He was woeful. Definitely looked like the plan was to expose his lack of ability on the ball.
19
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 34
- Clean sheets
- 13
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
Ugh that headed chance,damn why couldn't Meslier have pushed it into net and helped Rapha make up for unlucky OG
He was unlucky for the OG. Felt bad for him there.
What were you watching? He was definitely not woeful, attempted and made the most passes by far of the entire team. Unlucky with the own goal and wasn't dispossessed once. Thought he played well but was let down by the midfield and Dalot.
Which was exactly what Leeds wanted by the look of it. They let him have it.
I feel like Leeds were trying to get the ball away from Licha and purposely letting Varane have it at times.
He wasnt woeful. Not his standard self but woeful he was not.
Yep. They pressed Martinez with far greater regularity than Varane. It worked a treat first half to just get Varane to concede possession:
Not a great game by him, but in fairness to him, it once again highlights the need for a defensive midfielder, we had no cover from our 2 central mids. Leeds planned worked well, so credit to them for that, they knew we lacked aggression in midfield and they exploited that. Kudos to them though for targetting Varane like they did, we know he isn't the most comfortable defender on the ball, but I'm not sure any team has exploited that part of his game to this extent. Defender not having outlets in midfield though exacerbated that.
Varane is obviously a class above Lindelof and Maguire, but this is what happens when there is no midfield to protect the defense. We saw it last season constantly. Defenders get exposed and look shite.
it doesn't help defenders when your midfield keeps getting dispossessed either.
That’s what I’ve noticed as well, Varane inability to pass long was exposed last night when Leeds overpacked in the centre midfield.
I wouldn’t be surprised if ETH make a change / rotation for this weekend away to Leeds by bringing on Maguire who I thought has done well in his last few outings with his long balls to the wing.
I would, considering that would mean exposing him to Gnonto.
Absolutely mental. Varane has been near enough flawless all season when he's been fit, basically his first poor game of the season.
Maguire is not good on the ball. No idea how he still has a reputation as a ball playing centre back after what we've seen over the last 4 years.
I thought Maguire passing when it comes to long balls have drastically improved this season, especially from his last couple of appearances.
Leeds got the better of us tactically when they specifically let Varane have the ball and overcrowded the midfield, they didn’t give much space to Martinez and we struggled to start our transitions from the back.
Maguire will bring in a different issue with mobility and pace being my main concern, however with so many games for the remaining season so I wouldn’t be surprised to see more rotations happening.
Yeah nah, @Leftback99 is spot on. Varane is a quality player but he was hot garbage last night. If Maguire or Lindelof put in that performance I guarantee you people are not going to be nearly as lenient.
Spot on. Lindelof or Maguire should have come on. They got the tactics right actually right . They knew we don't have the midfield for Varane to pass to and Varane isn't great with long balls. So they packed the midfield.
If Maguire or Lindelof put in that performance it would just be another in a long line of performances like that from them. Varane is usually very good for us and that's why people are more lenient on him, as they should be.
When he produces hot garbage on a weekly basis then we can talk.
You're right re Maguire and Lindelof, but they never had a Casemiro in front of them shielding them in previous seasons. Varane was hit and miss last season also, injuries didn't help of course. But no coincidence his worst game in a while came with no Casemiro. Not for one sec suggesting they are in Varane's class as they aren't, buy give them the right tools and they would look better. Maguire has done well for england as they always have at least one proper DM.
Yeah, obviously one game should not alter your perception of a player's quality. However, how you review a player's performance in any given game should equally not be dependent on their form coming into the game.
The point I am making is that people who are claiming Varane was "not that bad" against Leeds are, in my opinion, applying a different standard when evaluating his performance in this specific match than they would Maguire or Lindelof in a given match and that doesn't make sense.
People always do that. The favourites will always get a pass. I'd estimate Varane had just as many bad games as Lindelof did last season, but his poor performances were blamed on the players around him. The favourites are given that excuse.
A world class forward. No point in denying it now.
Reminds me of Gareth Bale's last season at Spurs before moving to Madrid.
Edit, yes I'm a complete idiot
Reminds me of Gareth Bale's last season at Spurs before moving to Madrid.
Edit, yes I'm a complete idiot
Assuming this was meant for the Rashford thread.
No Varane
Thought he was brilliant today.
As they say, a defender always plays best when you don't notice them.
As they say, a defender always plays best when you don't notice them.
Barcelona 2:2 Man Utd
A few players will take the headlines but Varane was sensational tonight. Outstanding from the first minute to the last and pretty much kept Lewandowski in his pocket almost all of the game, even man handling him at points. I'm genuinely surprised how great he's been this season if I'm honest after a worrying start to his United career, really showing his class now and deserves massive credit for his performance tonight.
Absolute monster. He was wearing the white shirt with pride in the Camp Nou. No doubt having some flashbacks.
Strong performance but that pass to Shaw leading to their goal was a gut punch.
Wasn't it Casemiro?
Ah it could have been. Was trying to work out who it was
He had some poor passes from the back in the first half but overall he's such a great leader at the back. It's gonna be good to have Martinez back for the second leg
Good display overall.
Decent overall with a few sloppy moments. Unlucky for their second
Problem is, he doesn't have the Martinez's composure on the ball. Shaw wasn't that great today either. People love to compare Martinez with Vidic and Varane with Rio. But from a distribution perspective, Varane is our Vidic and Licha is our Rio
Eh..Varane is a good defender but he has never been a leader of defense. Always had one beside him doing such job (Ramos). Martinez was the main leader of defense. Things will improve once he's back and Varane becomes focused on what he does best.
He had been a leader for France (and for us at times — like when Martinez was still hang over after the World Cup win). Different kind of leaders though.
Martinez just compliments him better than Shaw — both Varane and Shaw are great all-rounders but their skillsets are better suited to being a covering defender while Martinez does defend very proactively and aggressively (stylistically just like Maguire does but, you know, good).
Outstanding yet again. Nothing to write home about except how bizarre that Varane is so consistent for us. I was really worried when he was felled with that injury right before the WC but he came back as sharp as ever before.
I’m amazed that so many people damn him with faint praise. A consistently good performer who with Licha has transformed our defence. Long may it last.
Was decent but below his usual standard IMO.
I love this guy. Amazing leader and brings do much calmness. I've always maintained that he's the key factor in us winning games and keeping things stable in defence.
- Status