Man Utd Thread:

[seafoid]

Spurs could nick this

Spurs nicking the title is within the realm of possibilities but still very remote. Chelsea are not a team falling apart, have a cozy cushion of 4 points and a downhill run to the finish line.

They were 13 points ahead a month ago and have lost 6 points in the last 4 matches which is not ideal

[Milltown Row2]

Chelsea have dropped points v Utd and Palace but I think it's too late for the rest, Chelsea won't lose their home games, yesterday just brought them a bit closer but four points is a good margin

[seafoid]

Chelsea have dropped points v Utd and Palace but I think it's too late for the rest, Chelsea won't lose their home games, yesterday just brought them a bit closer but four points is a good margin

Chelsea are 1/7 and Tottenham 9/2 with PP
Chelsea have the advantage but they are tired

[DuffleKing]

Why would chlsea be "tired"? They have no European competition to manage all season and are by far the freshest team in the top 6.

Sports coverage really is cliche city

[magpie seanie]

Credit where it's due that was a tactical masterclass and a highly motivated and committed performance by the players. The game was the exact same as the Cup game in Stamford Bridge bar the referee. In that game the crowd possibly had an impact but he bought Hazard and Costa's histrionic ca but thankfully yesterday's ref was spot on and did a great job. How Conte didn't realise what was coming was a mystery. Perhaps he did and was unable to to adapt.

I find it hard at times to reconcile preparation and tactics like yesterday with the repeated mistakes and style of play in other games against lesser teams though.

[thewobbler]

It drives me absolutely f**king nuts that every Mourinho win is feted as a "masterclass". FFS he has shown on at least a dozen occasions this season that he is no smarter or stupider than much less well paid managers.

Yesterday was perhaps a motivation masterclass in that he got his players to believe that running Chelsea into the ground was something worth doing. Beyond that, it had f**k all to do with tactics.

[Captain Obvious]

It drives me absolutely f**king nuts that every Mourinho win is feted as a "masterclass". FFS he has shown on at least a dozen occasions this season that he is no smarter or stupider than much less well paid managers.

Yesterday was perhaps a motivation masterclass in that he got his players to believe that running Chelsea into the ground was something worth doing. Beyond that, it had f**k all to do with tactics.

Chelseas best players completely marked out of the game and they were unable to create a single shot on target as Sky said for the first time since 2007. In fairness I think the tactics was more than just running them into the ground.

[The Stallion]

I don't particularly care for Mourinho's brand of football, and he's a bit of a tit at times, but there's no doubt he's very good at implementing a highly effective tactical plan. He's a better manager than Conte in my opinion.

[Maroon Manc]

It certainly was a tactical masterclass from Jose, United changed formation due to their opponents and man marked their best player.

Bailly & Rojo were very good as was Darmian who showed he might have a future at OT. Pogba disappointed me, thought it was one of his poorer games.

At least it keeps us in the hunt for top 4 although I expect United to finish outside it, if we could at Burnley on Sunday it would leave us in a good position going into the Derby on Thursday week.

[DuffleKing]

Credit where it's due that was a tactical masterclass and a highly motivated and committed performance by the players. The game was the exact same as the Cup game in Stamford Bridge bar the referee. In that game the crowd possibly had an impact but he bought Hazard and Costa's histrionic ca but thankfully yesterday's ref was spot on and did a great job. How Conte didn't realise what was coming was a mystery. Perhaps he did and was unable to to adapt.

I find it hard at times to reconcile preparation and tactics like yesterday with the repeated mistakes and style of play in other games against lesser teams though.

Lesser teams sit deep and leave no space in behind - happy to grind out a draw if they can. The top teams - like Chelsea yesterday - come to play and are exposed to counter attacks. You can't se up like yesterday against teams looking for a draw or you will draw.

[johnneycool]

Looks like Fellaini is key to José's plans, cheap at twice the price...

[magpie seanie]

Credit where it's due that was a tactical masterclass and a highly motivated and committed performance by the players. The game was the exact same as the Cup game in Stamford Bridge bar the referee. In that game the crowd possibly had an impact but he bought Hazard and Costa's histrionic ca but thankfully yesterday's ref was spot on and did a great job. How Conte didn't realise what was coming was a mystery. Perhaps he did and was unable to to adapt.

I find it hard at times to reconcile preparation and tactics like yesterday with the repeated mistakes and style of play in other games against lesser teams though.

Lesser teams sit deep and leave no space in behind - happy to grind out a draw if they can. The top teams - like Chelsea yesterday - come to play and are exposed to counter attacks. You can't se up like yesterday against teams looking for a draw or you will draw.

Yes, I know that and of course different tactics to Sunday are needed but I'm sure these teams defend like that against Spurs and Chelsea yet they seem to have no difficulty scoring goals.

[Maroon Manc]

I'd be worried if we weren't creating chances against the so called lesser teams but we have, it was only really against Hull & West Brom where we didn't create too much. In the home draws against Stoke, West Ham, Burnley, Bournemouth & Everton we created more than enough chances to win a game. Mata & Mkhitaryan have  both contributed in front of goal this season but Lingard, Rashford & Martial have 9 league goals between them this season, this is where the problem lies. Martial is a worry, he's been very poor apart from a few games especially considering how good he looked last season.

[stew]

Credit where it's due that was a tactical masterclass and a highly motivated and committed performance by the players. The game was the exact same as the Cup game in Stamford Bridge bar the referee. In that game the crowd possibly had an impact but he bought Hazard and Costa's histrionic ca but thankfully yesterday's ref was spot on and did a great job. How Conte didn't realise what was coming was a mystery. Perhaps he did and was unable to to adapt.

I find it hard at times to reconcile preparation and tactics like yesterday with the repeated mistakes and style of play in other games against lesser teams though.

Lesser teams sit deep and leave no space in behind - happy to grind out a draw if they can. The top teams - like Chelsea yesterday - come to play and are exposed to counter attacks. You can't se up like yesterday against teams looking for a draw or you will draw.

Yes, I know that and of course different tactics to Sunday are needed but I'm sure these teams defend like that against Spurs and Chelsea yet they seem to have no difficulty scoring goals.

Good point Seanie, this manager and these players have not yet figured out how to break down defensive teams, that is criminal at this time of the year.

[GJL]

How have they not scored a second? That could be a season ender for Zlatan.