A Much Needed Victory Over Brighton

Apologies for missing the recap of the last match, but there wasn’t much new to report on. A third straight 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Southampton with United failing to be clinical in front of goal and scoring only once, paired with some schoolboy defending that led to their equalizer. It wouldn’t have been harsh to call us 1-1 FC. Lots of questions about whether manager Ralf Rangnick’s tactics were suited to the players he had, and even more questions about the individual player’s willingness (ability?) to play the style of football Rangnick wants.

But every new match is a new opportunity to go and make it right, and thanks to the stuttering form of the teams around Manchester United, the final spot in the top 4 of the Premier League table was up for grabs. United welcomed Brighton & Hove Albion, a team from the south coast of England, as their next opponents at Old Trafford. They are having themselves a decent season under manager Graham Potter, as they came into the match in the top half of the table themselves. They had their eyes on a European qualifying spot as well.

The first half ended goalless with United creating a few decent chances, but what was worrying was that Brighton were often the team on the front foot. Too many times the United defense was caught in a bad position, or failing that they would miss a key tackle or interception. Brighton could not find the back of the net though, and it must be noted that United keeper David De Gea is (for the millionth time) a big part of the reason for that. His flying save from a Brighton header around the half hour mark was particularly of note. The man is probably the best pure shot-stopper I have ever seen play the game. His positioning, reflexes, and size make it incredibly difficult to get the ball past him. That’s a damn good thing as well, because he has played behind some terrible defenses during his career at United.

The second half got underway similarly to the first, with both sides not really doing much to create chances. However, United found themselves in the lead on 51 minutes thanks to striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who snapped a six match goal drought with a very sweet right-footed finish into the right side of the goal. Brighton were pressed on the ball while in their own half, and midfielder Scott McTominay did very well to block/deflect a pass attempt almost straight at Ronaldo about 20 yards away off to his left. Ronaldo took about two touches as he ran towards the Brighton back line, and they couldn’t get close enough to get a challenge in without fouling him. He lashed his shot home and United had themselves a second half goal for the first time in weeks! Sometimes all it takes is one mistake by the opposition, especially with Ronaldo on the pitch.

About a minute after the goal, United were given another advantage when Brighton center back Lewis Dunk was sent off on a straight red card for a foul on United forward Anthony Elanga. Elanga had won the ball off Dunk and was through on goal before being pulled back. It was initially just a yellow, but a VAR review was called for and it was upgraded to a red card as Dunk was adjudged to have stopped a clear goal-scoring opportunity for United. Brighton were down to 10 men for the final 38 minutes and now really under a lot of pressure to not fall apart completely.

United should have had a second goal on 72 minutes after Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez gave the ball away directly to Ronaldo on the edge of the penalty area. Ronaldo was quickly marked, but he found Bruno Fernandes in space in the center of the area. Bruno took a shot, but Sanchez redeemed himself a bit with a save. Bruno really should have done better though in that position, and I was worried that the missed chances would come back to haunt us again. There was still plenty of time left in the match, and Brighton had given a very good accounting of themselves. They were dead even with United in possession and were throwing men forward into attacks to try and gain their equalizer. They came closest around 77 minutes when a cross/shot from just outside the left corner of the box rattled the top of the crossbar. It was a splendid effort, and United were once again lucky that the crossbar was in the way. Not even De Gea could have gotten to that one.

Brighton’s pursuit of a goal left them exposed at the back though, and United were often able to run at them in the final 15-20 minutes of the game or so. All of those runs were finally capitalized on in the final minute of stoppage time. United won a foul inside their own half and took it quickly, with Paul Pogba sharply finding Bruno on his own in the right channel near midfield. Bruno carried the ball about 50 yards on his own largely unchallenged, as Ronaldo was running alongside him as a passing option. The lone Brighton defender couldn’t decide who to commit to, and Bruno was eventually able to get an angle around him for a shot. He dummied his first attempt to get Sanchez to dive, then quickly struck the ball around him and into the back of the net. Great awareness from Pogba, good run from Ronaldo, and a great run/finish from Bruno.

United move at least temporarily into 4th with this result, even despite our recent struggles. Now that Rangnick has had a good amount of games in charge, the statistics are starting to show what this team’s struggles are. Under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United were good at scoring goals but also good at conceding them. Under Rangnick, United don’t score as many goals but we also do not concede them as much. The defense has improved under Rangnick, but the offense has struggled. In the three matches prior to this one, United registered over 70 shots but scored a pitiful three goals. They did score two yesterday, but the lack of finishing was still a problem in that match too. It finished 2-0 but it should have been 4 at least. In the Premier League you have to kill off the opposition. If they sense they can get back into it, they usually have the talent to do so.

Still, improvement is improvement. Good matches from Pogba and Bruno, and I think Ronaldo is now going to kick in to high gear as we get closer to the business end of the season. De Gea has to be Man of the Match though. He now has 128 clean sheets for United, which ties him with club legend Peter Schmeichel. A remarkable achievement in any context, but especially so in this case given the aforementioned bad defenses De Gea has had to play behind. It’s been some lean times at United the past decade or so, but they would have been much worse without Big Brave Spanish Dave.

United face a tough test away to Leeds United next Sunday, and even tougher one after that as the Champions League resumes and they travel to Madrid to take on Atletico. United are currently 4th in the Premier League as mentioned, but there are several other clubs close behind with games in-hand.

Glory Glory Man United!

United Suffer Their First Loss of the Season in Switzerland

Earlier today, the Red Devils were in Bern, Switzerland to take on BSC Young Boys at the hilariously-named Wankdorf Stadium. Although no match in the Champions League is ever easy, United were favored to win this match. This was due to the massive difference in talent between the two sides and the fact that United were in good form coming into the match. This was the first of 6 group games to be played in the Group Stage of the Champions League.

And indeed United were in front on 13 minutes, thanks to some excellent play from Bruno Fernandes. He found an absolutely sublime cross from the left side into the box, and the Young Boys defense failed to account for Cristiano Ronaldo running into the box near the back post. When you forget to mark him, he will punish you. Ronaldo got just enough on the ball to put it over the line, despite the Young Boys keeper’s best efforts to keep it out.

But that was the end of the positivity for United. We lost this match, and I can point to three specific reasons why.

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card on 35 minutes. He went into a challenge for the ball in United’s own half, but the right back’s challenge caught the Young Boys defender high on his ankle and late. It’s true that Wan-Bissaka didn’t leave his feet or anything egregious like that, but anytime you arrive late to a challenge like that and catch a player high up on the ankle, you are asking for trouble. Truthfully it was one that was 50/50 yellow or red and sometimes you can get away with only a yellow, but Wan-Bissaka cannot be taking that risk. It’s difficult to complain much about the ref’s decision. United had to defend with 10 men for the final 55 minutes, and our defenders were run ragged.
• Jesse Lingard’s back-pass error. It’s true that United had already conceded the equalizer, but some substitutions had strengthened the side a little bit and we were keeping Young Boys at bay. Lingard found himself on the ball deep in his own half in stoppage time, but despite not being under much pressure he elected to try and play the ball back to keeper David De Gea. However, he drastically under-hit the ball and it rolled straight into the path of the Young Boys forwards. They finished the chance easily and United had a nail in the coffin. Bone-headed decision from him. If you are going to play a back pass deep in your own half with the opposition on the press you can, but you HAVE to make sure it actually reaches your keeper.
• Perhaps most worryingly, United did not seem to have a plan for what happens if we were to go down to ten men. Mistakes, like the ones committed by Wan-Bissaka and Lingard, can be learned from. Those will happen from time to time and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. But manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his staff deserve a large amount of scrutiny today. It is difficult to attack when down to ten, but United were camped in their own half with no outlets to relieve pressure for almost the entire time after Wan-Bissaka went off. We did well to get to half time without conceding, but OGS has to have a plan for defending a whole half down a man. Red cards happen all the time and sometimes unfairly, so to look completely unprepared tactically is inexcusable. OGS was correct to move to a back 5, but for whatever reason, the fullbacks (Luke Shaw and sub Diogo Dalot) were not pushing up the pitch when United were on the ball. If you are going to play with a back 5, your fullbacks have to run forward and get open for an outlet pass because you are missing a man in midfield. That did not happen today, and as a result every time we managed to win it back, we lost it again almost immediately. This led to sustained pressure from Young Boys on the United goal which ultimately led to their equalizer and winner.

All credit to Young Boys for playing their hearts out in front of their home fans, and you could tell they were approaching this like it was their CL final. They out-ran us from the 35th minute onward. United players had no time on the ball for the most part and we couldn’t maintain possession. They took advantage of every United mistake to the fullest. This was a bad game all around from the Red Devils’ perspective, especially the second half. I certainly hope everyone is pissed off by this, because honestly this match probably should have ended 1-1 after the fiasco that was the second half. I would have applauded a draw in that scenario given how terrible things had gone today, but mental errors from the players and tactical errors from the manager meant that United have to wait for their first points of this Champions League campaign. They will also be without Wan-Bissaka for the next 3 European matches due to suspension.

United will need to regroup and be ready for another tough test at the weekend, away to West Ham in the Premier League.

Euro 2020(1) Quarterfinals – Two Tense Matches on Day 1

A few days off were needed for travel purposes, but the Euro 2020(1) quarterfinals got underway today with the first two games. Next two are tomorrow. All 8 of the remaining teams went in to the weekend knowing they were only three matches away from European glory. Spain took on Switzerland in St. Petersburg, Russia before the heavyweight fight between Italy and Belgium in Munich, Germany.

Spain vs. Switzerland

The Spanish were favorites coming into this match, as they boasted a lot more talent than the Swiss and are in a very rich vein of form. They have scored 10 goals in their past two matches, which is always impressive at a tournament. The Swiss however will not be afraid of anyone, having already slain the Goliath known as France. Importantly however, their captain and best midfielder Granit Xhaka was suspended due to yellow card accumulation. With Xhaka out, I thought the task just might be a tad too tall for the Swiss today.

It was clear from the outset what each team’s strategy was. The Spanish started out with their traditional possession-based game and the Swiss were quite content to let them have the ball a bit. The Swiss pressed on occasion and were trying to force the Spanish into mistakes high-up the pitch. That’s not a bad strategy as Spain can be prone to mistakes at the back, but it all went to hell for the Swiss less than 10 minutes in when Spain left back Jordi Alba fired a shot from a loose ball into the Swiss penalty area. The shot was somewhat hopeful and speculative, but it was effective nonetheless as it was redirected into the Swiss goal past keeper Yann Sommer on accident by defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria. Alba was credited with the goal initially by UEFA but they later changed it to an own-goal from Zakaria, which was probably harsh on Zakaria as Alba’s shot appeared to be on target. In any event, it was unlucky for the Swiss.

The rest of the half passed mostly without incident. Somewhat tepid, to be honest. Switzerland were again unlucky to see starting forward Breel Embolo go off after 20 minutes with a hamstring injury, and Spain were guilty of wasting a good chance that resulted from a free header by left back Cesar Azpilicueta. Aside from that though, not much else happened in the first half.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, not a lot between the two sides. The Swiss were starting to ask more questions of the Spanish defense though, and Zakaria was again unlucky to see his header go just wide from a corner. The Swiss had an excellent chance come via midfielder Steven Zuber who forced a fine save from a tight angle by Spanish keeper Unai Simon.

The Swiss got their equalizer however just five minutes after that shot across the bow via Xherdan Shaqiri, a man affectionately known as “The Cube” by supporters due to his box-like physique. Two Spanish defenders (Pau Torres and Aymeric Laporte) both went for the same ball and their collision resulted in a loose ball that was pounced on by Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler. Freuler did well to find Shaqiri a few yards to his left, and The Cube made no mistake with a finish along the ground and off the inside of the left-hand post. The Swiss had fought back again, despite not really looking like doing so for good portions of the match.

Freuler found himself in the center of things again a few minutes later, but this time for negative reasons. He went into a tackle with both feet and his feet lifted off the ground, and made some very harsh contact with the Spanish player on the ball. English referee Michael Oliver went straight into his pocket and produced a red card. Upon review it was a rash tackle, and while you don’t always get a red card for such a challenge, it is very risky to try and tackle with both feet. You are inviting danger when you do that, and Freuler was punished for it.

Spain went into the ascendency after that due to the Swiss being down a man, but they could not make the most of their advantage and failed to score another in normal time. Extra time would be needed, which was a significant disadvantage for the tiring Swiss players. Having to play another 30 minutes with 10 men whilst having already played a full 90 is positively exhausting. However, again, Spain could not take advantage, despite some excellent chances falling to striker Gerard Moreno.

Penalties came and it was evident the fatigue being felt by the Swiss players. Spain missed two penalties themselves, but the Swiss could only convert one of them. Simon made two fine saves for sure, but I saw some very tired penalties from the Swiss. They were either hit too soft or blazed over the bar, because when fatigue sets in to the legs it is very difficult to maintain your technique and control when striking the ball. Perhaps if all 11 men had played until the end it would have ended differently, but of course now we’ll never know.

Credit to the Spanish for converting their penalties, but I would be very concerned about the semifinal if I was a Spaniard. The theme of poor finishing and defensive mistakes continued today, and against a more talented side they could have easily lost.

Spain advance to the semifinals at Wembley in midweek, where they await the winner of Belgium and Italy.

Belgium vs. Italy

Loads of talking points for this match, as it probably is the most intriguing fixture of the quarterfinals. Italy have the history of winning basically everything at major tournaments, although up until this tournament started there were questions concerning inexperience among this current batch of Italian players. They’ve done well this tournament, but their previous match against Austria caused some concerns among supporters about their ability to kill of teams effectively.

The Belgians come in with their current “Golden Generation” of players that are absolutely desperate to win the first major trophy for their country of any kind. Center forward Romelu Lukaku was in excellent form, but the major concern for Belgium was the fitness of star players Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. Both of them are carrying injuries, but De Bruyne in particular is key to Belgian success at this tournament. As I have said before, there are serious arguments for De Bruyne being labelled as the best attacking midfielder in the world. De Bruyne did play in this match but Hazard did not.

Two great managers here too – Roberto Mancini for Italy and Roberto Martinez for Belgium. Interestingly, the last time these two managers faced off it was during an FA Cup final at Wembley, with Martinez’s Wigan Athletic pulling a shock upset over Mancini’s Manchester City.

The match was a little slow to start things off, with neither side really threatening the other in the first 10 minutes. Italy had the ball in the back of the Belgian net on 12 minutes though after a free kick found center back Giorgio Chiellini for a tap in, but after a VAR check the goal was correctly disallowed for offside. Chiellini was about a foot ahead of the ball when it came off his fellow defender Leonardo Bonucci. The tempo of the match did increase after that though, as Belgium knew they were given a let off. Romelu Lukaku did well to force a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma low to his right after good work from De Bruyne on a counter-attack. Gauging how this match would go from that point, it was likely that the team that made the fewest mistakes would go on to win. These teams were simply too evenly matched to call it one way or another. Good for the neutral of course, but nerve-wracking for supporters of the two countries.

You could call this fixture a chess match given all the tactical switching and formation changes by both teams throughout the opening half, but people tend to think of chess matches as boring and this game was anything but. End-to-end play that felt at times more like basketball than footie. The pace and energy from both teams was absolutely relentless.

The Italians broke the deadlock on 31 minutes via midfielder Nicolo Barella after a poor giveaway by Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen. The ball fell to the dangerous playmaker Marco Veratti who played in Barella, and he made no mistake with his finish over the top of Belgian keeper Thibault Courtois. Italy were even more energized by their goal and were able to grab another one from winger Lorenzo Insigne 12 minutes later. The first Italian goal was good, but the second one was a work of art from Insigne. He carried the ball about 50 yards, slaloming past a Belgian defender before shooting from the edge of the box. He got a lot of curl on the ball and the pace of it gave Courtois no chance to save. Truly breathtaking and a candidate for goal of the tournament.

The drama of the first half was not over though, as a penalty was awarded to Belgium just two minutes later in stoppage time. Teenage Belgian winger Jeremy Doku did well to beat his marker with pace in the left channel, and he went down inside the box after a shove in the back. The penalty was probably soft by most standards and the Italians were strenuously complaining, but VAR checked and the penalty stood. It’s a bit rich for Italians to complain about players going down too easily anyway, when they are the ones historically known as egregious divers. Lukaku stepped up to the spot and coolly put the ball past Donnarumma after sending him the wrong way.

The chaos continued in the second half, with both sides fashioning good chances but neither being able to finish them. Both Lukaku and Insigne were on fire and there were times when neither defense could get near those two players. There were more injuries and fouls in the second half as well, which wasn’t surprising given the effort and energy being put in by the players. The stoppages were really just temporary lulls in this hurricane of a match.

But the onus was on the Belgians to find an equalizer, and the Italians made subs that indicated they were going more defensive for the final 15 minutes or so, including switching to a back-5. They battened down the hatches and simply let Belgium come at them. It should be pointed out that as the game went on the Italians were engaging in what I like to call “shithousery”, meaning they were doing everything and anything to slow down the game without being penalized for it. They were taking their time with injuries, fouls, substitutions, and just generally wasting as much time as possible. While these Italians might play more attractive football than in the past, they clearly have not forgotten their traditional methods of gamesmanship mastered by their predecessors. I don’t like it as a tactic, but of course every team does it in matches of great importance.

The Belgians just couldn’t fashion another solid chance against the impregnable Italian back line, and the whistle finally blew. Italy held on to win despite a valiant effort from Belgium.

Italy will play Spain on Tuesday, July 6 at Wembley.

Tomorrow

Czech Republic vs. Denmark (9 am PDT)

England vs. Ukraine (Noon PDT)

I like England’s chances against Ukraine but they are a team with nothing to lose. No side should be taken lightly at this point. If a team makes the quarterfinals of a major tournament, that team is there for a reason.

Tepid England Earn a Narrow Win Over Iceland

UEFA’s latest money grab that they have entitled the Nations League has resumed play after the conclusion of the club seasons across Europe that were delayed due to COVID-19. There was a host of international fixtures recently, with all of them being played behind closed doors with no fans.

England were tasked with travelling to Reykjavik to play Iceland in their national stadium, Laugardalsvöllur. Please do not ask me to pronounce the name of the stadium. Manager Gareth Southgate had called up 20 or so players to choose from, and as usual there was controversy with some of the picks. Manchester United players Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire, and Mason Greenwood were all called up, even though Rashford withdrew due to fatigue and Maguire due to his ongoing legal issues in Greece. It was a first-time call up for 18 year-old Greenwood, with Southgate saying before the game that it was hard to argue against calling him up after the season he had despite his youth.

England got off to a slow start and indeed never really got going throughout the match. It was clear that they were rusty having not played a match together since November 2019. Wingers Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling looked dangerous on the wings, but as usual Iceland looked well-drilled and they kept England at bay for the most part. England were unlucky to not have a goal about midway through the first half when a pass/shot from the left side found Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who bungled the ball over the line for what looked like 1-0. The linesman’s flag went up though and the goal was called back for offside. Replays appeared to show Kane onside and no contact from any other England player, but VAR is (for some reason) not being used in the Nation League matches. Why does every other competition in Europe in have it, but not these matches? If UEFA wants them to be treated as competitive matches by the players, it needs to make VAR available so that calls can be checked for error.

The match was largely uneventful and remained at 0-0 almost to the end. England had all of the possession, passes, and shots – but no goals. It wasn’t until the 70th minute when things started getting interesting. England defender Kyle Walker picked up a second yellow card after a rather rash tackle on an Iceland player and got himself sent off. With England down to 10 men and only 20 minutes left, the match looked to be headed to a frustrating 0-0 draw.

But the referee got himself involved again, this time to England’s benefit when Sterling fired a shot at the Iceland goal which was handled by Iceland defender Sverrir Ingason. Iceland argued the ball came off his shoulder, but his arms were up and away from his body and replays showed the shot came off the underside of the arm. Soft, but there was enough there. He was also already on a yellow and his handball got him sent off as well. Both sides were down to 10 for the remainder of stoppage time, something that doesn’t happen often. Sterling stepped up to the spot and rolled the ball down the middle slowly, but the Iceland keeper had already jumped to the left and the ball rolled in behind him. A penalty shot like that is risky because if it gets saved you look like a moron, but Sterling did just enough to get it over the line. He probably was England’s most consistent player of the day in terms of creativity.

But the drama was not over. Almost straight away from the restart, a long ball was played forward by Iceland into their attacking third. Liverpool center back Joe Gomez was running back to cover but in the process appeared to grab Iceland forward Albert Gudmonsson, who fell to the ground after that. I am not sure this was a penalty either, as the contact started well outside the box and it seems that Gudmonsson made the most of it. Midfielder Birnik Bjarnason stepped up to the penalty spot, but he skied his shot over the bar and off to the right. England keeper Jordan Pickford had indeed gone the wrong way, but the penalty was so far off it didn’t matter. The final whistle blew shortly after that and the match ended 1-0 England. 70 minutes of boring and 20 minutes of drama.

James Ward-Prowse and Eric Dier were in England’s midfield today and I was not really impressed with their creativity. Phil Foden, a Manchester City midfielder on his England debut, was also largely ineffective. Iceland were well-coordinated defensively to be sure and it’s always difficult to play them in their national stadium, but England still needed to be better. Frequently too slow in attack and too many missed passes in the final third.

As alluded to above, it was clear that England were rusty. I also question their intensity of play today due to the fact that the Premier League is due to re-start soon and I don’t think anyone wanted to get injured. It was cool to see Greenwood get handed his England debut when he came on for Kane, despite not having much time to get going. You can’t really take away much from this game overall, unfortunately. The red card for Walker put the cat among the pigeons tactically and the lack of coherence from having not played a game recently was obvious.

I expect England to improve for their next match against Denmark on Tuesday. Denmark are a better team than Iceland so England cannot afford to be wasteful with their possession and chances like they were today. I expect Southgate to change things up a little to see if we can get more shots on goal and be more cohesive in attack. Perhaps it is time for Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish to be employed in the middle of the formation. Many have called for his inclusion in the squad after he helped keep Villa in the Premier League last season. You are always satisfied with a victory and in this case three points, but there is a lot of room for improvement.