[Vanya]

Truthfully we aren't showing any improvement from last season at present. Pogba was awful, Herrera anonymous, Rashford poor, Lindelof worries me, Valencia not at his best yet.

Despite playing 3 at the back they still found themselves with a man over in the box, they hit the bar twice, De Gea made 5 or 6 terrific saves.

After we scored a lucky goal we never looked like scoring.

It seems that we still want to sit in narrow and compact but haven't addressed the problem of counter attacking with pace, instead we are relying on long balls over the top towards Lukaku, fellaini and Pogba.

Worrying performance to be blunt.

this. no width. lack of attacking intent and movement upfront. imo its down to mourinho and not the players.

 

[ZAGREB RED]

Bit of a mixed bag. Thought it might get ugly when RM went 2-0 up and they looked capable of adding more, but good to see Lukaku bounce back and score after his earlier miss. Matic looks like a very shrewd acquisition, a few points for Mourinho to ponder in both a negative and positive sense. Fellaini looked a threat when he came on - reminded me of John McEnroe in his heyday after he got his head injury bandaged up - and Smalling played well, looked more secure than Lindelof but early days for the Swede yet. Pogba still needs to do a lot more, Mkhitaryan started off well then faded a bit, although he played a few decent through balls.
Overall, no complaints about the result though, Real were the better team, always looked dangerous. Isco was excellent, best player on the pitch by some way.

 

[NotQuiteManc]

Not too bad a performance, but players such as Pogba has to improve his game though. It is not a matter of 89, but more of his well known game being a no show during the past 3 pre-season games at least. Such a weird situation to have, now that United has bought Matic to supposedly set Herrera and Pogba free but it was non-existent (so far). Overall, gulf of class was obvious to see, but couldn't criticise for the attempt at fight back.

Hoping Martial and Mata to play vs WHU now.

 

[Eire Red United]

FFS those two where among our best players today and Fellaini changed the game completely when he came on.

People just look at the line-up, see certain names then moan, without actually watching them. I'm surprised Darmian wasn't mentioned also as he usually is.

 

[Hamadovich86]

Madrid decimated us for 60 minutes. They took their foot off the gas after that which led to us scoring. Lukaku and Rashford should've done better with their chances. Pogba had a terrible game was completely outclassed by Madrid's midfielders. Lindelof has not looked good in preseason and he looked terrible in this game, I hope he manages to turn things around and show his worth.

Miki is frustrating, at times he shows flashes of brilliance, beats his man and finds the open player yet at other times he just disappears. Lastly on the bitching end of things, why in the utter feck is Rashford taking our set pieces? Hes clearly shit at them! He cant hit FKs, he cant cross the ball and he cant take corners I just dont understand why out of all our players it has to be him.

Good things, DDG looks sharp as always and basically saved us from embarrassment. Fellaini did well when he came on, Lukaku did well except for the open goal he somehow missed.

This game gave us a good look at where we stand in terms of the top teams in Europe. Obviously Madrid are so far ahead, non of our outfield players would start for them (including Pogba) which says something. Need to sign more top caliber players to really challenge in the CL.

 

[Hugh Jass]

I was working during the first half and caught the game from around 60 mins in and thought we did ok.


Really strange not to see Martial come on whilst chasing a goal, should have sacrificed a defender and gone for it.

You missed the period in the first half where they absolutely dominated us. We played much better in the second half and had Lukaku and Rashford taken their chances, we could have drawn. Madrid still deserved to win.

Very good game as well.

Lingarrd was very poor as was Mickey T (on the wing). Their full backs were causing all sorts of problems for us.

I was dreading it as well whenever Isco and Modric got the ball.

 

[Jacko21]

I wish we'd got Griezmann. It's his kind of talent we're missing in attack.

No complaints about the result, to be expected.

 

[MadDogg]

We were the better team for the first 10 minutes, but then Real took over entirely up until the 60th minute or so. Then we were probably the better team again for the final 20-30 minutes. One of their goals were offside, and Lukaku and Rashford missed two very good chances as well.

Overall, despite the middle period of the match being a bit painful and Real certainly were the better team and deserved to win, we did decently well and with a bit of luck could have won.

 

[RyRy11]

On their A game we would have let in at least 3 by half time. Games like this show the importance of getting a good winger, basically no width or enthusiasm until Rashford came on.

Also hoping Eric can come back and provide some much needed solidity in our back four, both Lindelof and Smalling get dragged out of position for too often.

 

[Striker10]

We did alright. It was always going to be a uphill battle. We're a counter attacking team against these because our league is end to end. We lack discipline on the ball to retain it. We missed two big chances and they had their moments too. So we competed. When it becomes intricate in the middle, then we have to counter attack but I think fellaini gives us a good option to bypass midfield. We have to be pleased. It's been a while since we played at that level and we'll be better in a few years for games like this. Some want to make out we were awful, but awful teams shouldn't have three big chances to score against the CL winners. We just need to build up the mentality and either bring in a top winger or support Rashford/Martial because the other options don't really attack the full back enough so it forces us to play it long which is always 50/50

 

[MemphisDepay]

I wish we'd got Griezmann. It's his kind of talent we're missing in attack.

No complaints about the result, to be expected.

I agree he'd have been great but he'd have been playing today as a wing back or something.

 

[groovyalbert]

As much as I "get" and support Mourinho's approach by making the team physically imposing and assertive, when you watch players like Modric and Kroos - and even Casemiro in the first half - completely and effortlessly run the game from the middle of the park it does make me a little sad to know what we're sacrificing stylistically right now. Again, I know we're a massive work in progress and I do think a lot of the decisions Mourinho is making right now will lead to us being able to include players of that style in the future, but there surely aren't many Utd fans who have followed the club for years who can honestly say that that's the type of football we want to be watching week in week out.

Of course, this is the first game of the season - and barely that, in all honesty - but I do hope we look back at the opening 60 minutes of that game as some of the worst football we end up playing this season.

 

[Catt]

Matic is a lovely player to have. Real Madrid are immense.

Best side won, we did ok in patches.

Second half was much better but I'm concerned about our finishing.

 

[Rado_N]

So many of the comments in here read as though people are just posting general shit based on their preconceptions rather than what actually happened in the game.

 

[William_Meredith]

Even though he was one of our best players? (Albeit from the little bit I saw). It was his excellent control which led to Rashfords chance.

BECAUSE he was one of your best players.

 

[CG1010]

It was a weird game. Real absolutely dominated us in small pockets of the game but we matched him otherwise. I wonder if Real were a bit held off as they seemed to be heading towards completely embarrassing us one point.

Very good game by Magic. I thought Lukaku and Rashford showed great desire and effort. Pogba on the other hand seemed dispirited by how easily Real's midfield dominated during the middle of the first half. Needs a bit of pick me up from Mourinho I think.

Why don't we need to purchase another striker this summer?

Lukaku and Rashford were garbage.

No they weren't.

 

[LoneStar]

We fought well in the second half I feel. Lingard and Mikhi were just terrible. Pogba continues being poor in the big games. Fellaini came on and was far more effective than him. Lukaku didn't get any good service.

Darmian offers feck all going forward. We need a winger who can stretch defenses. We solely depend on Valencia for that. Lindelof was okay,but I hope he won't be the main pairing with Baily.

Matic was our best player. Fantastic bit of business by us. And Fellaini is just a beast. He offered more than most of our players today, and was responsible for our goal.

 

[JG3001]

Pogba was the worst player, though Lindelof and Smalling could give him a run for his money in that department. It's becoming irritating that he can't be subbed out of a shite performance.

Not a terrible game overall, but needs serious improvement for CL this year, we could have lost by a lot more. Let's be realistic, they dominated us for long spells.

 

[Womp]

Same shite as last season, poor finishing. The difference in quality was obvious though, was clear who the best team in the World was.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

We were much better in the second half. We're not really on Real's level, even without their best player on the pitch, so we deserved to lose, but it was a good fight.

I have complaints against Mourinho negative tactics, as usual. Why did Lingard start ahead of Martial or Rashford? Why did Martial or Mata not get a look in even when we had nothing to lose and a sub to spare? Why did we have to have to resort to long balls to an injured Fellaini in the final minutes? Why is our movement so piss poor and our attack disjointed? And why can't we move the ball along smoothly into the final third like most of the other top teams?

Rashford failed to finish, couldn't cross properly, and couldn't find a couple of key passes, but he at least brought a direct component to our attack and kept Carvajal on his toes. Fellaini may not be top player, but he sure gives it his 150% every time. Lukaku and Pogba both really need to work on their decision making at key moments, they were terrible today. This is not the first time we've seen Pogba bottle it in a big game, it's worrying now. He overcomplicates things. Matic looked great, he'll be a great addition to our attack. Lingard poor as usual. Lindelof looks nervous, needs time to settle in.

And we don't deserve DDG at this club. Great saves.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Hope we somehow improve our finishing. Rashford missing simple chances reminds me of the when we had Welbeck in front of goal fluffing easy chances and making bad decisions. And to think that Danny boy never made any progress in the 4 years after breaking into the first team.

 

[McGrathsipan]

Lads this is a pretty much settled Real team that have won everything as a group.
We're building and blooding new players.

Let's see where we are in another season or two.
We're going the right way

 

[Devil may care]

Much the same as last season, defense was fine, Valencia was reliable, the midfield was decent and the forwards were poor, the lack of craft and invention and movement in our attack is a huge issue, as is the fact bar Martial we don't really have a good ball carrier in the WF options.

 

[welshmanc75]

£40m for Matic will look a great deal by the end of the season. Next to no pre season and he was immense.

 

[The White Pele]

Sounds like we at least gave it a good go in the second half. Hopefully we go into the league campaign with some fire and confidence.

 

[RyRy11]

It's not as much towards the player himself as it is towards the playstyle we adopt once he comes in. Him coming in basically means we transform to Stoke.

We played "better" despite this however..

 

[parkthebuslads]

Mourinho can moan about personnel and lack of signings but the lack of balance, composure, off the ball movement and confidence largely falls on him. 12 months in and he's spent a huge amount of money to provide a few upgrades on an individual level but has he improved us as a team? Not for me.

 

[KM]

So many of the comments in here read as though people are just posting general shit based on their preconceptions rather than what actually happened in the game.

Not looked like scoring after our goal. People don't actually watch the match here.

 

[Rory 7]

Weird that we didn't make a single change after we pulled one back.

Fellaini and Rashford had great chances

Edit: ooops. Sorry misread

 

[AXVnee7]

Much better in the second half and I'm feeling a lot better now although overall the gulf in class is evident and we have work to do. A game of two halves really as in the first half we were decent in spells but calamitous for the majority. Second half was direct opposite. 2-1 is not a bad result all things considered. Obviously Madrid should've scored more, but then we had chances too (Rashford, Lukaku skied it, couple chances in first half etc.). So we can't go on the what if's but only the facts.

Let's not forget this is the first game where Matic, Herrera and Pogba played together whereas Madrid's midfield is well established. We shouldn't also forget that Bailly and Rojo who are our best two CB's didn't play.

The Good:

• Matic, Smalling, DDG, Fellaini and Rashford (barring that bad miss)
• We didn't give up at 2-0 down and although we were lucky that Bale didn't make it 3-0 we still got ourselves back into the game and should've equalised.
• Improvement over the first half in our offensive play.
• Our full backs were much better today although there's still a gap between Left and Right side. We are going to be relying on Luke Shaw.
• We can go against WHU with a lot more confidence now, and hopefully know what we need to do to improve.

The Bad:

• Madrid looked the sharper, fitter side despite being behind in their pre-season prep. This is consistent with a pattern I'm noticing where we start very slowly in pressurised games.
• Although our fullbacks were better today, they still don't reach the required threshold. Improvement needed.
• Pogba... I don't understand how he loses his head in these games.
• For such a big side, we weren't brilliant at defending set pieces. However, Madrid are a tall, physical side themselves so I'm not too worried by the defending. It's our own set pieces that are concerning because they're poor.

and finally:

• Mindless decisions, bad decision making and general stupidity: This is what grinds my gears. Lukaku foul throw in, running for the ball when he was offside when instead he should've got into the box and left it for Herrera. Pogba bad decision making on multiple occasions this game. Plenty of other examples too. Just unnecessary and silly mistakes that we need to cut out.

 

[RedCurry]

Peeved that their two goals stemmed from two horrible lapses in concentration.

And one clear offside...

 

[ash_86]

When would we learn to press? They come in packs of four like crazy when we have the ball. We just welcome them into our half without pressure.

 

[Reddevildans]

Let's face it. We need to be competing for the premier league before we can even start to compete with the likes of Real who've been consistently good for a number of seasons in Europe. The understanding in their team pales in comparison to the disparity in our play. We have a great spine but players like pogba must step up hugely this season. Still feel we lack around 20 goals in the team which means we'll fall short in the league again but higher than last season.

 

[Rolandofgilead]

Jesus christ, people are clueless here. Fellaini chance. Rashford missed a fecking sitter.

Fellaini half chance and rashford on his weaker foot who never looked like he was going to score.

I'm never negative but i won't needlessly overlook everything either, we were poor tonight.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

I thought overall it was an encouraging display, a good few positives to take although there are also concerns.

Matic was brilliant I thought. Lukaku getting the goal is fantastic because I was worried after his awful miss his confidence would be dented. Now he's up and running already and it should settle him down. We also showed good character and fight to get back into it because it looked at one point we could get hammered.

On the negatives though our set pieces were fecking terrible again. And our composure in front of goal was as awful as last season. Two major flaws from last season carried on into tonight's game. Also Lingard starting over the likes of Rashford and Martial. That's a negative.

We cannot afford another season of finishing displayed by the likes of Lukaku, Pogba and Rashford tonight or we're in for the same disappointments.

 

[Hugh Jass]

A huge problem was their full backs. The amount of times Marcelo would outpace Mickey T. Then Carvalhal assisted their first goal. Lingarrd and Mickey T were not defending properly.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Considering we were playing in a climate so hot they needed two water breaks and we were against the best team in the world I think we held our own pretty well. They dominated in the first half for about 20-30 minutes but we still managed to stifle their attacks.
Lukaku and Rashford should have both scored their chances and their first goal was offside. Matic was great and I have no doubt he will do amazing for us. Fellaini did well once he came on too.
It's a shame to see such a soft team though, going down as though shot every time.

 

[ValenciasDrilledCrosses]

Reffing was pretty awful on both sides today. Real players would fall over at the slightest touch and get calls, also a few poor calls in our favor such as Rashford's dive

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Poor finishing - Lukaku, Rashford and Pogba (please not another season of poor finishing)

Lack of composure - especially Herrera and Mkhitaryan in the first half

Lack of passing ability and ball retention throughout the team for large sections of the game.

Onwards and upwards.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

We can't compete at that level with Fellaini, Smalling and Lingard on our books. We will do well in the PL that's about it.

Fellaini has his uses, he might not have finesse, but he has heart and that goes a long way. Madrid didn't know how to deal with him because they are not use to that type of player, the PL can deal with him a bit better.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Pogba got schooled by Modric as well, which is worrying.