[NICanRed]

Disappointed but sadly not unexpected. I was pleasantly surprised by our resilience after the first 12 seconds!
I see the usual shopping list put forward - GK, CM and striker. Interesting, because that list usually includes a RB. I assume that the group is a bit happier with AWB today and I think we should be.
Eriksen's strength was supposedly his ability to pick a pass. Today his role was more defensive and his inability to tackle or compete in 50/50s showed. It seems romantic to bring in a player with his history but its not working. Whether it is because of his condition or, I think, more probably because of his medication he doesnt seem to have the stamina or speed required and he is not helping us.
If Garnacho is unable to complete 90 mins then have him share the load with Pellistri. The two of them together should be able to manage 90.
In the second half of the season I haven't seen Shaw venture forward as much - maybe this is tactics but I miss this. It often served us well.
On a brighter note! - was Haaland playing? I don't think I saw him! Except that the camera kept showing his ugly mug I wouldn't have known that Grealish was on the field.
Rant over.

 

[JagUTD]

100% this, someone give the man a ‘like’.

We didn't though. He was poor on the second but long before it even got to him, so many errors from others that shouldn't have happened. Once all those in front of him have failed to do their job he is absolutely at fault because he should have saved it. He even got a hand to it and given it was weak shot, there's no explanation for why he didn't save it. But it's a save he shouldn't have had to make.

The first one was just one of those.

 

[Sandikan]

Well that's the season over with. Think we'll be fine next season. City won't have it all their own way. Sick of the constant fawning over the fraud and that cheating club.

Felt a bit like the last 6 weeks or so were operating on fumes.

Looking forward to another summer moving forward.
If he can get as many transfers right as last year and move a few out, we'll progress again.

 

[Sandikan]

Disappointed but sadly not unexpected. I was pleasantly surprised by our resilience after the first 12 seconds!
I see the usual shopping list put forward - GK, CM and striker. Interesting, because that list usually includes a RB. I assume that the group is a bit happier with AWB today and I think we should be.
Eriksen's strength was supposedly his ability to pick a pass. Today his role was more defensive and his inability to tackle or compete in 50/50s showed. It seems romantic to bring in a player with his history but its not working. Whether it is because of his condition or, I think, more probably because of his medication he doesnt seem to have the stamina or speed required and he is not helping us.
If Garnacho is unable to complete 90 mins then have him share the load with Pellistri. The two of them together should be able to manage 90.
In the second half of the season I haven't seen Shaw venture forward as much - maybe this is tactics but I miss this. It often served us well.
On a brighter note! - was Haaland playing? I don't think I saw him! Except that the camera kept showing his ugly mug I wouldn't have known that Grealish was on the field.
Rant over.

Eriksen has been really good for us, and a game against City shouldn't be the game to rate him really.
It's a tough gig the way City not only hold the ball, but press you.

Next season hopefully we'll have another decent option in there, so we can pick and choose Eriksen's starts a bit better.

 

[PeteManic]

I still can't believe they scored after 12 seconds.

The only thing I take is that I liked how EtH managed the game. The timing of the Garnacho sub was perfect and on a different day he could have had one or two. Even the McT sub was a good one. He is a O'Shea level squad player but he has a knack of looking dangerous in the box.

EtH has done INCREDIBLY well wit the squad that he has. And the injuries that he had to deal with. With a fit Martinez and a fitter Varane, United probably would have had one more cup this year.

 

[RedPed]

Felt a bit like the last 6 weeks or so were operating on fumes.

Looking forward to another summer moving forward.
If he can get as many transfers right as last year and move a few out, we'll progress again.

Yeah bit of a double-edged sword. That was evidence that we were doing well, going deep in all competitions. But just lacking in that depth and quality at the end.

If we can go some way to addressing that next season, we'll do ok, I'm convinced of that.

 

[TheRedHearted]

no idea what game you were watching.

Well you could pull up the stats if you want.
Oh i looked, we had more shots and more shots on goal than the best premier league team “ever”, according to idiots

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Never really got going in attack.

Defended fairly well with a few poor sequences.

The less said about De Gea, the better.

We need more press resistant players in the squad.

 

[buchansleftleg]

If I was a United defender I'd be livid with our goalkeeper.

If ahead of the game someone offered you that Haaland, Silva and deBruyne would be largely snuffed out and they would have 2 shots from the outside of the box and a header near target you would have snapped their hand off.

For your supposedly "World class" keeper to not even move towards a shoulder height shot 3 feet inside the post is just ridiculous. If it was a looping ferocious volley that just crept under the bar then fair enough for not moving. But it was medium paced, at a good height, and eminently reachable.

The second goal was even more laughable...gets one weak hand on a shinned shot just before it bounces for the third time...and pushes it towards the corner of the goal, rather than away.

He's been a bottle job for years, and a sign of the club rewarding mediocrity time and time again.

This match sums up his last few years..an embarrassing failure.

 

[World Game]

Players that stepped up in the big game: AWB, Bruno, Garnacho*

Players that choked and went missing: DDG, Eriksen, Sancho, Fred

Everyone else was average.

In the end having too many in category 2 instead of category 1 is what made the difference.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Hopefully Sir Jim and the Glazers realise that we need to strengthen now

 

[FriedClams]

Well you could pull up the stats if you want.
Oh i looked, we had more shots and more shots on goal than the best premier league team “ever”, according to idiots

how was sanchos ball retention and passing accuracy?

 

[red woppit]

If I was a United defender I'd be livid with our goalkeeper.

If ahead of the game someone offered you that Haaland, Silva and deBruyne would be largely snuffed out and they would have 2 shots from the outside of the box and a header near target you would have snapped their hand off.

For your supposedly "World class" keeper to not even move towards a shoulder height shot 3 feet inside the post is just ridiculous. If it was a looping ferocious volley that just crept under the bar then fair enough for not moving. But it was medium paced, at a good height, and eminently reachable.

The second goal was even more laughable...gets one weak hand on a shinned shot just before it bounces for the third time...and pushes it towards the corner of the goal, rather than away.

He's been a bottle job for years, and a sign of the club rewarding mediocrity time and time again.

This match sums up his time at the club...an embarrassing failure.

An embarrassing failure? That guy has saved the team on countless occasions. How long have you been watching the team?
Yes he was poor today, and has had some disappointing games over the last couple of years, and it's probably time he moved on, but his time here an embarrassing failure, you're having a laugh.
The rest of your post is very good, but you ruined it by that last comment.

 

[NZT-One]

I think we did reasonably well but it sounds like a few fans overestimate our performance today to a degree. I mean, we were down after not even a minute, that surely settled the nerves of City who were able to go at cruising speed against us. Granted, we looked like having a good plan prepared but during the whole 2nd half I never had the feeling that we could pull something off while I thought, that City had at least one or two gears still to activate. They were the better team everywhere on the pitch today. Not by large margins at all times but in total for sure. Goalkeepers kicking was an issue but it didn't help him, that Lindelof, AWB and Shaw went for the easy option, which usually is DDG because he stays as deep as he does. Everybody and his dog knows about DDGs weaknesses, Pep did for sure but even our "attempts" to win 2nd balls was weak.

 

[Red1968]

We were playing the best-funded, best-managed and basically all round best side in world football. A lot of “experts” were predicting a thrashing. We conceded a goal after 12 seconds. After a ropey 10 minutes, we started to compete and gave them a game. Most of our players acquitted themselves well and Ten Haag got most of the decisions right. The second goal was disappointing but what exactly were you expecting given the disparity in resources available to the two managers? At most we were going to scrape an ugly win if we kept it tight. Unfortunately City scored early in both halves. United (and ETH) deserved a rocket for the Sevilla games but not today.

Dont blame ETH at all. I blame the players for not stepping up in the moment. That game was theirs to be nicked and simply didnt put the effort in.

 

[buchansleftleg]

An embarrassing failure? That guy has saved the team on countless occasions. How long have you been watching the team?
Yes he was poor today, and has had some disappointing games over the last couple of years, and it's probably time he moved on, but his time here an embarrassing failure, you're having a laugh.
The rest of your post is very good, but you ruined it by that last comment.

Fair play. It was too strong. I've edited it.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

We had a great chance at that. I thought Garnacho's hit was going in.....

So much to say but I'll sleep well tonight knowing we are going forward with ETH.

Garnacho's role will be expanded next year and I can't wait.
AWB went after it harder than anyone.
Bruno took the pressure PK and gave it his all, but had a couple chances to set attackers free and missed it.
Casemiro was his solid self.
Shaw was solid, love his transformation.

Don't like to be negative at end of season but not sure Sancho has a place here. I stick with players a lot longer than most on here but I do not see it. I need to remember he is still pretty damn young and he for sure is not going anywhere before the upcoming season.

Eriksen should only play vs bottom 2/3 EPL teams and there is great role for that.

Goodness gracious I miss The Butcher. My player of the year for sure.

Lastly, feck Citeh to the moon. I cannot stand that team. Pep and those cheating C's can do one. What an unlikeable bunch of twats.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Dont blame ETH at all. I blame the players for not stepping up in the moment. That game was theirs to be nicked and simply didnt put the effort in.

That is very harsh.

 

[Sky1981]

The scoreline flatter us. We're so far behind in ball retention, and tactical as a team. City barely on 4th gear.

And they have a bjgger final, if this is their last match of the season we'd be in more trouble.

Still 4-5 season away from challenging them. We have so many deadwoods all over. And what made it worse is that in 4 season Casemiro and Bruno would probably needs to be replaced

The indicator to win the league is not a 1v1 with city but to be consistently plowing teams to reach 86+ points to even stand a chance.

 

[peridigm]

I almost turned it off 3 times but stayed until the end. Thought it was going to be an embarrassing result after the first few seconds. We‘re such a disconnected squad at times with several players making stupid mistakes week in week out.

 

[Raoul]

Disappointing result, but not the drubbing many expected. We were oddly competitive on time of possession and shot on target. I think City may have taken their foot off the accelerator a bit after the early goal. Haaland was also somewhat kept at bay. I'm sure we will improve with a proper striker next year.

 

[noodlehair]

We made a game of it once Garnacho came on. Until then we were just spectating really albeit it with a bit of grit and resistance.

Thought Bissaka was our best player. No one was terrible and we might even have nicked it if De Gea hadn't let yet another soft shot in, but if you're playing City and let two thirds of the game pass before really believing you can win it, then bring on Weghorst and Mctominay during the last third, you're not giving yourself a big chance.

Find it hard to be that bothered as I don't think it was a performance to be embarrassed about and we've had a decent season overall...and I just don't care about city

 

[Raoul]

We made a game of it once Garnacho came on. Until then we were just spectating really albeit it with a bit of grit and resistance.

Thought Bissaka was our best player. No one was terrible and we might even have nicked it if De Gea hadn't let yet another soft shot in, but if you're playing City and let two thirds of the game pass before really believing you can win it, then bring on Weghorst and Mctominay during the last third, you're not giving yourself a big chance.

Find it hard to be that bothered as I don't think it was a performance to be embarrassed about and we've had a decent season overall...and I just don't care about city

I think that will become a dilemma for ETH next year when the likes of Sancho prove ineffective on the left and there's pressure to have Garnacho start each game. Now you're in quandary of what to do with Sancho and Rashford.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

@Walters_19_MuFc

He/she is completely spot on, though, and actually, it's very similar to what I said.

Do you not think getting a good ball playing keeper will go a long way in helping us keep the ball and build play better?

 

[Harry190]

The scoreline flatter us. We're so far behind in ball retention, and tactical as a team. City barely on 4th gear.

And they have a bjgger final, if this is their last match of the season we'd be in more trouble.

Still 4-5 season away from challenging them. We have so many deadwoods all over. And what made it worse is that in 4 season Casemiro and Bruno would probably needs to be replaced

The indicator to win the league is not a 1v1 with city but to be consistently plowing teams to reach 86+ points to even stand a chance.

They're not in 4th gear, they're tired.

 

[Isotope]

He/she is completely spot on, though, and actually, it's very similar to what I said.

Do you not think getting a good ball playing keeper will go a long way in helping us keep the ball and build play better?

Agreed on better Gk is needed, but in what priority? If we can only get 2 players, which combo will get us playing better?
St - Gk
St - CM
St - Winger
St - RB

 

[redmanx]

I don't really blame DDG, it's really difficult to react if the defender dodge the shot.

DDG has been superb for us for several years but goal keeping is no longer just about making incredible saves, of which DDG has more than his share. Modern keepers are expected to be able to distribute the ball in a way which gets the team onto the attack, a quality DDG lacks. ETH has to ring the changes all over the pitch in order to keep us moving forward and DDG should be no exception despite his brilliance over the last 9/10 years.

 

[RedStarUnited]

The scoreline flatter us. We're so far behind in ball retention, and tactical as a team. City barely on 4th gear.

And they have a bjgger final, if this is their last match of the season we'd be in more trouble.

Still 4-5 season away from challenging them. We have so many deadwoods all over. And what made it worse is that in 4 season Casemiro and Bruno would probably needs to be replaced

The indicator to win the league is not a 1v1 with city but to be consistently plowing teams to reach 86+ points to even stand a chance.

They had at most 1 clear cut chance and you think the score flattered us? Ha.

And Jesus, 4-5 seasons away? Arsenal finished 5th last year and yet after 30 games this year, they had more points than City. Thats not exactly 4 seasons is it?

 

[tentan]

Scoreline flattered us. We were second best in every department. And it was never a penalty.

 

[kopviolator]

Scoreline flattered us. We were second best in every department. And it was never a penalty.

of course its a penalty. but they are obviously a better team

 

[croadyman]

Definitely more disappointed than gutted,we needed to come out firing in the second half. I also didn't feel we tested their keeper anywhere near enough. He hardly had a save to make which is not acceptable

 

[AndyMUFC]

Disappointed but not too disheartened. We played okay overall, a lot better than it looked after 12 seconds but just aren't threatening enough going forward. City weren't that great today but think that is also partly to us.

 

[Sky1981]

They're not in 4th gear, they're tired.

They're leading and contained us nice and docile. If that's a nil nil it would be our throat on their heels

 

[Sky1981]

They had at most 1 clear cut chance and you think the score flattered us? Ha.

And Jesus, 4-5 seasons away? Arsenal finished 5th last year and yet after 30 games this year, they had more points than City. Thats not exactly 4 seasons is it?

Dont bet your life savings on it. 4 seasons is a generous prediction.

In 3 years casemiro Bruno and varane would have need to be replaced and we're back on rebuilding phase

 

[sillwuka]

After having a few hours to reflect, I am still gutted. Ffs, would have rather been battered than lose in that fashion. Was their for the taking.

Our options off the bench were hilarious though.

You'd rather see your team pumped? Now this is an interesting take.

 

[Alonzo]

Every single ‘achievement’ of theirs counts for nothing, means nothing. End of.

 

[Strelok]

On a positive note today showed when Antony isn't playing means we were constantly beating their left back on the outside and crossing balls in.

Actually they didn't have any left back. It's a 3223.

 

[croadyman]

Why couldn't that Garnacho chance have nicked the post and gone in. How did McTominay not get that header on target at end

 

[croadyman]

Every single ‘achievement’ of theirs counts for nothing, means nothing. End of.

Will they ever get their commupence though

 

[Lost bear]

If I was a United defender I'd be livid with our goalkeeper.

If ahead of the game someone offered you that Haaland, Silva and deBruyne would be largely snuffed out and they would have 2 shots from the outside of the box and a header near target you would have snapped their hand off.

For your supposedly "World class" keeper to not even move towards a shoulder height shot 3 feet inside the post is just ridiculous. If it was a looping ferocious volley that just crept under the bar then fair enough for not moving. But it was medium paced, at a good height, and eminently reachable.

The second goal was even more laughable...gets one weak hand on a shinned shot just before it bounces for the third time...and pushes it towards the corner of the goal, rather than away.

He's been a bottle job for years, and a sign of the club rewarding mediocrity time and time again.

This match sums up his last few years..an embarrassing failure.

De Gea has had some great years for United.
But I have to agree with at least the sane criticisms that are heading his way right now. At times lately he seems to stand like a stone statue, watching a shot move toward the United goal as though in slow motion. He doesn't move at all.

I actually think he's aware of the process and has lost most of his confidence. The agility and speed of reaction appears gone; and he's not 90 years old, with a hugely failing body. Instead his sense of his own ability is lost, and it's like a self-fulfilling prophesy. It has happened too often this year, and shows little sign of being something that can be turned around. I have great faith in ETH: surely he can see this happening?