Hmm, I disagree there. I thought Nani was mediocre. He did very little apart from that late assist. He's a strange player in that the bigger the game the better he seems to play. In a game like today where the team is not quite firing on all cylinders he seems quiet. A game like Roma at home where everyone is fired up he seems to be far more involved. I think DS or someone else made the same point on this board.
Yeah, I agree about the big game mentality. I may have been by that last assist. I even posted during the match that some of his crossing was really poor, corners as well.
I agree we lacked creativity from the CMs. No penetration either. Carrick had a decent match, but the pairing with fletcher just lacks something. Ronaldo had a very nice goal at the end, but was more fluff than sibstance for most of the match. He worked hard... but a bit too much of his efforts were centered around tricks. Rooney, Vidic and Pique were the players who were on their game. I was very impressed with Pique, although he had one mad moment where he tried to dribble out of trouble across the back line instead of clearing the ball. Oh, and poland is starting to look like some serious competition for Foster next year. Two brillant saves. Rooney MOM.
I think this is a good point. There's a lot of hard running from Fletch, and decent long passing for Carrick, but I don't think they have the type of aggressive mentality/forward motion that Anderson has shown. It's nice to see that those 2 can get us by in Europe, even if it was against lesser competition, but Anderson has really left a mark on that spot. I would imagine that in the knockout rounds, Fergie would place Scholes, Hargreaves, and then maybe Anderson at the top of the list. I don't know if Anderson is ready to go against the likes of Barca, Milan, etc. but he definitely doesn't lack confidence.
People seem to forget that it was a Carrick-Fletcher midfield at the heart of Utd's 7-1 thrashing of Roma. I agree that this currently is not the top midfield partnership, but thought both did quite well. Both went the full '90 after returning from injury, in a side that included an unfamiliar back four with two attack-minded FB. I'm pleased with their performance; solid and steady, but not remarkable. Rooney, Tevez, CRon and Nani were wasteful at times; it could've easily been an even bigger rout.
Well I think we are talking about this match. But I agree neither was probably 100% match fit going into the match. But in reference to Roma. Fletcher had the game of his life. But there is still a question if he can play near that level week in and week out.
I'd love to give it more time, and I don't doubt its potential. Just at the moment, it seems to be the most ineffective, and that's down to injuries and little playing time. However, it also is a great alternative, and reinforces some long awaited depth in our midfield. I'm not too concerned even if it wasn't an unimpressive showing. Rooney or Vidic for man of the match.
Sorry if it has already been discussed, but does anyone know what Pique probably said to Evans when he got substituted? Man of The Match - Captain Vida
On Kyiv. I thought they played a lot better defensively this match. For the most part they were much more disciplined and maintained their shape. I was surprised they did not start Rincon as he was clearly their most dangerous player in the last match. They became much more dangeruos as soon as he came on after half-time.
Before the end of this game, I fell asleep and had a headache. Make of that what you will. Pique did alright. Simpson's passing as a little off, but that can be refticfied. As if we already didnt know, Rooney has a fantastic leap. I cannot count the number of times Ive seen him jump too early for a ball, and he'd just hang int he air. Good game, good points. Next....
No disagreement there. It will be interesting to see SAF's plans for the coming weeks without Scholes. As I stated earlier, I expect (and hope) to see a Hargreaves-Anderson partnership against Blackburn. It will be a challenge for the both of them, up against a physical side. Now that qualification for the knockout stage has been guaranteed, I'm hopeful Fergie rotates the midfield further against Sporting and Roma (Anderson-Fletch, etc.). I only mentioned the Roma thrashing because it seemed as if some in this thread had forgotten that a Fletch-Carrick partnership has been successful in the past for Utd, on the few occasions they've been played minus Scholes. Granted, it was likely their best performance in the shirt, but I firmly believe they can be an effective partnership and have shown enough to be given further opportunities. Either way, hopefully the days of O'Shea in midfield are over...
It's literally the exact opposite of the last time we lost Scholes for an extended period. It's almost as if SAF has too much to choose from. That said, I'd prefer he finds a partnership that works and sticks with it, rather than pulling a Benitez.
I think we will see our strongest side against Sporting. We will need at least a draw to take first in the group and they will be playing to keep their hopes alive for second.
He probably said tonight we dine in hell or something to that extent. Really impressed by Pique. Even thought he didn't play for too long, Saha REALLY impressed me. His outlet pass to Nani to set up the 3rd goal was class. Not to mention he weaved through several defenders minutes before. I never thought I'd put the words Saha and weaving though defenders in a sentence. He had some good movement and I'm happy to see him back.
It's funny that at least one person who was disenchanted with the Carrick-Fletcher partnership actually suggested an Anderson-Hargreaves partnership as an improvement. Now that's funny.
I think we shd go for a hargo-carrick against rovers.. Quite physical central - mid they have.. Tugay,Savage , Emerton and Dunn.. We would need quite a lot work from our CMs..
savage is out, they are not much of a physical side without him. That boy Ronaldo was getting frustated again, as the goal refused to come because of a mixture of being ignored or being unlucky. Saha was very, very impressive again in the short span of time he had.
That was the most boring 4-0 of all times. Can't really make any certain judgements, since there was no need to try very hard and opponent didn't really care about the score, especially in the second half. Good to see Pique and Simpson perform well.
First to qualify Full Video Coverage HERE HQ Goals, Highlights, a bunch of skills, Full Match (HQ) in addition to a compilation for C. Ronaldo
So many players deserve a mention. Evra defended well and created the chance for Ronnie to score. Carrick did well in the first half and faded a little in the second. Ronnie and Rooney worked hard and duly rewarded. Saha showed why he was missed all this while with his skill and body strength. Dynamo Kiev was defensive in the first fourty-five but a stroke of luck when the cross hit Tevez's head and bounced off him for Pique to head in. But you need to create chances in order to have 'luck'. The partnership of Tevez and Rooney reaped its fruit when the former slammed home his first Champions league goal. Well done, United. Can't wait for the game against the resurging Blackburn.
glad for Tévez avoiding that score in the CL duck Ronaldo had glad to qualify and glad for another 4 goal haul let the blitzkreig continue this weekend
It's pretty impressive that we just cruise to victory without breaking a sweat it seems... It seems like Pique is pretty useful in set pieces. It's the first time he scores, but I remember that he almost scored off corners in the few other games he played. I guess the only negative is that our strikers' finishing. Tevez should have more than one goal and the same could be said for Rooney. In tighter games we need them to be sharper with finishing than they are now.