EL W Europa League Round of 16 2nd Leg

Real Betis 0:1 Manchester United

Post-match discussion


Thu, 16 March 2023

Thought Maguire played really well tonight. Our squad is so thin we can’t afford to get rid of players. We need to add depth to the squad in the summer, plus get a prime strike. Selling players in the summer would be crazy imo.
 
Not a great game, feels like we’re crawling to the end of the season. The longer we are in all those cups the bigger the heartbreak.

Anyway job done
Wum chum of the evening
 
Got a feeling our final pass and finishing is directly related to how important we consider the tie. It’s like we knew we didn’t really need to score.
 
Can see us doing them at Wembley in one our best moments since Fergie. Can also see us losing to Fulham on Sunday so don’t listen to me.
That would indeed be wonderful. F it, I will be optimistic and say Hell Yeah lets go for a cup Treble!
 
Sancho and Elanga seem like they probably wouldn't survive for long under Ten Hag. Had high hopes on Sancho, but he seems like such a diminished player now. Hoping he can make a strong come back soon. But, I really can't see him making it in the PL.
 
We thoroghly outplayed a decent La Liga side over two games. We are making progress. I only fear Arsenal of the remaining teams.
 
A win in Spain without looking shaky when they had it all to do. Very competent.

Thought we made some very selfish decisions in the final third (which were mostly ruled offside later on) and that yellow on Pellistri is one of the worst refereeing decisions I've seen this season. Hopefully refs won't be biased against him as they were with James, who was often booked for simulation when fouled, but this yellow was another universe altogether.

Good to get the win and clean sheet even though we made all those changes as the game wore on. And seeing Pellistri positionally disciplined too, he's certainly more refreshing going forward.
 
I’m away on holidays in Iceland and watched the game in an Irish pub on a small screen with no commentary as there was also live music. So my grasp of the game might not be inaccurate. Looked to me we were in control of majority of the game in the first half, but similar to first leg Betis created a couple of good chances on the break. Reading sky sports summary had us under the kosh for much of that half but I didn’t see that at all?
 
Last two times Betis have lost to eventual Europa League winners in the knock out rounds!! <not a jinx! Not a jinx>
The last 2 times Betis lost in R16 was to eventual winners. But in 18-19, Betis lost to Rennes in R32. Chelsea won it that year. Make of that what you will.
 
I’m away on holidays in Iceland and watched the game in an Irish pub on a small screen with no commentary as there was also live music. So my grasp of the game might not be inaccurate. Looked to me we were in control of majority of the game in the first half, but similar to first leg Betis created a couple of good chances on the break. Reading sky sports summary had us under the kosh for much of that half but I didn’t see that at all?
That was your problem. They'll still be in mourning over their scousers getting humped by Real.


Decent win. It speaks volumes for Erik that we can be so wasteful yet still keep winning. Imagine what we'll do when we get a team of his own players.

Unlike most others I thought the ref wasn't that good. His yellow for Pellistri was one of Anthony Taylor levels of awfulness and he liked giving free kicks for the most minor of reasons making the game quite disjointed at times.

Right, next...
 
Thought Maguire played really well tonight. Our squad is so thin we can’t afford to get rid of players. We need to add depth to the squad in the summer, plus get a prime strike. Selling players in the summer would be crazy imo.

We have a load of players who need to leave that are either out on loan or don’t even make the match day squad.


Dean Henderson
Ethan Laird (might get a look in pre-season)
Brandon Williams
Axel Tuanzebe
Phil Jones (contract expiring)
Eric Bailly
Alex Telles
Van de Beek
Martial

Then we have some players who could be replaced or upgraded.

Maguire/Lindelof
AWB
Fred
Elanga

We also might want to make room for Amad Diallo and Hannibal Mejbri given their successful loan spells.

We probably want 3-4 real quality players but could easily sell 10 without losing any depth.
 
Not a great game, feels like we’re crawling to the end of the season. The longer we are in all those cups the bigger the heartbreak.

Anyway job done

I felt we were just doing enough to get through without busting a gut.
 
I’m away on holidays in Iceland and watched the game in an Irish pub on a small screen with no commentary as there was also live music. So my grasp of the game might not be inaccurate. Looked to me we were in control of majority of the game in the first half, but similar to first leg Betis created a couple of good chances on the break. Reading sky sports summary had us under the kosh for much of that half but I didn’t see that at all?

They had plenty of the ball, and attacked our defence, but realistically we were quite comfortable. Just the shot that clipped the outside of the post, De Gea may have had that covered, and the great pass behind Martinez, where De Gea made a very good save, came of his line well.
 
Why even try then. I mean why go for the title either because we might end up not winning it and that's hard to take.

ps. Not talking about this season but in general.

if you take it literally yes we shouldn ‘t even try then but it is just the pessimist in me surfacing. I’m a choker when the finish line is in sight. Maybe Spurs is a better fit for me to support

Take into account we had a fair share of disappointing European cup runs in our history. I still occasionally think about the semi final and final we lost the last couple of years!
 
Played 3 games in Spain this season. Won two and drawn one.

Have we ever won two away games in Spain in the same season?
 
Good game, good result, Arsenal is out, Rashford scored.
There are some negatives but I will keep them to myself. Let's enjoy it.
 
Glad that Rashford scored that screamer he had been missing multiple chances in the last games so its good to keep his moral high. As he seem the only player that consistently scores for us.
 
I’m away on holidays in Iceland and watched the game in an Irish pub on a small screen with no commentary as there was also live music. So my grasp of the game might not be inaccurate. Looked to me we were in control of majority of the game in the first half, but similar to first leg Betis created a couple of good chances on the break. Reading sky sports summary had us under the kosh for much of that half but I didn’t see that at all?
Your initial read seems the correct one to me. We did allow them to break several times, and they did create some good chances, DeGea made a few decent saves, nothing that was jaw-dropping. I think it was a very stop-start game, no rhythm, but I couldn't say Betis ever had us under the cosh.
 
Solid performance, Maguire got some good minutes under his belt.

De Geas distribution was a bit questionable, we really need to replace close season.
 
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Job done. Wasn't a lot of quality in the game, we didn't start well but was comfortable after that.
 
At this point I would fancy our chances against all Spanish teams including Real Madrid. Maybe it'll happen during the tour. And with MARCA photoshopping white shirts in a stadium in US n A so that it appears there are more Real Madrid fans in US n A.
 
Sancho seems a problem for Ten Hag now. I don't see how he fits in the team, certainly when you factor in how much he cost and how much he is paid. Pellistri seems a far better option on the right wing as a backup/alternative option to Antony and he is always going to favour Antony. Is it worth keeping him as a general option across the wings and maybe cover for Bruno? He would surely not be happy with that, and I tend to think Ten Hag probably wants someone in the mould of Weghorst as an alternative to Bruno, albeit with more mobility.

It was a professional job overall with the level of urgency you might expect considering the score going into the game. They did offer a threat early on though.
 
Solid performance, Maguire got some solid minutes under his belt.

De Geas distribution was a bit questionable, we really need to replace close season.

His first kick of the game, right to a Betis player. Second, right out of touch. I mean I love his shot-stopping, but deary me...
 
Looked a tricky tie on paper when we drew them, but it turned out to be very comfortable .

Job done in professional matter , move on.
 
Not a great game, feels like we’re crawling to the end of the season. The longer we are in all those cups the bigger the heartbreak.

Anyway job done
My old theory of the cups being too much, hope it doesn’t ring true. Especially to go for all but Europa to me tops the list of tournaments because we get experience in europe and also the CL spot.
 
Not a great game, feels like we’re crawling to the end of the season. The longer we are in all those cups the bigger the heartbreak.

Anyway job done
We played as much as we needed.
Also that's so strange of a take. So strange.
 
Thought Maguire played really well tonight. Our squad is so thin we can’t afford to get rid of players. We need to add depth to the squad in the summer, plus get a prime strike. Selling players in the summer would be crazy imo.

Obviously if we sell Maguire, we would need to bring in another defender. For my part I'm firmly of the opinion that's the right thing to do. Having a benchwarmer captain who doesn't really fit into the style of play isn't good for him, and it isn't good for the club. Better to replace him.

That being said, that's the second consecutive start where he's done well, or at least significantly better than before. Maybe his confidence is starting to come back, which would be good news.
 
Sancho seems a problem for Ten Hag now. I don't see how he fits in the team, certainly when you factor in how much he cost and how much he is paid. Pellistri seems a far better option on the right wing as a backup/alternative option to Antony and he is always going to favour Antony. Is it worth keeping him as a general option across the wings and maybe cover for Bruno? He would surely not be happy with that, and I tend to think Ten Hag probably wants someone in the mould of Weghorst as an alternative to Bruno, albeit with more mobility.

It was a professional job overall with the level of urgency you might expect considering the score going into the game. They did offer a threat early on though.
I wonder how aware Dortmund were of the issues before they sold him. But I trust ETH; no better man to turn this around. The work he's done on Rashford, AWB, Shaw, Maguire etc, its worth being patient. Sancho has had a tough time; we probably don't know half of it. If he comes through, it will be well worth it on a whole set of levels. I look forward to him becoming a major asset.
 
Thought Maguire played really well tonight. Our squad is so thin we can’t afford to get rid of players. We need to add depth to the squad in the summer, plus get a prime strike. Selling players in the summer would be crazy imo.

Yes he did.
 

Player Ratings

6.2 Total Average Rating

Highest Rated Player

Lowest Rated Player

Compiled from 156 ratings.

Score Predictions

73,37,68
  • Man Utd win
  • Real Betis win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 30% Real Betis 1:1 Man Utd
  • 17% Real Betis 1:2 Man Utd
  • 11% Real Betis 2:1 Man Utd
  • 11% Real Betis 0:2 Man Utd
  • 7% Real Betis 0:1 Man Utd
  • 6% Real Betis 2:2 Man Utd
  • 4% Real Betis 1:3 Man Utd
  • 4% Real Betis 2:0 Man Utd
  • 3% Real Betis 1:0 Man Utd
  • 2% Real Betis 0:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 3:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 0:3 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 2:4 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 3:1 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 1:5 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 9:0 Man Utd
  • 1% Real Betis 0:9 Man Utd
Compiled from 178 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Real Betis
  2. Man Utd
Possession
46% 54%
Shots
15 17
Shots on Target
2 4
Corners
6 5
Fouls
16 12

Referee

Srdjan Jovanovic