PL W FA Premier League

Aston Villa 1:3 Manchester United

Post-match discussion


Sun, 09 May 2021

always_hoping

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West Hams failure to win this evening means Man United have officially secured a top 4 finish for a 2nd season in a row for the first time since Ferguson retired. Clear progression made.
 

Houdini

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I would pay someone 80M€ if he can stop the ageing of Cavani.
 

Solius

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We really are a very good team now. We are winning with so much more ease than we were a year ago. The difference in all areas is very clear to see.
 

Judge Red

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Dean Smith's not happy with the penalty



Not sure what he's not seeing there, he's kicked Pogba up the leg and gotten nowhere near the ball. It wasn't even remotely soft. His own players were screaming at Luiz for being stupid, which he was.
‘He only kicked him once.’

He’s gonna keep on feeling hard done by decisions if he’s that much of an idiot.
 

48 hours

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Dean Smith's not happy with the penalty



Not sure what he's not seeing there, he's kicked Pogba up the leg and gotten nowhere near the ball. It wasn't even remotely soft. His own players were screaming at Luiz for being stupid, which he was.
moaning wench.
Even Souness thought it was a foul on Pogba, despite the pain it must have caused him to say that
 

andy0

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Dean Smith's not happy with the penalty



Not sure what he's not seeing there, he's kicked Pogba up the leg and gotten nowhere near the ball. It wasn't even remotely soft. His own players were screaming at Luiz for being stupid, which he was.
Anyone (except apparently Dean Smith today) knows if you kick or knee someone in the back of their knee or thigh, their leg gives way.

Shearer and Jenas both criticise the defender.
 

Solius

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Jenas and Shearer talking sense for once on MOTD. Saying it was a definite pen for us and a definite red for Watkins.
 

Pogue Mahone

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Jenas and Shearer talking sense for once on MOTD. Saying it was a definite pen for us and a definite red for Watkins.
I think the red is a little harsh. It did look like he was about to get kicked up in the air by Henderson so could be one of those rare occasions where a dive really is justified as self protection, rather than an attempt to con the ref.

Our penalty was as blatant as it gets.
 

Statue of Limitations

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I said at half time in the match thread something like "we will win this, it's what we do".

Just have so much faith in this team these days, compared to how I felt when we went behind in other recent seasons.

It's just like under SAF, we are never beaten until the final whistle, this team has grit. I love it :drool:
 

mav_9me

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We really are a very good team now. We are winning with so much more ease than we were a year ago. The difference in all areas is very clear to see.
100%.

We have a defined way of play. And we create a few chances a game anyway. I still feel we are a bit dependent on individual quality to actually score but that's ok..that probably will improve with time/training and getting better players.
 
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Was a clear penalty. Brainless from Luiz.
even his teammates knew it was a pen. You could see their reaction was “why the feck did you do that”?

close to stonewall as you can get. Smith should be having a word with his defender, who is a bloody tool.

as for the sending off. I thought is was harsh, but only seen it once.
 

ayushreddevil9

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Is Harry Maguire's injury any serious? I didn't watch the game
 

norm87cro

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Cavani is a class act and a true role model for the young strikers. His movement without the ball at the age of 34 is on another level and it really gives lots of options to our attack
 

Berbasbullet

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even his teammates knew it was a pen. You could see their reaction was “why the feck did you do that”?

close to stonewall as you can get. Smith should be having a word with his defender, who is a bloody tool.

as for the sending off. I thought is was harsh, but only seen it once.
Yep! Could see one of them shouting at him. Spot on you don’t challenge someone in the box from behind like that.
 

justsomebloke

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Yep! Could see one of them shouting at him. Spot on you don’t challenge someone in the box from behind like that.
Catch that slo-mo replay from behind, with the camera directly facing Barkley. Look at Barkley's facial expression and gestures after Pogba goes down. If anyone needs any more proof than that, they're bluffing. :)
 

Hughes35

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Becomes more and more obvious every week how much a proper CF has improved the whole team.

Desperately need a big signing in this area or to renew Cavani (Ideally both).

Good win, some nice goals and some decent performances. Very pleased for Greenwood, he's found his goal scoring touch again which is great for him and the team.
 

Glorio

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I think the Utd cant attack v low blocks narrative needs to die. We come back too many times that it should be a problem for us if it were true.
Yup ... The answers:
- Pogba playing closer to the opposition goal
- Cavani's constant darts - as a defender, he must be like an annoying mosquito that you can never quite pin down
 

mitchmouse

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West Hams failure to win this evening means Man United have officially secured a top 4 finish for a 2nd season in a row for the first time since Ferguson retired. Clear progression made.
really. so top four is now better than second (although we are likely to equal that) and Europa League (we might equal that too). Seems pretty much the same to me...
 

man united 4eva

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Fantastic result but slightly marred by the injury to Harry.. The sooner he's back the better as i feel he's the most important defender in our squad.. It would be a bit uncertain as to how we would perform if his injury is long term.. I can't recall him missing a game through injury this season.. He's not only our captain but more or less the bedrock of our team. We'd miss his organizational and ariel abilities at the back that's for sure... so here's wishing a speedy full recovery for Harry.
 

mitchmouse

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Yet again a very good second half - but yet again I ask "how much better would we be if we played in both halves of games"?

I don't care what people say about our ability to come back from going behind - it's not a good trait and is going to cost us dearly at some stage. It is surely a problem: what is the last thing Ole says before they go out on the pitch? If Ole says the right thing, why are we not following that instruction? When players fail to follow manager's instruction, why do they continue to get picked? Something is very definitely off.

That said, some players who were awful in the first half (Pogba, McT) had very good second 45 but we so need width up front and our supposed "pace" is over-stated. Cavani is nowhere near as fast as others yet it is he who is so often in the right place at the right time. the moment he came on, I knew he'd score.

Big couple of weeks ahead - bigger summer: we must pay whatever it takes to get the players we need
 

lysglimt

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I sometime get the feeling that Cavani might stick around for another season because of Greenwood. Like he got this father figure-role
 

Craig Ward

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Sound performance in the end but again we make it harder for ourselves.

Negatives:
Lindelof - again highlighting how CB is a must buy area for us. He's so weak and always at risk of making a mistake. So poor all game.

McTominey - I'm struggling to see his purpose. Looks decent one game, then missing for a few. He's a DM who looks to me like he's actively avoiding the ball. Weird player

Fred/McTom - As a combo - it doesnt really work for me. Has it's uses against much better teams as they can both break up play, but as a progressive midfield two they are too similar and neither good enough distributing the ball in an attacking sense. Harsh on Fred maybe, as I believe he is pretty good on the ball, but McTom certainly isnt and as a pair they're extremely frustrating to watch against "weaker" teams

Positives:
Greenwood - Cracking finish exactly when we needed it too. Looks to be playing with intent - always a threat.

Cavani - What a gem of a CF. Workrate and movement - top class

AWB - Although he didnt have the best game he's ever had, I thought his application and willingness to get forward was much, much better than it has been. Really solid performance.

I'm landed with the win - thrilled to see progress in this team. We aren't far off having a cracking squad. A top CB and a DM transform us - it really does. We are solid in attack with options now. 2-3 good signings and the future is very bright for us
 

bazza3727

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Yet again a very good second half - but yet again I ask "how much better would we be if we played in both halves of games"?

I don't care what people say about our ability to come back from going behind - it's not a good trait and is going to cost us dearly at some stage. It is surely a problem: what is the last thing Ole says before they go out on the pitch? If Ole says the right thing, why are we not following that instruction? When players fail to follow manager's instruction, why do they continue to get picked? Something is very definitely off.

That said, some players who were awful in the first half (Pogba, McT) had very good second 45 but we so need width up front and our supposed "pace" is over-stated. Cavani is nowhere near as fast as others yet it is he who is so often in the right place at the right time. the moment he came on, I knew he'd score.

Big couple of weeks ahead - bigger summer: we must pay whatever it takes to get the players we need
Think on, though. Villa had a week to prepare and their game plan seemed to be to frustrate us and to be getting in our faces. Even before they scored they were wasting time - goalie wandering about with ball, thows-in taking ages. This has been our scenario all season - two games per week- no preparation or recovery time to get over little niggles, etc.. It obviously seems that we need some time each game to settle down.
 

simplyared

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For me this was one of our most convincing performances of the season. Thought we dominated the game from start to finish. Our movement was really good. We looked good coming out of defense. Some of the passing combinations were top notch and lead to many dangerous situations going forward. We're looking like a well oiled machine, up and working in all departments. Can't remember when I saw that last!
Oh and btw I wasn't on pins for the last 15 mins in fear of the opposing team nickin it at the end or getting a late equalizer!
 

always_hoping

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really. so top four is now better than second (although we are likely to equal that) and Europa League (we might equal that too). Seems pretty much the same to me...
Back to back top 4 finishes is better. It's clear consistency/progression than to finish in the top 4 one season and outside the top 4 the next.

If United finish 2nd and win trophy it will be Uniteds best season since 2012-13 as in 2017-18 United finished 6th in the PL.
 

redmanx

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We really are a very good team now. We are winning with so much more ease than we were a year ago. The difference in all areas is very clear to see.
We just need to cut out entirely the silly individual mistakes and we'll be real challengers for the PL next season.
 

redmanx

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For me this was one of our most convincing performances of the season. Thought we dominated the game from start to finish. Our movement was really good. We looked good coming out of defense. Some of the passing combinations were top notch and lead to many dangerous situations going forward. We're looking like a well oiled machine, up and working in all departments. Can't remember when I saw that last!
Oh and btw I wasn't on pins for the last 15 mins in fear of the opposing team nickin it at the end or getting a late equalizer!
Villa scored against the run of play through a silly error by Fred and for a while we struggled to regain our composure but when we did we were dynamite! A great team performance!
 

dpansheth

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We just need to cut out entirely the silly individual mistakes and we'll be real challengers for the PL next season.
I’d argue if we improve our right wing play , we will be punished less for individual errors
 

redmanx

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Well we did get punished for giving the ball away on the right wing vs Villa !
Wan Bisaka may not be the best at going forward, though he is improving, but his defensive play has been outstanding and how many times has he made a last ditch tackle to stop a certain goal? He makes errors, yes, but usually hes able to recover and redeem the situation; and hes only going to get better. Its our central midfielders giving the ball away thats the biggst problem; Fred did it v Villa and they scored, but Pogba, Bruno, McTominay and Matic have all been guilty of the same.
 
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Wan Bisaka may not be the best at going forward, though he is improving, but his defensive play has been outstanding and how many times has he made a last ditch tackle to stop a certain goal? He makes errors, yes, but usually hes able to recover and redeem the situation; and hes only going to get better. Its our central midfielders giving the ball away thats the biggst problem; Fred did it v Villa and they scored, but Pogba, Bruno, McTominay and Matic have all been guilty of the same.
I don't think there's a problem with Wan Bissaka at all. We forget how young he is, and I think that, with his physical attributes and improvements on the ball, in a couple of seasons he could be marching Shaw's current form. As you say. His defending has been back to last season's levels, and he often looks dangerous when attacking now we play better on the right.

I actually think Greenwood has got much better at supporting Wan Bissaka recently, but I still think AWB would really benefit from someone who is more suited to playing as a proper winger, like Sancho. It would mean we could potentially learn to build up play down the right how we currently do down the left. That would make switching the play much easier and more effective and make it so much harder to press our centre backs.
 

DSG

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I feel like it’s important to finish strong. We have a chance to solidify 2nd, get closer to City and pick up a European trophy. Not the one we ultimately want, but giving Bruno, Rashford and the others a taste is important, a “just the tip” moment to make us hungry for the real thing.
 

Player Ratings

6.5 Total Average Rating

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Lowest Rated Player

Compiled from 244 ratings.

Score Predictions

116,8,19
  • Man Utd win
  • Aston Villa win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 33% Aston Villa 1:2 Man Utd
  • 18% Aston Villa 0:2 Man Utd
  • 16% Aston Villa 1:3 Man Utd
  • 10% Aston Villa 1:1 Man Utd
  • 4% Aston Villa 0:1 Man Utd
  • 3% Aston Villa 0:3 Man Utd
  • 2% Aston Villa 2:3 Man Utd
  • 2% Aston Villa 1:4 Man Utd
  • 2% Aston Villa 1:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 0:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 2:2 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 2:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 0:5 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 2:1 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 3:5 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 5:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Aston Villa 0:4 Man Utd
Compiled from 143 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Aston Villa
  2. Man Utd
Possession
41% 59%
Shots
11 18
Shots on Target
5 7
Corners
5 6
Fouls
13 18

Referee

Chris Kavanagh