Manchester United vs Real Madrid (Thu 27th July, 01:30 UK time)

Blood Mage

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Can see Mount being a bit of a Park Ji Sung for us. Average in possession but invaluable off the ball.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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It’s already clear the difference Onana has made to our playing out the back so that’s positive, but I’m still not convinced that our midfield and attack is really good enough.
 

SB16

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Looked pretty poor in the first half. Absolutely hate Bruno on the right.
 

prateik

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Madrid have been better... have us outnumbered in midfield and have a quality midfield too..

But they scored when we were down to 10 and we have created a few pretty good chances.
Its not as bad as the caf makes it sound..

In the past, we have sat back and tried to play just on the counter .. I prefer this.

Add a striker, put Rashford on the left.. Bruno in the middle and Garnacho/Antony on the right, and the team plays better.

Someone like a Kane dropping deep and being a top striker too would be fantastic here.. Just a shame Levy wont sell.
 

evil_geko

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We already have a full circus here saying Mount hasn't done nothing, pure Caf standard! :lol:

All in all, Madrid haven't done nothing except an offside goal.
 

sparx99

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All negative views on pre-season games need to be filtered through the positive vibes of LVG’s pre-season to reach an equilibrium.
 

bosnian_red

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Also not sure why Bruno is on the right rather than Mount, if we wanted the extra midfielder. Don't like Bruno out there unless we are dominating the ball and territory.
 

El Jefe

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That was not good.

The creativity with Bruno out wide was terrible. Mount was a complete passenger that half.

Rashford is just not a centre forward, all the things strikers do to get themselves into the game and bring others in, Rashford is very poor at.

I don't mean this in a disparaging way but I've always felt as long as we have Bruno and Rashford, Oleball will always be our best form of attack. EtH seems to be trying different things but I'm not sure how adaptable it will be.
 

UDontMessWith24

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Eriksen isn’t a box to box midfielder. Losing Mainoo’s mobility completely destroyed our game plan and it’s why we’re trying to buy Amrabat
 

Livvie

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Turns out investing in central midfield is not a bad strategy.

Really worried about Eriksen. Shouldn't be getting many minutes this season if this is what he has left. Offering nothing on either side of the ball whatsoever.

I'll give Casemiro a pass because I genuinely think he doesn't care tonight, which is pretty much fine.
You think?
 

DevTheRed

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Bruno shouldn’t be playing on the wing and Rashford shouldn’t be playing centrally.. both wasted.
 

the_cliff

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Madrid have been better... have us outnumbered in midfield and have a quality midfield too..

But they scored when we were down to 10 and we have created a few pretty good chances.
Its not as bad as the caf makes it sound..

In the past, we have sat back and tried to play just on the counter .. I prefer this.

Add a striker, put Rashford on the left.. Bruno in the middle and Garnacho/Antony on the right, and the team plays better.

Someone like a Kane dropping deep and being a top striker too would be fantastic here.. Just a shame Levy wont sell.
The worry is we've been far too open ourselves, Vini/Rodrygo have had many opportunities on the break and if they were in their stride during the season we would be 3-4 behind by now.
 

RedOrange

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Mount hate is surprising - he and Bruno are the only ones pressing like animals. Casemiro + Eriksen seem very off, Garnacho not really doing much, Rashford poor too.
Would probably look better with +Antony -Eriksen, and moving Bruno to midfield. I bet ETH wanted to see how things worked with Mainoo and Casemiro in a midfield pivot and Mainoo getting injured ruined that plan.
 

IHateTheEightyEights

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How many times is the manager going to play Bruno out of position to accommodate a weaker player? Shaw and Casemiro have been quite bad. AWB really good. Bruno has had moments but he's at RW for some silly reason. I think Mount has been pretty bad. Garnacho and Rashford not been in the game much
 

Dazzmondo

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Real are a lot better than us but they haven't had that many chances to score and their goal was offside. Mount, Bruno and AWB were our best players imo. Casemiro, Rashford and Garnacho look a long way behind the others in terms of fitness imo. Not worried about Cas but Marcus concerns me a bit more. Hoping he looks a lot better in the next game. Ultimately we should rdmember we're playing one of the vest teams in the world here. It's good to have this sort of challenge before the season starts.
 

Big Ray

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Shocking first half. Bruno on the right never works, Antony better there. Bruno better at 10 than mount. Eriksen and Casemiro miles off it. Madrids midfield so much quicker and more energetic. Rashford anonymous at 9 as per and making wrong decisions when he does get the ball. Sign amrabat asap to bring some quickness, press resistance and grit alongside Casemiro. Hope Kobbie ok.
 

V.O.

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We've made a few decent chances and they scored an offside goal while we were down to 10 men. Madrid have been slightly the better side, but I don't understand the negativity.

Absolutely fecking gutted for Mainoo, though.
 

wolvored

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AWB was our best player by a mile. Midfield and forwards were pretty dreadful.

We're so bad in the final third. Can see improvements playing out from the back.
Spot on. TH will probaly sub quite a few
 

SAFMUTD

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Eriksen isn’t a box to box midfielder. Losing Mainoo’s mobility completely destroyed our game plan and it’s why we’re trying to buy Amrabat
I struggle to know what Eriksen offers anymore, I know he's role is more advanced maybe in Bruno's position. But he's never played there for us. Playing him in a midfield two is giving to much of an advantage. Sure he has good touch but his lack of phyisicallity and speed leaves us exposed in the middle. Madrid midfielders are just jogging past him it almost comical.
 

Santoryo

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Should have subbed in Antony and move Bruno back in midfield. Eriksen has no legs to play in midfield against strong opponents. Quite unfortunate for young Kobbie.

Casemiro has been pretty bad in possession. We played a heck of a first half against Arsenal and dominated that game but second half we couldn't keep the ball anymore in part due to Casemiro wastefulness. And seeing the same things this game. Hopefully when the season starts it'll be Mount and Bruno alongside Casemiro in midfield, then at least we'll make up for our wastefulness on the ball with energy and recovery.
 

frostbite

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1. Bruno is not a RW.
2. Rashford is not a CF.
3. Garnacho is better than Rashford on the left.
4. We will have a major problem with who plays where. Our best players are not very effective when they play out of position.
5. We need a CF.