29
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 54
- Clean sheets
- 21
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 5
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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He turns up like that all the time in big games he’s the best defender 1v1 in the world.
He's a defensive beast, you can't underestimate his value in games like these.
His attacking play still leaves a lot to be desired, but it's easier coach that. Finding a natural defender these days is a rarity.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game for me was slowly watching Neymar and Mbappe losing the will to attack him.
Some good decision making tonight as well with the ball at feet. Looking more like his old self. Still young, if he improves tactically and going forward, then what a player.
His attacking play still leaves a lot to be desired, but it's easier coach that. Finding a natural defender these days is a rarity.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game for me was slowly watching Neymar and Mbappe losing the will to attack him.
Some good decision making tonight as well with the ball at feet. Looking more like his old self. Still young, if he improves tactically and going forward, then what a player.
He is a beast in 1v1 situations, a very rare talent. He needs to improve other aspects of his game, and while he may never look elegant or very technical on the ball, as long as he learns to do the basics in supporting in attack he will be a top RB.
Important to keep in mind that he is very young, our whole squad is tbh, so the young players will have their ups and downs and with time should improve.
Important to keep in mind that he is very young, our whole squad is tbh, so the young players will have their ups and downs and with time should improve.
You’re probably right, if any mods can ping me to get it changed then that’d be great.
From what I’ve heard it’s a pretty sad story all round that one, think he has struggled with gambling issues and mental health problems and his legacy as a footballer will largely be forgotten now, which is a shame as he had some finesse for a big lump, old Neil. Would be totally wrong to portray him as the victim and I wouldn’t dream of doing so in the circumstances of course, but you know what I mean.
Anyway, we digress, back to AWB (and mods feel free to drop me a message)...
9/10
Some of his tackling tonight was incredible, and against the very best strikers in the world.
Some of his tackling tonight was incredible, and against the very best strikers in the world.
Fantastic performance. Really made up for the recent stuff
He's ridiculously good at defending. Must be an absolute nightmare to play against. Outstanding tonight
It was almost like he was enjoying the challenge of defending Mbappe or Neymar one-on-one. He is an exceptional defender up against any forward, it should be said.
He is so good in CL, its unbelievable.
He is the perfect answer to all good 1v1 dribblers.
He is the perfect answer to all good 1v1 dribblers.
And there are still people questioning him
Probably recency bias, but I can’t think of many, if any, players that time their tackles so well one on one. Anyone else able to think of any?
I think PSG (a) didn’t rate him as a defender or (b) didn’t do any homework on him . They know who he is after tonight.
Thou shalt not pass.
Thou shalt not pass.
Defensively you can’t question him, but if we are looking for a goal or attacking a team that are sitting back he should be offering more going forward.
Hopefully that goal at the weekend will help him.
Wouldn't swap the kid for any other RB out there, if he wants it enough he can be an all-time great.
It's a team game. Is he the best attacking FB? No, but he's exceptional defensively in a way that in these matches against top opposition allows us to play to our strengths in a major way. He deserves time to develop the attacking end of his game we need against teams we need to dominate against more, and at least in terms of movement, we have seen signs of it.
He needs to train the same shot as he did vs Newcastle. Surely after practicing it for 500+ times he will become used to it.
He will score a lot just from that angle alone. Then we can forget about him not being an attacking FB.
He will score a lot just from that angle alone. Then we can forget about him not being an attacking FB.
Mbappe: Who the feck is this guy?!
True. People will lambast him for his poor attacking output, but compared to the likes of Robertson and TAA, hes a much, much better defender. First couple of games aside, he just locks down that right side and did so all of last season.
Hes still young as well, if he can only become decent at attacking he will become a very good fullback
Mbappe probably saw it as a challenge and wanted to destroy that flank.
Mixture of both for me. He is simply epic when a player takes him on. I was surprised PSG didnt change tactics and drop deeper and play more through the middle. Versus Newcastle we gave so much space for Shelvey to shoot it seemed an obvious option.
Mbappe moved over to the right wing after being pocketed all game. Ole switched Scott and Fred around and Fred pocketed Neymar
Maldini
Way more dangerous when he drifts inside and puts in a pass from the edge of the box compared to on the sideline. Happy to see him do it more.
Still would like to see him as RCB at least once.
Still would like to see him as RCB at least once.
he's a god level tackler and still young. just to provide some symmetry we need him to provide a passable outlet on that right flank to stretch play. Defensively he gets caught under the ball when it's in the air a lot, a far cry from how good he is in the ground.
Did anyone else think of Tony Vs goal against Blackburn after? I thought it had similar qualities.
What a colossal defensive performance against the some of the best attacking players in the world. Just wish that if he can add some attacking dimension either through running, dribbling or passing, he can be a huge player for us.
You just can't get away from this guy. Top class RB.
That dip in form towards last season was due to tiredness it seems. One of the best players out there last night.
Every time he makes those sliding tackles, i get a mini-heart attack because it was Neymar, Mbappe and Kurzawa this time.
But yeah, that's his specialty, and the opposition players and referees take it for granted that it is a clean tackle and nobody bothers to complain or look into it. Kind of funny
Every time he makes those sliding tackles, i get a mini-heart attack because it was Neymar, Mbappe and Kurzawa this time.
But yeah, that's his specialty, and the opposition players and referees take it for granted that it is a clean tackle and nobody bothers to complain or look into it. Kind of funny
As good as anything 1v1, will improve other aspects of his defending with experience. I totally don’t get the obsession with his offensive play. He’s a defender. Get a proper RW and that side of the team is good for years.
Unreal last night.
And you see posters on match day with ‘AWB actually cannot play football’ etc. Best defensive fullback in Europe.
And you see posters on match day with ‘AWB actually cannot play football’ etc. Best defensive fullback in Europe.
P
Philip Lahm
Spider-Man is back. Pretty sure I saw Mbappe waving to swap sides after Wan Man was destroying him.
He will probably never be TAA - but then again, who will ?
However AWB is important to us - because he can cover for the lack of pace we have centrally, whereas TAA can be allowed to be more attacking because (at least until the injury) - Liverpool have VVD who is so good one-one-one that he doesn't need covering. But it will be very interesting to see what happens when VDD is out for the season. I
He’s an enigma. Against Newcastle I would have been happy to never see him again but then put a challenge in front of him like Mbappe and Neymar and he seems to rise to the occasion. There were a few occasions where he did that lazy jogging back thing he does so often but other than that he was almost flawless.
Needs to put more performances like this in. Maybe it’s just what he is good at in 1 on 1 defending and when he doesn’t have to think about defensive line or positioning as much in games where his side maybe isn’t under constant threat.
Needs to put more performances like this in. Maybe it’s just what he is good at in 1 on 1 defending and when he doesn’t have to think about defensive line or positioning as much in games where his side maybe isn’t under constant threat.
what a turnaround from the Brighton game when he was frankly, complete pish
at a certain point it seems to get into the attackers head that he just can't get past the guy, and they start looking elsewhere for solutions
that said he was skinned once by Mbappe and relied on dave to bail him out, but other than that he was flawless
at a certain point it seems to get into the attackers head that he just can't get past the guy, and they start looking elsewhere for solutions
that said he was skinned once by Mbappe and relied on dave to bail him out, but other than that he was flawless
As good a defensive display as you'll see. I saw someone on here say he was the worst player in the premier league a couple of weeks ago. He's got his mojo back.
He thrives in games like that. Reminded me of his performance away at City in the league (vs Sterling). Honestly not sure if I can recall a better fullback who is better in 1v1 situations. We are talking about 2 of the 5 best players in the world and he was comfortable.
Compare this performance to his ones at Brighton & Spurs this season and it's night and day. Just needed a few weeks to get the fitness back (like many of the squad)
Compare this performance to his ones at Brighton & Spurs this season and it's night and day. Just needed a few weeks to get the fitness back (like many of the squad)
Some game from him last night. You could see how frustrated PSG were at how well he was tackling them. A great performance, and in his first game at this level. Can't ask for much more than that. Between this and his goal at the weekend I expect him to be in flying form again. I never understood why people were writing him off. Yes his attacking output is not his strongest area, but that can improve. He's young, in only his second season with us. He had a little dip for a bit but it was massively over-stated how bad he was.
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