25 Jun 2020 12:39:55
I really enjoyed last nights game, I felt we dominated for 90% of the match and could have easily had a hat full if Rashford was a little sharper.
The defence looked fairly solid, although rarely tested. As a side note since the introduction of young Brandon Williams, Luke Shaw has really upped his game and become far more consistent. Solid in defence, decent going forward (although he could improve his offensive play), a 7 out of 10 player every week. Which is what you want from a defender.
Matic was superb, I think having more technical players alongside him makes it easier as he always has a simple pass to advance the ball. He has previously held on to the ball too long or just passed back to the defence, rather than progressing the ball.
I think the Pogba/ Bruno partnership looks promising, although I noticed a few times when Pogba ventured forward he did crowd Bruno out a little. Possibly because Pogba was on the right-hand side of the double pivot with Matic and Bruno prefers to drift towards the right-hand side. However, they are intelligent enough to work out these little kinks if they play enough games together. This was their first start together after all.
Greenwood worked better than James, he was able to come short and play more intricate football with Pogba, Bruno and Martial.
Rashford I think is still a little rusty, he just needs to relax and let it come back to him. He has been out since January and back issues can be difficult to brush off immediately.
Finally, Martial was majestic, he always has that clinical ability, and is often the coolest head in the penalty area. Yet what impressed me most was the movement for his first two goals. The first one to bend his run from an offside position back onside then across the man at the front post is classic No.9 goal. His second just peeling off his marker to create half a yard showed real intelligence. His third was more a typical Martial goal, drop deep to collect the ball, play a neat one two with a cool first-time finish.

I thought Ole got most things right last night, maybe he could have split the subs and brought 2 on just after the third goal. Then the final 3 when he did. But then we don't know where the players are in their fitness regimes and maybe the players needed a few more minutes to push their fitness levels.


All in all a very good performance just when we needed one.

1.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 13:24:52
Shappy,

As a CB in a back 5 Shaw loooks better, as a lb he is about the same. His positional awareness and concentration is poor. Look how often he gets caught of position at LB. At 24 early 25 he should be far better at that. I just don't think he is bright enough to realise it.

At times more so i aback 5 as a CB he had played very well as he has had to be more disciplined. Hopefully he will progress and both he and Williams will push each other on. One thing is for sure, if he doesn't Williams will quickly push him out of the first team.

2.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 13:55:32
Hatter, of course there are areas Shaw needs to improve. He did miss nearly 2 years of development due to injury and a manager who hardly played him.

Watch how many times a game he digs Maguire out by covering for him. For a defence to work well they need to defend as a unit and not individuals. To that end 2 of our regular back four are still in their first season at the club, while due to injuries we haven't had a settled defence all season. That said, we have steadily improved in our defending as the season has progressed.

3.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 13:55:56
Agreed with the above - united really showed a fluidity which I've been waiting for them to develop for seasons now. All three goals came from open play without relying on a set piece which we have been missing so often.

I had one problem with last night and one only - that is that none of the last 5 substitutes were youth players. At that scoreline it would of been a perfect time to bring on a Chong, Garner, Gomes, Mejbri or Mengi.

4.) 25 Jun 2020
25 Jun 2020 15:44:07
Labamba, while I would ordinarily prefer to see the kids get a run out in games that are won. In this situation I fully understand why there weren't many youth players on the bench. In fact of the other four players on our bench who didn't get a run out only Williams is a youth player (the others being Fred, Bailly and Romero) .

Given the unusual circumstances the most important thing is about getting minutes into the squads legs. Most of our squad are probably around 80% match fit.