Agreed. He actually passes it with real pace on it. Several sweeping switches along the deck to Wan Bissaka in the first half alone.
19
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 29
- Clean sheets
- 6
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Status
I can't decide if he was good or bad today tbh. All I know is that the defence, as a whole, lost both Townsend and Tom Davies completely today for god knows what reason.
Playing from the back does rely upon a defensive midfielder who can do a good job, which is something we lack. Its good having ball playing defenders, but then it gets predictable if were asking them to bypass the midfield to start an attack.
Varane overall has had good passing since coming though.
Poor passing? Eh. Do you watch him? He sprays the ball from left to right, and progresses by carrying too. Strange criticism
Hope he's much much better than his United performances so far.
It's ridiculous
he's one of the best and reliable passers in the team. Strokes it around effortlesslyPeople are making shite up about players now though because the mood is grim right now. Out of all 3 ball playing defenders, this guy can move the ball the fastest.
Weird shit in here, doesn't look as comfortable at LCB but still had a solid game, our CB's get zero protection fom midfield as well.
I’m not making up shite. I simply have a different perspective on something highly subjective. If people have seen enough to feel confident that Varane is a real upgrade on our other current centre backs (Lindelöf, Bailly and Maguire) and our previous ones (Smalling, Jones et al), then fair enough.
Right now, I am a bit non-plussed at our latest acquisition, given the amount of the transfer fee and wages. Obviously, I hope that he’ll be very successful here.
I mean the guy had 30 yard head start so would have been miraculous. Either way our defenders all got drawn to the man on the ball and no one looked over their shoulder so got beaten by one cut and pass. It was sunday league defending
He's very good at certain things but needs a bit more composure. There were a few times where he could've let the ball run through to De Gea but he just heads it out (to the opposition) or he has time and space to chest it down but doesn't. Still, it's only minor things that could be improved.
He's been our best defender and probably the most consistent performer in the team alongside Greenwood so far this season.
He was our best player imo and has added a real urgency at the back where he looks to release the ball quickly.
Thought him and Lindelöf were good today. Not the reason why we lost.
He was the condom to Salomón Rondón today, let by down by the midfield again.
What was he doing for that disallowed winner?
Ran out to press the ball showing little awareness of the danger of Davies in huge space, all alone.
Really poor decision making that should have lost Utd the game.
Ran out to press the ball showing little awareness of the danger of Davies in huge space, all alone.
Really poor decision making that should have lost Utd the game.
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Let's just say I disagree.
CB's aren't the issue. The fact we don't have a single midfielder at the club able to put in consistent performances is the real issue.
Is he right footed or left footed? Uses both equally it seems. .
We’ve broken him already. He was giving the ball the Mike Smalling treatment in the last 5 mins.
Give him ten games with Maguire and they will be a fantastic partnership. We’ve missed Maguire, even if his form was a little off before the injury. Those two will be solid, with plenty of quality on the ball and attacking threat at corners. Lindelof is a notch below but decent cover. Future is bright at CB.
he's a victim of the (non) system that we play. there is no pattern to our play. We always rely on a piece of individual briliiance
Does that apply to everyone then or just Varane?
Yes. Varane's only weakness when he was in peak form was always his ability on the ball. It's not going to get much better. I kept getting battered by a lot of posters because I warned of this. I really don't mind it, but we should adjust our play to his qualities and not do something silly like playing McTominay in the pivot by himself. Feck Pogba's "freedom" and just play him deeper.
I still think we haven't seen the best from Varane. His play reminds me of his recent time at Madrid and not what he was like at his peak. I believe he'll come good, but it's going to take time.
He’s been OK so far, no better or worse than that. I’m confident he’ll improve significantly once he gets more games under his belt alongside Maguire (when the latter gets back to somewhere near his best).
Not really improved us from last season. Not saying he isn’t a good signing, but shows their is something wrong with the team set up and how we play.
He's been one of our most consistent performers and the goals were conceding are not down to him. He was carrying Maguire before he got injured.
Only Varane. He’s just unfortunate you know.
Bad managers make good players look bad. Keep that in mind when criticising a multi champions league defender.
Caught out a few time but good game overall, especially considering how exposed the CBs were. Much higher passing speed with him and Lindelof compared to Maguire, nice to see.
This dude's gotta feel like he's in The Twilight Zone.
Not worried about him, he's look reasonably good thus far and has suffered due to our awful midfield but there have been a couple of occasions where I've noticed he takes a leisurely jog to get back rather than sprinting to cover. Today for the Everton goal being once example. If he would have sprinted back, he may have been there to cover and possibly intercept or prevent the ball to Townsend who scored, or even make a tackle on Townsend. A bit harsh maybe and I know Shaw was out of position which caused the problem but if he could see Shaw had sprinted to try and win the ball, he should have attempted to get back and cover the LB position.
It's the poor coaching. Not just individual fault alone.
You have AWB stood there like an idiot played most of Everton players on side. Next you have Shaw, and Lindelof to lesser extend to AWB (still very poor) also contributed to the awful failure of offside trap. Pogba, and McTominay looked like they played the offside trap right, but in reality it's more like they're so unaware of the situation. They were slow to push out of our box initially. When Allan won possession, they were not in their supposed position to press despite they was continuing to jog forward (not quick enough) with no intent to mark anyone.
Basically a mess collectively. Varane might be at fault, but what he did make sense. Heading to clear to ball far out of the box, then quickly pushed out, trying to leave as many opposition players in offside as possible (when working as an unit). Many teams do this well. When the opponent gains possession, using the momentum when pushing out of the box quickly pressed in first few seconds. Playing it right, and Davies should have been offside, and Allan options for a pass is very limited. He only has Doucoure as the best passing forward option (lesser a direct goal threat). Other than that he would be forced turn back and to pass back to Pickford.
When reading this thread, I feel people expect Varane would have some sort of VVD impact on Liverpool defense. People forget that Klopp has a defensive system. VVD is faultless in that system, thanks to his quality, but he's alone can't cover for all of his teammates if they're just clueless standing, walking, jogging around aimlessly.
Varane had added pace for defending, the quicker passes (take less touch than Maguire), and passing range at the back, the aerial presence ( over Lindelof and Bailly). Fixing our issue require coaching, a system. Now so far under Ole, our team is still all over the place, just like before.
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He passes the ball really fast. This I've observed but I'm not sure why or if that's a good or bad thing.
I have to disagree. With Lindelöf and Varane we are much better at playing out from the back. Maguire this season has been very dodgy and his passing is well below the other 2. Varane is great at covering the aerial threats and Lindelöf reads the game very well to cover possible open spaces.
They have been our best pairing this season.
Bro in my we lost that game, I'm dead sure if that goal was a United goal they won't call it as offside.
Huh? They showed the lines on TV and he was offside by more than a foot. It's as clear as it's gets.
Ha so CB isn't really the problem then ey...
L'Equipe, Raphaël Varane Interview in France
[Translated via Google]
[Relevant Question on United]
You've played a string of matches with Manchester United since the last meeting. How does this happen? How do you feel there?
I am very happy with this beginning of adventure. The Premier League is a Championship renowned for its intensity. There is a different atmosphere, a different mentality in general compared to football. It's a different approach and experience for me. I enjoy playing, getting out of my comfort zone, looking for new benchmarks in relation to my teammates. It's another way to defend, it's super interesting for me.
I'm certain his comments are genuine, despite the average start to the season we've had.
The guy was at Real Madrid for 10 years, since he was 18 years old. Can you imagine being in the same job that you had at that age? I'm not surprised by the reports saying he wanted a new challenge.
His comments after his first game pretty much confirmed this for me. He said something along the lines of "the feeling I had out there was exactly what I was looking for."
I hope we can really kick on and win something, Varane is too good to be simply challenging for top 4 in the league.
[Translated via Google]
[Relevant Question on United]
You've played a string of matches with Manchester United since the last meeting. How does this happen? How do you feel there?
I am very happy with this beginning of adventure. The Premier League is a Championship renowned for its intensity. There is a different atmosphere, a different mentality in general compared to football. It's a different approach and experience for me. I enjoy playing, getting out of my comfort zone, looking for new benchmarks in relation to my teammates. It's another way to defend, it's super interesting for me.
I'm certain his comments are genuine, despite the average start to the season we've had.
The guy was at Real Madrid for 10 years, since he was 18 years old. Can you imagine being in the same job that you had at that age? I'm not surprised by the reports saying he wanted a new challenge.
His comments after his first game pretty much confirmed this for me. He said something along the lines of "the feeling I had out there was exactly what I was looking for."
I hope we can really kick on and win something, Varane is too good to be simply challenging for top 4 in the league.
- Status