If you're a miserly perfectionist you might be excitedly clicking into this thread to tell others there's no such thing. If you're reasonable, you will understand that once in a blue moon, a player will demonstrate a level of performance that is quite simply fitting of their best in the shirt, and one of the great games the club itself has witnessed.
I have three performances that immediately fit the bill, to my mind, and I'm thinking that within this thread, I might be reminded of more.
As follows:
There's probably an accompanying thread to it. Suffice it to say it's worth it
It's another the games you haven't an excuse not to have watched. Keane of that period had - in my opinion - a run of 10/10 with his performances in
qualification for the 2002 World Cup vs
Holland and Portugal and it's a fitting bar
for this thread.
What performances come to mind for you?
I have three performances that immediately fit the bill, to my mind, and I'm thinking that within this thread, I might be reminded of more.
As follows:
- Bryan Robson vs Barcelona 1984. Cup Winners' Cup 2nd leg. I don't care what age you are; the game is legendary, accessible and is the greatest elevation Robson can ever have, in that he was the best player on a pitch that had a hungry Diego Maradona playing for the opposition. There are many stories told about Captain Marvel, and I personally don't believe it takes more than a game or two of his at his best to appreciate that this is a comic book character of a player. If you want to see a player being Everything, Everywhere All at Once this is the game for you. There are plenty of articles, clips, footage and the full game itself to consume. This is the first performance that comes to mind as a 10/10. Incidentally, our very own @harms made this:
There's probably an accompanying thread to it. Suffice it to say it's worth it
- Roy Keane vs Juventus 1999. Champions League semi-final 2nd leg. Just as with the first entry, an extremely high stakes game at the back-end of European competition against vaunted superstars of an era. In many ways this was Manchester United's point of arrival as a legitimate European giant. Juventus were the biggest club in the world and the team to beat; their appearances in CL finals was a given (winning it, a curse they struggled against) indeed, Juventus of that era went to four Champions League finals in a row; in parlance, they were the Real Madrid multiple winners, without the trophy - the expectations of them at that time were the same, and them going on to do that wouldn't have been unexpected. 'Roy Keane, Turin' is literally heralded enough to be Googled and pull up the performance:
It's another the games you haven't an excuse not to have watched. Keane of that period had - in my opinion - a run of 10/10 with his performances in
qualification for the 2002 World Cup vs
Holland and Portugal and it's a fitting bar
for this thread.
- Ryan Giggs vs Roma 2007. Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg. The best #10 performance I've ever seen from a United player. Giggs was prime Ronaldinho and Rui Costa rolled into one for 90-odd minutes. Unplayable and, ironically, stealing the spotlight, unequivocally, from supposedly one of the greatest #10's on the planet in the opposing Francisco Totti. Daniele De Rossi was also one of the most coveted midfielders of his type in the world at this time; Ryan Giggs humliated him this game.
What performances come to mind for you?
