At least there were some signs of life yesterday. It was an excellent 40 minutes, but then everything was ruined by VAR. And we have never been good at defending with 10 men.
Headline from the BeebâŚ
âVAR has got out of controlâ - Man Utd lose again on chaotic night in Copenhagen
Gives you the impression a United player or coach said VAR has got out of control.
It was actually a quote from TV studio hack Owen Hargreaves !
Terrible journalism.
Another bizarre game. Great first 40 minutes, then the VAR madness. Great first 20 minutes in second half, then more VAR madness, then defending madness.
Given that none of the commentators made any reference to Rashfordâs challenge until the game stopped indicates that in real time there was nothing to be concerned about. The freeze frame approach always makes things look much worse than they really are. The first penalty was soft, the second even softer.
Undoubtedly the sending off significantly affected the game. However, United should have closed it out for the draw if not the win. Bissakaâs and Varaneâs woeful passes were both punished.
I think thatâs the difference @SteveD ANY mistakes are punished at that level. At Dortmund, we did okay but a quality team exposed our weaknesses.
Still, I was proud and it was a great trip. Dortmund is the friendliest away trip Iâve ever been on. Extremely hospitable people. A bit of a contrast to Milan.
Itâs difficult for us now, but the equation is clear - No wins and we finish bottom, 2 wins and we get into the knock-out stages, 1 win and we get into the Europa thing. Time will tellâŚ
As this is the first time in Europe for many of the team and manager, the Europa thing might be a good experience
Youâre right on the experience point Ian. Iâm a bit torn, but thats just due to our current plight with injuries. I do think thereâs a good chance weâll beat Milan at home, but PSG away will be tough.
That makes us going into the Europa a strong possibility. On balance, that would be a reasonable outcome and I donât want to finish bottom of the groupâŚ
Once a team loses a man in European football it usually ends in a loss. The great Barcelona team always liked playing against 10 or 9. Their sickening diving and hounding the ref put me off watching them. Great team for sure and even greater v 9!
Atb
Kk
Leo Trossard came in for the injured Nketiah and was the closest back up we have to the injured Gabriel Jesus.
Eddie Nketiah is more of a âfox in the boxâ type attacker which doesnât really fit Artetaâs 4-3-3 as much as both Jesus and Trossardâs false 9 role.
The decision to award Newcastle Unitedâs winning goal against Arsenal was correct, according to the Premier Leagueâs Key Match Incidents panel.
The five-person panel, which includes three former players and/or coaches, decided there was insufficient evidence to overrule the on-field decision to award Anthony Gordonâs goal.
Cue somebodyâs dummy being thrown out of his pram.
Horrid little club.
It was always a goal. The only issue really was that it took so long for the poorly designed VAR process to determine the same.
Officials couldnât see whether the ball was out of play. You canât give what you sent see. Thatâs life. The alleged offside was not clear cut so⌠again. The alleged push was laughable. Was he touched? Yes. Would it ever produce that outcome? Only after rehearsal.
Wouldnât want to single the clown out. Thereâs loads of them at it at that level and, having made it so difficult for officials, theyâre all whining now theyâre getting the erratics decisions the play acting deserves.
I agree totally, Mike.
However, as regards singling the clown out, well, not many people know this ( ) but Iâm a Spurs fan⌠so I will âsingleââŚ
IT WAS ARSENALâS GABRIEL WHO WAS PLAY ACTING !!!
There. I feel better for thatâŚ
As a neutral watching, I was asking myself how Arsenal ended-up with such slim and ineffectual defensive cover (Gordon unmarked in the 6yd box!), the ball having spent many seconds heading towards the corner flag, and several more seconds before it was crossed back in. If you play like this and donât work back/cover, just assume the ball was running out(?), these things go against youâŚand so they did. As the cricket phrase goes âitâs in the bookâ, how it happened isnât explained
Arsenal assumed the ball was going out I think, switched off and paid the price. I expect thatâs why Arteta was so angry, he knew his players let themselves down. That said, anywhere else on the pitch I reckon the âpushâ earns a free kick. Personally never wanted VAR, still donât. A real benefit of playing in the championship.
Nobody has mentioned the role Raya played in the goal (or didnât play). What a flapper! Any decent goalie catches/punches that.
The Arteta rant was absolutely priceless. I havenât laughed as much for ages
But, but, but, Bob told me Spurs were stupid when buying Vicario instead of wonderboy RayaâŚ
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Of course he didnât realise that we actually turned Raya down.
This from the Beeb made me chortleâŚ
âRatcliffe, who says he is a lifelong United fan, tried and failed to buy Chelsea last yearâ
Hah !!! According to the Beeb, it looks like the hypocrite whiney coach of the Squatters is grovelling around Ramsdale, to save his face now that the Raya experiment failed. In fact, he even âwarnsâ RamsdaleâŚ
If I was Ramsdale, I would tell him to go do one.
Horrid little club.
If anybody has played the game a bit, and you have your own boots, and you are doing nothing this afternoon, can you give Ange a ring.
Preferably if you have played in defence in the past.
I used to play left back and left CB. Last played in 1986 though. Hamstrings might be too tight. And knees âŚ. And back âŚ. And hips âŚ.
Youâll do !!