[Treble]

That was an excellent performance in all phases of the game. There were many good to excellent individual performances. Brighton made it a bit easy as they wanted to play open football and outplay us at our ground which was a bit naive from them and played in our hands.

 

[Tom Cato]

Typically when I cant watch maybe I should stop watching given its usually a borefest when I do did the players look to drop off as sometimes when weve played the high press Ole seems keen on we do it for a bit then they get tired. I saw the clip of Dan James' cross where Rashy then missed the open goal he looks like he's getting his head up more and putting in some good crosses something he got criticism on here for when he first came and some saw his pace as being his only real asset. Would have liked a few more minutes for Greenwood let him have some games where things are a bit more relaxed and he's not tasked with rescuing us- his introduction in the Partizan game was perfect .

Let's just hope something has finally clicked and this isnt yet another false dawn.

Fred was also getting a lot of praise on the matchday thread?

Haha yeah maybe you should The second half today was actually our best, and the first half was just dominating, De Gea had nothing to do. We allowed a goal on set pieces (just one of those goals, no one were bad, they just got on the ball first), but instead of being slow and tired the lads were fired up, and Rashford netted 3-1 shortly after, and from there it was just a one way show towards the Brighton goal. Including the 11 SOG we had 5 missed shots as well. They kept the pace throughout today, a very pleasant surprise. Rashford in fairness should have had a hattrick today, most of the SOGs were high danger scoring chances. Fred hit the crossbar, was excellent defensively, creative, everything we want from his position. This was Freds best MUFC game. Williams had a excellent debut and was given the officla MOTM award.

This team after Martial came back is just night and day. We have so many options up front now that the Frenchman is back on duty. Oh yeah Daniel James had a fantastic day at work. Drew 2 yellow cards on his flank from Brighton in the first half as well. Turning out to be a fantastic teamplayer aquisition.

 

[SamVimes]

Let’s enjoy the win and performance. Regardless of how this season went, realistically even a good session such as top 4 or 5/6 with great football would not have involved comparing us to Liverpool or City.

Except we will have very little of either of these. Today was good, but we played Bournemouth last week and it was woeful.

 

[wolvored]

Best game of the season overall. Freds best game as well. We have found a LB in Williams. Our finishing is still very poor, especially Rashford. A No 10 (Pogba?) and a top striker will make all the difference.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

United of old almost, in that I didn't want the match to finish. Very enjoyable 90 minutes.

Everybody played well, with notable mentions to Fred (best performance as a red), James, Maguire & Williams.

A few observations:

• We look genuinely dangerous when Rashford, Martial & James are our front three. Real potential there
• The pressing in the final third is improving
• For that matter pressing in general is vastly improved. We turn the ball over quickly so many times, often within 5 seconds of losing possession
• Stick Pogba in this XI in place of Perreira and it starts to look like a pretty exciting side

I'm interested to know whether the staunch Ole out crowd still fail to see any evidence of coaching or a 'style of play' emerging. For me, while we are still inconsistent and a work in progress, it's clear what we are trying to do here.

Our best XI is better than most in this league. Young players are coming through and getting minutes, so by seasons end we will be able to make sound decisions about what we need to add to the squad.

I agree with this summary, and as you say Ole has gone some way to answer his critics today. I was pleased to see how well we played from the off, how we got two goals in front which has been a sad rarity this year, and how quickly we got back on the front foot and restored our two goal advantage when we'd been pegged back. Seeing us constantly looking get goals at Old Trafford was good to see considering how much respect we've given to all and sundry this year, and considering the only criticism of the performance is some ropey finishing today has been a good day.

 

[DSG]

Obviously Martial is warming up to the role of central striker, and he is clearly our best option there. Rashford can play there, but just isn’t very effective with his back to goal. I wanted him to score badly because of all his hard work up there.

Rashford’s movement is excellent, but he needs to find his confidence in front of goal. He’s been really wasteful recently, and a top forward doesn’t miss those kinds of chances.

Williams was MotM for me. Completely shut down that side, was purposeful in his passing and got forward.

Fred with another very good performance. Still a couple mistakes, but is slowly eliminating these from his game.

 

[Devil may care]

I thought we stuttered a bit until we scored, after that we had patches of good play and I thought the way we quickly scored a 3rd after Brighton scored was good to see. Obviously we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves but the last couple of games have given reason to hope I feel.

 

[Tom Cato]

I've looked at Rashfords miss at 3-1, and concluded that if I sat blindfolded in a rocking chair, with my back to the ball, I could have scored there.

 

[United Hobbit]

Haha yeah maybe you should The second half today was actually our best, and the first half was just dominating, De Gea had nothing to do. We allowed a goal on set pieces (just one of those goals, no one were bad, they just got on the ball first), but instead of being slow and tired the lads were fired up, and Rashford netted 3-1 shortly after, and from there it was just a one way show towards the Brighton goal. Including the 11 SOG we had 5 missed shots as well. They kept the pace throughout today, a very pleasant surprise. Rashford in fairness should have had a hattrick today, most of the SOGs were high danger scoring chances. Fred hit the crossbar, was excellent defensively, creative, everything we want from his position. This was Freds best MUFC game. Williams had a excellent debut and was given the officla MOTM award.

This team after Martial came back is just night and day. We have so many options up front now that the Frenchman is back on duty. Oh yeah Daniel James had a fantastic day at work. Drew 2 yellow cards on his flank from Brighton in the first half as well. Turning out to be a fantastic teamplayer aquisition.

Thanks for such a detailed reply I was following the BBC text commentary and the thread on here and saw Brighton had scored so was a little concerned the pattern we seem to have got into lately would continue and we would end up drawing so it's great it sounds like we actually did the opposite and got better, if we can see more of that these goal a game we keep seeming to leak will be less of a concern as while ideally we keep a clean sheet if we can outscore them it will be less of us hanging on for dear life each time we concede.
Good to see Fred doing well, I still think we need midfielders and he is still prone to being sloppy so still worries me but let's hope he continues this run of form then if we make signings he is at the very least a great rotation option
It's just such a shame Martial seems to be made of glass as I worry if he breaks again it falls apart again.
Interesting Williams got MOTM makes you wonder if Shaw shouldn't just walk straight back into the team like he would if Young was covering. He wasnt in the best form before he got injured. Obviously we cant expect Williams to play every game and there may be some he isnt suited to that Shaw may be a better bet but whenever I've heard Ole speak about him he sounds very excited about him.
I think the international break this time is actually going to hinder us the last thing we need is more injuries although it does at least give us time to hopefully fix McT. Although I'm sure I read somewhere not many of our players have been called up?
Sheffield will be a big test as they have one of the best defensive records in the league and really defensive teams are our biggest weak spot.

We are on at 10pm on Sky Sports for half an hour if anyone like me missed the game.

 

[Tom Cato]

I agree with this summary, and as you say Ole has gone some way to answer his critics today. I was pleased to see how well we played from the off, how we got two goals in front which has been a sad rarity this year, and how quickly we got back on the front foot and restored our two goal advantage when we'd been pegged back. Seeing us constantly looking get goals at Old Trafford was good to see considering how much respect we've given to all and sundry this year, and considering the only criticism of the performance is some ropey finishing today has been a good day.

I also think its worth mentioning that we are not playing a team of "grown men" who are all in their prime. This is not the final result so to speak of the squad rebuild.

Todays Manchester United squad is the youngest team to play in the Premier League this season. Something to definitely be very excited about

 

[momo83]

Except we will have very little of either of these. Today was good, but we played Bournemouth last week and it was woeful.

We shouldn’t let the knowledge of knowing that we have an out of his depth manager ruin the enjoyment of the occasional good performance and win.

Take it day by day until ambition returns to the club.

 

[VidaRed]

Ole in.

 

[Robertd0803]

Good to see we went straight back on the attack after conceding a stupid goal instead of retreating back in to our shell.

 

[Houdini]

Rashford - great player but needs to be more clinical
Martial - great CF hope he stays fit
McT - getting better and better
James - better than we hoped for
Fred - was a disaster, today was MOM. Hope he keeps this up
Williams - not bad at all has a lot of potential.
Lingard - not good enough
Pereira - not a starter, he is still young
Mata - good cover
Young, Matic - surplus to requirement

What we need: A fit Pogba to replace Pereira, a WC CB to replace Lindelof (keep him as backup), RW - someone similar to James to cover Rashford. A WC DM to replace Fred (he can be a good squad player if he can keep his form. Maybe a CF if something goes wrong with Mason.
Mason, Garner and Tuanzebe will be ready soon (not o sure about Gomes let alone Chong)

 

[Adcuth]

Hope Fred wins me over as ive never rated him but today he was very good today and I gave him motm. Rashford needs to start showing more composure in front of goal, missed some sitters today, you don’t have to blast ever shot, a tap in will do with the open goal 3 yds away !! He should have had a hatrick today. Grinders crossed Scott’s ok, it looked serious ankle injury, ligaments at best. Overall a much needed win and pretty comfortable.

Grinders

 

[TheReligion]

Good to see we went straight back on the attack after conceding a stupid goal instead of retreating back in to our shell.

That's an improvement itself.

The mentality and confidence is rising.

 

[Adcuth]

18 points behind Liverpool.

feck Liverpool

 

[Bastian]

James MOTM by a mile. If he had fast attackers in his team who could also score headers he'd be getting tons of assists. I'm surprised by his accuracy in long diagonals and crosses.

Williams with another very good performance, hope he makes this position his own. Needs to cut out the pushing players into the advertising boards though.

Only real criticism today (besides finishing) was going with zonal marking against a team that's got 2-3 major threats in the air.

 

[momo83]

Only problem. A lot of our attacks were simply ball played from deep to our front three who’d run. Great counter attacking, but need more variety. Eg prying defences apart, passing between midfield and attack in opposition half

 

[Sayros]

I'm thinking Rashford is going to work extra hard on his finishing after two embarrassing misses. He owes James an assist at the very least. I just think with his frustration and drive, he is going to put in a lot of work on making sure he finishes those kinds of chances every time in the near future. He might not be the CF of this club, but he could remain this team's leading scorer through the season with Martial getting the ball forward with some space and Rashford making his runs alongside him.

 

[Adcuth]

I'm thinking Rashford is going to work extra hard on his finishing after two embarrassing misses. He owes James an assist at the very least. I just think with his frustration and drive, he is going to put in a lot of work on making sure he finishes those kinds of chances every time in the near future. He might not be the CF of this club, but he could remain this team's leading scorer through the season with Martial getting the ball forward with some space and Rashford making his runs alongside him.

I think also with Martial back and being in good form, it could offer the type of competition needed to drive him on.

 

[Foxbatt]

I'm thinking Rashford is going to work extra hard on his finishing after two embarrassing misses. He owes James an assist at the very least. I just think with his frustration and drive, he is going to put in a lot of work on making sure he finishes those kinds of chances every time in the near future. He might not be the CF of this club, but he could remain this team's leading scorer through the season with Martial getting the ball forward with some space and Rashford making his runs alongside him.

It is not only his finishing that he needs to work on or rather Ole to work on. It is his selfishness too. He needs to pass the ball to any team mate who is in a better position. If he starts passing to his team mates when they are in better positions, the team will score more goals and hence we will win more games.

 

[sglowrider]

Seven of our outfield players, yesterday (v BHA) could have still played for the United U-23 team.

We will be inconsistent in terms of performance. It's a young team.

But at least we know there is a pretty high ceiling.

 

[IRELANDUNITED]

When was the last time we didn't play into the Stretford end in the second half of a match?

 

[always_hoping]

Good to see we went straight back on the attack after conceding a stupid goal instead of retreating back in to our shell.

Yes a welcome change. Next step is to win a match when 1-0 behind.

 

[tjb]

The obvious conclusion to this game is that we have a lot of good things going for us.

We have a really solid defence now and moving forward. In addition we have depth in this position too, with battles potentially taking place for these positions.

We already knew mctominay was a solid future mainstay for the club, but Fred today showed that he has a future at utd, maybe not as a starter in that position, but he can be the first option in case of injuries which is massive when depth is being considered.

Daniel James is really coming to his own in this side. He is consistently and quickly growing, even adding end product to his game. He is very comfortable playing on the right at the moment. He really could be the answer for this position now and for years to come. I would sign a backup/ competition for him for a cheap price, someone like fraser from bournemouth, but this was a really good signing by us.

Rashford is a much better player now than last year. He is far more threatening. In addition, he is clearly a left winger.

Martial has played well, but i feel like we still need a more productive striker. What we found out in martial's absence and in the games we won is that we benefit from having a striker who can hold up the ball in attacking areas. Martial has shown this side of his game to a degree, but he is not world class at it, and has not proven to be a consistently productive player in attack for us yet. I would sign Haaland in the summer to take that role, while martial competes with him and rashford for both left wing and striker roles. This way he will get lots of game time.

One of the positions on the pitch which have always been fundamental to utd has been the no.10 position, whether as a second striker or an attacking midfielder. The usually had the presence to allow utd keep the ball higher up the pitch around the penalty area. Players like rooney, yorke, sheringham, Cantona and scholes would provide that link to the attack that allowed us to sustain pressure in attacking positions. Currently none of our no.10s can even do a quarter of that job, they have no presence or attacking productivity. Hopefully Pogba can come in and play that role till we make that signing. We badly need a player that can do this for us.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

I also think its worth mentioning that we are not playing a team of "grown men" who are all in their prime. This is not the final result so to speak of the squad rebuild.

Todays Manchester United squad is the youngest team to play in the Premier League this season. Something to definitely be very excited about

Aye worth keeping in mind for sure. When we're constantly sitting off at 1-0 and looking like strangers it's difficult to get excited even about our young team, but when you can see us start to put it together you feel better about putting up with the setbacks.

 

[Bilbo]

Only 5 pages again after a good win & performance. Would have been easy double figures had we lost. I struggle to understand why people find it easier to comment negatively as opposed to throwing some praise out there after a good day.

 

[mitchmouse]

Typical - another of our better performances and it's not on live TV. That said, radio made us sound much better than the 30mins highlights did! I stick by my thoughts that Rashford will never be a natural goal-scorer. Good strike for the one he did score, but that miss... and he had a couple of other half chances too. I'm not getting to excited given that the first goal was a huge deflection but there were some good performances (or so it seemed) from Williams (must play ahead of Young now) Fred, Scott McT, Rashford, James and Martial. However, we are simply not clinical enough and it won't surprise me if we go into our shell again come the Sheffield game. Seems a lifetime ago that we strung four of five league wins back-to-back... Plus yet again we gave away a sloppy goal

 

[Bruno8]

we are still struggling with high balls into the box.

Our CBs are not aggressive when going for aerial balls or even marking runners

 

[moodyred]

Only 5 pages again after a good win & performance. Would have been easy double figures had we lost. I struggle to understand why people find it easier to comment negatively as opposed to throwing some praise out there after a good day.

Perhaps they are cautious that this may be a once off performance given how things had been. It just pleases me to be able to enjoy a good game of football. Been a while since I felt such joy.

 

[AceUnited]

I can't post on the match day thread since I do not have enough "likes" but reading the posts yesterday was disgusting to see so called fans hoping for us to lose so maybe Ole gets the sack. Now looking at this thread I see only few pages of comments as if we would have lost there would have been 3 times the comments. I have a little suggestion for the doom and gloom glory hunters: Liverpool most likely will finish first, they have a forum and I believe it is called "You'll Never Wank Alone" please join it and stay there. You are out of your depth.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Very good team performance. Comfortable win. Could have scored a few more.

Fred had his best match for us and gets MoM.
Front three starting to really click, Martial bringing a cool head now he's back.
Pereira played much better than recently, Brandon Williams had a good game. Defence had little to do, hardly remember Lindelof touching the ball.

Confidence looks to be back and now to press on and maintain this good form (Bournemouth excluded).

 

[Flytan]

Great game and performance but again it's against a team that isn't parking the bus away from Old Trafford. It's usually one step forward two steps back for Ole so only cautious optimism from me. Still don't know why Lingard was brought on either.

 

[Bilbo]

Perhaps they are cautious that this may be a once off performance given how things had been. It just pleases me to be able to enjoy a good game of football. Been a while since I felt such joy.

You're right, and surely that should compel our fans to want to talk about it - no? I don't understand this forum. Feels much more pleasant to me to post after a win and a decent display. Seems to be the opposite for many.

 

[BusterGonads]

Brighton made Utd look like Liverpool circa 17/18 the way they opened up and allowed your forwards to tear them apart in the 2nd half. I love watching fast breaking sides and if Rashford can become more clinical this team could become anything. Perhaps not under Ole but the bare bones are being assembled and if the midfield is strengthened, next season will be very interesting, us, City, Chelsea, Utd and Leicester for a proper slugfest

But for now, baby steps and see if u can maintain that against better sides and those that sit deep. Gain the experience and grow the confidence...the rest of the prem would have taken notice of what happens when your front 3 click so I doubt anyone will play so openly again and Utd will have different problems to solve but quite frankly after watching that I'm glad we've got Old Trafford out the way for the season

 

[Maticmaker]

At last we saw some beginnings of a team yesterday, they had all been training on the same pitch, some idea of what each other was doing, pressing the opposition not just in first twenty minutes but throughout the game, even into the last ten minutes, it was heart-warming to observe. Special mentions for Brandon Williams who is likely to become a fans favourite, Fred who seemed to have moved up a gear, and even Pereira put in a reasonable performance.

We have a long way to go yet and few positions to strengthen, but I left Old Trafford with a spring in my step and couldn't give a s**t about what was happening down the other end of the East Lancs!

 

[Bilbo]

Great game and performance but again it's against a team that isn't parking the bus away from Old Trafford. It's usually one step forward two steps back for Ole so only cautious optimism from me. Still don't know why Lingard was brought on either.

The importance of an early goal. If we can get to 2 we generally look like we'll score 5 or 6.

Lingard needs confidence and a goal. My feeling is that he isn't the answer even at his best, but with the squad depth being what it is we could use a confident Lingard over what we have now

 

[Bilbo]

At last we saw some beginnings of a team yesterday, they had all been training on the same pitch, some idea of what each other was doing, pressing the opposition not just in first twenty minutes but throughout the game, even into the last ten minutes, it was heart-warming to observe. Special mentions for Brandon Williams who is likely to become a fans favourite, Fred who seemed to have moved up a gear, and even Pereira put in a reasonable performance.

We have a long way to go yet and few positions to strengthen, but I left Old Trafford with a spring in my step and couldn't give a s**t about what was happening down the other end of the East Lancs!

The atmosphere looked great yesterday. Was gutted to miss this one

 

[Maticmaker]

The atmosphere looked great yesterday. Was gutted to miss this one

Yes, it certainly was, fans (particular Stretford End) singing their hearts out from ten minutes before the start and throughout the game, the noise level never abated, it was consistent and I am certain set a tempo for the players. Not heard such a constant roaring and singing like that at OT for 'donkeys years', well done to all concerned.