Realistically, what sort of conclusions can we make about todays demolition of Chelsea?
1) The defence is sorted for years?
2) Has De Gea returned?
3) The front three, whilst inconsistent, looked very happy today.
4) Keeping Pogba was a master play from Ole (although may yet lose him).
5) The midfield is still weak so we may see a repeat of two seasons ago.
6) Bench strength is lacking.
7) Pressing? Not so much. Seems like we might go forward with high energy counter attacking football?
1) Don’t want to get too carried away but judging from this performance, the defence has dramatically improved - they still have time to understanding each others roles/posistioning.
2) It was a big surprise when he seemingly fell apart last season - I believe the world cup may of impacted his confidence. He will feel more confident now with this new look defence though I’m sure.
3) Again, they still need time to adjust to each others game. Definitely much sharper and look more hungry. Martial even ran a bit
4) He’s still clearly our most talented midfielder, would of been a disaster to of let him go. He’s remained relatively professional since this international duty comments. One can only hope that Madrid have another disaster season. He looked so much fitter in comparison to last season too.
5) Agree that we were crying out for a Carrick type player who can control the tempo of games. Mctominay did an average job but you can’t question his attitude.
6) I actually think our bench is fine. We have lots of pace off the bench but perhaps a dominant midfielder to help us preserve a lead wouldn’t do us any harm.
7) I think this was due to the way Chelsea played. They were pressing high up the pitch and as a result it made sense for us to hold off a bit and pounce - which obviously worked in our favour! But it is clear as daylight that the whole team has much more energy and fight in them. The last 15 minutes or so was testament to the fitness improvements that Ole has prioritised this summer.
Overall, we have to be pleased with our performance, if a bit rusty to start with, we can be pleased to see the posttive team ethic. We finally look like a team that wants to play for the manager, the fans and their team mates.