Aston Villa 0:3 Manchester United

mu4c_20le said:

patterns of play, no coaching, out of his depth, clueless, runs his best players into the ground, worst manager in the PL, win %

Never understood why some people seemed to revel in misery.

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Globule said:

I do wonder if the lack of rotation is taking its toll a bit. We rarely broke out of walking pace yesterday. Villa folded once we took the lead and that played into our hands, but I do fear that the games are coming too thick and fast and it's starting to catch up with some of our players.

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Globule said:

I do wonder if the lack of rotation is taking its toll a bit. We rarely broke out of walking pace yesterday. Villa folded once we took the lead and that played into our hands, but I do fear that the games are coming too thick and fast and it's starting to catch up with some of our players.

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Verbalkint said:

I know Toni Kroos is a very different player but he's the last guy i saw who could hit the ball with so much venom & accuracy with BOTH feet. Greenwood looks incredible. I didn't understand why the Villa defenders sat back on two occasions and allowed him to run at them. Scary young man.

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mazhar13 said:

It would have made sense if Konsa wasn't outstretched and in a more natural position, but he put his foot in to try and win the ball. Fernandes put the ball away from him, however, and Konsa's outstretched leg prevented Fernandes from standing properly. If Konsa didn't put his foot in, Fernandes could have turned.

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SambaBoy said:

I'd say replacing Matic or getting a back-up who can provide the same is the key this summer. Fred and McTominay are decent enough footballers in their own right and happy for them to be squad players but they are miles of what Matic gives to the team. Obviously Pogba and Fernandes are better players but you can probably get away with playing just one of them if we needed to and still be effective going forward. Fred's first touch and loose passing at times in nowhere near the standard for a top competing for titles, same with McTominay and dealing with the press. Matic does this effectively every game, using his body well, good touch, evading pressure and taking up good half spaces and firing the ball into the more creative players.

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USREDEVIL said:

I had Martial as man of the match. He assisted on both goals. And, i think, he was the one who captured the ball near United's goal and sent it forward for the attack where Greenwood scored. He also was unlucky not have scored a couple himself.

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TrustInOle said:

Martial was outstanding and unlucky not to have scored. I had Pogba as MotM, thought he dictated the tempo of the game perfectly after the initial 15mins. Mason and Bruno I couldn't have argued with either if they won it.

Always a positive sign when players were so good it's hard to pick MotM.

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Tiber said:

We have made so much progress. Imagine where we would be right now if we could have got our hands on Haaland in addition to Bruno

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dutchred said:

If we got Haaland would Mason play so many games? who would you prefer?

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RedRoseTyke said:

Pragmatically, I'd go for the talented young man who is performing well in our team, over the talented young man in someone elses.

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SAFMUTD said:

I know Greenwood had a great goal, but man of the match should be Pogba. Besides the stupid error when he lost the ball and nearly cost us a goal he didnt put a wrong foot. Dominant performance by Pogba.

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DSG said:

I thought his performance (Pogba’s) was a microcosm of what he’s been like since joining us. Careless loss of possession, indifferent defending, passive play, then an inch perfect ball over the top, swift movement of the ball, and a nice goal.

He really can frustrate at times, but there are moments of breathtaking skill. The addition of Bruno means the pressure is less, and I think Pogba performs better when he is one of the options rather than THE option. Still, for 89m, you’d hope he’d be a bit more consistent.

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SAFMUTD said:

I think the bar set for Pogba is the higher Ive seen for any player here, people still complain about his performances even when he's totally dominant.

Careless lost of possession once, a dangerous one to be fair, but to flag him as inconsistent when he has had tremendous performances since comming back speaks about the high bar I speak about.

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DSG said:

Fair point. Given his transfer fee -- the 6th largest ever, and the most expensive CM ever -- it's fair to expect that he perform as one of the top 3 CMs in the world. Is he? KDB, Bernardo Silva, Casemiro, Pjanic, Modric, Kroos, Fabinho, De Jong, Kante, Kimmich, Veratti... You can make a really strong case that Axel Witsel is a better classic box-to-box CM than Pogba.

On talent alone, he is top 3, no doubt. The issue is that the talent and effort doesn't always show up on match day. But now, with Bruno and an exciting front three, maybe he can do that, blaze past that group above.

I am excited to see Pogba play in a team with real talent -- I believe we have that now. He could be a really important piece of a title winning team. He won't ever be PL Player of the Year, he won't ever win the Ballon d' Or. Maybe those expectations were too high and unfair. But he brought some of that criticism upon himself.

That said, he can be a really important piece in a new United.

I really really hope he stays healthy and focused.

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SAFMUTD said:

From the ones you metion Casemiro, Bernardo Silva, Verrati, Kante, Fabinho, Kimich dont even play in the same positiom thah Pogba.

About the other ones the only best performers currently are KDB and Kroos. Pjanic, Modric and De Jong had really average season to be honest. Mentioning Witsel must be a joke right?

Now about the transfer fee, if it was about that then Maguire would receive multiple attacks everyweek since he should be the best CB ever because of what he cost us, but it isnt like that is it?

Its something about Pogba that makes people never be fully happy with his performances, Ive discussed this before and came to the conclusion that no matter how well Pogba performs he wont be recognized unless the team as a full start winning championships. He is not measured by his individual performances but he's spected to make the team win.

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DSG said:

Surely Modric, Pjanic and De Jong have been better than Pogba... he’s played 14 matches and has one goal... Veratti and Kimmich are both deep lying playmakers - watch them play, don’t categorize them as a DM. Witsel is a manager’s wet dream as part of a pivot, never loses a ball, always tracks back, looks to play forward.

You are concentrating too much on the name on the back of the shirt rather than the productivity on the field.

I’ve been critical of Pogba in the past, and in my opinion, he’s deserved the criticism. I am much more optimistic moving forward if he stays.

Best move this to the Pogba thread if this continues.

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SAFMUTD said:

Its unfair to use this season statistics to comparw Pogba since he was mostly injured, but since comming back he's been nothing short of great.

Regarding Modric, De Jong I spoke with friends who support Madrid and Barca and theyre not too happy with their performances, specially Modric they want Madrid cash on him next window. It may be grass is always greener on the other side but they both agree they would swap either for Pogba.

Of course this is only my friends opinion so it may not represent the general consencus.

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