least twice by Saka and he allowed the ball to be pinched off him inside the box whilst trying to shield it out of play. His energy and work rate, even on a day where he struggles a bit with his opponent, helps a great deal. Reminds me of Fabio and Rafael who were up on their feet again a split second after going for a slide tackle. Think Shaw will find it very hard to displace him.

 

[Someone]

He made a couple of mistakes but still was fantastic overall. We're playing tough teams and we can't expect perfection every game. So far he's been way better than I expected.

 

[Von Mistelroum]

Thread title needs changing. Gary Neville has now educated us all about how to pronounce this chap's name and we now know that he's Tyrell Melissa.

On topic: he's just arrived. Looks passionate and promising and was dealing with a lot today. He'll be fine.

 

[lex talionis]

He made a couple of mistakes but still was fantastic overall. We're playing tough teams and we can't expect perfection every game. So far he's been way better than I expected.

This

 

[sglowrider]

He is on a learning curve. Played only 6 games in the PL. He will learn to anticipate better a non-stop pace and the physicality of the players. The moment that captured it for me --- was when he thought he could allow the ball to go out. But was pushed aside in the last second and lost the ball instead. Most players are as strong as him and are as relentless in this league.

 

[Bondi77]

I love his effort but he is levels below Luke.

 

[Remember the geese]

I love his effort but he is levels below Luke.

He's below Shaw at his best, but that Shaw hasn't been seen since the Euro's. This Malacia is better than this Shaw.

 

[Bondi77]

He's below Shaw at his best, but that Shaw hasn't been seen since the Euro's. This Malacia is better than this Shaw.

He was not good last season but I don’t think he is Robinson Crusoe there.

 

[Pronewbie]

Left Saka completely open for their goal. Also outmatched by him throughout the game until defensive reinforcement arrived. I gave him a 4 or 5. Dreadful performance. If it were Shaw the response on the caf would have been far worse.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I love his effort but he is levels below Luke.

In terms of natural ability Shaw is one if the better fullbscks I've seen. His first touch is immaculate and when at his best he is a beast of a defender. The issue with him though is that is either inconsisten, lacks focus and /or can't be bothered. He has the intensify of Dimitar Berbatov and in the modern age of pressing and physical intensity that does not cut it.

Malacia looks a lot more raw technically and few fullbacks and technically as gifted as Shaw anyway. However he seems to have a great mentality and work ethic which is crucial for the collective and our tactical setup.

Also we've seen the best and worst of Shaw and its too early with Malacia. Maybe he's squad player material. Maybe he's a top fullback in the making. He needs time. Yesterday was a rough outing for him but he should learn from it. I hope we see him flowing in confidence and we see his attacking game start to flourish.

 

[little.triangles]

Left Saka completely open for their goal. Also outmatched by him throughout the game until defensive reinforcement arrived. I gave him a 4 or 5. Dreadful performance. If it were Shaw the response on the caf would have been far worse.

Malacia did not leave Saka open for their goal. The goal came from a mistake from Varane which left the back line out of shape and Malacia had to make a call on whether to cut the passing angle to Saka or get tight to him. He chose the former but the latter could have led to a goal too.

As for Shaw, he has been useless since the Euros and would have been destroyed today without a fight.

 

[The United]

Malacia did not leave Saka open for their goal. The goal came from a mistake from Varane which left the back line out of shape and Malacia had to make a call on whether to cut the passing angle to Saka or get tight to him. He chose the former but the latter could have led to a goal too.

As for Shaw, he has been useless since the Euros and would have been destroyed today without a fight.

Even in his bad form, Shaw hardly got outplayed by good wingers from top teams. If anything, Shaw is very good at one on one.

 

[Pronewbie]

Malacia did not leave Saka open for their goal. The goal came from a mistake from Varane which left the back line out of shape and Malacia had to make a call on whether to cut the passing angle to Saka or get tight to him. He chose the former but the latter could have led to a goal too.

As for Shaw, he has been useless since the Euros and would have been destroyed today without a fight.

That's a surprising take. He should be cutting the passing lane while tracking back to where Saka is. That's his man and area in the box. He was daydreaming outside of the penalty box for a split second and jumped into life after realising his mistake. 1:10

 

[Longlivekeano]

Think they targetted him and he genuinely looked ruffled for first 70 mins. But I think ETH spotted this and instructed Fred and Eriksen to give him more cover by double teaming Saka. Once he had additional help, he looked more settled.
Still, he needs time to learn, adapt and strengthen up to the EPL. Evra has a debut nightmare and was hooked off by Fergie at halftime. So I will say jury is still out on Malachia. Signs look promising but he has to share match time with Shaw

 

[little.triangles]

That's a surprising take. He should be cutting the passing lane while tracking back to where Saka is. That's his man and area in the box. He was daydreaming outside of the penalty box for a split second and jumped into life after realising his mistake. 1:10

You are right. Once the ball was played to Jesus, Malacia should have sprinted to his man Saka - though you could say he wouldn't have got there, the whole play from Odegaard's pass to the goal lasted 3 seconds.

 

[Idxomer]

I would say what he showed so far is around AWB's level in his first season.

He's a bit worse defensively but with the same need to improve a lot in attack.

 

[Pronewbie]

Think they targetted him and he genuinely looked ruffled for first 70 mins. But I think ETH spotted this and instructed Fred and Eriksen to give him more cover by double teaming Saka. Once he had additional help, he looked more settled.
Still, he needs time to learn, adapt and strengthen up to the EPL. Evra has a debut nightmare and was hooked off by Fergie at halftime. So I will say jury is still out on Malachia. Signs look promising but he has to share match time with Shaw

They did target our left hand side. I'm including Sancho and Eriksen.

 

[Freak]

He was poor in the first half but got better as the game went on in the second half. Saka got the better of him overall though

 

[stoinz]

Not just him but the whole team got outplayed by Arsenal for a portion of the game. But it is to be expected as Arsenal and us are in very different rebuild phase. It was also very positive that the entire defense kept our cool head up and focus. If this were Shaw, Maguire, Lindelof and AWB, we would have cracked much earlier under constant pressure from Arsenal front 3.

Arsenal play really good football to be honest and it is our hardest opponent so far.

 

[fallengt]

He didn't have a bad game. Saka was just the better player. Saka got upper hand in every duel but Malacia fought back and did ok-ish toward end of the match.

Reading this thread you would think he was Sanchez vs Darmain level of bad but this is not it. Malachia'll learn from this

 

[christy87]

I didn't think he was that bad, he has endless energy and is tough as well and is looking a steal at 15m

 

[bringbackbebe]

Some of the comments here are well over the top. You'd think he had a howler, and that's just not true.

To be fair, he did have a howler but it was learning on the job, marking a really good, intelligent player in Saka. He'll only get better & he's already been an upgrade to Shaw overall.

 

[DWelbz19]

Calm down lads. His biggest test before his move was facing Antony twice a year.
Give it some time.

In the mean time, we've spent peanuts on a Telles upgrade and someone who might help give Shaw a boot up the arse.

Pretty much. If Shaw gets back to his previous form, he’s best in the league contender. Malacia looked a bit rough yesterday, but he’s young n learning. The jump from Feyenoord to Manchester United’s first choice LB is monumental. At the very least he has that dawg in him

 

[antk]

I thought his first half was terrible, but that he recovered quite a bit in the second. Bad performance overall, nothing dramatic for a new player, especially one who keeps trying like he did during the whole game.

 

[Hughes35]

I love his attitude and his drive but I thought he struggled when 1v1 today. That chance Saka had when Malacia literally just ran in the wrong direction in the box was horrible defending.

I still really like him though. He's been good overall and should only get better with experience / time.

 

[ForeverRed1]

Tenacious little fecker isn’t he

 

[romufc]

I dont think he was terrible, Saka is a really good winger. I dont understand people who think a defender can never get beaten.

He will have some games like this, he is 22 and new to this league. I will certainly take this and I hope he learns.

 

[VanDeBank]

Pretty much. If Shaw gets back to his previous form, he’s best in the league contender. Malacia looked a bit rough yesterday, but he’s young n learning. The jump from Feyenoord to Manchester United’s first choice LB is monumental. At the very least he has that dawg in him

It can't be understated how big of a jump it is from the Eredivisie to playing Salah and Saka in the span of two weeks.

Some of the criticism is warranted though, I'd just reserve judgement 'till he's well adjust (~a years time)

 

[Tony247]

To all those nitpicking,

Malacia and Dalot are not world's best fullbacks. Both will struggle one on one when facing very good wingers. They are very industrious but sheer talent wise they will need support from our midfield and wingers.

I noticed Malacia struggled in the first half but because he was not getting support. Dalot on the other hand had tireless Antony as a partner. In second half however I guess ETH instructed Martinez and midfielders to double down on Saka along with Malacia and that largely worked.

It was a good team defending.