[ravi2]

We still need a RW + LB and the game might as well been played in Basel as their fans were the only ones I could hear throughout the game.

 

[groovyalbert]

FFS that picture of Fellaini

 

[ravi2]

Did someone say our boys can't cross the ball? Those two crosses were sweet! Especially the Ashley Young cross.

I think Miki has to be the most frustrating player in that team.

Valencia lost the ability to consistently cross a ball a long time ago and that's a shame because he Sends so many crosses in. Ashley young whipped in 2 or 3 really great crosses today, it was almost unexpected to see quality balls like that being delivered in the box.

 

[sincher]

I have seen plenty of good crosses from Valencia, Blind and Young over the years. Valencia might be in a dodgy patch for it but he can do it fine. Young is the best of them. Darmian and Shaw are the weaker ones. If you compare with other full backs they are really pretty decent.

 

[red_devil83]

Good win without excreting ourselves too much. Frustrating to see Pogba go off, hopefully it was a precaution.

I thought Young was excellent.

 

[Banat]

Couldn't relax and enjoy the game proper after Pogba's injury.
Solid and easy win, think we could rest Matic for this game or at least in second half.

 

[Denis79]

Young always puts in a decent shift when he gets the chance. Did a very good job today. MOTM for me. Fellaini was fantastic to.

 

[Will Singh]

Fellaini slotted in nicely for Pogba. Should have rested Pogba in hindsight but hey that's football. 3 points roll on the next game!

 

[Klopp_De_Klown]

them lot were crap really, weren't they. Still you can only beat whats infront of you. Which we did (in second gear maybe?) and won well.

A solid composed performance with what i would say was a lot of second string players. I know the first 11 is not fully finalised and a lot of "first team" players played too. But Ash, Mike, Lindoloff, Blind and of course Fellaini did well. Giving much needed rest(forced) to others except Pogs. That should help a lot on Sunday. My 2-0 prediction was sunk, not that im too upset about it though.

Delighted with the win, Everton and Rooney on sunday. Hope they have it tough on thursday. Any little advantage we can get we need to take. Hopefully we wont need to exert too much effort in a win until we can get this steamroller up to full pace.

whisper it only amongst yourselves for now but it feels like the start something at United and a good turn around from Sat with some enforced changes too. Still a bit to go yet but by the end of the month we'll know a lot more.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

ffs, can someone change that Fellaini' picture?

He's cool with it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ng-picture-marouane-fellaini-even-manchester/

It's fun.

Youngs is worse. It's the Bird Poop shot is it not?

 

[moodyred]

In 2011, we drew 3-3 with them at home and lost 2-1 away.

We won comfortably this time. I will take that any day.

Shame about Pogba, but injuries are expected and we have the depth to manage.

 

[WR10]

Fellaini looked like Zidane today

 

[hn4manunited]

Solid win. A little shaky in midfield and defense in several periods during the game.

Fellaini motm easily. Matic solid again. Young strong. Martial didn't show why he should start every game. Mikhi good player but frustrating to watch. Mata was quiet. Lukaku strong again! Lindelof a little shaky still but took care of business with smalling. Blind played well. Rashford bring a different level of energy when he plays. David is a beast! Lingard did the job.

Hope Pogba's injury is not too serious. The crutches looked worrying.

 

[automaticflare]

Easy.

Group stages of the champions league are absolute bore fest these days

 

[Bastian]

Great response to the sluggish performance against Stoke. Couldn't really ask for more in terms of a performance and that a defence that's not match fit. 3 players getting on the CL scoresheet, two of them CL debuts.

And Young and Fellaini, top performances.

 

[Sereques]

Mata was poor again offers zero creativity

Get jitters with Lindelof defensively he seems to ball watch. He will improve though with time.

Mikhi and martial had good moments but overall did not impact the game enough.

Afro did v well

Did you watch the game from the beginning?

 

[Offside]

Easy.

Group stages of the champions league are absolute bore fest these days

Didn't we have enough excitement last time in that crazy match against Woflsberg? Give me an uneventful group stage every time.

 

[Android1974]

Fellaini looked like Zidane today

Maybe because he was injured?

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Came in here thinking 'well at least not even the moaners can have any issue with that performance', only to find that they're still fecking complaining.

I honestly think that unless we win 6-0 every week and never let the opposition so much as have a single shot, some folk won't be satisfied.

I feel very old having to point this out.

So damn true. They must be fun at parties. 3-0 champions league win. I'm bummed about Pogba, but for F sake.

 

[Listar]

Came in here thinking 'well at least not even the moaners can have any issue with that performance', only to find that they're still fecking complaining.

I honestly think that unless we win 6-0 every week and never let the opposition so much as have a single shot, some folk won't be satisfied.

I feel very old having to point this out.

Reminds me of good old fergie days when we win most games and almost every game there is complains.

Good to see the bar raised where it should be. Less we want to go back to the dark days of Moyes where every win is a climax and seen as overachievement.

 

[kiristao]

Good performance overall. Controlled the match well.
- Smalling and Lindelof were a bit dodgy at times in the 2nd half but then again, this was their first real match since the Super Cup finals.
- Young was very good. Makes more sense to play him in the EPL when we play teams that are going to sit back and just try and defend.
- Lukaku's work rate was very impressive and a good goal as well.
- Miki was involved a lot but his decision making was quite poor. Lots of times he had players in space but he wanted to do it all by himself. Should have scored twice as well.
- Fellaini - MOTM. A goal & an assist. Actually made some decent passes forward rather than the usual sideways and backwards. Won the ball back several times.

 

[2 man midfield]

Finally someone who can cross a football!

Young was brilliant last night, and added another dimension to our attack. If we had someone who could cross from wide areas last season, we might not have looked so clueless when trying to break down sides who park the bus. We've got all that height, let's get some width and use it. Worked a treat yesterday so let's hope it continues.

 

[Rusholme Ruffian]

Had to watch on a stream with Paul Parker co-commentating. He said a few things that made things which made little sense, I understand now why he comes across so badly whenever he talks about United - it's because he's a dickhead. Clearly one of these pundits who takes pleasure in going against the flow - even when asked who the best United player he ever played with was he said Steve Bruce! Now I love Brucey, but come on, Parker played with the likes of Robbo, Cantona, Giggs, Keano etc?!

 

[André Dominguez]

Solid win, we still have issues on decision making in the last third of the pitch. Some attacking decisions are quite baffling. I Wonder if it's down to manager instructions or if the players are a bit anxious.

 

[Wilt]

ffs, can someone change that Fellaini' picture?

It puts a smile on my face, it shows he gives he really gives it his all ....infact the picture should have its own thread

 

[Dr Fink]

Utd never got out of second gear against a poor Basel team. Job done. Only blighted by Pogba's injury and the fact that the team never got going really enough to shake the crowd out of its malaise. It works both ways. The crowd and the players feed off each other.

I particularly enjoyed sitting in front of some day-trippers who promptly sat down and slagged off the selection of Young. He then crossed for Fellaini to nod in. Young was excellent, only bettered by Fellaini, who I think had his best game for us. I'm a convert - I thought he wasn't good enough but he's raised his game now Jose has expressed publicly, his confidence in him.

Lindelof did OK but wasn't really tested. Smalling looked shaky. Rom got his goal but missed a sitter. Onwards and upwards.

 

[sunama]

United comfortable, Basel faulty.

Oh my...

 

[Acole9]

A more comfortable win than I expected, Basel played exactly how I expected, I think they'll be more of a threat at their place. I like I'm sure all fellow fans are hoping Pogba's injury is not too serious .

 

[mitchmouse]

It wasn't exactly exciting but at least we are back winning games we damn well ought to win. There will be tougher games in our group. Performance-wise, I'm not sure why Lindeloff was getting stick from BT's gang of idiots.. I thought he was pretty good given this was his firs senior game for goodness knows how long. Also, best I've seen Young for possibly ever. Mata was much more involved than usual which was good and I'm glad Jose gave them a bollocking: most of my annoyance with LVG was his sitting there like a bloody waxwork dummy

 

[Ikon]

Have you noticed Lukaku as Rashford strokes in the third?

He wanted the pass and another goal for himself..!!
I like to see a striker eager for more.

 

[Needham]

Five games in and only conceded a goal in one. Why is this not getting more praise?

 

[Icemav]

Many, including myself, complain that we dont have a right wing back who can whip in a decent cross... and suddenly Young appears from the depths of our squad and delivers an absolute beauty!

Problem solved? Or will he never be seen again?

Valencia is a lad but he has had 1000 chances to bend one in... and he cant.

 

[horsechoker]

United comfortable, Basel faulty.

ha

 

[marlowe78]

Comfortable win and good start to our European campaign. I was expecting Basel to look like one of the teams we faced in Europa last season and they seem to fit that profile. We started out well, had them pinned back early, and carried matters from there.

Positives:

* Outstanding return performance by Ashley Young. He looked a bit dodgy defensively but going forward he really put his stamp on the game and made a superb cross to Fellaini for the first goal. Valencia has played endless minutes at RB over the past season and I can't remember him putting in half as good a cross as that.

* Excellent off-the-bench game by Fellaini, MOTM by far. Naturally, he can't do the things that Pogba offers but to come off the bench amidst a big injury and put in such a solid game is impressive. Was actually very good with his passing and general discipline.

* Lindelof IMO had a very good 1st half - he looked focused, tried to get involved in the attack, and played some really nice passes through. In the 2nd half he didn't look as sharp, as his positioning was off a couple of times. But I think he really has the potential to become our best CB, especially with his ball-playing ability. His touch and passing easily rate with that of Blind's, who I think has been our best handler when played in the middle.

* Smalling I also thought was pretty good considering he hasn't played lately. Both of the CBs looked good to me.

* Lukaku and Rashford score again.

* I'm surprised that Martial was criticized a lot. I think he looked lively and made some good runs. We should've given him the ball more.

Negatives:

* Pogba, obviously.

* Matic was good for most of the game but got sloppy towards the end. I'm wondering if he was tired and needed to be subbed off. I think Jose should be more willing to use Carrick, especially with the game secured.

* Mata had another of his 'flash' games - one or two moments of superb technique and doing little for the rest. Went invisible in the 2nd half and deserved to be brought off.

* Mkhitaryan makes poor decisions that are on Nani level. He is immensely skilled and I'll make the argument that when he's got space to run or drives at goal he is our most exciting player. But there are times when he needs to pass and instead tries to beat 3 men or he'll make daft passes like the one that nearly cost us a goal in the 2nd half. If he gets this sorted out, he can be one of the best creative players in the league.

* Balanta should've been sent off.

I think this is about a 7/10 performance. With Benfica losing at home, we're in a great position early in the group and a bit of a cushion with some tougher games coming up.

 

[ghagua]

Decent win. Mata offered as little as you possibly can while on the pitch. How much longer is he going to retain his place.

 

[Sandikan]

Easy.

Group stages of the champions league are absolute bore fest these days

Did you prefer last year's version?

 

[TimScoreboard]

made harder work of it than we needed to, but a very comfortable start to the campaign. Delighted for Fellaini and I loved the simplicity of the first goal. Great pass to Ashley, lovely ball in and an emphatic finish, simple football, executed perfectly.

We'll have tougher challenges, but if we do the basics right, we'll walk this group.

 

[carlosp]

ffs, can someone change that Fellaini' picture?

Agreed

@Niall

It's such a stupid picture as well and does Fellaini no justice.

 

[sammsky1]

Agreed

@Niall

It's such a stupid picture as well amd does Fellaini no justice.

Agreed again. Pls change that picture of Fellaini. Its so disrespectful and does not reflect the opinions of many posters. Just a normal portrait would be Great, like all other players.

 

[The Mitcher]

Had to watch on a stream with Paul Parker co-commentating. He said a few things that made things which made little sense, I understand now why he comes across so badly whenever he talks about United - it's because he's a dickhead. Clearly one of these pundits who takes pleasure in going against the flow - even when asked who the best United player he ever played with was he said Steve Bruce! Now I love Brucey, but come on, Parker played with the likes of Robbo, Cantona, Giggs, Keano etc?!

TBH Steve is one our greatest ever Centrebacks and leaders, not many defenders of his calibre today. You can kind of see why he would think that, its not exactly going against the grain is it?