Of the last 4 games this was our worst performance, thankfully we won anyways.
First half was poor but the second half played very well. Would have to say the Southampton game was the worse overall.
Of the last 4 games this was our worst performance, thankfully we won anyways.
Their football with possession and quick ball recovery can take the soul out of the opponent. Even with ten mean, you feel they are not one men short even though there is much more space. But our players can’t deal with it as a unit. We need to reset our football philosophy at this club.Watched the game again this morning I thought
Brighton played very well but didn't threaten too much its criminal how our midfield is a bad as it is, can barely string two passes together.
Good result but performance wise not good.
They let in a couple easy chances early on. DDG bailed us out twice. Welbeck easily found his way in between Maguire and Lindelof too for a header on goal.The back four were absolutely excellent last night. To only really give up one chance in a game that open just highlights to me what fantastic individual defenders they all are.
I’ve watched the game back today, albeit an hour version, and whilst I’m not exactly happy with the overall performance I’m genuinely not sure what some of you expect at the moment?
Brighton dominated the ball first half but didn’t threaten much. De Gea made that cracking save but it seemed pretty comfortable even if not something you want to see on your own patch.
Second half United pressed high and had much more urgency. They started playing 5-10 yards higher up the pitch. This led to the Ronaldo goal and Dunk sending off.
After that we had much more of the ball, and created the better chances, although as time went on and we didn’t get the second anxiety grew and Brighton held the ball a bit more even if they created little other than the pot shot off the bar and the Welbeck chance near the end.
Given Brighton have drew twice with Chelsea, scored two and held Liverpool at Anfield and also taken points off Arsenal, they aren’t a bad team. They look after the ball well and are well drilled. We aren’t the only team that’s had to concede possession against them.
Ultimately yes our play is still disjointed but you have to understand the reasons why that is. Despite this our recent issue has been converting the chances we make into goals. This in turn puts pressure on the fragile midfield and defence as we’ve found ourselves hanging on to narrow leads which should be already put away. That happens to every single team in such circumstances though and isn’t anything new. You have to take your chances.
Undoubtedly losing Greenwood has hurt us along with the form of Rashford, the Ronaldo drought and Cavani being quite flakey. There’s only really Sancho kicking on.
If our forwards can get some form and confidence I genuinely think feeling will change. Converting 1-0 in to 2-0 is huge during a game and we need to start doing it quickly given the chances we are making.
Great result, decent but certainly not fantastic performance. Brighton are a great team considering their means, credit to them.
Good summary!
The performance was no different from the shit we’ve served up the past few weeks (or months), but I guess we’re at the stage of the season where it’s “all about results”
But yeah - not great. Brighton controlled a lot of that game and if not for a spectacular save from Dave we’re probably looking at more dropped points at home. Obviously, we missed some chances ourselves, but the overall play is simply not good enough. Every team that comes to Old Trafford seems to be able to have large swathes of the game where they’re in complete control. Not good.
We looked much better when Pogba came on (surprise, surprise) as Fred was a disaster. The man is such a hindrance on this team. One or two assists don’t cover for the shit he does on the regular
As for Rashford, feck knows what’s wrong with him. I know some on here often say he was never good enough or was overrated, etc, but that’s not true. He was great for us and looked really promising, and backed it up with good numbers. But he looks so disinterested at the moment. He’s so infuriating to watch, constantly making the same mistakes over and over again. Not sure if there’s any way back for him here. This isn’t a couple of bad games we’re talking about.
I've given Varane a 1 out of 10.
It felt like he wasn't even on the pitch.
They let in a couple easy chances early on. DDG bailed us out twice. Welbeck easily found his way in between Maguire and Lindelof too for a header on goal.
The DDG save on Jakub Moder was a result of one of the laziest closing down of crosses I've seen from Shaw.
I noticed that too. He didn't even try to jump. I know the Brighton guy was bigger, but at least challenge and try and put him off.And one of the laziest marking of an attacker from Dalot.
Not sure what you think my agenda is, other than the fact that I think any team that has Bruno playing as the way he often does will have a ceiling on how much they can expect to keep the ball. If you want to routinely have 60%+ possession, you need to have far more respect for keeping possession and patience in attack. Bruno was on 75% last night. Only Sancho and Telles were lower and they see far less of the ball. It’s odd that you lament United’s ability to dominate the ball at home, but when I point out the player who most regularly concedes possession for United, I get accused of having an agenda!
Bruno still far too regularly brings pressure on United by forcing passes that aren’t on, when the team would benefit from just recycling possession, especially in moments of strife. How United played after conceding against each of Boro, Burnley and Southampton is indicative of Bruno losing composure and trying to hard at times. He’s a great creative force, but too often he makes a poor assessment about the relative risk and reward of a particular pass.
I think you're right to feel disappointed, because you bossed us in our own house right up until Ronaldo's fluke goal and then the red card. Up until then, your team looked like a cohesive unit and played a more fluent style than we did. The red card saved us, simple as, because even with it, we almost threw away the victory. That Brighton were able to fashion chances when a man down, away at OT, and have our majestic defenders like Maguire trembling in fear speaks volumes about how your team is coached and how they executed the plan. Not joking when I say half your team (at least) would start for us, if we could arrange a swap.I am really disappointed to be honest. Before the game, I didn't expect to win at OT (we never do) but I thought after that first half we were in with a good shout and with the prospect of Lamptey and Welbeck coming on against tired legs, I was hopeful.
The red card obviously changed everything. But I don't get why it was red card and why VAR was even involved. The ref made an on field decision for yellow and though Dunk did foul Elanga he wasn't the last man, Webster was clearly there covering. Clear cut no need for VAR, I rewatched the game on MUTV and even your commentators didn't think it was a red.
Still I guess that's football sometimes and despite that, I thought we put in an excellent performance with 10 men and were dangerous right up until the final whistle. So disappointed but happy with the team performance, I thought Cucurella especilly had an excellent game and caused you all sorts if issues.
Dude, our defenders were not excellent. DeGea made a heroic save, then Brighton hit the woodwork. Neither had anything to do with our back 4. IN fact, our back 4 were so shit that Ralf brought on an additional defender to try and contain Lamptey. So, our back 4 were so good we turned them into a back 5 and still clung on for dear life against 10 men.The back four were absolutely excellent last night. To only really give up one chance in a game that open just highlights to me what fantastic individual defenders they all are.
It's funny, because our entire fanbase and every know-nothing pundit acknowledges that we are ridiculously open and easy to play against....yet who generally gets all the stick? Our defenders! Time and time again, we're wasteful in possession, our shape is horrible, we don't tackle, we don't press, we miss chances...and yet at the end of the game, we're opening 'player X must be sold' threads because someone was (supposedly) half a foot out of position.
For me, if you have anything other than four excellent defenders in the back four last night, we concede two or three goals. It's been like this all season, our defenders have to play superbly well just to limit the opposition to one or two chances. If they are even slightly off it, we get torn apart.
By the way be careful if you’re going you Leeds
Already bought my gumshield mate.
really hope we get the three points!
Will depend on how the players react to it. You don't get an atmosphere like we'll get on Sunday very often anymore. They'll be abused from the moment they leave the hotel.
To be fair, neither were really clear cut chances. The header was a good effort but hardly one you'd expect someone to score and the shot/cross which hit the bar was either a long range effort or a fluke.Dude, our defenders were not excellent. DeGea made a heroic save, then Brighton hit the woodwork. Neither had anything to do with our back 4. IN fact, our back 4 were so shit that Ralf brought on an additional defender to try and contain Lamptey. So, our back 4 were so good we turned them into a back 5 and still clung on for dear life against 10 men.
So no difference to Ole tactics then. None.Looks like we were told to keep some gas in the tank for the 2nd half. It just looked as if we all held it down a gear by intention.
I also think we need to dribble more instead of always looking to bang the ball around. Its almost as if teams start to figure it out and react on the passes.
So no difference to Ole tactics then. None.
They let in a couple easy chances early on. DDG bailed us out twice. Welbeck easily found his way in between Maguire and Lindelof too for a header on goal.
The DDG save on Jakub Moder was a result of one of the laziest closing down of crosses I've seen from Shaw.
Peter Bankes