[ravikiran]

Main difference wasn't 4-3-3 or even Lukaku being out, the main factor was, probably because Everton don't press, we passed the ball slowly and surely on the pitch.

You are spot on....but at times they tried but we are comfortable.

 

[Sultan]

A less restricted Pogba was a massive reason for the improved performance.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

Not very good in the first half but much better in the second half. The passing and moving was very good and Pogba showed what he can do and controlled the second half other than a 10 minute stint where Everton had us on our heels.

One stat that stands out to me is that today we only crossed the ball 5 times. The last two games where we sent in 28 crosses vs Southampton and a whopping 41 vs Burnley. We were too one dimensional and teams were just sitting all their big men in the box and heading them out.

Also, today we scored two goals from outside the 18. We need to do that more often. If we are a threat to shoot then teams will come out of their hole and leave space for forwards to run into.

All in all, a lot of positives to take from today. Best performance we've had in a while.

On a side note, Rooney was fantastic for Everton in the first half. He was pulling all the strings and making some great passes. Wish he was still with the club as he's still a great footballer...

 

[Sunny Jim]

Jose should try 4-3-3 more often. For the first time in ages we controlled the middle of the park.

Also for the first time in ages all players played a 7+ game. Pogba, Show, Jones, Lingard, Lindelof, Mata all very good.

 

[togg]

Martial kissing the badge

Yeah I noticed that....a very good sign. And, in an indirect way, probably proves the value Mourinho has in him. He wouldn't do that if there were problems. Never seen him smile so much after that goal.

 

[ash_86]

Excellent performance, end to end stuff and great goals.

 

[Carolina Red]

What happened in the 2nd half got me as excited watching United as I’ve been in a long, long time.

What does it take to get 90 minutes of that consistently?

 

[Jazz]

Pogba giving his shirt to an Everton supporter! A ball boy. So sweet.

 

[Tincanalley]

The passes he makes are easy ones, a player in acres of space and he finds him. Nothing revolutionnary like they make it sound.

He made a few good passes to United players today.

 

[red4ever 79]

Excellent result and second half performance. Change in tactic was key allowing Pogba freedom to roam. We need to keep the formation now. Good to see Lingard excel in that role also. Should be the last we see now of that other cn*t who couldnt care less

 

[Adisa]

Massive win.

 

[togg]

Massive win.

Agreed...we really needed that.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

What happened in the 2nd half got me as exited watching United as I’ve been in a long, long time.

What does it take to get 90 minutes of that consistently?

Let them off the leash more often.
We have the quality, why play with fear?

 

[waza7111]

It looks like the formation change worked by freeing up Pogba to have more influence on the game.

Hopefully Jose sticks with it and doesn't change again after one bad game.

 

[IAmAWinner]

Shocking first half, wonderful second half. Pogba was just taking the piss. He should never play deep again. Even at the beginning of the season, when we scored late goals, it was only after Fellaini was next to Matic and Pogba higher up. I hope Jose isn't daft enough to play him DM against Stoke.

 

[Gusjaros]

According to xG statistics the match was very even 1.24 for Everton and 1.26 for Man Utd.

The defense was slightly poorer and the attack didn't create as many chances.

I hope it's not just luck but I'll wait for more wins before I say that Man Utd is out of danger.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Great game, in a complete control except these mad 10 mins.

Mariner decided not to whistle fouls against us thus Everton had their little spell. Otherwise the ref was ok today.

 

[Camy89]

Also, today we scored two goals from outside the 18. We need to do that more often. If we are a threat to shoot then teams will come out of their hole and leave space for forwards to run into...

Very much agree.

 

[Jazz]

What happened in the 2nd half got me as exited watching United as I’ve been in a long, long time.

What does it take to get 90 minutes of that consistently?

More hard work. More fine tuning in training. Practice practice practice. Coach and players need to commit to this way of playing and keep at it until it's cemented into our mentality and becomes second nature.

 

[redshaw]

Pogba was the key. He got really advanced in the second half to give us the invention. This is where he's best, in and around the box with deft flicks, outside the foot assists.

We've been crying out for that but also I think the players got out of their malaise during the second half when it looked like the play was going side ways. There's was a bit more working for each after a period of hands going up in the air, finally had players telling each other where they should be.

Hopefully we can get Pogba more involved where possible and think to get him unleashed when we buy again. He's our top player and completely wasted deep.

What you might've not seen on TV is how Pogba, Jesse and Martial celebrated long after the whistle with the away fans. I really think some of the players have come together to try and sort some of issues and to change their fortunes.

Also credit to Jesse. He's been very good scoring lots of goals and trying hard while others have ben stuck in a rut. Really pleased for him.

 

[Android1974]

Why haven't we tried this slick short passing game before?

 

[Carolina Red]

Let them off the leash more often.
We have the quality, why play with fear?

It was like Pogba had been unshackled. The way he flipped the game there, and the way the other attackers played off him moving into and creating space...

If that’s not a giant flashing neon sign, I don’t know what is.

 

[minoo-utd]

That second half performance proves we have alot in us but not showing always, we need to build on that hopefully.

 

[tony54]

Credit to lindelof, rojo, luke shaw and Ander for looking comfortable in their positions at last. Rojo in particular has made an immense recovery from his knee injury. I hope we get FSM back as well to bolster the midfield. Martial looked comfortable in the centre forward position. Good to watch for a change and may it continue on this theme. Hope Mourino doesnt change this formation.
ps What a breath of fresh air for us not to waste our energy in useless crosses but rather play through a team.

 

[Tincanalley]

Nice way to start 2018. Let's keep it up.

Pogba showing all his talents today. Lovely to see Martial score. Jesse Messi again Shout out to Mata and Shaw as well. Lindelof grew into the game, was better than I thought he'd be in that position.

3 man midfield is the way to go. Still need to improve, but good confidence builder for us.

We need to build on this performance and not resort back to hoof balls. Most of our players can play ball - just give them the right structure and then let their talents do the rest.

Finally, was good to see after the negativity, the players came out, fight, and give a good solid performance. They deserved the win.

Good point about Lindelof. In a totally unfamiliar position, against a tough opponent he did a great job.

 

[Morpheus 7]

Needed that, big time! Finally a response in the second half.

 

[Tincanalley]

Credit to lindelof, rojo, luke shaw and Ander for looking comfortable in their positions at last. Rojo in particular has made an immense recovery from his knee injury. I hope we get FSM back as well to bolster the midfield. Martial looked comfortable in the centre forward position. Good to watch for a change and may it continue on this theme. Hope Mourino doesnt change this formation.

Great block by Rojo at a crucial point in the match.

 

[Jidaraku]

All you need to solve attacking problem is play Pogba advanced position.
very simple.

 

[Thecarrickfan_2016]

That was a massive win for us, Especially Given our recent form as well.

 

[Offside]

First half wasn’t great. Second half was really good bar a 5-10min spell where the referee gave them everything.

 

[Son Of Sam]

According to xG statistics the match was very even 1.24 for Everton and 1.26 for Man Utd.

The defense was slightly poorer and the attack didn't create as many chances.

I hope it's not just luck but I'll wait for more wins before I say that Man Utd is out of danger.

Everton had no shot on target for 90 mins.

 

[Jazz]

Anybody notice that Dave was playing the ball out from the back a bit? Just a tad but better than aimlessly aiming it upfield all the time only to see it coming back soon after. Was good I thought.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

That was really good, unexpectedly so after the downer of Southampton. I'm still concerned with the extent to which we rely on Pogba to give us any creativity but you have to be satisfied with a performance like that, he absolutely ran the show.

Props to Martial and Lingard for their superb finishes, to Shaw who is finally starting to look the part at LB and to the team generally for riding out that nasty 20 minutes or so in the second half. It's unrealistic to expect us to control games from start to finish, particularly away from home, but I'm delighted to see us come through adversity with flying colours today unlike in the previous three games.

A lovely positive way to start 2018, happy new year one and all.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

It was like Pogba had been unshackled. The way he flipped the game there, and the way the other attackers played off him moving into and creating space...

If that’s not a giant flashing neon sign, I don’t know what is.

He’s been doing that for France and runs matches doing that. The problem with our team is Matic apart we don’t have another good CM to support him, allowing Pogs to do what he does best

 

[DdeGoat]

The last 55-60 minutes of the game were superb from us. This set of players look so good when attacking. They are not made to play pussy football. The Pogba-Martial tango was very good and caused them all sort of trouble. Feels so good to say that it was a typical Lingard performance. The guy has been reborn in the last couple of months. Shaw was excellent in both attack and defense.

Now give Matic and Jones two weeks rest. Win the FA cup game with a mix of kids and senior players, and come back rejuvenated for the rest of the season. It will be good if we can buy a top right attacking player before the next PL game.

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

[whatwha]

Decent second half. Good performances from Pogba and Martial among others. But - we only won thanks to 2 individual moments of brilliance. I'm not ready to say Utd will play well enough from now on, still lots of improvement needed. We had better movement and fluidity without Lukaku on the pitch, less of the horrible hoofball. But if I know Jose he'll go back to the 4231 and playing Lukaku as soon as possible.

Pogba needs a freer role than the one he has when stuck in the 4231 formation. He needs to be unleashed by having two midfielders behind him, the freedom to go out to the left and create chances. He's not a midfield general and may never be. But he's brilliant when he gets more freedom!

 

[minoo-utd]

Why haven't we tried this slick short passing game before?

Exactly. But the most important is we play with this confidence.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

First 30 minutes of the second half was the best we have played for quite a while.

Play with 3 midfielders giving Pogba (MoM) more licence to do damage to the opposition, pass the ball instead of a big hole in the middle of the field - we do have the players - even with a lot missing, just play the right tactics and don't be afraid.

Massive improvement on the Southampton game.

Also got the correct score - 2018 please continue in the same vein.

 

[TheReligion]

Great performance

 

[Robbie Boy]

Pogba, Lingard, Shaw and Martial were impressive. Matic was poor again.

Overall good performance especially the second half.