Manchester United 2022/2023

[Locknload]

ManU 0 - Newcastle 2 (EPL - Away)

With more of possession, touches, corners and attacking flair, Newcastle were the better team and unfortunate not to score from the numerous chances they had. We were lethargic and lacking in intensity with Rashford, Bruno and Antony not displaying the passion required to cement our position as Newcastle are just two points below us in 4th place. A scrappy, scoreless first half. 

With the same level of tempo, Newcastle to the lead in the 65th minute and ETH made substitutions for Weghorst, Antony, Mctominay, Varane and Martinez with Sancho, Martial, Fred, Pellestri and Lindelof but it was to no avail as Newcastle prodded on with another goal in the 87th minute for a well-deserved win. A serious wake-up call for ETH if we are to maintain a top-four position.

 

[Beregond]

On 4/3/2023 at 1:32 AM, Locknload said:

ManU 0 - Newcastle 2 (EPL - Away)

With more of possession, touches, corners and attacking flair, Newcastle were the better team and unfortunate not to score from the numerous chances they had. We were lethargic and lacking in intensity with Rashford, Bruno and Antony not displaying the passion required to cement our position as Newcastle are just two points below us in 4th place. A scrappy, scoreless first half. 

With the same level of tempo, Newcastle to the lead in the 65th minute and ETH made substitutions for Weghorst, Antony, Mctominay, Varane and Martinez with Sancho, Martial, Fred, Pellestri and Lindelof but it was to no avail as Newcastle prodded on with another goal in the 87th minute for a well-deserved win. A serious wake-up call for ETH if we are to maintain a top-four position.

 

newcastle deserve the win.
But i am still betting on man u to make top 4.

Spurs is in a mess. pools dun look like catching up, chelsea totally out, 
brentford? brighton?? i dun think so.

[Locknload]

On 4/3/2023 at 8:53 AM, Beregond said:

newcastle deserve the win.
But i am still betting on man u to make top 4.

Spurs is in a mess. pools dun look like catching up, chelsea totally out, 
brentford? brighton?? i dun think so.

With Spurs at just one point below joint 50-pointers (MU and Newcastle) and both Brighton and Brentford at 2 wins away, it will be a close finish for ETH's KPI for CL qualification. The midfield of Sabitzer and Mctominay were uneffective to stem the attacks of Newcastle and as to why ETH still has faith in Weghorst in the striker's role, as he lacks the goal-poacher's instinct, is a mystery. Even starting with Martial would have been a better option. Both Eriksen and Casemiro will be key and relied upon to us remaining in the top-4.  

[Locknload]

ManU 2 (Mctominay / Martial) - Everton 0 (EPL - Home)

It was Malacia for the injured Luke Shaw together with Maguire, Martinez and AWB in defence while Sabitzer and Mctominay controlled the mid with Bruno as CDM in the role of the suspended / red-carded Casemiro. The attack was led by Rashford and flanked with Sancho and Antony and Mctominay showed glimpses of his prowess as in the braces that he scored in the two games he played for Scotland, when he scored in the 35th minute from Sancho's pass for a 1-0 lead at half time.

There were early subs in the second half with Martial for Antony, followed by Fred and Eriksen in place for Sabitzer and Sancho, and it was Martial who made it 2-0 in the 71st minute off a defensive error by Coleman, who gave the ball away to Rashford to pass to Martial and Rashford was later replaced by Weghorst in the 80th minute for a groin injury. 

With the combo of Casemiro and Eriksen back for the Europa League against Sevilla on Friday morning at 3am, followed by Forest on Sunday at 11.30pm, it was a good decision to leave Weghorst out of the starting eleven, the team is again purring smoothly as this game has shown!

[Genes]

Maybe an unpopular opinion:

on current form, AWB is a better right back than Dalot

[Newbie26]

Close fight to be in top 4

Man U has europa and FA cup distractions 

Hard to predict at moment.

 

[Locknload]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:40 PM, Genes said:

Maybe an unpopular opinion:

on current form, AWB is a better right back than Dalot

Agree, and when he's on song, he can put any opposing striker in his pocket and today was no exception especially with the tackles and link-ups he made.

[Locknload]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:56 PM, Newbie26 said:

Close fight to be in top 4

Man U has europa and FA cup distractions 

Hard to predict at moment.

 

With many games to go across all competitions, squad rotation is a must and regulars like Rashford, Bruno etc need rest to prevent injuries. Also, goal difference may come back to bite us as we are not as clinical and the rest have to contribute instead of only Rashford - doesn't help if Weghorst plays as striker.

[Locknload]

ManU 2 (Antony / Dalot) - Nottingham Forest 0 (EPL - Away)

The usual 4-2-3-1 system with Martial supported by Sancho, Bruno and Antony with Casemiro and Eriksen in mid. The defence quartet consisted of AWB, Maguire, Lindelof and Dalot. The outstanding player was Bruno who was crucial in all the many chances, attacking moves and link-up play and it was his pass to Martial whose shot rebounded off the goalie for Antony to tap in, in the 32nd minute for us to take the lead till half time.

The 2nd half had Weghorst in for the ineffective Martial and it was Dalot who effectively put the game to bed against a lack-lustre Forest team when he scored from Antony's cut-back in the 76th minute with Eriksen substituted for Fred which we are in 3rd placing with another clean sheet.

 

 

[Locknload]

ManU 7 (pen) - Brighton 6 (pen) - (FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley)

With Varane and Martinez out due to injuries, the defence was manned by AWB, Lindelof, Shaw and Dalot while Martial was striker, supported by Rashford, Bruno and Antony with Casemiro and Eriksen again controlling the mid. There was no link-up from the midfield to feed the front men and it was Brighton having so much of possession and better passes that we had only 37% of the ball at one point. The long balls from De Gea must have been ETH's instructions due to the horrid display of giving and losing possession of the ball as was the case in the 3-0 loss to Sevilla. Only Antony and Bruno showed passion and intensity during the scoreless first half.

A slightly better but still dis-jointed display in the second half and even with Fred and Sancho replacing Eriksen and the ineffective, slumbering Martial in the 69th and 85th minute respectively, it did not improve the tempo of the game. With the eight corners as compared to only two for us, no guesses on who were on the attacking front-foot. It was goaless again at the end of the 2nd half and extra time to decide who goes on to meet ManC in the finals on 3rd June. No impact nor improvement from Sabitzer, Weghorst and Malacia who replaced Antony, Bruno and AWB later. The final score of 7-6 after Lindelof scored the winning penalty shootout shall be a massive test against our noisy neighbour and it does not bode well if this lack-lustre performance is anything to go by.  

[Locknload]

ManU 0 - West Ham 1 (EPL - Away)

With Rashford, Weghorst, Antony in front supported by Bruno, Casemiro and Eriksen, the back four were AWB, Lindelof, Shaw and Malacia. A defensive lapse in the 27th minute by both Lindelof and AWD unable to close in on Benrahma allowed him to shoot at goal, and the howler by DDG in palming it into his net, allowed West Ham to take the lead in the first half.

An early change into the second half with Martial coming on for Weghorst and later with Sancho, Sabitzer, Dalot and Fred for Eriksen, Antony, AWB and Malacia but it was West Ham who went away with the spoils, as we lacked intensity and clinical finishing. A CL qualification will not be within our grasp if lethargic displays like this and the last few games are the norm. It's apparent that match-fatigue has crept in with Eriksen, Casemiro, Antony and Rashford not playing to their full potential.

 

[Newbie26]

On 5/8/2023 at 4:12 AM, Locknload said:

ManU 0 - West Ham 1 (EPL - Away)

With Rashford, Weghorst, Antony in front supported by Bruno, Casemiro and Eriksen, the back four were AWB, Lindelof, Shaw and Malacia. A defensive lapse in the 27th minute by both Lindelof and AWD unable to close in on Benrahma allowed him to shoot at goal, and the howler by DDG in palming it into his net, allowed West Ham to take the lead in the first half.

An early change into the second half with Martial coming on for Weghorst and later with Sancho, Sabitzer, Dalot and Fred for Eriksen, Antony, AWB and Malacia but it was West Ham who went away with the spoils, as we lacked intensity and clinical finishing. A CL qualification will not be within our grasp if lethargic displays like this and the last few games are the norm. It's apparent that match-fatigue has crept in with Eriksen, Casemiro, Antony and Rashford not playing to their full potential.

 

Losing momentum 

May well slip up and land outside top 4

They need clinical finishers

[Locknload]

ManU 2 (Martial / Ganarcho) - Wolves 0 (EPL - Home)

The familiar 4-2-3-1 system this time with Martial flanked by Sancho, Bruno and Antony with AWB, Varane, Lindelof and Shaw in defence. The midfield comprising Eriksen and Casemiro were not up to par with Casemiro spraying inaccurate passes and making reckless challenges, allowed Wolves to counter us but not much attempts as they lacked a clinical finisher, same as us. It was Bruno's nicely weighted pass to Antony in the 31st minute to beat the offside trap, whose cutback to Martial allowed him to tap in for us to take the lead in the first half.

With Martial subbed by Weghorst early in the second half, followed by Maguire, Fred and Ganarcho for Varane, Eriksen and Sancho, it was in the 94th minute of the extra six minutes extra time, that Ganarcho put the game to bed after another sublime pass from Bruno to justify his new contract. We have to get an outstanding striker for next season as we lacked the clinical finishing which was so apparent in this match and get rid of the deadwood in Martial, Sancho etc. We are joint third with Newcastle (who drew 2-2 with Leeds earlier) at 66 points on goal difference. 

[Locknload]

ManU 4 (Casemiro / Martial / Bruno -pen / Rashford) - Chelsea 1 (EPL - Home)

An early goal from Casemiro's header from a freekick in the 6th minute gave us hope of a top-four finish, followed by Martial's goal off Sancho's cutback in the 51st minute of the six minutes time added-on, due to Antony's on-field treatment for an ankle injury and replaced by Rashford in the 28th minute of play. The midfield trio of Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno switched-off and allowed Chelsea to dominate play and they had more touches in the box (20) compared to us having only nine.

A change for Luke Shaw with Malacia at the start of the second half, followed by Eriksen and the inconsistent Martial for Fred and Ganarcho with Bruno scoring the 3rd goal from a penalty with Rashford putting the game to bed in the 73rd and 78th minute respectively. With ETH's KPI achieved, the final game against Fulham on Sunday will be an academic one, with the FA Cup final against our noisy neighbours to hopefully add another trophy in the cabinet.

[Locknload]

ManU 2 (Sancho / Bruno) - Fulham 1 (EPL Final Game - Home)

With Dalot, Varane, Maguire and Malacia in defence, it was Fred with Casemiro in midfield with Rashford as striker, and supported by Ganarcho, Bruno and Sancho in place of the ankle-injured Antony. It was Fulham who drew first-blood in the 19th minute but Sancho pulled one back to level the score in the 38th minute till half time. In one of those extremely rare moments, DDG saved a penalty from Casemiro's reckless challenge in the box and well-deserved for the Golden Glove award for this season's best clean-sheet.

An early goal from Bruno in the second half allowed ETH to make substitutes for Fred, Ganarcho, Casemiro, Bruno and Rashford for Eriksen, Mctominay, Martial, Pellestri and Weghorst and we were let down by poor finishing in the quest for more goals. Confirmed 3rd in the table standings and CL qualification, it's onwards to the FA CUP final for added silverware, hopefully!

 

 

  

[Locknload]

ManU 1 (Bruno-pen) - ManC 2 (FA Cup Final - Wembley)

An early goal under 12 seconds from Gundogan's long range volley gave us the jitters with DDG caught napping. The equalizer / penalty by Bruno in the 33rd minute after the handball from Grealish off AWB's challenge gave us some hope going into the second half and Eriksen's performance was lack-lustre allowing ManC more of possession and attempts at goal.

Another early goal in the 51st minute put us under pressure and ETH made the right call in replacing the ineffective Eriksen in the 61st minute with Ganarcho who had a shot just inches wide of the right post and made a big difference in attack. Another substitution for the hardworking Weghorst for Sancho in the 78th minute and later by Mctominay for Lindelof to beef up the mid and defence kept ManC at bay but it was ManC who were the deserving winners in their quest for their next and 3rd trophy in the Champions League. A clear out of Martial, Maguire, VDB, Mctominay and even Eriksen etc has to be made for us to be reckoned with, next season.