Jose has improved all 3 of the CB's that were here already.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
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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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Benfica 0:1 Man Utd
Iron Mike.
Dominant performance from him. Good game from Lindelof too.
Another good game by Mike.
Yet another great game.
Still, this was a fairly standard Smalling performance. People in here just lose their minds when he makes a big mistake, which only really happens occassionally and it's rarely game-changing. It's inevitable, and it will happen soon. In the meantime, I'm enjoying his performances.
Still, this was a fairly standard Smalling performance. People in here just lose their minds when he makes a big mistake, which only really happens occassionally and it's rarely game-changing. It's inevitable, and it will happen soon. In the meantime, I'm enjoying his performances.
Credit on a good performance.
Never understood the hate. A top defender. We need depth in the modern game in our Squads.
Never understood the hate. A top defender. We need depth in the modern game in our Squads.
Thought he had a good game.
Good solid player who also fills the valuable role of being an easy scapegoat.
Horny headers today, having a solid season.
MOTM for me. Calm and composed at all times and one of the few defenders not skying his clearances straight up into the air today. The CB battle is shaping up nicely. Still think Jones/Bailey deserves to be first choice for the moment though Smalling has done himself great in his appearances this season so should probably be 3rd choice and closest to the first 11 
Really not true.
He's not the greatest defender, but all our defenders have their own weaknesses and strengths.
Very solid performance from him. His aerial presence is really something else. We have a nice combination of defenders in our squad. Him and Lindelof played well today.
He has been very good so far this season whenever he was called to play.
Smalling is a really important player for us when Pogba and Fellaini aren't playing. Adds a lot of aerial power to the team, especially important when we're away from home. MOTM for me.
His defending was spot on although I would have liked someone with better passing for games like this given that we struggled to break them down. Glad to see Smalling finding good form though.
We have such a strong defense. Shame we don't have the same quality in depth up front.
We have such a strong defense. Shame we don't have the same quality in depth up front.
He's one of the best around at dealing with arieal stuff, seriously, he has his weaknesses, which have been discussed at length, but as a pure box defender dealing with crosses we're not getting much better than him.
Solid
He's such a good 1v1 defender, I just wish he was more comfortable on the ball as he looks awkward a lot of the time.
He got some real unfair criticism earlier in the season though, he's head and shoulders over Lindelof right now.
He got some real unfair criticism earlier in the season though, he's head and shoulders over Lindelof right now.
He’s so good in the air. I expect him to clear every single corner.
He has been good the past two games.
Very good game from him. I'd keep him around, always a good option to have and is generally reliable.
Good whenever called upon. Excellent at actual defending
Great game, against a terrible team. The easiest thing to defend against is lofted crosses into the box, without an address. Smalling is ace at it.
All good Chris Smalling.... as is frequently the case. He was excellent against Liverpool, who have a very decent attacking unit, and did another good job last night. He is a Man Utd man, experienced. He leads by looking after his own game. Mourinho knows his limitations, and knows his strengths. I'm glad we have him.
Since he's came in, we've looked just as, if not, more solid than we were with Bailly.
I feel a lot more comfortable at the back with Smalling. He's also a beast in the air.
I feel a lot more comfortable at the back with Smalling. He's also a beast in the air.
I dont think defensively we have a better defender than him, only our offensive transition weakens when he plays. He has gotten back to his normal/reliable form, but I still miss SmallDini.
Huddersfield 2:1 Man Utd
Feel bad for him.
Indeed. Not much he can do here other than being frustrated at the guy next to him.
We wouldn't conceede first goal either with him on the right side.
Does he know that you're allowed to play the ball in front of a teammate?
I cannot fathom how bad he is with the ball. Much worse than he even used to be.
I cannot fathom how bad he is with the ball. Much worse than he even used to be.
Done nothing wrong today except being forced to play in a 1 man defense.
Nope.
Like Matic I felt he did his job just fine.
He is an okay defender but the problem is simply that he can't play football. His passing and ball control are simply awful, even for a defender.
I don’t know why they need to swap sides, Lindelof is more comfortable on the ball.
He has a 4.7 match day rating, but he was in truth very good today. Not his fault that Lindelöf was absolutely atrocious.
He wasn't, he just wasn't AS bad as Lindelof
Should have scored at the end, or at least it the target. Took an age to set himself for the shot.
Apart from that, I thought he was very solid.
Apart from that, I thought he was very solid.
I don't do rating for this same reason. Can't understand how people see and rate players' performance.
My wild guess is people were upset about Smalling chance at the end (don't expect much from him with his foot).
Overall, he is holding our defense together alone after Jones came off, while similar can be said about Matic. Not great performance as the circumstance didn't allow, but can't be faulted, as he (and Matic) both trying to pull their weights and worked their as cover for other players.
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