I didn't see the game live last night, so my reading of the game is probably not as objective as I'd like it to be. A few weeks ago I thought this might turn out to be as hard a game, if not harder than the trip to the Emirates. But after Southampton's dip in form after their defeats to Arsenal and City, I thought it might be a good time to be playing them.
None of that takes into account Van Gaal's, brave, bull headed, take your pick, decision to continue with the three at the back that saw us perform like a shapeless rabble during the first half at Arsenal. And guess what, they played as if it was the first time they had met each other again, and that was despite being gifted the opening goal, as a careless back pass from Southampton defender Fonte was received gratefully by Van Persie and dispatched beautifully by the Dutchman who had his best game in a long, long time. He was probably our player of the match, there wasn't much competition though, Young had another reasonable game, after that?
Another defensive injury, Smalling went off after ten minutes, didn't help, but seeing as though we kept the same shape, I don't think that can be much of an excuse. Individual mistakes, all over the shop, Mata was invisible, Fellaini was the Belgian we saw under Moyes, Rooney tried hard, but he had nothing around him, no support. Herrera came on, but was no better, as Carrick was pushed back to centre half. It was interesting to note that when Southampton got their equaliser, Carrick was the United player closest trying to close him down. Trouble was, he was still playing in midfield at the time, where were three centre halves?
I'm not sure the second half was that much of an improvement, going forward United created absolutely nothing. The back three were still dicing with death at the back and there were still numerous sloppy passes in the middle of the park. But Southampton couldn't make the most of it, and when they threatened to, they found De Gea still on top form.
So third spot, it doesn't seem to matter how badly we play at the moment, it's onwards and upwards. With Liverpool on Sunday, long may that continue. Oh for a proper United performance though.
None of that takes into account Van Gaal's, brave, bull headed, take your pick, decision to continue with the three at the back that saw us perform like a shapeless rabble during the first half at Arsenal. And guess what, they played as if it was the first time they had met each other again, and that was despite being gifted the opening goal, as a careless back pass from Southampton defender Fonte was received gratefully by Van Persie and dispatched beautifully by the Dutchman who had his best game in a long, long time. He was probably our player of the match, there wasn't much competition though, Young had another reasonable game, after that?
Another defensive injury, Smalling went off after ten minutes, didn't help, but seeing as though we kept the same shape, I don't think that can be much of an excuse. Individual mistakes, all over the shop, Mata was invisible, Fellaini was the Belgian we saw under Moyes, Rooney tried hard, but he had nothing around him, no support. Herrera came on, but was no better, as Carrick was pushed back to centre half. It was interesting to note that when Southampton got their equaliser, Carrick was the United player closest trying to close him down. Trouble was, he was still playing in midfield at the time, where were three centre halves?
I'm not sure the second half was that much of an improvement, going forward United created absolutely nothing. The back three were still dicing with death at the back and there were still numerous sloppy passes in the middle of the park. But Southampton couldn't make the most of it, and when they threatened to, they found De Gea still on top form.
So third spot, it doesn't seem to matter how badly we play at the moment, it's onwards and upwards. With Liverpool on Sunday, long may that continue. Oh for a proper United performance though.
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