[carlosp]

And he needs to learn how to cook tofu.

 

[Unmutual]

That was the first game to worry me about our attack. Liverpool, we always play shite there, and we got a point, no big deal. Spurs we didn't make many chances, but I thought that was just two teams grappling for supremacy and, of the two, we had the best of it. Even Huddersfield was more about not being up for the game than it was about not trying to score goals.

But last night, there wasn't much excuse. We got 1-0 up, at home, with 9 points on the board already, against the worst team in the group and with the safety net of another home game to come. And we still didn't push up and try and score more goals. If we're not going to attack in numbers then, when will we?

 

[superdry]

That was the first game to worry me about our attack. Liverpool, we always play shite there, and we got a point, no big deal. Spurs we didn't make many chances, but I thought that was just two teams grappling for supremacy and, of the two, we had the best of it. Even Huddersfield was more about not being up for the game than it was about not trying to score goals.

But last night, there wasn't much excuse. We got 1-0 up, at home, with 9 points on the board already, against the worst team in the group and with the safety net of another home game to come. And we still didn't push up and try and score more goals. If we're not going to attack in numbers then, when will we?

When we haven't got a massive game on Sunday maybe?

 

[Ban]

The journos yes, and the pundits, after the interview, bt sports, and Paul were able to say that the decision of Jose to make blind the penalty taker meant that we were a bit disorganized because we should've decided before the game who should have took the penalty in case Martial wasn't on the pitch.

Usually the worse are our ex players because they try so much to be unbiased.

They always find a way to criticize the club.

With that said, the press and pundits are paid for that, Jose knows that, I don't think it's wise to act like he is, even if I think that he's fully justified in what he thinks about the press and the pundits.

If it wasnt that it would be something else to criticize him for. Paul Parker is goddamn awful. Miserable sod.

 

[Heardy]

Relatively surprised at the criticism here. Effective performance for the most part without having to over exert ourselves in preparation for Chelsea!

Martial was good going forward but unfortunately struggled for end product, but hardly a bad performance all in. Rashford looked very good when he came on as well.

Nice to see Matic chip in with a goal and Blind to get on the scoresheet as well.

Can't help agreeing with Mourinho that there is little pleasing some fans. We entered the tournament through the back door and have 4 wins in 4. We are a gnat's whisker from being in the knockout stages!

 

[Galactico]

I actually took quite a few positives from yesterday’s game. Lukaku showed us that he is more than just about scoring goals. I thought he showed real strength and quick movement and harassed their back line really well - he is a real threat to any team when he plays like that. I know he should have done better with his chance but I’m not worried about that. Martial is on the brink of having things just ‘click’ and when it happens, we are going to see a great, consistent player. McTominay really impressed me - making forward runs and good link up play. Very promising display. De Gea, as always, world class and I’ve noticed really excellent distribution in his last couple of games too. Matic was very good again and has a better shot on him than people realise. When Rashford came on, again we saw that desire we always get from him and his link up play with Lukaku seems to be getting better too.

As with every game, there will be some ‘average’ performances too, but I think there were some good displays and I’m genuinely excited about the weekend game now.

 

[Escobar]

We never had to move into 2nd gear and we won. Between Spurs and Chelsea, it was what Jose wanted I guess. However, our attacking play is pretty poor atm and if we dont improve rapidyl, we will be in troube. In the last 5 or so games, we hardly were able to create chances for Lukaku

 

[I Believe]

It was never going to be a classic CL match, given the relative positions of the two teams in the group. I thought Benfica made a game of it, but as others have said we rarely got out of second gear and in truth there was no real need to do so.

I thought Scott McTominay started to add some composure to his play especially in the second half, his 'quick legs' also made some valuable tackles and interceptions and although not MOTM his personal performance showed improvement.

De Gea once again showed his class and got his defenders out of a few scrapes, for me those three saves made him once again MOTM.

Martial did some amazing runs at the defence but mostly without end product, but he did double back and cover the left side when Benfica came at us from the right.

Lukaku again cut a lonely figure up front on his own, at times no United player with twenty yards of him, when we were attacking. Going for goal he looks menacing, but receiving the ball with his back to goal and his close control issues are there for all to see and need some working on.

 

[Unmutual]

When we haven't got a massive game on Sunday maybe?

Good performances breed good performances. If we'd played on the front foot last night and knocked in 4, we'd be going into the Chelsea game in much higher spirits.

 

[TRD]

Its good that we are nearly to the next round. Impressed by McTominay's performance. But we seriously need a player who can play killer balls. Pogba's absence have hurt us badly.

 

[misterredmist]

It wasn't a bad game, fair play to Benfica, they had nothing to lose and played quite well, but we did create good situations and may be didn't make the best of them.

I sometimes think people forget how far we slumped after Fergie left, as witnessed by the fact this will be our first progression to the UCL knockouts in 4 years...... patience and perspective required me thinks

 

[mitchmouse]

efficient but not exciting. not many stand-out performances although Matic and Martial - although it was pretty clear he was going to miss the penalty -- were very good as was DDG. We need some width and Lukaku needs to improve his first touch, actually needs to find one. I find it hard to believe a professional footballer lets the ball bounce off him so often.

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

Another dull, lifeless performance but a crucial 3pts. We'll top the group easily, IMO. I'm fed up of watching us these last few games though, it's venturing into LVG territory now.

We need a big, emphatic win to kickstart our confidence again. Unfortunately, looking at the fixtures, I can see Jose dragging us to Xmas winning ugly at best, fair enough.

 

[Unmutual]

It wasn't a bad game, fair play to Benfica, they had nothing to lose and played quite well, but we did create good situations and may be didn't make the best of them.

I sometimes think people forget how far we slumped after Fergie left, as witnessed by the fact this will be our first progression to the UCL knockouts in 4 years...... patience and perspective required me thinks

tbf we won the Europa League last year. I wouldn't say that makes us big dogs or anything, but its not like playing in Europe is a new experience to this group of players, particularly against the quality of teams that are in our group.

 

[superdry]

Good performances breed good performances. If we'd played on the front foot last night and knocked in 4, we'd be going into the Chelsea game in much higher spirits.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you, I'm just taking into account how much better Benfica played, and how much extra work would've had to be done to totally dominate them, when what we did sufficed. SAF did it all the time in Europe.

 

[Mitser]

So good how we are winning these games without key players and not playing our best football.
Given where we were 2 seasons ago, I'm so happy we finally got Jose on board.

 

[Neil67]

At this stage of the season and given our injuries it’s all about getting the results, job done.

 

[Jagga7]

Got the result done with minimal effort which is great at this stage and with Chelsea at the weekend.

The performance was poor, this Benfica side is pretty dire but they had ample opportunities in the game to score.

 

[shield]

That was ...what to say... Ok, I guess. Chelsea over the weekend and players missing and we won, so..., got to feel happy maybe.

Only, I don't. Felt it was a very poor performance, but got to get used to it and force myself to feel good about it, but still, pretty dire stuff , but then Chelsea, Pogba, Fellaini , best start something .. something so ... should feel good.

 

[Unmutual]

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you, I'm just taking into account how much better Benfica played, and how much extra work would've had to be done to totally dominate them, when what we did sufficed. SAF did it all the time in Europe.

SAF was certainly more pragmatic than nostalgia leads some fans to recall. But over the course of his career, Fergie left no-one in any doubt that he loved attacking football.

With Mourinho it feels like we're reverting to last season's safety first football already, at a point when it hardly seems necessary. As I say, last night was as low risk as a competitive football game gets in terms of context, and Benfica were a bit more lively than last time but still very average. Are we only going to go for it in games against completely passive opponents where we also have a full week off after the game? Because entertaining games are going to be very thin on the ground if that's the case.

I just hope that Mourinho has viewed this tricky little run of games between the two international breaks as one of those where its better to just get through it in tact, and we'll see a little more ambition from the Newcastle game onwards.

 

[Ballache]

The commentator on Bein mentioned that we didn't actually run that much yesterday and he was convinced it was due to instructions from Jose. Any truth in this?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

SAF was certainly more pragmatic than nostalgia leads some fans to recall. But over the course of his career, Fergie left no-one in any doubt that he loved attacking football.

With Mourinho it feels like we're reverting to last season's safety first football already, at a point when it hardly seems necessary. As I say, last night was as low risk as a competitive football game gets in terms of context, and Benfica were a bit more lively than last time but still very average. Are we only going to go for it in games against completely passive opponents where we also have a full week off after the game? Because entertaining games are going to be very thin on the ground if that's the case.

I just hope that Mourinho has viewed this tricky little run of games between the two international breaks as one of those where its better to just get through it in tact, and we'll see a little more ambition from the Newcastle game onwards.

I'm hoping that too. And I think his hand has been forced somewhat by being down to the bare bones in central midfield. Pogba, Fellaini and Carrick are all very different players but are all capable of making us more of a threat, or at the very least, freshening things up and giving some of our more jaded looking players (i.e. Matic) a break.

 

[Android1974]

SAF was certainly more pragmatic than nostalgia leads some fans to recall. But over the course of his career, Fergie left no-one in any doubt that he loved attacking football.

With Mourinho it feels like we're reverting to last season's safety first football already, at a point when it hardly seems necessary. As I say, last night was as low risk as a competitive football game gets in terms of context, and Benfica were a bit more lively than last time but still very average. Are we only going to go for it in games against completely passive opponents where we also have a full week off after the game? Because entertaining games are going to be very thin on the ground if that's the case.

I just hope that Mourinho has viewed this tricky little run of games between the two international breaks as one of those where its better to just get through it in tact, and we'll see a little more ambition from the Newcastle game onwards.

Run of important away games with just two central midfielders available and the best player and pendulum of the team out with injury. Hardly necessary…

 

[Todd]

4 wins out of 4, only one goal conceded and we're in a better position right now than any other group leader. One more point from our final two matches wins us the group.

We'd have to be pretty pleased with that if we were at full strength, let alone the fact that we're missing our best player.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

People keep saying things like 'boring to watch" etc. If you don't like it then don't watch. I was bored from time to time watching United play under Van Gaal but more often than not I was always excited to watch the games and mostly enjoyed the games. This season I have not been bored once. If you are bored watching your own team play then I suggest you stop watching United play or go and support another team. Even the least entertaining games this season are a far cry from under Van Gaal.

I bet half the people complaining about the boring matches have never even been to Old Trafford to watch us play and if they have then it will be on the rare occasion.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

4 wins out of 4, only one goal conceded and we're in a better position right now than any other group leader. One more point from our final two matches wins us the group.

We'd have to be pretty pleased with that if we were at full strength, let alone the fact that we're missing our best player.

But we aren't playing exciting football and I am bored out of mind every game. Why can't we just lose 3-0 like Chelsea, at least it is entertaining. Am I right?

 

[Android1974]

But we aren't playing exciting football and I am bored out of mind every game. Why can't we just lose 3-0 like Chelsea, at least it is entertaining. Am I right?

Or, even better, like 4-1 entertaining Liverpool against Tottenham.

 

[Unmutual]

I bet half the people complaining about the boring matches have never even been to Old Trafford to watch us play and if they have then it will be on the rare occasion.

Sigh. Aren't we past this stuff yet? Its not like you don't hear some absolute shite from people walking out the ground.

 

[Member 57516]

I actually took quite a few positives from yesterday’s game. Lukaku showed us that he is more than just about scoring goals. I thought he showed real strength and quick movement and harassed their back line really well - he is a real threat to any team when he plays like that. I know he should have done better with his chance but I’m not worried about that. Martial is on the brink of having things just ‘click’ and when it happens, we are going to see a great, consistent player. McTominay really impressed me - making forward runs and good link up play. Very promising display. De Gea, as always, world class and I’ve noticed really excellent distribution in his last couple of games too. Matic was very good again and has a better shot on him than people realise. When Rashford came on, again we saw that desire we always get from him and his link up play with Lukaku seems to be getting better too.

As with every game, there will be some ‘average’ performances too, but I think there were some good displays and I’m genuinely excited about the weekend game now.

This. We're not perfect at the moment, injuries, plus fatigue in a few cases I think, but I agree with you, plenty of positives.

 

[CG1010]

Our performance wasn't bad, even if it wasn't hyper-aggressive. I genuinely feel people's opinions have been distorted by their past views of Mourinho and the current off-the-field narratives by him and the media,etc. Sad that these things are being allowed by some to ruin their fun of watching United's matches. If you were ignore everything else, and just focus on what is happening on the pitch, you will be thrilled by the improvement from past seasons. Last season we would have struggled to even score a single goal in this match.
Plus, we have hardly been vintage United in Champions league group games usually. But at time 'attacking' manager SAF was in charge so that was ok.

 

[zenith]

Very happy with the result and frankly that's all that matters right now given the state of our injuries and the very tough fixture schedule.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Atrocious game and unless you're a Utd fan not worthy of watching.

Our defence looks solid even though Bailly spent half of it asleep.

A win's a win, no one wins the UCL in November

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Sigh. Aren't we past this stuff yet? Its not like you don't hear some absolute shite from people walking out the ground.

Even so, no wonder every other club hates United and the fan base. Because they are spoilt from the glory days of Sir Alex. Spitting the dummy out of the pram at the slightest thing. People need to grow up acting like children, it is pathetic.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

Atrocious game and unless you're a Utd fan not worthy of watching.

Our defence looks solid even though Bailly spent half of it asleep.

A win's a win, no one wins the UCL in November

But how many other teams have to play Spurs and Chelsea either side of a CL game. The tem did brilliantly to win, get no injuries and not have to get out of second gear. As a bonus McTominay played the full game.

 

[iHicksy]

The Metro ran on the back page today "Lucky Devils" and stated that the O.G was the winning goal, hence why we were lucky. Winning goal? We won 2-0 you absolute cretins.

 

[Fully Fledged]

And he needs to learn how to cook tofu.

I don't think he does from his post.

 

[Pace Abuser]

The commentator on Bein mentioned that we didn't actually run that much yesterday and he was convinced it was due to instructions from Jose. Any truth in this?

There was a point in the game where Matic was signaling the players to slow down.

 

[Android1974]

There was a point in the game where Matic was signaling the players to slow down.

That's the reason the Serbian had to play this game, he controls our tempo.

 

[Foxbatt]

I don't think Jose instructs his players to pass the ball to the opposition deliberately. I don't think he tells them that they should head the ball back to the opposition either or tell them to hoof it up anywhere under no pressure and when no opposing player is near you.
These are the exact things we are doing now so these are professional football players playing for one of the biggest clubs in the World. All Internationals for their countries. I am sure that most of us here would not do it. So the players must take responsibility for these things.

 

[Acole9]

So long as we win I'm past caring about how we play. It's a secondary requirement. Trophies are way more important.