Haha, don't know. Was it?
22
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 22
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 7
- Yellow cards
- 2
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Just the fact he bust a gut to get ahead of his man to give us even the chance of scoring is what we lacked from the midfielders last season. I'm happy it went in the net period, even if it was a little lucky he deserves all the credit for making it possible.
Well, he started that counter by releasing Valencia and then he had a great cross to Darmian and made himself available in the box. Header or not, it was a great effort.
Mkhitaryan goals and assists on pre-season tour
Mkhitaryan goals and assists on tour
LA Galaxy 0:4 Manchester United (Goal)
Real Salt Lake 1:1 Manchester United (Goal)
Real Salt Lake 1:2 Manchester United (Assist for Lukaku)
Manchester United 2:0 Manchester City (Assist for Rashford)
Valerenga 0:1 Manchester United (Assist for Fellaini)
Manchester United 1:0 Sampdoria (Goal)
all clips c/o GifLord
LA Galaxy 0:4 Manchester United (Goal)
Real Salt Lake 1:1 Manchester United (Goal)
Real Salt Lake 1:2 Manchester United (Assist for Lukaku)
Manchester United 2:0 Manchester City (Assist for Rashford)
Valerenga 0:1 Manchester United (Assist for Fellaini)
Manchester United 1:0 Sampdoria (Goal)
all clips c/o GifLord
I hope he keeps this form up in the league. He's been excellent in pre season and again last night.
Martial and him had a really good pre season if both of them step up we would definitely be title contenders. Even though he drifts out of game way too often yet comes up with an assist or goal
Anyone feels he actually looks slimmer or smaller this preseason? Wonder if there's a change in his training regime or something
Great performance today. Constantly applying pressure to the Sampdoria defenders and making them panic. Mkhi showed just how effective he can be against teams that give us more space to operate. He should always play against lower opposition imo. Think I'd keep him as a sub for the bigger games.
In the PL, he'll find more space against the bigger teams than he will against weaker opposition. I'm really not sure what Mourinho's plan for him is. He plays best as the #10 but we seem to be favouring a 3 man midfield instead. He thrives in space but we'd probably play the 4-2-3-1, if at all, only against weaker teams where they pack their own half.
I think we'll see more of he 4-2-3-1 now we've signed Matic. Hopefully we can see more of him in a central role, as that's what he's most suited to imo.
He wouldn't have more space because he'd be pressed more. Mkhi was anonymous against Barca and Madrid because they pressed him far more and he had less time to think about what he wanted to do with the ball and was constantly dispossessed. Big teams will be more open to a counter attack due to a high line. Smaller teams will not be pressing in most cases but will instead congest into the centre of the pitch and sit back. This makes it more difficult to create chances but it allows players more time on the ball to decide exactly what they want to do. Some players struggle with these games due to the very limited space to create anything. However, Mkhi gives us a huge advantage in these games as he's capable of some excellent passes, runs from deep, and goals. The extra time he has to decide exactly what he wants to do results in better Mkhi performances.
Small PL teams still do press once you get within 30 yards or so of goal. They won't press further out but Mkhi isn't going to make an impact from there. But more importantly, they will congest the center and not allow much space between the lines which is where he likes to operate. He's at his best when he has space to run with the ball through the middle and lay it off to other attackers. Those opportunities come much more often against teams that are open to the counter, which are the bigger sides as you said.
He's used to playing in a fast tempo system at Dortmund so I doubt it's the pressing or quick decision making he's struggling with. Rather that against top sides we tend to sit back more and have fewer players streaming forward to join the attack, so he has fewer passing options and has to create more off his own play than by interchange with others. This is the biggest problem with Mkhi, he thrives in a dynamic system with lots of runners and good passers, and that's not how we played last season.
What we missed last season was converting chances.
Usually happens after pregnancy.
I think his overall performances in pre-season have been hit and miss but he's getting goals which is key.
Can't tell if he is good or not.
Think hes probably been our best player this pre season. Makes me laugh a bit seeing ideas without him in the starting 11 next season, hes pretty much one of the first names on the team sheet for mourinho in attack I think.
I love the way hes started the counter against sampdoria by passing it to valencia then getting the pass back and crossing to darmian, running to the goals and scoring. Three man goal, was perfect.
Real Madrid 2:1 Man Utd
Hasn't played well in my opinion.
Really doesn't concentrate. Valencia dinked the ball insides Real penalty area but he just stood there.
Then his decision making is questionable. A lot of passes he plays just gets cut out.
At the start of the game the ball came to him and bounced off his feet. It's as if he doesn't expect it at all.
Also, shouldn't have dived.
Really doesn't concentrate. Valencia dinked the ball insides Real penalty area but he just stood there.
Then his decision making is questionable. A lot of passes he plays just gets cut out.
At the start of the game the ball came to him and bounced off his feet. It's as if he doesn't expect it at all.
Also, shouldn't have dived.
I think his brain is letting him down sometimes. The less time he has the better he does.
Bullshit. Pogba should have passed it to him instead of shooting. Can you fecking wait till game is over before you post biased inputs?
What the feck are you talking about watch the dinked pass from Valencia and tell me he just stood there with any anticipation of the pass whatsoever?
Said it in the matchday thread, but I don't think he's good enough. Not this game alone, but I've yet to see him be consistently good for a period of games (he had a 4-5 game spell last season, but that's nothing over the course of a 50+ game season where he's expected to be our main creative outlet from the wing).
No he did not, he was not expecting that pass. Watch closely.
It's like he's extremely nervous or somewhat intimidated.
I've seen it.
Besides you started talking about Pogba shooting which I didn't fecking mention. So again I doubt you know what I'm talking about.
Reminds me of Nani, but not the Nani who had that brilliant season, the other one who did some amazing things no one else on the pitch was capable of, but then would do something completely brainless.
Yeah. You can clearly see it in his play.
Sometimes he's absolutely brilliant but nowhere near as much as we need him too.
At least Nani was always a threat. Mkhitaryan looks like a mouse who doesn't want the ball. Nani had balls.
Yup, he was the same at Dortmund. Looked like he might've stepped it up a level but sadly not. He's a huge disappointment.
Is he even playing this game? Has he touched the ball once in the second half?
amazing houdini act
Yeah he lost the ball with Marcelo.
Then lost it again on the touch line in the opposition half from which Real scored from I think.
He is so invisible people forgot to criticise him.
He'll flop again this season, doesn't have what it takes.
He strikes me as being the level below the very top. I hope he proves me wrong.
More than just a level.
I just have no confidence in him controlling a ball played at him at decent speed or with an opposition player within a yard or two of him. His ball control and first touch are poor.
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