[Bastian]

Fair result. I thought they had more or less control of midfield, but hardly anything else.

That was definitely a penalty by Hudson-Odoi and absolutely no hiding place for a ref who watched it many times in slow motion. Amazing really. Some lame argument that if he hadn't touched it it would have touched Greenwood's hand, as if that matters in the slightest.

Thought McTominay allowed himself to be bullied by Rudiger ever since their little coming together in the box. Rudiger dispossessed him 2 or 3 times high up, with Scotty looking a bit panicked when I was hoping he'd bite back a bit. You don't have to be stronger, just a bit tough.

We are clearly missing creativity in midfield and a focal point in attack, but James looked lively and created some nice chances that a striker would have been happy with.

Kovacic should of course have been booked for a foul on James, but Maguire picked up a yellow 2 minutes later for a lesser foul on Pulisic.

 

[Eire Red United]

Poor enough all round, really missed Pogba and Cavani. Probably was a penalty but not complaining too much, didn’t deserve to win. Rashford and Bruno really need to step up.

 

[LDUred]

The lack of anticipation from our strikers is glaring at times. They never seem aware of where Shaw and James are working the ball to from out wide, even when the ball is going right into the danger area they inevitably show up late.

They are talented players but you question whether they have the instincts required to score 20 a season or score simple tap-ins.

 

[Hans Wurst]

I think the caf has gone mad.. its moaning for the sake of moaning.

If we had Cavani and Pogba on the bench and we kept James and Fred/McT on, I would understand the complaints about being too defensive.. what the feck were we supposed to do? Go kamakazi all out attacking against a side in good form just to please some idiots on the interwebs ?
There is no logic or sense to what gets posted here anymore. fecking weirdos.

I had to laugh out loud reading that.

I feel the same though, this has been the first match in a while that I was able to watch (at least partly). And while it was a really cagey and tactical/defensive affair I thought that we were playing quite well given the circumstances and mostly contained Chelsea. Also, I thought it to be pretty clear that this was a "must not lose" game rather than a "must win" so I was pretty content. At half-time, browsing RedCafe, I thought that I must have been watching a different game!
It's been doom and gloom all the way for the past few months on here and for me it's sometimes hard to read given that we are supporters of this team and should be cheering the players and manager on rather than putting them down at every turn.

 

[Champagne Football]

A draw away to a decent Chelsea side with a decent manager.

It's the type of game you need to bring on Pogba for the last 30 mins to change up the defensive approach, but with him missing and Cavani too, we are toothless in attack.

But a hard fought point away to Chelsea, I'll take it.

 

[Ronaldo's Love Child]

Who would you bring on to try and win the game?

Probably Diallo for the last 5 mins and even DVB for the last 15 mins when it seemed that McTominay was passing to the Chelsea players more than to his teammates.

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

Bigly.

DVB is a good player, how he started the season is better reflection ti how he played the last match he started. Also he’s not a 10, best position is probably same as Pogba the deeper creative / technical played who can transition play

 

[glazed]

Sh1t game that deserved that scoreline. I mean yeah we were robbed of a penalty but we didn't deserve 3 points either.

Chelsea are getting good at pressing. They will be up there next season.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I think the caf has gone mad.. its moaning for the sake of moaning.

If we had Cavani and Pogba on the bench and we kept James and Fred/McT on, I would understand the complaints about being too defensive.. what the feck were we supposed to do? Go kamakazi all out attacking against a side in good form just to please some idiots on the interwebs ?
There is no logic or sense to what gets posted here anymore. fecking weirdos.

Well said.

 

[James35]

Since going top of the league we have taken 14 points from 9 games. That's mid table form at best.

We have really shat the bed to be fair and we still have to play City next weekend.

Injuries haven't helped of course but it still is disappointing form and we are just lucky the other teams below us are equally as inconsistent.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

Good point away from home. Keeps us with a decent little gap for top 4

 

[Zen86]

Not sure what game some people were watching. We were probably the better team, although not by much. We weren’t defensive, we were actually pretty aggressive in our play and how we went at them, we pressed them all over the pitch. This wasn’t us sticking 10 men behind the ball or playing for a draw at all.

Our attack just wasn’t good enough though, our front 4 were flat once again. Rashford, Greenwood, and James are not a forward line to terrify the opposition and it showed again today. Better yet, the only real option to change it up was a completely out of form Martial. We’re badly missing Cavani and Pogba.

At least we didn’t concede any stupid goals, which is an improvement.

 

[justsomebloke]

He's gone a bit LvG without the possession. The Leicester game when we were starting to look good, then he went all cautious. The sending off in the Spurs game did not help there. He just seems intent on us being a counter attacking side. To do that you cannot be wasteful with your possession. We are. Just wish Pogba was back and we had Cavani as an option.

Sorry, what? That was the exact, complete opposite of counterattacking football - full and high counterpress.

 

[Superden]

Sorry, what? That was the exact, complete opposite of counterattacking football - full and high counterpress.

That was the highest line we've played for a while and had both FBs up on their wingbacks...sometimes people don't look past the end of their noses

 

[Crashoutcassius]

I’m not that unhappy about that result today. It’s more the pattern that is concerning. It was important not to lose today but it was a good opportunity to win. And we saw that at Anfield too. And against City when they hadn’t hit form. And against Chelsea at Old Trafford. It’s better to go for it sometimes and lose the odd one while we win the odd one.

I agree that if you take all season as a whole, poor versus the biggest sides. it would be more worrying for me if we werent so good last season, at least we know it is there somewhere.

Today is isolation, with injuries, our poor form and chelseas good form, and the fact that they might put pressure on our top 4 spot in certain run outs, i think a draw and move is good. must say i really dont rate this tuchel side so far, could obviously improve a lot

 

[MattyB1986]

Lack of a CF and when Bruno is off we don't create anything.

 

[GBBQ]

The game itself was meh but I think given the context of where both teams are in the table it was a good point for us in the long run. We’re progressing but I hope Ole gets a bit more attack minded next season in the big 6 games assuming his squad is closer to where it should be.

 

[SmashedHombre]

Pretty much as expected in that it was disappointing, lacking, and rather meh, but I guess it'll do.

 

[Red00012]

Good point away from home. Keeps us with a decent little gap for top 4

Exactly , not the worst result with 3rd and 4th losing. Hopefully we can beat Palace midweek

 

[Martial'sEmergingSmile]

Dan James covered an insane amount of ground today.

 

[big rons sovereign]

We didn't deserve any more than a point to be fair.

Things that DID bother me though

1/ OGS seemingly settling for a point whilst Tuchel was already making 3 subs to try and win the game.
2/ Further confirmation that we will not win the league EVER if we believe Rashford and/or Martial are our first choice strikers.
3/ Mason Greenwood walking off when being substituted giving further strength to the argument that we had been schooled to get a point here and not a win
4/ OGS-beaming at Fred's missed shot....WTF?

He has a reputation for being shit at shooting. He almost buried it with his weaker foot.
I wasn't aware that actually enjoying life was a crime.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

We can't score against small teams that sit deep and prone to concede goal in counter attack.

We can't score against big teams. In fact, we can't even pass the ball well against big team.

we scored the most in the league pal hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahaha

 

[The Brown Bull]

A draw away to a decent Chelsea side with a decent manager.

It's the type of game you need to bring on Pogba for the last 30 mins to change up the defensive approach, but with him missing and Cavani too, we are toothless in attack.

But a hard fought point away to Chelsea, I'll take it.

Away?
There is no home and away these days. There are no hostile, noisy, home fans to deal with. It's just 11v 11.

 

[RRCE]

It’s an acceptable point in the grand scheme of things, but the manner in which it was secured was thoroughly unsatisfying.

Ole obviously wanted to win, but he wasn’t prepared to set his team up in a manner which gave him the best chance to actually do so. He was hoping to nick a 1 - 0 win, based upon a penalty, set piece, counter attack or piece of individual brilliance. It was never going to be based on tactics, strong build up play, etc. That’s either beyond Ole, or simply too risky for his blood.

It was a game played by a team, and led by a Manager, who are simply trying to secure a top 4 finish, not compete for a title. Maybe that’s pragmatic, maybe it’s cowardly...either way, it doesn’t sit well with many supporters. Most fans want to see Ole start to play with more aggression in these games.

 

[Wilt]

Utd still second in the prem despite not yet beating a “big 6” team.

It’s a miracle I tell ya

 

[Red00012]

Dan James covered an insane amount of ground today.

Rashford stat is embarrassing but not surprised

 

[Champagne Football]

Away?
There is no home and away these days. There are no hostile, noisy, home fans to deal with. It's just 11v 11.

The Utd players still have to sit on a bus for around 5 hours to the stadium depending on traffic, then 5 hours back.

Chelsea are much improved under Tuchel, unbeaten since he arrived, got a very very impressive away win away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on the Tuesday before facing Utd. There's a real buzz there now and they were up for this game on their home turf big time. So it's still a tricky away game whatever way you want to look at it.

 

[NewGlory]

Not at all. They will just setup as before at OT and take the 0-0. This is the issue for us, teams know how poor we are unless they push players up and chase the game against us.

We’ve become the dull game of the top four contender’s calendars, the Wolves of the clubs chasing CL football. The only team to try and take us on was Leicester and that even ended a draw. This isn’t what United should ever be about.

I am sorry to say this, but there is no way City will just take 0-0, this time. They know we are in shit form and will try to humiliate us. Unless Cavani and Pogba come back, they will likely succeed. The team that played today is incapable of stopping a good team.

 

[croadyman]

Type of result that will secure top 4.

Type of performance that makes the idea of a title challenge a laughable delusion.

Absolutely nailed it there

 

[pocco]

Dan James covered an insane amount of ground today.

Rashford really is either lazy or just given special privileges.

 

[Galeano]

What a disappointment this game was.
I didn't see a good football game, not even a cheeky Chelsea in search of a victory we needed, two teams were more afraid of losing than ambition to win.

I see a certain enchantment with Tuchel that I don't understand, the results have been better than the football played, this game system and the players' choices continue to make no sense to me.

Worst of all, he thinks everything is fine and says he won't change anything, what to do with someone like that?

I would like the change of coach to take us to another level, who knows if with any luck we entered the top 4 this year, just like last year, we managed to do it more through competition failures than on our own merits.

 

[MadMike]

Dan James covered an insane amount of ground today.

What the feck! How did Rashford run less than a CB?

Both him and Martial have left a lot to be desired in terms of application this season.

 

[The Brown Bull]

The Utd players still have to sit on a bus for around 5 hours to the stadium depending on traffic, then 5 hours back.

Chelsea are much improved under Tuchel, unbeaten since he arrived, got a very very impressive away win away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on the Tuesday before facing Utd. There's a real buzz there now and they were up for this game on their home turf big time. So it's still a tricky away game whatever way you want to look at it.

Really? I very much doubt they bus it down to London on the day of the game.
But let's say in the normal course of events an away game at the Bridge is 65/35 advantage Chelsea. Without fans it's 52/48. In my opinion.

 

[tjb]

Dunno why people keep mentioning our forwards when the main issue was the inability of our midfield to win possession keep it or provide it to other areas of the pitch quickly. Our midfielders couldn't make tackles or dispossessed chelsea frequently enough. Allowing simple drives consistently like Rudiger or Mount. Chelsea were more frequent in their ability to connect to their attack because even Kante could play a risky pass or drive with the ball. Maguire and Lindelof were actually the main supply line to our front 4...that says everything.

I do agree that rashford was too passive and bruno had an off game, but they all still the opportunities to create that Chelsea's attack had. Its the reason we lost to Leipzig, the reason we haven't been able to win a top 6 game this season... our attackers don't recieve the ball quick enough to be able to generate good chances in big games due to the other midfield being able to get to loose balls quicker and have the technique and confidence to drive and pass themselves out of high pressure situations.

 

[Raredaredevil]

I'm not going to complain about this result as I would have killed for a draw before the game. Just a shame we didn't get that penalty. Could have completely changed the game.

 

[lex talionis]

I’m really proud of the boys. Sure, I could moan about the draw but this is not a result, given all circumstances, where a moan is warranted.

 

[always_hoping]

5 games in a row unbeaten in all competitions against Chelsea in Stamford Bridge (W3 D2)

Best run in that venue since the mid to late 90s.

 

[ken11]

I'm always glad when I am validated by this thread after deciding to give a match a miss.

 

[Nicoseth]

0-0, decent result. Yeah we haven't been great against the other top 6, but we were brilliant against them last year but worse overall. I'll take this season over last any time. We looked tired but did well against a strong chelsea side. Imperative to beat Palace now.

 

[Alek M]

Having Dan James jus run around is not going to win us a game.

Rashford was underutilized

Worst game of the season for not going for a win

Decent defensively

The ref was absolute shit