[Reapersoul20]

That was a fun game, with lots to think about!

Malacia. He brought much-needed intensity and aggressiveness when he came into the team from Liverpool onwards, but I think we're starting to get an outline of his limitations - above all, he's really not very good at all on the ball. Has a lot less to offer than Shaw in that department.

Dalot. Actually thought he was really good today. I was arguing on another thread that praise of his passing this season was a bit overboard, but if he continues like today, I'll come around to the opposing view.

Casemiro. Love watching how he's everything McT isn't - always available for a pass, calm, efficient and smart in his distribution. I think he could be a very important catalyst for this team.

Rashford/Shaw/Martial. There were moments here that took me back to when we were good, in 2020. Martial with 3 goals in two appearances as a sub - who'd have thought that! And I think Rashford must now officially be considered to be back in form.

Antony. Looking more and more integrated. Good.

Ronaldo. You've got to feel for the guy, that was painful to watch. Especially as he actually didn't play badly. Outside of spurning a plethora of great chances, that is. Contributed a good deal especially in the first half.

Notable pattern: Precise long balls, again and again. Mostly well executed too. Will be interesting to see if that continues.

Yeah, agree with all your points. Especially the bolded. Thought Ronaldo played well except for his dire, dire finishing - which will no doubt return to form soon. Again .

I'm hoping Malacia can keep the intensity up, really like him as a player and hope he doesn't turn into a right-sided AWB.

 

[AndyMUFC]

Made much harder than it needed to be, mainly through poor finishing in and letting in sloppy goals but got there in the end.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

I’m surprised you went so strong tonight. Not sure if that bodes well for Sunday or not!

Who knows what United team will show up mate....it's a crap shoot.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

Thanks so much mate

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

I noticed this too !! So glad someone else did

It was the greatest moment of the season so far

 

[RuudTom83]

Could of been 6 - 2 if United were more clinical.

Despite the dramatic commentary in the first half, I never felt the 3 points were in doubt tbh.

Hard to take much away from the game but it’s good to see Martial back.

 

[Foxbatt]

Who was the commentator with Robbie Savage?

 

[tjb]

One problem I've noticed from United fans so far judging this team is that they think ETH is Guardiola and are expecting something akin to the implementation of his style.

This is not true at all. Last season, City averaged 68% percentage per game in the league, something which is pretty ridiculous. Liverpool and Chelsea averaged 63% and 62% respectively. ETH's Ajax only passed Liverpool and Chelsea's percentage's once, and that was last season, one in which they scored less than some of their other better seasons. Most of his teams have averaged around 60% percent possession and look more like Liverpool's teams under Klopp than Pep's teams. They are far less cautious in possession, averaging 85% passing completion over those years, similar to Liverpool in that regard. They use far more long balls and have passages of one touch plays, again very similar to Klopp's Liverpool in that regard as well.

We will have a system, that system will be pretty consistent, but it will not be the possession machine that Pep has and people should not expect it to be. It's the reason why people keep suggesting that Bruno won't fit the team or that we need a or b particular players for it to work, when in actuality a lot of elements of our play are already similar to what ETH would be expecting.

 

[Devil77]

Sad that the gap between us and City is bigger than between us and a team that finished in the bottom half of the cypriotic league…

Some points:
We are really bad at creating clear chances, even against the minnows of Europe.

Martial did great when introduced, dare we hope that he will get some time at the expense of Bruno.

Rashford - man of the match, really seemed to care for once.

You have to feel for Ronaldo, hopefully he’ll end his bad spell on Sunday.

Sancho… give him to the end of the season, but jeez he’s lacklustre.

Varane can’t get well soon enough.

 

[Nicoseth]

I think the weakness of Omonia is being overstated. They lost 2-1 to Sociedad last week, a decent Spanish side and eliminated Genk to get to the UEL - so they're not a pub team. We see every year in the FA Cup, lower league opposition giving prem teams a workout.

Having said that, some players did themselves no favors whatsoever. Lindelof, in particular, gives me heart palpitations every game he plays. He is so weak and gets bullied constantly. He has no recovery pace, no aggression and isn't great on the ball. I think he has declined significantly over the last two seasons and would struggle to get in most prem league teams.

Sancho is becoming a worry. Unbelievably talented, but where is the fight, the hunger? I think, long term, he might not be suitable to the ETH system.

I think the same can be said of DDG. Love the guy, but he should have been off his line to close down the first goal. Ederson, Allison or even Ramsdale would have been out to smother that, imo. Great keeper, maybe not the guy for ETH.

I hate to even think it, but are we seeing the end of Ronaldo? Physically he looks way off it.

I am worried about Everton. We play like that and we will lose again. We need Varane back, Rashford, Martial and Antony should be the front 3. Casemiro starts again.

 

[wolvored]

The stats look good, but we were too wasteful again. Theres something missing that just leaves us short. On paper that should have been a 3/4-0. Sancho needs to be replaced by Rashford and Malacia with Shaw for the Everton game. Martial should start upfront.

 

[sglowrider]

The stats look good, but we were too wasteful again. Theres something missing that just leaves us short. On paper that should have been a 3/4-0. Sancho needs to be replaced by Rashford and Malacia with Shaw for the Everton game. Martial should start upfront.

It seemed like we weren't bothered to win. Just to make sure that Ronaldo gets his 700th.

 

[Zetrio2002]

No player is above the club. Match must be won whether Ronaldo gets his 700th goal or not.

ETH was wrong when he said he wanted to protect Ronaldo's reputation by not playing him in the second half against City. No player's reputation is more important than the club.

 

[MrBest]

I still back Ronaldo for this season. He's probably in a bad patch at the moment but form is temporary and class is permanent. Age maybe is showing its cards now but I thought his game was good, solid assist and created the space for Rashford during the 1st goal. I think he has been unfairly attacked here, he didn't score, he's just having that patch for the first time in a long time but he works hard for the team, more so than Sancho who was useless.

Overall I thought we were okay. You can see what ETH is trying to do, hold possession, look for the pass, keep the players moving. I think it will take some time as some players are just that thick. We spared our blushes, got the 3 points so it was job done. The task ahead is huge, but there are signs of progress in the way we play. We will just be waiting a while for the click, just as Arteta did.

 

[croadyman]

Who was the commentator with Robbie Savage?

Ian Darke

 

[croadyman]

I still back Ronaldo for this season. He's probably in a bad patch at the moment but form is temporary and class is permanent. Age maybe is showing its cards now but I thought his game was good, solid assist and created the space for Rashford during the 1st goal. I think he has been unfairly attacked here, he didn't score, he's just having that patch for the first time in a long time but he works hard for the team, more so than Sancho who was useless.

Overall I thought we were okay. You can see what ETH is trying to do, hold possession, look for the pass, keep the players moving. I think it will take some time as some players are just that thick. We spared our blushes, got the 3 points so it was job done. The task ahead is huge, but there are signs of progress in the way we play. We will just be waiting a while for the click, just as Arteta did.

Feels like he is taking too many touches when getting into that final third, job done but frustrating we can't give the likes of Iqbal & Garnacho more minutes now due to that loss against Sociedad.

 

[MattJ166]

I just don't get the bile some people are throwing on this performance and saying we struggled to create chances? We should have absolutely smashed these but from some woeful finishing from Ronnie, an unlucky crossbar hit from bruno and some poor choice when through on goal from Rashy and Anthony.

I enjoyed this game as frustrating as it was and could clearly see that we've got set patterns of play, obviously it was a very weak team and we still need to improve but it's apparent that we're slowly getting there.

Also absolutely love Antony so far, every time he's on the ball it looks like something could happen

 

[croadyman]

Did feel a bit like Istanbul when going 1-0 down

 

[justsomebloke]

Did feel a bit like Istanbul when going 1-0 down

nah. I never felt worried.

 

[justsomebloke]

The only player who was aware what is going to happen before the second goal of Omonia was Eriksen. Watch the replay.

Yep. He gets that someone has to pick up the runner but somehow Shaw thinks it's not him.

 

[cyril C]

I think the weakness of Omonia is being overstated. They lost 2-1 to Sociedad last week, a decent Spanish side and eliminated Genk to get to the UEL - so they're not a pub team. We see every year in the FA Cup, lower league opposition giving prem teams a workout.

Having said that, some players did themselves no favors whatsoever. Lindelof, in particular, gives me heart palpitations every game he plays. He is so weak and gets bullied constantly. He has no recovery pace, no aggression and isn't great on the ball. I think he has declined significantly over the last two seasons and would struggle to get in most prem league teams.

Sancho is becoming a worry. Unbelievably talented, but where is the fight, the hunger? I think, long term, he might not be suitable to the ETH system.

I think the same can be said of DDG. Love the guy, but he should have been off his line to close down the first goal. Ederson, Allison or even Ramsdale would have been out to smother that, imo. Great keeper, maybe not the guy for ETH.

I hate to even think it, but are we seeing the end of Ronaldo? Physically he looks way off it.

I am worried about Everton. We play like that and we will lose again. We need Varane back, Rashford, Martial and Antony should be the front 3. Casemiro starts again.

I was comparing Sancho and Antony with my mate. Both carry similar price tag, both pretty young and inexperience so to speak. But you can see the involvement of Antony in every game, whether win or loss. Sancho on the other hand, show up once in a while, like to dribble but hardly successful, never out-run an opponent. I am beginning to believe, he is a by-product of British press, that trumpet his every great movement but ignore his flaw. So unless you are following Bundesliga week in week out, average fan (& Club directors) are over-sold on his elevated image.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

I'm kind of both worried and optimistic to see that we click with Martial on the field. Worried because he's mostly injured, optimistic because we would definitely know what kind of striker to go for in the transfer market.

 

[mitchmouse]

Well, at least my prediction of five goals in the game was correct! But boy we have learnt nothing. Their goal was so similar to that awful one in Istanbul three years ago. And had that been McT losing possession rather than Casemiro most here would want him sold tomorrow. All in all, Casemiro didn't impress me much and right now it's not a question of who is better between Malacia and Shaw but who is worse.

But all three are world class compared with what Sancho is throwing up right now. We might as well have had 10 men (at most) in the first half and once again it shows how we are crying out for a real No.9 who can hold the ball up and bring other into play as well as score a good number of goals. (I think Halaand would score at least six against Omonia).

Of course the second half was better and the goals were well made and very nicely taken but again Martial showed what frustrates me about him: excellent finish and then pretty much disappeared for the rest of the game although I admit it looked as if he got moved out wide which is pointless for him.

Bruno was pretty poor again, eriksen only slightly better. One thing though is crystal clear: the CB pairing has to be Varane and Martinez although Lindelof did little wrong.

Going back to their goal, I hate it when I agree with Robbie Savage. But someone needed to take a yellow card and bring Bruno down before he got near the penalty area. We seemed to so arrogant that we presumed they'd mess tup the chance. However, I never actually thought we'd do anything but win the game. We were creating enough (although not as much as BT's commentary team seemed to suggest). Which leaves me thinking we could either hammer Everton on Sunday evening or be hammered...

 

[wolvored]

It seemed like we weren't bothered to win. Just to make sure that Ronaldo gets his 700th.

Yes you are right, it was like a millstone around the other 10 players necks.
Even If Ronaldo himself had have passed instead of shooting from anywhere we surely would have had another goal or two.
Martial and Rash must come in for him and Sancho now.

 

[trevor newnham]

The fact that it seemed that everyone was trying to get Ronnie in for the 700th goal suggests that he is still held in high esteem. His run to drag defenders away for Rashfords first goal and his assist for the second instead of shooting himself suggests he has still got the brain. Is he finished or is he just going through a bad patch? I'm more worried about Sancho. Something is up. He has scored a couple of sublime goals but he is so inconsistent. Malacia is shell shocked, Shaw needs to play until Malacia recovers his mojo. Why move Martial to the wing? To accommodate Ronaldo? Casemiro has the football brain but not the legs. Eriksen, Martinez were excellent. Diallot had his moments. DeGea needs to be sold, the modern game does not suit him, but I'm not sure who we could get to replace him

 

[BehemothTerror]

One of my all time favorite players but Ronaldo looks spent. Could have won this extremely handily if he wasn't so profligate.
Watching Anthony, Rashford and Dalot get into really promising positions only to try and slip Ronaldo in to flub it was almost painful. Garnacho or Martial in CF for the rematch with them next week please.
Keep Ronaldo on the training ground until he's sharper, we cant afford to pander to egos at the moment.

 

[Andycoleno9]

The fact that it seemed that everyone was trying to get Ronnie in for the 700th goal suggests that he is still held in high esteem. His run to drag defenders away for Rashfords first goal and his assist for the second instead of shooting himself suggests he has still got the brain. Is he finished or is he just going through a bad patch? I'm more worried about Sancho. Something is up. He has scored a couple of sublime goals but he is so inconsistent. Malacia is shell shocked, Shaw needs to play until Malacia recovers his mojo. Why move Martial to the wing? To accommodate Ronaldo? Casemiro has the football brain but not the legs. Eriksen, Martinez were excellent. Diallot had his moments. DeGea needs to be sold, the modern game does not suit him, but I'm not sure who we could get to replace him

You believe that Ronaldo meant to assist Rashford? Oh man....
And Casemiro with 30 doesn't have legs anymore?

 

[justsomebloke]

Well, at least my prediction of five goals in the game was correct! But boy we have learnt nothing. Their goal was so similar to that awful one in Istanbul three years ago. And had that been McT losing possession rather than Casemiro most here would want him sold tomorrow. All in all, Casemiro didn't impress me much and right now it's not a question of who is better between Malacia and Shaw but who is worse.

But all three are world class compared with what Sancho is throwing up right now. We might as well have had 10 men (at most) in the first half and once again it shows how we are crying out for a real No.9 who can hold the ball up and bring other into play as well as score a good number of goals. (I think Halaand would score at least six against Omonia).

Of course the second half was better and the goals were well made and very nicely taken but again Martial showed what frustrates me about him: excellent finish and then pretty much disappeared for the rest of the game although I admit it looked as if he got moved out wide which is pointless for him.

Bruno was pretty poor again, eriksen only slightly better. One thing though is crystal clear: the CB pairing has to be Varane and Martinez although Lindelof did little wrong.

Going back to their goal, I hate it when I agree with Robbie Savage. But someone needed to take a yellow card and bring Bruno down before he got near the penalty area. We seemed to so arrogant that we presumed they'd mess tup the chance. However, I never actually thought we'd do anything but win the game. We were creating enough (although not as much as BT's commentary team seemed to suggest). Which leaves me thinking we could either hammer Everton on Sunday evening or be hammered...

Not really that similar to the Istanbul goal though. In this case, it was our deepest player (Malacia) who got pressured and lost the ball. In Istanbul, the equivalent player (Shaw, I think) was somewhere around the oppo box waiting for a pass, and there was literally no one to cover when we lost possession.

Not surprising that Martial disappeared, given that he was stuck out on right wing once Antony was substituted. Not exactly his strongest position.

 

[wazz786]

Again some of the comments point fingers at Ronaldo. Yes he missed a few chances but how much game time has he had?
Rashford was dreadful in the last game yet saying he looked world class in the 2nd half when he came on.
If Ronaldo scored a few that would have been the same kind of praise he would have been getting.
I feel we as a team are not controlling games and not ruthless enough in front of goal. Our creative players create half chances here and there.
Look at the best teams out there, so many clear cut chances created for their attacking players. We lack that genuine control and creativity.

 

[kouroux]

Ronaldo is cooked at this level, which is sad considering this level is Europa League football.

It's shocking how much he has regressed even in only a year.

Not just any team in the EL either, this was one of the weakest teams in the competition

 

[justsomebloke]

The fact that it seemed that everyone was trying to get Ronnie in for the 700th goal suggests that he is still held in high esteem. His run to drag defenders away for Rashfords first goal and his assist for the second instead of shooting himself suggests he has still got the brain. Is he finished or is he just going through a bad patch? I'm more worried about Sancho. Something is up. He has scored a couple of sublime goals but he is so inconsistent. Malacia is shell shocked, Shaw needs to play until Malacia recovers his mojo. Why move Martial to the wing? To accommodate Ronaldo? Casemiro has the football brain but not the legs. Eriksen, Martinez were excellent. Diallot had his moments. DeGea needs to be sold, the modern game does not suit him, but I'm not sure who we could get to replace him

I'm not so sure the thing is that Malacia has "lost his mojo". On the contrary, I think what we saw yesterday is pretty consistent with what we've seen all along. Stats show up his close to zero impact in possession. It's just that yesterday was a different sort of game. Since we had the ball a lot, his shortcomings on the ball were more noticeable (and he tried crosses and passes into the box, which he's barely done all season). And there was basically no offensive game from the opponent except for a few counters, which means he didn't get to show much of his best trait - his aggressiveness when the oppo attacks, and his recovery when he gets beat on the the outside. Hence, the nature of the game highlighted his shortcomings and masked his strengths, just like it did the opposite for Dalot.

 

[mitchmouse]

Not really that similar to the Istanbul goal though. In this case, it was our deepest player (Malacia) who got pressured and lost the ball. In Istanbul, the equivalent player (Shaw, I think) was somewhere around the oppo box waiting for a pass, and there was literally no one to cover when we lost possession.

Not surprising that Martial disappeared, given that he was stuck out on right wing once Antony was substituted. Not exactly his strongest position.

I did say that about martial - and the goal seemed similar enough given we were attacking and left no one back, but I agree not quite as terrible!

 

[justsomebloke]

I did say that about martial - and the goal seemed similar enough given we were attacking and left no one back, but I agree not quite as terrible!

But the difference is in this case there was someone at the back: Malacia. In Istanbul we lost possession around the box, and then it was a clean run. So this was an individual error by the deep man who failed to process the ball safely, while Istanbul was a colossal collective brainfart that led to there not being a deep man at all.

(Provided I remember this correctly)

 

[mitchmouse]

But the difference is in this case there was someone at the back: Malacia. In Istanbul we lost possession around the box, and then it was a clean run. So this was an individual error by the deep man who failed to process the ball safely, while Istanbul was a colossal collective brainfart that led to there not being a deep man at all.

(Provided I remember this correctly)

Yes, I think you remember it right... I just think it's too similar for comfort. especially the part where Casemiro's pass back was poor and not particularly needed... Also, Omania proved to be a much better team than Başakşehir so you point is taken

 

[Maticmaker]

Was it my imagination or did one or two players (both early on and late on) spurn personal chances to try to give Cristiano his 700th goal?
It was only when we were 0-1 down that genuine attempts were being made.
Disappointed with Sancho and Antony these two are increasingly not looking like team players, both capable of spectacular things, but don't want to do any heavy lifting?

 

[horsechoker]

Is ten Hag too religious?

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

I know United are getting to me, because I was having dreams last night, which is always a sign they are stressing me out.

I dreamt we were playing some unknown Italian side at Old Trafford in a knockout game. We had scraped a win in the first leg; the second leg was 0-0 very late on, with an almost empty Old Trafford and a handful of us singing "we want the Glazers out." This is what United are doing to me.

That was atrocious last night. It's worrying.

 

[poleglass red]

Not writing him off or anything, still very early in his adaption to a new team, but I think Shaw starts next game. That's a couple of games now where Malacia hasn't been great. Even in the games where he was good, he doesn't offer much going forward.ETH has rewarded McT with starts in PL and rightly so as he was playing well. He dropped Maguire for playing poorly, again rightly so. If he sticks to that line of thought, after the last 2 performances, I'd say Malacia and Sancho are both dropped for Shaw and Rashford.Interesting is that Rashford was awful v City but redeemed himself yesterday. One last post Nicosia change I'd also make, is Martial for Ronaldo.

 

[jackal&hyde]

A couple of bad moments made it more difficult then it needed to be. The over all play was good.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

A couple of bad moments made it more difficult then it needed to be. The over all play was good.

I don't agree, sorry. We were playing the fourth best team in Cyprus an picked a very strong side; it was miles short of what is required. Clearly a team with low confidence.