United Escape Aston Villa; Plus an FA Cup 4th Round Recap

England’s version of March Madness got into full swing this weekend with the 3rd round of the FA Cup now in the books. There have already been a number of upsets and there are at least 2 clubs who will believe that they’re going on a Cinderella-run of sorts. A more in-depth review can be found below!

Manchester United’s particular 3rd round tie was against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, held earlier on today. Aston Villa are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League table, but they are an intriguing side nonetheless given that their manager is none other than former Liverpool player (and villain of Old Trafford) Steven Gerrard. He was easily their best player for most of his career, and he certainly caused one or two anxious affairs for United when he was on the pitch in midfield. I was hoping the lads would be up for this one given who the opposite manager is, as there is nothing Gerrard (and Liverpool) would like more than to knock United out of a major tournament.

But this was once again a lackluster affair from United. They did get the game’s only goal on 8 minutes via a header from Scott McTominay, but the victory tends to paper over the cracks of all the issues on display. Villa were the better side for most the game, in particular the second half. They even had the ball in the net twice, but both goals were correctly ruled out after VAR review. Raphael Varane was solid in central defense and David De Gea had a good day in goal, but make no mistake, this was an ugly match. Marcus Rashford looks like a shadow of himself. Mason Greenwood is developing some ball-hogging tendencies that usually result in him losing possession. Further, we can’t retain possession to save our lives as collective team. It’s the same problem that has haunted us for over a month now – we give the ball away far too easily and there’s no effort (or at least no coordinated effort) to win it back.

There is still some adjustment to manager Ralf Rangnick’s playing style going on, and I am not sure how much this particular squad has bought into it. To be fair, there is a question of whether playing with only two men in midfield is an effective strategy for United and that is something that needs to be addressed more in-depth as the season moves forward. However, the lack of effort in ball recovery is perhaps an indication that not everyone fulling co-signs to this new style of play. That is not good at all, for several reasons. For one, in football you have to play as a unit. If multiple players don’t want to play the tactics that the rest of the team is doing, it’s not going to work. For two, it speaks to a level of apathy that is unacceptable for professional athletes. They all get paid millions to play a kids game, and that seems to have been somewhat forgotten.

I also think that several of our players, most notably Rashford, are not in the right space mentally. Rashford is not aggressive enough, and Greenwood is probably too aggressive. Substitute Anthony Elanga did more on the left wing in 10 minutes than Rashford did in 80. I love Rashford and I want to see him succeed, so I’d like to see another senior member of the team or one of the coaches get with him and see what the problem is. He’s insanely talented, but he hasn’t looked the same since he returned to the club after the Euros this past summer.

In short, Rangnick needs to get this squad together. I was happy with Elanga’s energy and Varane’s discipline today, but that’s really about it. Rashford, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, and Edinson Cavani all need to improve. The whole squad does really, but those 4 in particular are playing well below their usual standards.

United will host Championship side Middlesbrough at Old Trafford in the next round of the FA Cup. The next fixture though is a repeat of this one – hosting Villa in the Premier League in 5 days’ time. If we play like this again against them, they will at least earn a draw or outright beat us.

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A quick but important shoutout to three other clubs – Kidderminster Harriers FC and Boreham Wood FC. I won’t lie, I hadn’t heard of those two clubs before yesterday. But these two have made some serious waves by winning their FA Cup 3rd Round fixtures – by beating Reading FC and AFC Wimbledon respectively. What makes those two results so notable is that both Kidderminster and Boreham Wood are non-league teams, meaning they are comprised entirely of semi-professional players. There are 8 divisions in the English football pyramid, and both teams play in the 6th division, referred to as the National League. It’s always great to see the minnows earn a chance to swim with the big fish, which is exactly what these two have done. For their efforts, Kidderminster get the reward of hosting Premier League side West Ham United, while Boreham Wood will travel to play Championship side AFC Bournemouth. Both clubs stand to make a good deal of money from these fixtures, and for me there’s nothing cooler than semi-pros getting to try their hand against professional millionaires. Imagine you and 5 friends start a basketball team, and your get far enough into a tournament to get a chance at playing the LA Lakers or Chicago Bulls. That’s the equivalent of what is happening here.

Also a very special shoutout to Nottingham Forest FC, a Championship side who knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup yesterday at Emirates Stadium. Forest is my grandparents’ club and I have taken a tour of that club’s stadium personally, so I feel a special affinity towards them when they aren’t playing United. It’s a big achievement for Forest to take down one of the giants, and it was in no small part thanks to James Garner (no relation to the actor), a midfielder on loan to Forest from United. Forest have been devoid of major success for a few decades now so it’s great to see them get a result. Always good to see Arsenal lose in the FA Cup as well, as they have won it more times than any other club.

Congratulations to Leicester City, 2020/2021 FA Cup Winners!

After a long single elimination tournament, today it was finally time to crown the winner of the Football Association Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup. Leicester City and Chelsea travelled from their respective homes to Wembley Stadium, a neutral site and England’s national stadium. The FA Cup is special for a variety of reasons, mainly because it involves every club side in the 8 divisions of the English football pyramid. From the Premier League at the top all the way down to Northern Premier League Division One in the 8th tier, everyone gets to play in this tournament. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, it’s a bit like the March Madness of England. Sometimes small clubs made up of semi-professionals can win a few games in a row and find themselves playing against the likes of United, Manchester City, Liverpool, etc. Imagine going to an office all week and then suiting up to play a team of millionaire, world-class players at the weekend! It’s a wonderful tournament and the FA Cup is regarded as the 2nd most important domestic trophy, behind the Premier League title.

A tactical analysis will not be the focus of this post. The first half was boring but the second half was very entertaining, and that’s really the long and short of it. Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans hit an absolute screamer from 25 yards for what was ultimately the winning goal, but Chelsea had a late equalizer ruled out for offside in the buildup by VAR. It was white-knuckled at the end there but Leicester held on to win the FA Cup for the first time in their 137 year history. Honorable mention to goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for a dominant performance in the Leicester goal today as well.

I think the main focus of this post should be more focused on what this match meant not only to Leicester and Chelsea fans, but also to fans across England, Europe, and perhaps even the world.

Even though most people are not supporters of Leicester City, there were probably few people rooting for them today, Chelsea fans aside of course. Leicester have the reputation of a club that is “doing it right” in terms of the traditions of English football, and as a result many people will support them if they aren’t playing against their preferred club. They are “doing it right” in the sense that they don’t rely on massive signings of big players to be successful. They do not usually spend massive amounts of money in the transfer market, unlike the more traditional powerhouse clubs of the league. They are experts at finding talent in the lower divisions of football and developing them into stars, they develop their academy players well, and they have won two major trophies in the past 5 years while doing so. They also look likely to finish in the top-4 and therefore play in the Champions League next season. They have been managed well by their ownership and fully deserve a reward such as this.

England and Europe need to take note of this result as it is a massive counter-argument against the European Super League and the idea that the “big 6” or “top 6” clubs even exist. The idea that only United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham are allowed to be considered as the “best” clubs is simply no longer true. The likes of Leicester, Everton, and West Ham are proving that this season. There is more parity in the top division than there has been in quite a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing for the English game.

Leicester, as a club, are also massive and very convincing argument against the formation of the ESL. If the ESL were to have happened, Leicester would have been locked out despite having a better season than Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, and arguably even Chelsea. That would discredit the validity of the ESL in terms of the level of competition, as a very good team would have no way of getting into it. All because they don’t have as big of a revenue stream as the others. It would have been a crime.

Lastly, I think the result of this match pales in importance to the fact that this was the first match in over a year where a significant number of fans were permitted to attend. 22,000 mostly-masked supporters were permitted inside Wembley Stadium and the atmosphere was positively electric. United legend Sir Matt Busby once said that football is nothing without the fans, and the lockdowns due to the pandemic have proven him to be a thousand percent correct. This match was incalculably better than any I have watched in over a year, simply down to the presence of supporters losing their mind over a goal. Fake crowd noise simply does not cut it. The sight of Leicester forward Jamie Vardy orchestrating some crowd noise while Leicester was defending their lead gave me goose bumps. I also enjoyed the booing of former Leicester left back Ben Chilwell every time he touched the ball. The fans give the game a bit of vibrancy and dramatically increase the entertainment value overall.

I understand that the pandemic is not over by a long shot and that many parts of the world are still suffering its effects, but today was a magical day at Wembley for Leicester, English football, and for anyone seeking a degree of normalcy and respite from these trying times.

United Rotate the Squad, Lose to Leicester City

Manchester United lost to Leicester City today 2-1 at Old Trafford after fielding a team largely made up of second-string players. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a whopping 10 changes to the team that beat Aston Villa last Sunday. This was done entirely in response to the grueling schedule United are playing right now, having played a match 48 hours ago and now having to play a rescheduled match against Liverpool 48 hours after this one. Three games in five days is absolutely insane, even for a big club such as ours. I understand the rescheduling was due to our own fans protesting, but I feel the Premier League could have potentially done more to ease the schedule issues.

It would be suicide to play all of our starters in all three matches, so it seems OGS picked this game to give everyone a rest. It was a gamble, but I think it’s a calculated one. Yes a loss would give the title to Manchester City in terms of the mathematics of the points, but he maybe thought we could scrape a draw or something like that. To be fair, we came close to pulling it off.

United were down though after a mere 10 minutes thanks to a rocket finish into the opposite top corner from youngster Luke Thomas. The celebrations were short lived however, as Mason Greenwood brought United level just 5 minutes later after some fine work on the right wing from Ivorian winger Amad Diallo. Diallo was a summer transfer brought in from Atalanta that has featured in a few key games this season, but today was his first Premier League start. The same was true of Swedish forward Anthony Elanga, on his first start today on the left side of a 4-3-3. Elanga is a product of our youth academy, and he is the 14th academy player handed his debut by OGS during his tenure as manager. Yes they are young and very raw, but these guys know how to play. There were many academy players in the team today, including Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, and even Greenwood himself.

United held on despite being largely out of possession until the 66th minute, when Leicester center back Caglar Soyuncu headed home from a corner. It was a good ball from midfielder Mark Albrighton, but United probably only have themselves to blame for it. OGS decided to bring on Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani to try and find a winner, but he made the sub right before the corner was taken. I think that created some confusion among the players as to who was marking who, because Rashford didn’t even jump despite being the closest man to Soyuncu. He clearly thought someone else was behind him when they indeed were not, and Leicester had the lead. Maybe next time we will make the change when there is no set piece to defend.

Despite the addition of Bruno Fernandes later on, United couldn’t find an equalizer and the final whistle went. It was a disappointing day overall, but there were positives that make it a little more digestible. Diallo and Greenwood combined well, and Tuanzebe had a strong day in defense. Also, in terms of the bigger picture, it is now insanely difficult for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League next season. It’s not impossible, but very unlikely. I do derive a small amount of satisfaction from that. Leicester are 8 points clear of 5th place West Ham and look strong to finish 3rd or 4th.

Unfortunately, as alluded to already, United’s loss today means City cannot be caught mathematically and they have therefore won the 2020/2021 Premier League title. A genuine – if bitter – congratulations to them. You don’t win the title by 10 points on accident. They have been in incredible form all season, and have a candidate for Player of the Season in center back Ruben Dias. When you have a squad as deep as theirs its hard to argue with the results they produce consistently. They should be playing as well as they are, given the money spent on the squad. United’s league form has been very good for most of the season, but City did not suffer from the stuttering and inconsistent first 6-8 games that United had. As the old saying goes, you cannot win the title in the first 10 games, but you can certainly lose it.

United now can look to the Liverpool match and hopefully have a fully fit and at least somewhat rested squad to choose from. We will clinch at least 3rd place with all three points, maybe even second depending on how Chelsea does. They have to play Leicester in the FA Cup Final this weekend before resuming league play.

There was news from the bottom of the table at the weekend as well, with Fulham being the final team to be mathematically relegated from the Premiership after their loss to Burnley. The relegation battle has been an odd one this season in the sense that it’s not really been much of a battle. This is the earliest in any Premier League season that all three teams have been locked into relegation. There’s still three matches left for all those teams but they’ve been so poor that they don’t really matter. Normally the relegation battle goes to the final day! Commiserations to Fulham and good luck in the Championship next season.

Red Devils Close the Gap on Man City, plus a “European Super League”?

It was a bit of a struggle today at Old Trafford for Manchester United but in the end 3 points was won thanks to goals from Mason Greenwood (x2) and Edinson Cavani. United won 3-1 in a match that was closer than the final score would indicate. The first half was a rather drab affair where both sides had some half-chances but neither could manage to get the ball into the back of the net. Burnley were causing problems with their giant strikers and central defenders from set pieces and from long passes over the top of the United back 4. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof had their hands full all day, even though Burnley are a side a mere six points above the relegation zone.

United opened the scoring early in the second half though via a very nice move down the right hand orchestrated primarily by Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw. Rashford beat his man with a nice move and crossed it along the grass towards the center. Bruno Fernandes cleverly let the ball run between his legs, and the ball rolled towards Greenwood who made no mistake with his finish. Now that he has 4 goals in 3 games it is clear he is back on form. Beautiful move to watch, and a great finish on the end of it.

The lead did not last long though as Burnley equalized roughly a minute later through the gigantic defender James Tarkowski. Maguire lost position on him in the box and when the ball came in from a corner he smashed it home. If there is one knock on Maguire and our center backs, it is that they occasionally have mental lapses on set pieces that often lead to goal-scoring opportunities. We have perhaps gotten somewhat better at defending them in recent weeks, but Burnley reminded us today of that problem. I certainly would like to see this squad not only continue to improve at defending set pieces, but also scoring from them. Maguire’s head is far too big for us to not be taking advantage of it. Seriously, he’s got a massive head!

United left it late to go back ahead, with Greenwood scoring again in the 84th minute from roughly the same position having been spotted in the right channel by Paul Pogba. Greenwood beat a man before shooting towards goal, only for the ball to hit a Burnley defender and wrong-foot the keeper as it trickled past him. United had the lead and they had it for good. A bonus goal then came from a very neat counter-attack, with Bruno, Greenwood, and the substitute Donny Van de Beek involved in the build-up. The neat pass from Van de Beek set up Cavani for a tap-in due to Burnley pushing men forward for an equalizer. Few teams can handle us when we break with pace and I love watching it happen. I also am loving this team’s mentality right now. We are very good at fighting back to win when tied or losing and that is a credit to not only the players but also manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Only 8 points now, Man City! Now officially closer to 1st than we are to 3rd as well, at least temporarily. Leicester City have a game in hand but are 10 points behind us. I sense that 1-2 drops of sweat may be forming on the furrowed brows of City supporters world-wide. It’s not going to be as easy as they thought, and I must point out that I was celebrating yesterday when City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea. City can now longer win a Quadruple (4 trophies) nor can they win a true Treble (3 biggest trophies) because they cannot win the FA Cup. I really want Jose Mourinho and Tottenham to shithouse them in the League Cup final as well. That would be hilarious.

The lads finally have 7 days between matches for the first time in what feels like months. They’ll need to rest up too because it’s away to Leeds United next with the tough stretch of AS Roma – Liverpool – AS Roma after that. Leeds are always a goal-scoring threat and old rival so you know they will come to play. City still need to do some losing, but all we can do is keep winning and they’ll know they have to keep up.

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Earlier today six of England’s biggest football clubs, including my beloved Manchester United, all decided to sign on to play in what is known as the European Super League. If formed, it would be a league of 12 major European clubs from England, Italy, and Spain that would all play against each other exclusively, with no relegation or promotion from that league. This is a bad idea in so many ways that I can’t possibly list them all, so I will let United legend and pundit Gary Neville explain:

“This is abandoning-your-club type stuff.” He’s absolutely right. This “ESL” needs to go. It is a threat to the very foundations of the English football pyramid. I do not know what I will do if this whole thing goes through. It has proven to be massively unpopular online and it has been universally panned by every media pundit of substance across Europe. No to the ESL! No to the greedy billionaire owners!

A Draw – But Now Just One Point Away from the Champions League

It’s been a tumultuous few days for Manchester United, after exiting the FA Cup at the weekend in rather tepid fashion at the hands of Chelsea. I was going to write a separate post about the match, but I figured since United took the match off from playing I could take a match off from writing. It truly was a dismal performance, which was down to a combination of fatigue, injuries, a forced change in tactics, and a poor team mentality. Ultimately, after I calmed down a little bit, I realized that an FA Cup exit was worth it if it meant securing the top tier of European football next season.

I’ve discussed the importance of the Champions League before, but I think it bears explaining again. Not only is it the highest level of football in terms of level of skill, it is also very lucrative. Teams can expect an extra £20 million in revenue from the extra televised matches, and in United’s case it would mean saving an additional £22 million in rebates to Adidas, our kit maker. That £42 million could really come in handy next season for signing new players or much-needed upgrades to Old Trafford.

Thanks to Tottenham Hotspur beating Leicester last week, United were level on points with Leicester City and only a point behind Chelsea in the race for the top-4. A win would put United in strong position to secure a place in the top-4, while a draw would also be helpful but less so. The only thing that would be disastrous is a loss. The opposition today was an East London club called West Ham United, sometimes shortened to just West Ham or the Hammers. They came into the match on the lower end of the table, but knew that a draw and the resulting point would mean that they are mathematically safe from relegation this season. Their main striker Michail Antonio has been in sensational form since the restart, scoring the most goals out of anyone in the Premier League. With solid midfielders like Declan Rice, Mark Noble, and Tomas Soucek, it’s a wonder that West Ham aren’t doing better than they are.

In contrast to recent matches, United looked very sharp in the first five minutes. Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes both went close to giving the Red Devils an early lead. West Ham settled in more though and grew into the game as the half wore on. United looked slow in possession and gave away the ball far too easily on many occasions – a trend that would continue throughout the match.

West Ham worryingly got the opening goal via the penalty spot from Antonio, who sent David De Gea the wrong way. No valid complaints about the penalty call. West Ham had a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, when Rice struck it towards United’s wall of players and Paul Pogba put his hands up to stop the ball from hitting him in the face. It was a clear penalty unfortunately, although I suppose it’s a natural reaction to raise one’s hands to prevent something from hitting it. Still though, Pogba should have taken it on the face. As a footballer, that’s part of the game. Pogba, for his part, apologized to the team after the match so he clearly knew he screwed up. Down 1-0 at halftime though was still terrible and I had a very apprehensive feeling in my mind.

But to their credit, United kept pressing forward in the early part of the second half and were rewarded for their endeavoring play. Pogba made some amends for his earlier error by bringing the ball forward and playing it to striker Mason Greenwood on the edge of the Hammers penalty area. Greenwood played some incredible 1-2 passes with fellow striker Anthony Martial, with Martial doing very well to draw defenders and create space for Greenwood. After 4 quick passes the ball was at the feet of Greenwood, and he made no mistake with the finish past West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Still thoroughly impressed with the teenager Greenwood and I loved Martial’s hard work to create the chance for him. Center forwards do more than just score goals, and I think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has finally implanted that idea firmly in Martial’s head.

The match slowed down more after the United goal, despite both sides striving for a winner. De Gea made a great save to tip the shot of West Ham midfielder Jarrod Bowen over the bar, and substitute striker Odion Ighalo went close later on for United after some great dribbling by Greenwood in the penalty area. Although it was nervy at times, the match ended 1-1 and United temporarily moved into 3rd place in the table.

A win would have been better, but a draw will a do in this situation. United, at least temporarily (as Chelsea played later on in the day) had a 1 point advantage over Leicester and a goal differential tiebreaker over Chelsea despite being level on points, which meant that United jumped two places in the table from 5th to 3rd.

United’s players look tired; it must be said. OGS is in between a rock and a hard place here. Many fans are calling for midfielders Fred and Scott McTominay to get more playing time so as to rest Bruno, Pogba, and Nemanja Matic more, but it does not appear to be that simple. Despite Fred and McTominay playing well before play was suspended, they haven’t consistently looked their best since play resumed. Neither of them is a naturally creative midfielder, either. They typically do not look to play that killer forward pass like Bruno or Pogba would. Matic is our only natural defensive midfielder at the moment, and his possession and ball retention are key to shaping the United attack. McTominay and Fred do not appear to have these skills at the same level as Matic, at least not currently. Our best XI has a midfield 3 of Matic-Pogba-Bruno, but when we rest any one of those 3 players we don’t look good enough.

Only one Premier League game left, though. Sunday morning America-time away to Leicester City. A win or a draw will ensure United qualify for the top 4, no matter what.  If United were to lose, they would then have to hope that Chelsea also lose to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Only one point away from ensuring that we continue on our return to glory. One measly point. Leicester can score, but their defense is suspect. Come on United!

Rival Watch

Chelsea knew that a point would ensure that they finish in the top-4, but they were playing the champions-elect Liverpool at Anfield, always a very tough place to get any kind of result. I won’t do a whole recap, but the match ended 5-3 in favor of Liverpool. It was a thriller of a game and it was interesting that Liverpool very much did United a favor today. Chelsea are a very inconsistent team and their manager Frank Lampard has to wonder what more he has to do to get them to play consistently. One thing he could do it seems would be to play American midfielder Christian Pulisic more. He had a hell of a game today and almost single-handedly rescued Chelsea from an even more-embarrassing result with an impressive goal and even more impressive assist. He looked like the best player on the pitch once he came on. I knew this guy was good, and he seems to be growing into a true superstar. Americans, take note!

Prem Table:

3. United – 63 points

4. Chelsea – 63 points (-15 GD)

5. Leicester City – 62 points

United Grind Out a Win

The Red Devils traveled to South London today to take on Crystal Palace at a now-customarily empty Selhurst Park. With only three matches to go in the Premier League, points are at a premium and the race for the top-4 is incredibly close. Chelsea beat Norwich yesterday and Leicester City defeated Sheffield United earlier in the day, so Manchester United needed a victory to maintain control of their own destiny with top-4 qualification.

Crystal Palace are an interesting side, and it was difficult to predict just how motivated they would be to play. They are safe from relegation, but they are also nowhere near qualification for Europe. With little to play for, you figure they would either be utterly disinterested or because we have something to play for they would come out and treat the match like its a cup final and try to play spoiler. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made some changes to his starting XI for the first time in five matches, opting to bring in Scott McTominay for Nemanja Matic and the surprising addition of Timothy Fosu-Mensah at left back, in for the injured Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams. Fosu-Mensah hadn’t played as a starter in the Prem for over a year, and I had temporarily forgotten he even played for us!

United once again got off to a slow start, and it was Palace doing all the early running. Our midfielders and defenders were harassed when on the ball and David De Gea was called into action very early on to make a strong save from Palace striker and shithouser extraordinaire Jordan Ayew. Ayew was by far my least favorite player by the end of the match for his general shit-stirring demeanor, but it was a good shot from him nonetheless and United were put on notice that Palace was going to try and beat us. De Gea was forced to make several important saves in the first half.

United weren’t really clicking in the attacking third, as our best opportunities were coming from a few near misses on headers from Harry Maguire on set pieces. To their credit, Palace kept up the pressure. Winger/forward Wilfried Zaha ran into the box on a break with the ball and went down under a challenge from United center-back Victor Lindelof. There was contact between them, but replays showed Lindelof got contact with the ball first and Zaha went down after the ball was cleared away. The referee waived off the penalty shouts by Zaha and his teammates, and interestingly I don’t believe VAR was used to check for a penalty.

That bit of fortune swung the game a little bit, and United opened the scoring just before half time. I love goals just before half time because they are demoralizing to the other team when they’ve been playing well. It sucks to keep a team like United out for 45+ minutes, only to concede just before going into the locker room. A 0-0 at halftime is much, much better than 1-0 down. McTominay played the ball into Bruno Fernandes about 25 yards from goal, who played a quick 1-2 with Anthony Martial. Martial hit it back to Bruno as he ran forward into the penalty area. Marcus Rashford had made a diagonal run across his marker and Bruno played a pass to him. Rashford knocked the ball into the space on his left, then stopped on a dime. The defender marking him fell down, and Rashford slid the ball along the ground into the net with the keeper beaten as well. Excellent buildup in passing, excellent run and finish by Rashford. Credit to Martial for making a dummy run into the box as well to create additional space for Rashford.

As we say in America, he broke his ankles!

A one goal lead is not enough in the Premier League though. You never feel comfortable up by only one. United were very lucky to not be back on level pegging 10 minutes into the second half when a scuffed shot by Zaha was turned in to the United goal by Ayew. VAR checked for offside and after a lengthy review it was found that Ayew was maybe an inch or two ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka when the ball was hit by Zaha. Palace probably felt they got the short end of the stick on the referee decisions today, and in the pre-VAR days their goal likely would have stood. Still though, United got the short end of the stick last week against Southampton so it was our turn for a bit of luck it seems.

Palace kept plugging away but encountered stiff resistance from the United defense and De Gea himself. Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic struck a sweet free kick from the left channel that De Gea did very well to save. World-class level really, and just as valuable as a goal. De Gea had a real return to form today after some questionable performances of late. United goalkeeping legend Peter Schmeichel, who is now a pundit, pointed out that De Gea is a goalkeeper who does his best when he has a lot to do. If he is routinely and consistently making saves throughout the match, he tends to play well. It’s when he is largely untested that he is the most error-prone. I would tend to agree with that. De Gea is world class for this club when he is required to be, which in the past few years was quite frequently due to an inconsistent defense and lack of possession in midfield. The challenge for De Gea will be consistency going forward because the team is generally playing better now. This is the business end of the season and we need him to be in his best form.

United were able to work another slick passing move that ended in the vital second goal. in the 78th minute. They had been knocking on the door previous to that, with Bruno unlucky to not have scored when he hit the left post after great work by Martial in the box. For the goal, Bruno and Martial were at it again. Bruno brought the ball forward in the left channel and played an excellent pass to Rashford through the legs of a defender. Rashford one-touched it to Martial who had made a diagonal run across his defender. He took a touch his right foot and then curled it into the goal. Another very well-worked goal that was well-deserved for Martial. Whatever OGS said to him recently it seems to have worked, as he is in the best form his career by far. He and Rashford are now level on goals with 22 apiece this season. I think bringing on Matic for McTominay was key to improving our midfield shape and really solidifying our possession, which eventually led to the goal.

Celebrations were soured a bit though as there was a particularly nasty shoulder injury to Palace right back Patrick Van Aanholt on the tail end of the goal when he fell over the body of Martial. Treatment took several minutes and really killed momentum in the game for each side. Zaha got another half chance when he chased down a long ball in the 90th minute, but his shot was well saved by De Gea at a tight angle. After an agonizingly long 11 minutes of stoppage time in which United had the most possession and chances, the ref blew the whistle and United were home and dry with 3 points and clean sheet.

You can’t really ask for more than that in an away match towards the end of the season. Sure it was scrappy and a bit disjointed, but we won and that’s really all that matters. Can’t say enough about the form of Bruno, Rashford, and Martial in particular. As I stated, Martial is in the form of his life and his really doing it all. He always was a goalscorer but he has added passing, vision, and hold-up play to his repertoire as well. What a striker he is and OGS/his staff must be credited with his improvement. Rashford is having his breakout season and also assisted Martial’s goal. Bruno dramatically improved from the last match and looked to be back to his usual self.

Today also illustrated that we need another defensive midfielder when the transfer window re-opens. It’s very clear that Matic is our best defensive mid, and anyone deputizing for him is doing just that – deputizing. No insult to McTominay of course, but he appears to be more of a box-to-box midfielder instead of a purely defensive one. He can play the position in a pinch, but he’s better alongside Pogba or Bruno than he is playing behind them. A good DM is key to unlocking the full potential of the two mids in front him, but Matic is 31 and not capable of playing every game. A younger and more athletic natural DM is needed if we want to have any chance at competing in the Champions League next season.

Speaking of, only 2 games left now. United face relegation-battlers West Ham at Old Trafford next week, then the final game away to Leicester City which will decide the top-4. United are level with Leicester on points but are in 5th on the goal differential tiebreaker (-3). Leicester play Tottenham next and I am hoping former United manager Jose Mourinho will do us a favor and ensure that Leicester drop points. No matter what though, United will still be in striking distance of the top-4 on the last day. If we win our last two games, we are in.

Next match is against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup semifinal. I hope that OGS prioritizes the Prem over this tournament with his squad selection, because even though its an important tournament its nowhere near as important as qualifying for the Champions League. I’d like to see some rotation where the younger lads get a run out, maybe with 1-2 of the established stars in support. I won’t be devastated if we lose out on the FA Cup if it means we go into Europe next year.

Glory Glory Man United!

Red Devils in Ruthless Form

Manchester United traveled to Birmingham, England today to take on relegation strugglers Aston Villa in a pivotal match-up for both clubs. Villa need any points they can get and we need 3 points to keep up in the race for the top-4. Chelsea won yesterday along with a Leicester City draw, so with a win United would only be 1 point off of 4th place and 2 points off of 3rd place.

The match got underway in an eerily silent Villa Park and really it was Villa who were more impressive in the opening 20 minutes or so. Most clubs this season have put 10 men in front of the goal against us in the hope we would fail to break them down, but Villa seem to have noticed that particular strategy hasn’t been working in recent matches. United are in just too good of form right now for any team to have a realistic chance of defending against us for 90 minutes. Villa came out in a 4-4-2 when they were on the ball and a 4-5-1 without the ball, with England midfielder Jack Grealish dropping into midfield to clog up the middle. They pressed well when United were playing the ball along the back and were unfortunate to not score a goal or a two. Grealish whiffed on a volley from close range and Egyptian striker Trézéguet saw his shot clip the outside of the right post after he won possession from Paul Pogba and had somewhat of a breakaway going.

Fortunes changed however when United were awarded a penalty on 25 minutes. Bruno Fernandes ran into the box and attempted to spin on the ball around a challenge from a Villa defender. However, the two made contact in the box and Bruno went down. Referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty over the protestations of the Villa players. VAR checked in and confirmed it, despite most neutrals thinking it was a very soft penalty. More on VAR later, but Bruno calmly stepped up and dispatched the penalty with a powerful shot to the goalkeeper’s left. Many felt it was undeserved, but I will never complain about being awarded a penalty. We had one awarded against us in the last game against Bournemouth that was soft, so the pendulum swings both ways. VAR didn’t have a great day either, getting 3 decisions “wrong” in 3 different matches.

The rest of the first half was fairly slow until right before halftime, with Bruno being guilty of wasting a free header from close range. Mason Greenwood then got United’s next goal on a counter-attack. Anthony Martial was pivotal in the buildup, having won the ball in midfield and playing in Bruno before sprinting forward. Bruno found Greenwood running forward on the right, and after a few dribbles Greenwood squared it to Martial at the edge of the box. Martial played it back to Greenwood in space, and the Villa back-4 kept backing off Greenwood as he ran at them. That is a critical error, because this kid is lethal with his shot. He shifted the ball onto his allegedly-weaker right foot and drilled a shot past Villa keeper Pepe Reina. Reina was irate with his defenders, in particular center-back Tyrone Mings. Mings just kept backing off Greenwood and looked more interested in protecting his own balls in lieu of stopping the one flying at him. Stunning shot though and full credit to Greenwood for continuing his fantastic form.

United went into halftime full of confidence, despite there being some slow points in the half and Villa creating the odd half-chance here and there. The second half started off the same way as the first for the most part, with Villa and United exchanging not-so-dangerous attacks with one another.

United then won a corner on 58 minutes, and for a change they showed some proficiency from a set piece. Players made a lot of darting runs in an around the box, but Bruno played the ball along the ground Pogba on the edge of the area. Beforehand, Pogba had been facing the wrong way and pretended to not be interested, which was probably why he had so much space when he received the ball. He took a touch or two as the Villa defense tried to shut him down, but he finessed a shot at Reina that he couldn’t get to and it flew into the bottom corner. 3-0, home and dusted with still half an hour to go. Pogba’s first Premier League goal this season, as well. We didn’t sign him to score goals necessarily, but the numbers are a little low this season. However, he dominates the game in other aspects and has really developed an excellent relationship with Bruno in the middle of the formation.

United then made a lot of changes, and both Martial and Marcus Rashford were unlucky not to further raise the goal tally. Rashford had a goal ruled out (admittedly, correctly) for offside and Martial struck the crossbar after a sweet passing move. Rashford really wants a goal to get back on form, as he has only scored from the penalty spot since play resumed. It’s good to see a player that hungry. He used to have to do everything himself, but now he is part of a well-oiled attack and doesn’t have to score in every game in order for us to win. He and Martial seem to have a goal competition going and you love to see camaraderie like that between your two main strikers. Man of the Match is probably Bruno, once again. He has been involved in (scored/assisted) 13 goals in the last 9 games he has played for us and got a goal and an assist today.

17 games unbeaten. 46 goals scored, six 6 conceded in that run. First team to win 4 matches in a row by 3 goals or more in Premier League history. We’ve been the best team in the Prem since January on points, and we are finally reaching top gear. We have found our formula and I believe it will be good enough to get us into the top-4. The match against Leicester on the final day of the season looms large.

United have a few days off until the next match on Monday at Old Trafford against Southampton. They are probably the best team left we have to play aside from Leicester, but I still expect three points. I’d be highly surprised if manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes any changes. The back four looks good, the midfield even better, and the strikers are banging in goals like they’re going out of style. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Very happy right now to be a United supporter, but we have to turn this good form into results. Champions League qualification and the FA Cup would again be very tangible and satisfactory results.

Glory Glory Man United!

5-2 on 4th of July

When your team wins 5-2, you can tell two things about the match right away: it was a good day for the attackers but a suspect day for the defenders.

Manchester United took on relegation strugglers AFC Bournemouth at an empty Old Trafford with the intent of carrying on their excellent recent form. Bournemouth are currently 1 place off the bottom of the table, and given how we were playing I expect an emphatic victory. Fortunately, that’s what I got – sort of.

The match got off to a rocky start as Bournemouth striker Junior Stanislas got the first goal. He was up against the end-line in United’s penalty box as centre-back and club captain Harry Maguire ran over to close him down. The ball should have been easily cleared by Maguire for either a goal kick or corner, but Stanislas nutmegged him and drilled a powerful shot past keeper David De Gea at his near post. Maguire got embarrassed on what should have been an easy clearance, and to be honest De Gea’s efforts in saving the shot weren’t much better. It was a shock to the system for the team and I worried that Bournemouth would batten down the hatches and be difficult to break down after that.

But, I need not have worried. United put their foot down in attack and were rewarded with a goal about 15 minutes later. Marcus Rashford ran down a long ball in the right channel and played it back and to the left to Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the penalty area. He spotted striker Mason Greenwood making a clever run into the box from the opposite side and he played the ball across to him. Greenwood took a touch and lashed a powerful shot straight at Bournemouth keeper Aaron Ramsdale that he failed to keep out. United were level and with an equalizer the team’s confidence took off. More on Greenwood later.

The second goal was slightly fortuitous but deserved nonetheless. The ball was pinging around in the Bournemouth penalty area and eventually came off of a defender’s hand, which was spotted by the referee and a penalty was awarded. Paul Pogba was perhaps marginally offside in the buildup, but VAR confirmed the handball and a penalty was awarded. Bruno takes our penalties normally but he told Rashford to take this one, probably to boost his confidence as he has not scored since play resumed. Rashford stepped up and calmly placed a low and powerful shot to the keeper’s right for his 20th goal of the season. 2-1 at 33 minutes and we looked like we wanted more.

Anthony Martial is amazing when he’s on form. He got his 20th goal and United’s 3rd just before half time with an absolutely stunning strike from the left edge of the penalty. You cannot let him have that much room! His technique and skill are world-class.

With a two goal cushion at half time we looked to be in cruise control, but then Bournemouth came out in the second half and began pushing and pressing a little bit more. Again though, it was a defensive error from United that led to the next goal. Eric Bailly had been subbed on after an injury to his fellow center-back Victor Lindelof. I was concerned about that, as Bailly is a very tough physical defender but he tends to make the occasional rash decision that costs us. Maguire found himself under a bit of pressure and he played an overly-powerful pass back to Bailly, who was very near (in?) the penalty area. Bailly tried to jump to stop the ball going out, but it was too high and for some reason he decided to raise his arm/shoulder to stop the ball. It appeared to hit him on the top of the shoulder, but the ref said the ball hit his elbow. There was also a question of whether not Bailly was actually even in the penalty box, but in the end another penalty was given. Bournemouth striker and England prospect Joshua King stepped up and got Bournemouth their second. 3-2 is a much more nervous scoreline given that it was still fairly early in the second half.

Bournemouth were then only a few inches from getting a third after they hit United on a counter attack with Bailly yet again partly at fault due to being out of position defensively. The ball ended up in the back of the United net but Bournemouth were correctly called for offside in the final pass before the goal.

The one goal deficit lasted only 5 minutes though, because United’s attack was not done. The ball was clumsily cleared out of the Bournemouth penalty area by their own defenders but eventually fell to Nemanja Matic about 25 yards from goal. He spotted a run by Greenwood into the right side of the penalty are and played it to him. Greenwood took a touch to get some space from his marker and unleashed an absolutely ruthless and powerful shot high and into the opposite corner of the net. Greenwood is playing absolutely out of his mind right now. The 18 year-old has as many goals as all other teenagers in the Premier League combined. He looks like a faster version of Robin Van Persie, and as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in his pre-match press conference, “the sky is the limit” for Greenwood.

Two goal cushion restored, but we needed to make sure there were no more boneheaded defensive or goalkeeping errors. To aid in that effort, Bruno decided to go ahead and get United’s fifth about 5 minutes later. A free kick was given away by Bournemouth in a very dangerous position at the edge of their penalty area. After a conference between Bruno and Pogba, Bruno stepped up and struck a sublime ball past the wall of defenders and into the opposite corner of the Bournemouth goal.

The plaudits and accolades for Bruno have been numerous so I don’t really have much more to add than what a signing this guy has been. 6 goals and 5 assists since he joined us plus the confidence and swagger he brings to the team is just everything we needed to start fully clicking. Even in the event the top-4 does not happen for us this season, watch out for us next season. We need another central defender and right winger, but this team is already stacked and we are finally playing consistently to the levels I knew we were capable of.

Rashford and substitute Odion Ighalo both went close went chances after that, with Rashford being flagged offside (debatable) and Ighalo missing by inches. There were no more goals though, and Bournemouth never really got another good chance after the 5th goal. Man of the Match is probably Bruno, yet again. Greenwood in for a close second.

16 games unbeaten. 43 scored, 6 conceded. 12 wins, 4 draws. You really can’t ask for much more than that out of your team. The confidence is back and confidence is crucial to this team’s play. They’ve done so well recently and I fully back OGS & Co.’s plan for getting us back on track. It’s harder to climb the ladder now because the level of skill and quality in the Premier League is the highest it’s ever been, but you can say that we are well and truly on our way back. Screw it, let’s go and win the FA Cup and the Europa League!

United travel to Aston Villa in the Midlands of England for their next match on July 9th. Villa are also struggling against relegation but no team in the Prem should be underestimated at home. Three points must again be the order of the day, as the race for the top-4 is going to be very close.

3. Leicester – 58 points

4. Chelsea – 57 points

5. Man Utd – 55 points

6. Wolves – 52 points

All teams have 5 games left to play in the Prem. Hold on to your hats, folks. The top-4 race and the relegation battle are where it is at. Speaking of, here is the lower end of the table:

16. West Ham – 30 points

17. Watford – 28 points

——————————

18. Aston Villa – 27 points

19. Bournemouth – 27 points

20. Norwich City – 21 points

Norwich are unfortunately all but relegated, but the fight is still very much alive for everyone else even though Bournemouth were dealt a blow to their chances with a loss to United today. I do not know who will stay up, but its going to be fun to watch.

Glory Glory Man United!

 

Football in the Age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter

It’s been over two months since I last posted, mainly because there hasn’t been much to write about and also due to my own reservations about posting a footie/soccer blog when so many other more important things are happening. Of course this is not supposed to be a political or social issues blog, but the stunningly bizarre aspects of 2020 have forced me to acknowledge a little bit of what’s going on. It would highly privileged of me to not discuss these goings on. Lets get these statements out there right now:

COVID-19 is real and its not going away any time soon.

Black Lives Matter.

LGBTQIA+ Lives Matter.

The Bundesliga in Germany and La Liga in Spain resumed a few weeks ago, and the Premier League resumed on June 17th. Empty stadiums of course, and it seems there are some pretty rigorous testing standards have been implemented in order to keep players and coaches safe. There is no way to prevent the spread 100%, but it seems that everyone is getting checked routinely. What’s weird is that most of the leagues have banned group celebrations after goals, even though man-marking in close spaces is the same thing as doing a group celebration. I appreciate the caution they’re using, but some of the rules seem a little counter-intuitive.

Professional football being played in an empty stadium is the weirdest shit of all time. For some broadcasts fake crowd noise is being pumped in, and for some others it is not. I don’t think the presence or absence of a crowd gives an advantage to a team one way or another, but it’s still really freaking weird to see someone score and there’s just no reaction from the stands, cuz no one is there! I kind of wish they would stop with the fake crowd noise as well. It might make the experience seem more authentic for some, but for me, as a student of the game, I love hearing the players and coaches talking to each other. In Manchester United’s recent match against Sheffield United, there was a moment where one of the sound microphones caught captain Harry Maguire yelling at Luke Shaw to “fucking switch on!” after he made an error due to not paying attention. It was hilarious. This could be an opportunity for people to learn more about how the game is played, and fake crowd noise really kills that.

While the sports leagues in the USA seem to be not quite sure how to treat the Black Lives Matter movement, the European leagues have made their official position quite clear. All players have been taking a knee in solidarity before the whistle starting each game, and during the first weekend of the return to play every single player had “Black Lives Matter” emblazoned on the backs of their shirts in lieu of their last names. This does not fix the problems of police brutality and systemic racism of course, but it provides visibility to the movement and that’s really all a sports league is suited to do.

I am especially proud of United’s Black players for also raising their fists in solidarity. Striker Marcus Rashford in particular has been very vocal in his support of the movement, and has also done quite a lot to help feed poor and impoverished children in the UK. Rival fans don’t like Rashford on the pitch, but everyone is very much in favor of his nutrition and meal programs he has set up, partly with his own money. Not bad for a guy who is all of 22.

This is not to say that the UK doesn’t have problems, because it does. Last weekend, before a match between Man City and Burnley, a plane was spotted flying over the stadium where the match was to be played towing a banner that said “White Lives Matter.” The overwhelming majority of people were disgusted by the act and rightly so, and the Burnley fan who hired the plane was fired from his job (also rightly so). There is no room for that nonsense in this game. If you don’t support Black people and their struggle for equality, you shouldn’t be allowed to watch or otherwise partake in this sport.

As for the football itself, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Manchester United supporters. We are playing well and currently are on a 14 game unbeaten run, and we do generally seem to be on our way back in terms of playing style and general form. All of that news was soured though by Liverpool winning their first title in 30 years. They’ve been the best team this season so of course I can’t really begrudge them too much, and it was inevitable that they would win it once the season resumed. They were just too far ahead for anyone to have a realistic chance at catching them. I was hoping for a cancellation of the season just to see Liverpool fans completely lose their shit, but it didn’t happen. Even though this is their 19th title, they’re still one behind the Red Devils 🙂

United are still in the hunt for a top-4 spot, and currently sit 5th. The first match back was a lackluster 1-1 draw with Tottenham, which didn’t really help us that much. Anthony Martial then really got things going by scoring a hat-trick against Sheffield, the first United hat-trick in the Premier League since 2012. The most recent match was an FA Cup quarterfinal match against Norwich City, which was much more difficult than it needed to be. There are no draws/ties in the FA Cup, and in the United match an extra half an hour was needed to find a winner, which Maguire scored after Norwich failed to clear a pass from Paul Pogba into the box. United are in to the semifinals of the FA Cup, which is a good achievement in this fantastically weird season.

Bruno Fernandes and Pogba have shown some excellent signs of forming a good partnership in midfield, and with a rested Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay anchoring the middle, we finally are beginning to look like a world-class side. Not quite there yet, but I think with more time and training Bruno and Pogba will become the best midfield combination in the world. They have the raw talent to do it and their skill-sets compliment each other. We just need them to gel a little bit more and I think we will see some truly world-class football from them.

It’s all about the race for the top-4 now for United. Chelsea and Leicester City are both within reach, but Leicester look far more likely to slip up in the final few games. Chelsea have discovered some form of their own, and it was their victory over Man City that led to Liverpool mathematically clinching the title. If United win the FA Cup and clinch the top-4, I will consider this odd season to be a success. United will face either Chelsea, Arsenal, or the winner of Man City/Newcastle in the semifinals of the FA Cup.

United have four Premier League matches left this season, and I expect us to take 3 points each time. Brighton, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa are all fighting relegation though, so none of those matches will be easy. When teams play Man United they tend to come at us as if it’s the biggest game of their lives, and that will be especially true with the threat of relegation added in. We need to win all four matches and then hope Chelsea and/or Leicester slip up – and I think one of them will.

Wayne Rooney Takes On Manchester United, Red Devils Through to the QFs of the FA Cup

I saw my mate, the other day

He said to me he saw the White Pele

So I asked, who is he?

He goes by the name of Wayne Rooney! 

United traveled to the Midlands of England today to play Derby County FC in the last 16 of the FA Cup. The big headline from this one is that it would be the first time Wayne Rooney has played against United since he returned to England from the United States after having played in the MLS for DC United.

I have a few personal ties to Derby County through my grandfather, who supported the club in his youth and was even friends with a few of the players back in the 1960s. My own mother went to primary school with a children of a few of the players from the 1970s as well. Needless to say, whenever United play Derby or Nottingham Forest, the game has special meaning for me.

Derby are having a little bit of a down season, languishing in 13th in the Championship, English football’s 2nd division. Still though, any team with Wayne Rooney in the side needs to be taken seriously, even if he is way past his prime. He is a club and football legend, a winner of 12 trophies during his career in Manchester and he is our all-time leading goalscorer. One of the best strikers in the history of the Premier League, and he is England’s all-time leading goalscorer at the international level.

And he had his moments, too. Despite United clearly being the superior side both in possession and chances created, even the United supporters in the away end were singing Rooney’s name for all 90 minutes and more. The first clear chance of the game was a Rooney free kick that forced a smart save from keeper Sergio Romero.

United opened the scoring though after a little bit of a scramble in the penalty box, with the ball eventually dropping to left-back Luke Shaw. Shaw struck the ball on the volley mostly into the ground towards the goal, but the ball bounced up and sailed over the Derby keeper and into the net. It was only Shaw’s 2nd goal for the club despite having played for us for several seasons. To paraphrase Chancellor Palpatine: It was an odd goal to be sure, but a welcome one.

Shaw was involved in the 2nd goal as well, receiving the ball in a forward position slightly to the left of the goal. He sprinted forward into the box cutting slightly inside, after which he found striker and Nigerian Prince Odion Ighalo. Ighalo took a touch to lose his marker, and finished smartly past the keeper from close range. Always great to see him score, and a big physical striker like him is the perfect counterbalance to the pace and dribbling of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Derby’s center backs couldn’t handle Ighalo, as evidence by the fact that he scored his second goal and United’s third later on in the 2nd half. This move was much more orchestrated and coordinated. Fred passed the ball to Ighalo on the edge of the area, who immediately played it to Juan Mata on the right wing. Ighalo ran into the box and received Mata’s cut back, which he hit first time towards the goal. The Derby keeper blocked it, but Ighalo showed his predatory instinct by firing home the rebound into the roof of the net from about 8 yards out.

The result was in the bag, but Rooney had one more chance to write a few headlines when he had a free kick in the dying seconds. He went for the near post high up in the left channel from about 20-25 yards, but Romero did well to get over and force a save. That was the last real action, and United moved on victorious.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer walked on to the pitch after the final whistle and shared a hug with his former teammate Rooney, and every single United player made an effort to go and shake his hand afterwards. He may play for a different club now, but he will always be a big figure for this club.

United were in cruise control for most of this game thanks to another subdued yet solid performance from Bruno Fernandes in midfield, but the Man of the Match was easily Luke Shaw. He has been in blinding form recently, and it has showed in the recent results. Despite the draw last week with Everton where the referee was playing for the other team, United have been in good form recently. They will play Premier League strugglers Norwich City on March 21st at Old Trafford for a spot in the semifinals. With Liverpool now out of the tournament, perhaps OGS will place a tad more importance on this tournament than maybe he would have before. He wants to win a trophy for us, and the FA Cup is very attainable this year.

Manchester Derby against City at Old Trafford next Sunday, in the morning America-time. Once again, 3 points will be the order of the day as United must keep pressure on Chelsea in the race for 4th place. Given our form against the “Big 6” this season, I feel like United can definitely take something from the match.

Glory Glory Man United!