Showing posts with label McTominay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McTominay. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea Sunday 25th Feb 2018
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea (Lukaku 39, Lingard 75) (Willian 32)
Yerrrrrrs. A massive, massive result, against a fellow top 6 rival, coming from behind, and a feather in Mourinho’s cap in his spat with Antonio Conte. It wasn’t a vintage 90 minutes, with a general lack of quality and pace on show on a surprisingly hot and sunny day in Manchester. Both teams looked tired after having played in the Champions League midweek, but thanks to Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard, United went home happier.
After Herrera’s injury in Spain, Pogba obviously started,
but it was the continuing selection of academy man Scott McTominay that was the
talking point. The manager had obviously decided 4-3-3 was necessary. It looked
like, given Fellaini’s injuries and Carrick’s lack of legs, our strongest team
to contain Chelsea. Jones, Rojo and Blind were still out. Martial came in for
Mata to play on the left, with Sanchez finally stationed on the right.
What of the Champions? Things are still going well for them
in the Champions League - with a creditable 1-1 draw against Barcelona – and the
FA Cup, but all is not well at the Bridge, especially behind the scenes where a
battle for transfer supremacy is ongoing. Their season has generally been ok
bar the odd hiccup, and they remain a quality team directed by a top passionate
coach with an enviable CV. It looked even more impressive once the little skulduggery
that once blighted it had been wiped out thanks to ‘rigorous’ investigation
when Italian national boss. Ahem.
Events started with a bang with Morata (who many United fans
would’ve preferred in the summer over Lukaku) hitting the woodwork almost
straight away from a wicked Marcos Alonso cross. United did look strong out
there though, the team looking fired up for the challenge. By contrast, the
crowd was crap, disappointingly. You could only hear the away fans, strange
really, it should’ve been a cauldron for this especially given Mourinho and
Conte’s recent war of words.
Initially, Anthony Martial was our out ball, mainly from the
left half-space from Pogba passes. A couple of times he was allowed a run at
Chelsea’s centre-backs with Moses nowhere after we had won back possession.
From one of these breaks Alexis Sanchez had a golden chance, but after controlling
in the box at pace, he could only tap the ball towards the keeper with his
right peg, when he probably should’ve hit it with his left.
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| Lingard and Pogba celebrate the number 14's goal |
There was a pattern though – Matic wins it, United work it
to Pogba in his favourite area in the left-centre, and he either drove us up
the pitch by himself or spread it wide to Martial. It was such a joy to see our
best player in his best position, able to link up with Martial. The winger
unfortunately drifted out of the game, but it wasn’t for lack of touches, with
Pogba constantly in the position to give it to him.
Chelsea’s attacks were led by Willian, in great form
recently. Together with partner in crime Eden Hazard, he was a constant threat
on the break with his direct vertical running, so explosive in transition. With
Fabregas left on the bench, Chelsea did not build-up play particularly well,
with the workmanlike midfield of Drinkwater and Kante instead looking to hit
long for Morata who was not holding the ball up with any certainty. Thus,
almost by default it was on the break where they were getting joy.
Chelsea were the better side in the first half, and they got
their reward in a flowing counter from a United corner, beating a poorly
executed offside trap. It was taken fucking short, despite the height we had in
the box, given away, and Willian came away with the ball. He exchanged passes
with Hazard, streaking away from McTominay, and hammered it past De Gea,
despite his shot being pretty close to our keeper. He would kick himself, but
It was the sort of shot one might complain about in the park for being too
hard, to be fair to De Gea.
So, we were losing at home to a rival and the crowd was
threatening to turn. Thankfully for us, Lukaku rose to the occasion to draw us
level, finishing off an intricate move. Red Rom hadn’t scored against any of
the top six this season, so this was overdue in a way, but that seems harsh.
Instead we should celebrate the striker ending his dry spell against the elite,
this despite him initially losing the ball due to an errant first touch. But
Matic drove a low pass at Alexis, who turned instantly before laying the ball into
Martial in the box, who we know has outstanding close control and touch in
positions like that – seen in Lingard’s first goal against Arsenal earlier on
in the season. The winger moved it on to Lukaku, whose first touch with his
right foot took the ball away from Alonso’s challenge, allowing him to pass it
into the corner with his left to make it 22 in all competitions. Brilliant.
The half ended with us on top, flying into tackles and Matic
and Pogba thoroughly dominant, dribbling through the middle. Hazard had not had
the ball as much as he is used to, thanks mainly to McTominay being instructed
to stand on his toes and follow him round. It wasn’t an obvious job, like
Herrera did in this fixture last year, but it was noticeable how many times it
was the 6”4 Lancastrian who engaged first with Hazard, no matter where he
received the ball.
The second half was all United as we put in an unbelievable
demonstration of control, battling hard, winning the ball quickly, and setting
our attackers away. The improvement was frightening, and we completely deserved
the eventual win.
The towering Matic put in his best performance for ages,
determined to show his former club what they were missing. With Pogba, carrying
the ball at will, he bossed the midfield completely. While seeing him three
times ghost past ‘world class’ Kante like a competitive dad versus his 3 year
old son was hilarious, it was the moments when Pogba did not have to beat a man
that was noticeable. Chelsea had failed to track Pogba’s runs, and were now
often forced to hack clear the Frenchman’s attempted final balls. 3 in midfield
suits us better, allowing Matic to go through games without blowing hard and
freeing up Pogba to create.
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| Panna! |
We can’t ignore Pogba treating Kante like his bitch every
time they got 1 on 1 though. To think that our number 6 is often compared to
that glorified marathon runner… he seemed determined to show who was boss. With
a neat stepover he slipped past the Chelsea man, who promptly hacked him down
for a yellow card, unable to compete with Pogba. He also got nutmegged in the
second half, from a flick pass on the edge of the box. In direct opposition,
there was no contest.
Lukaku was giving everything, his hold up play exemplary,
his pace and power unreal. He was man of the match, completely answering his
critics (like me) that he never does it against the big clubs. He was making
the ball stick, laying the ball off to his colleagues, and never giving
Chelsea’s three centre-backs a moment rest.
Sanchez hadn’t been amazing, often losing the ball for us by
attempting a high-risk pass or dribble. But the genius was still on show, with
a world class dig out cross from nothing for Lukaku to go close with a scissor
kick. Courtois tipped it over, but United had the wind behind them.
Lingard was sent on and immediately energised things with
his movement. United pushed further forward, seeking the winner, but this led
to gaps for Chelsea. A 30 yarder from Drinkwater was parried away by De Gea
poorly, and then he almost spilled a fairly simple and mild Willian free-kick
over his own goal-line. A rare human performance for De Gea then, spilling
everything, but in his defence the sun was in his eyes all second half and he
was constantly putting his arm over his forehead to try and catch the flight of
balls in the air. Why was some lackey not sent to his goal to chuck him a cap?
United went in front with a terrific goal. McTominay floated
the ball forward, expertly spotting Lukaku’s run to the right hand side. He
used his strength to hold off a challenge before a neat bit of footwork saw him
make room for a delicious pin point cross onto the head of Lingard, who
converted deftly. His late run had completely surprised Christensen. Another
Lionel Jesse header! What a moment for the sub, and what a season he’s having.
2-1, and the Stretford End found its voice, expressing their gratitude to the
Warrington Wizard. The atmosphere soon turned nervous again though, as almost
straight from the kick off Willian ran on to a through ball and tried to catch De
Gea out at his near post, but he denied him safely this time.
Conte didn’t waste time once Lingard’s 13th goal in
all competitions hit the net. He took off Moses for Giroud and went two up
front, and long ball, keen to see if having two tall strikers on the field
could create some knock downs for his side. A few minutes later, Fabregas was
on as well to supply the ammunition.
In response to Conte’s changes, Mourinho went
ultra-defensive and brought on Bailly for Sanchez, switching to 5-3-1-1. It
made sense, but it led to an obvious change in the momentum, with Chelsea now
taking control of the ball. Thankfully for us, Fabregas had been brought on far
too late. By the time he’d got into the flow of the game, pinging passes
around, United had adjusted to our new formation and were looking solid as a
rock. The defence, and our gaffer, deserve credit for holding out against the
Blues and their last ditch attacks on our goal.
One more chance for United transpired when Lukaku picked up
a loose ball inside his own half after United had hacked clear. He turned and
accelerated, pushing the ball miles clear of him, leaving Chelsea defenders in
his wake with his turn of speed and sudden burst. Up against the whole defence
on his own, he got a shot off, blocked and out for an attacking throw-in, a
perfect way to let the seconds tick by. It was the side of Lukaku we had rarely
seen – picking up from deep and driving forward – given he’s usually wanting
the ball in behind and is unwilling to get involved in the action too far away
from goal. But perhaps the incredible run was a sign of things to come, that he
can do his own heavy lifting at times.
At the other end, United were very lucky that Morata was
flagged offside wrongly when hitting the back of the net to steal an equaliser.
Mind, the United backline had stopped when the flag came up, so we will never
know if Morata had got the space to score if the linesman never made the
incorrect decision. Some fine timewasting at the end, particularly from Pogba
and Lukaku, helped reduce Chelsea’s opportunities to launch it to their twin
target men. One final chance came when a corner was conceded, but despite
Courtois being up, the delivery was poor and Lingard duly smashed clear to the
wonderful tone of the final whistle. Yes!
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| Judging by this pic, Sanchez has seemingly forgotten how terrifying celebrating a goal can be |
If we play like we did in the second half every week, we
would be right up there with City. Dynamic, energetic, clever runs and
individual flair all combined in a greatest hits album. Lukaku, the title track
in this already tortured metaphor, can be over the moon with his best game yet
for United. Sure he scored one and made the other, but it was his all-round
game, in a crucial match against one of the best defences, that really
registered in my mind.
Martial was poor, and it has to be said that sometimes it is
galling that Lingard outperforms him, someone with a third of his ability. It
was frustrating seeing how little the ex-Monaco man moved off the ball – always
wanting it to feet, rather than run in behind. The contrast with Lingard was
stark; everything sped up when he came on, making an impact off the bench that
is customary these days. He does seem to lift the team considerably on
occasions. Of course, Lingard’s deficiencies in talent lead to some indifferent
displays, like at Newcastle or against Spurs at Wembley. But he has, against
the odds, made himself a cornerstone of the squad.
Some of the criticisms of Martial are ridiculous – for
instance, the allegation that he doesn’t smile enough, and thus doesn’t want to
be here and is miserable – but it has to be said his body language doesn’t give
off a great vibe. When he was hooked, he fucking strolled off, at 1-1, when we had the momentum… it wasn’t a good
look. (It was the type of petulant shit that Nani got hammered for. No danger
of that given our cringe fanbase led by ‘Martial FC’ weirdos on twitter). This
maybe is nit-picking, given that with the exception of decision making, Martial
is among the best in the world for his age and seemingly only mental barriers
will prevent him becoming world class. Even here, his lightning quick feet gave
him an assist for the first goal. But still, it wouldn’t kill the lad to look a
bit more motivated. Not that Jose will care too much about any of this –
Lingard’s winner made it 10 league goals off the bench for us this season, a
league high, and evidence that more often than not, the manager gets his subs
spot-on.
McTominay was a huge positive. He didn’t quite put Hazard in
his pocket like some suggested (I mean the Belgian carved us open for their
goal) but it was a very good man-marking job against such a skilful player. The
young lad responded really well after not tracking Willlian for that goal to
put in a mature performance. Sure, his passing lacks a bit of variety, but he
was composed, and United looked a better side with him in it. The kid showed
considerable nerve to play in such a big game so early in his career. The fact
that Chelsea’s star man was taken off with the result on the line said
everything as to how intelligent and diligent McTominay had been in carrying
out the task set by Mourinho. He’d seen off Hazard!
It should be said out loud – 1-0 down, being outplayed, we
managed to turn it around, take control, and grab the points. When did that
last happen? We certainly don’t win many from a goal down, but the second half
performance, and the very best of Lukaku, demanded the spoils. What a victory.
United (4-3-3) De Gea 5.5; Valencia 7, Smalling 6.5,
Lindelof 7, Young 6; McTominay 7.5, Matic 8.5, Pogba 8.5; Sanchez 6.5 (Bailly
81, 6), Lukaku 9, Martial 5.5 (Lingard 64, 7.5).
Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 6.5, Christensen
6.5, Rudiger 6; Moses 5.5 (Giroud 78, 6), Drinkwater 6 (Fabregas 81, 6), Kante
6, Alonso 7; Willian 7.5, Hazard 6.5 (Pedro 73, 6); Morata 5.5.
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| Look at the passion from Lukaku against his old club. YANITED |
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
Huddersfield 0-2 Manchester United FA Cup 5th Round
Huddersfield 0-2 Manchester United (Lukaku 3, 55)
Don’t mention the VAR. United strolled in to the quarters of
the FA Cup by brushing aside Huddersfield thanks to two quality goals from
Romelu Lukaku, although little attention was given to this fact afterwards, as
the media spun themselves into bother over Pogba, Jose, and VAR. Oh My.
Big changes, six of them, were made from the Newcastle loss.
De Gea and Valencia were rested; Jones, Martial and Lingard, dropped. Oh, and
Paul Pogba. There was something wonderfully ironic about United lining up
without Pogba in the squad. Just a day before, Mourinho had used his press
conference to dismiss the suggestions that he had any problems with his star
man as “lies”. Instead, United had three in midfield that did not inspire
confidence, what with Scott McTominay and Michael Carrick being at opposite
ends of the age scale, and Nemanja Matic looking increasingly drawn as the
season goes on. The excuse was that Pogba was ill on the day of the game, and
that did seem plausible given young Ethan Hamilton from the youth team appeared
as one of the subs out of nowhere as a last minute replacement. I’m sure a few
giggles were had about the fact United had finally switched to a midfield trio
and then left out the man it was meant to accommodate. With a trip to Sevilla
on Wednesday, Pogba’s absence left more questions than answers.
As did the awful system of the video assistant referee
(VAR). This might sound like sour grapes, given that it was my team who had a
goal chalked off, especially galling as it was lovely-looking, well-mannered,
charity-founding, sensitive-lover Juan Mata that was kept off the scoresheet.
But just look at the wait, the energy being sucked from the crowd during the
delay, the confusion amongst the players… and for what - the sake of
millimetres? True, Mata’s kneecap was offside. But if it had been allowed to
stand, would there have been any complaint, given how tight the margin was?
Pundits were still claiming it was onside, albeit wrongly, hours after the
event. I think that the thing I dislike most about VAR is it is clearly an
initiative for the fans watching on TV, and not the match attendees, i.e. the
only people that actually matter. The FA and the Premier League must ask
themselves whether an extra ~5% of accuracy on offsides is worth yet another
reduction in the matchday experience for the humble fan. Don’t get me started
on using it for penalties, or red cards – infringements that inherently come
down to an individual ref’s interpretation of the law! There have been infamous
dives or red card decisions that are still debated years later, how can VAR
help there? At least the Huddersfield boss David Wagner agrees with me. “Yes,
the decision went in our favour but this VAR for me kills the emotion of the
game. This is why I don’t like it – but I am not the person who makes the
decision”. Well, in my opinion, VAR belongs in the bin with XG. Kick nerds out
of football.
Anyway… United bounced back quickly from the Newcastle
defeat, and with 2 minutes and 36 seconds on the clock, they were leading,
courtesy of Lukaku. It was a lovely goal, he had held it up in the first place,
before laying off to Mata and running in behind. The Spaniard’s through ball
found our big Belgian, who cut inside onto his right foot before sliding it
past Lossl. It demonstrated all his attributes – the holdup play, the pace, the
power, and the supreme finishing. Terrific centre forward play. The home side
responded, with Tom Ince steering an effort wide on the turn after springing an
awful offside trap. Despite having such an early advantage, United struggled in
the opening 15 minutes, unable to string three passes together, and giving it
away for fun. We were losing the midfield battle, with Matic out of sorts,
McTominay showing a lack of quality and Carrick more tortoise than hare.
At least the United fans were in great voice, using their
big FA Cup allocation to its fullest. ‘It’s Carrick, y’know’ was getting a
hearty airing in celebration at the club captain actually starting a game of
football. Maybe they were trying to distract from the dreck on show in
Yorkshire, with United very defensive, and conceding territory by sitting deep.
We were looking more like a bunch of individuals than a team, with a real lack
of intensity. Still, at least the home side were shite, completely incapable of
punishing us. Their only threat in Mounier was being bested in a few battles in
an entertaining war with Chris Smalling in the air. It was noteworthy that
Smalling was attacking everything, perhaps determined to prove a point after
his shambles of a performance at Newcastle. Matic however had a shocking first
half, not knowing what to do with the ball at his feet, and looking quite weak.
It is to his credit that he emerged after the break improved, finding his feet
and passing confidently.
The VAR incident happened on the stroke of half-time, with
Young making an enterprising run at right-back then slipping the ball inside,
where Mata went round the keeper and tapped in for our second goal. Or so we
thought, for as Mata wheeled away in celebration, the ref signalled he was
listening to his mates watching a screen fucking miles away. Farcically, BT
Sport were fed incorrect images featuring swiggly lines that weren’t parallel
to the 18 yard box to judge an offside. Not a good look at all for VAR,
although that wasn’t how the decision was actually made, thank Christ. The goal
was overturn and the United fans were aghast – but I’ve said my piece on this
incoherent system, we still had a match to win.
Just before the whistle, Matic finished a free-kick but this
goal was disallowed –normally this time! – For a big offside, but it gave
United momentum in the second period. There was an increased aggression, and
United were rewarded with a second goal right out of the top-drawer. From our
own corner, the ball was cleared to Lukaku. He played a superbly timed one-two
with Alexis, before running through and converting nicely. 21 for the season
now for Red Rom, who consistently makes the difference for us against the lower
teams. If he can crack it against the cream of the crop we would have one hell
of a centre-forward on our hands. As for our big January buy and new number
seven, he is clearly taking time to get used to his teammates, but even at his
lowest he can provide these moments of flair.
Mata, Alexis and United in general were purring now, always
on the break, pushing the home team back, looking for a third goal to kill
them. It didn’t come, partly as the last 10 minutes were played out sensibly
rather than explosively, partly as often the final ball was erratic, despite
the real threat posed by Mata’s passing and intelligence. Nevertheless it
didn’t bother those United fans who were in top form. A week after yet another
brace against PSG at the very apex (the CL latter stages) of the game,
Cristiano Ronaldo got serenaded, which warmed my cold heart. ‘Viva Ronaldo’ and
‘He plays on the left’ were sung with gusto, before the traditional ‘Que Sera,
Sera…’ was belted out as United reached the Quarters of the Cup for the fourth
year in succession. And that’s no mean record.
Afterwards Mourinho lavished more praise on McTominay, who
is starting to appear like his personal project. (Or perhaps, one might harshly
argue, an exaggerated sham perpetrated solely to prove that despite his
reputation he can play young players from the academy and does care about the
growth of kids.) He said the new Scottish manager Alex McLeish should come
straight to him to get him tied down to Scotland, internationally. Also, this:
“I think Scott deserves more than what he is getting. Maybe it’s because he’s
this kind of kid profile: a normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big
watches, humble kid, arrive in the club when he was nine or 10”. No prizes for
guessing who that *may* refer to. Still, how great for the kid to be the
recipient of so much approval. There were kind words for Eric Bailly and his
welcome return as well, coming on in the dying embers of the match for his
first appearance since the loss at Stamford Bridge on the 5th of
November.
There was a neat postscript as to our potential cup
opponents as well. For not only were Tottenham taken to a replay by League Two
Rochdale after a stoppage-time equaliser, but deliciously, the Greatest Team
Ever Seen in English Football were humbled again, 1-0 by Wigan Athletic. Now
that they’re in the third tier, it probably was a far bigger one off result
than the 2013 cup final shock or the following year giant-killing of
Pellegrini’s team at the Ethiad. And old Pep doesn’t take kindly to losing, oh
no. The precious cunt completely lost his head, engaging in a pretty childish
scrap with his Wigan counterpart at half-time after Delph was sent off. At the
final whistle, the Berties decided to throw advertising hoardings at policeman.
Despite their lottery win, they will always be poor little bitter city.
Onwards to Sevilla, and the competition Mourinho previously
defined himself by. After City and Liverpool smashed Basel and Porto
respectively, and Spurs got a very creditable 2-2 at Juventus, the pressure is
on us to perform as well. Time to deliver.
United (4-1-4-1) Romero 7; Young 6.5, Smalling 7.5, Lindelof
6, Shaw 6.5; Carrick 6; Mata 7.5 (Lingard 81), McTominay 6, Matic 6, Sanchez
6.5 (Martial 75, 6); Lukaku 8 (Bailly 90+3).
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Manchester United vs Huddersfield (H) and Newcastle (A)
Manchester United 2-0 Huddersfield (Lukaku 55, Sanchez 68)
United got back on track with a comfortable win, in the end, over a very poor Huddersfield side who seemed to focus more on fouling Alexis Sanchez than attempting to score. A 15th clean sheet of the season was never in doubt, and neither was the result once the deadlock was broken with an excellent goal; Nemanja Matic won the ball and fed it to Juan Mata on the left, who whipped in a class ball for Romelu Lukaku to volley home. His 19th goal of the season ended the game as a contest, but it needed the second for United to be calm. Sanchez, making his Old Trafford debut, finished the game when he followed in his own saved penalty, after being fouled for the umpteenth time. He took control despite having a poor penalty record, (which only got worse here) but then again, so do quite a lot of our players.
The tenacious and determined Sanchez was the star of this
show, taking the acclaim of the Stretford End at the end after an all-action
performance. The Chilean on the mythical wages was the trigger for the attacks,
always wanting the ball, drifting into space and driving in possession. While
others talk about the numbers, Alexis will just get on with helping his new
team win matches. He’d struggled at Spurs (like everyone else), but here was
terrific.
It was off pitch stuff that was headline news. This was the
Munich 60th anniversary game, with the ‘We’ll Never Die’ flag passed
around before kick-off. It was fitting on such a day that youth graduate Scott
McTominay surprisingly started, after Paul Pogba was punished for his insolence
against Spurs by being relegated to the bench. He wasn’t the only one, with
Jones, Young, and Martial also dropping out. Pogba duly came on to help create
the penalty situation, and hopefully Mourinho has sent him a message; He might
be our best player, but he is still part of a team, and a squad. No one is safe
from being dropped.
McTominay’s enduring memory from this occasion will be being
pole-axed by Terence Kongolo in the area, but no penalty and red card was
forthcoming, incredibly. That’s it, really. I mean, I didn’t even watch this
game, to be honest. But no matter, the 3 points had been secured.
United (4-2-3-1) De Gea 6; Valencia 7, Smalling 6.5, Rojo 7,
Shaw 6; McTominay 7, Matic 6.5; Mata 7 (Rashford 71, 6), Lingard 6 (Pogba 65,
7), Sanchez 8; Lukaku 7.5 (Martial 77, 6).
Newcastle 1-0 Manchester United (Ritchie 65)
Mourinho picked the same XI that had slipped to defeat at
Wembley, which basically confirmed that he does see Ashley Young as first
choice left-back, for better or worse. His pool of players were left weakened
by minor injuries to Herrera and Rashford, meaning they couldn’t travel. From
memory, it was the first time since Rashford made his breakthrough that he had
been forced to miss a game through injury. Still, there was plenty of attacking
flair in the line-up, enough to overpower the Geordies, anyway.
The game had an electric beginning as Jonjo Shelvey sent in
a piledriver which was kept out by De Gea, and Lukaku could only connect with an
air-shot from an Alexis cross. Sanchez had started brightly, his elusive
dribbling and the ability to ghost past markers evident from the off. But he didn’t
get much opportunity to show this, as United were struggling to progress out of
our half. Our centre-halves were having way too much of the ball, with Matic
and Pogba not coming deep enough to help build attacks.
Newcastle had pace to burn through Chelsea loanee Kenedy,
who stung the palms of De Gea with a fierce strike from 25 yards, but United
began to find their feet and create chances. Lingard’s shot was pushed out for
a corner by the debutant Martin Dubravka in goal, before the best chance of the
half. Lukaku smartly touched the ball round the corner for Matic, who played
Martial in with an incisive through ball. One-on-one, Martial blinked first,
and his tame sidefooted effort was blocked well by the Slovakian international
Dubravka, who I had never heard of before. I was expecting Karl Darlow between
the sticks for the Geordies, but instead it was their deadline day loan signing
from Sparta Prague. So of course, he was brilliant.
Juan Mata would’ve been useful in the first half. United had
lots of the ball, decreasing the need for Lingard’s sharp movement, instead requiring
the extra vision, guile, and creativity of Mata. At half time, the feeling was disappointment;
the possession hadn’t translated into territory. It didn’t help that Martial,
missed chance aside, was operating from the right, which he still seemed
uncertain with. Again, it was worth asking why our most in-form forward had to
change his position to accommodate Sanchez, rather than the other way around. To
be fair to Alexis, he was a cut above his teammates in the first half, in
particular Lingard, having a gash few minutes before the break, ruining
counters.
United were in the middle of their best period of the game. Lukaku
had the ball in the net on 53 minutes, but was adjudged to have pushed and
climbed on the defender, which was probably true. Alexis dribbled through the
defenders showing immense skill and change of direction, winning a corner after
his shot was blocked, but then 2 minutes later he missed an unbelievable chance.
Lukaku played him in with a world class ball, the Chilean rounded the keeper,
but couldn’t quite sort his feet out in time and his weak effort was blocked
before it could reach the empty net. Fuck.
United were complicit in their own downfall, missing these
chances, and we were made to pay. Chris Smalling, the fucking donkey, didn’t learn
from almost giving a penalty away in the first half, and dived over a challenge on the halfway line. Yep. Our 6”3 strong
commanding centre-back dived, giving
away a free-kick. Shelvey stood it up, Lejeune nodded it down, Gayle flicked it
on, and Matt Ritchie had the freedom on Tyneside in the penalty area to convert
past De Gea and put the Geordie nation into raptures. It was a decent training
ground set-piece but the marking was non-existent. Fuck off Smalling. We had
let the game drift, and now we were behind.
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| I mean... |
United initially responded well, Ashley Young controlling a
ball from Michael Carrick brilliantly and having a strike at goal saved. Oh
yeah, that was Carrick, making his first league appearance of the season, on
for Paul Pogba after the goal went in. The attention obviously fell on Pogba
afterwards, and it is notable that after always playing 90 minutes, he now hasn’t
completed it in the last 3 league games. He didn’t look fully fit, but when
Shelvey plays around you like he did here, questions need to be asked. We need
more, a lot more, from our talisman.
United then were too passive, too reactive, as Newcastle
settled in a deep block. Jose threw his last roll of the dice, sending on Scott
McTominay in place of Matic for extra threat in the air. We’ve spent over half
a billion on the squad and yet when chasing the game we brought on McTominay
and Carrick. Let that sink in.
Martial had the best chances, from a corner he had two bites
of the cherry from close range but struck the same man on the line twice as the
clock ticked by. Lukaku was having one of his best non-goal United games, but someone else needed to finish, and it just wasn't happening. Dubravka, who had played against England in September, was
solid and communicative with his battling defence, always helping them. One
final chance was saved again, from a Carrick prod late on, but Newcastle hoofed
clear and the Geordies celebrated their win. An awful result for United.
So where do we start with that- can Pogba actually not play
in a two? Is Matic shattered? Are Smalling and Jones an accident waiting to
happen? Who knows. As shit as Smalling is and was, Newcastle kept a clean
sheet. They hadn’t won at home for months and yet we scored 0 past them. That
ain’t Smalling’s fault. The free-kick was just in our half, hardly a dangerous
area for a set-piece. We should’ve had it covered. Credit should also be given
to Benitez’s side, from their debutant keeper to the performance of Shelvey,
reminiscent of his Swansea form that won him a few England caps.
It looks like we’ve lost the opportunity to be comfortable
in 2nd place and instead will have to scrap it out with the others
to stay in the top 4. We’ve been given the chances to move clear by the mistakes
and slip-ups from the rest but we’ve blown it and now will be unable to
concentrate fully on the cups, which looked possible only a couple of weeks
ago.
United (4-2-3-1) De Gea 6.5; Valencia 6, Smalling 4, Jones
6, Young 6; Pogba 5.5 (Carrick 66, 5.5), Matic 6 (McTominay 77, 5); Martial
5.5, Lingard 5 (Mata 66, 5.5), Sanchez 6.5; Lukaku 7.5.
Newcastle (4-4-1-1) Dubravka 8; Yedlin 6, Lascelles 7,
Lejeune 7.5, Dummett 7; Ritchie 7.5, Diame 6.5, Shelvey 7, Kenedy 6.5 (Atsu
84); Perez 6 (Hayden 90+4); Gayle 6 (Joselu 80)
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