[Wumminator]

Poor 1st half but very good 2nd half. Really happy with the new signings’ contributions.

No doubt, a few things to work on though of course but you can’t complain after a 4-0 win unless you really are a boring, old miserable sod!

Excellent result to begin the season with.

My MOTM was Wan-Bissaka closely followed by Maguire. Both were tremendous!

Excellent performance. Not the best first half but unbelievable in the second. Ole got his tactics spot on. Only worry I have is when we concede first we have the mental strength to come back. Happy for James. Maguire and AWB were excellent. Still not convinced on our midfield but I am calm now about our attack. Well done to the boys

Great result and will boost confidence but definitely got outplayed at home for large parts of that game. The 2nd goal on the break knocked the stuffing out of them and we kinda cruised home from there.

Positives: Maguire and AWB. James scoring.

Negatives: Selection was poor so was the midfield setup. Pereira and Lingard did very little and should've been subbed off earlier. Pogba needs to be playing further forward. We worked this out last season. Not sure why we're shackling him back again.

Not a 4-0 match but United we’re cynical and effective.

Bollocks. 99% of posters are being overwhelmingly positive.

Here are some quotes from the preceding ten messages.

 

[Cantona in disguise]

One thing I would say after that is the defence looks a lot more comfortable on the ball no more aimless hoofs down the line. That infuriated me so much last season.

The midfield is where we lack real quality. Pogba just needs to keep it simple. McT is still up in the air will he or wont he make the grade in the long run and in this system I'm not so sure. Andreas to me just isn't good enough. We will get punished in some games due to our lack of midfield.

The forwards are two very hit and miss lads but when they hit they are very very good. Again as with pogba keeping it simple, sharp snappy pass and move not these fifa street flicks.

All in all we punished Chelsea and were quite ruthless on the counter. I think we are in for an exciting season and not always in a good way. Looking forward to it.

 

[It's B Rubble]

Delighted for James. His celebration was pure emotion! Everything he’s been through over the summer, to score a goal against Chelsea in you’re debut..

 

[Dansk]

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

Ok.

We need work on our midfield and our combination play, transition and last third clinicalness.

That being said the game plan worked a treat. Got a lead. Sit back, counter and smash them to pieces.

People will moan this is a weak Chelsea side but you can only beat what is in front of you and we've done that and done it handidly.

AWB is a rough diamond, little sloppy defensively and a tad lacking on the ball but what a prospect.

Pereira looked good although the midfield wasn't really at the races and did well for his assist.

Pogba had a weird game, some points looked like he was off balance and his touch was poor but my word what a pass for Rashford.

Maguire was excellent, solid, simple, commanding, good passing. Looked great.

Martial with a good strikers instinct goal, get front of the defender towards that near post.

Rashford had great work rate and effort rewarded with two goals.

Overall work in progress but positive signs!

 

[leontas]

We’re rapid on the counter. What a start though. First half nervy but the pen settled us.

We needed to strengthen our midfield this summer. It felt there was a huge gap between our defence and attack. I still feel we are a defensive mid, attacking mid and right winger away from a solid XI.

 

[BestRed]

F**kin lovin it, what a great start, c'mon United!!

 

[Sentient Meat]

Please don't let this be a false dawn like Moyes vs. Swansea.
We were really lucky that those two early strikes hit the post.
Maguire looked poor at first, but better second half.
Wan Bissaka still looks good other than a few mental errors.
I'm glad Ole's finally giving Pereira a chance even though he didn't really do much this match.
James looked really good in his brief appearance.
Gotta beat Wolves now.

 

[Stacks]

Dodgy for about an hour. Result is a nice treat. Chelsea woeful in defence. Our finishing was ruthless. I can see the positive effect of Maguire. I bet he has never beaten a top 6 side 4-0 before

 

[mu4c_20le]

6250 online in the caf been awhile since we've had numbers like this

 

[Woodzy]

Really took control of the game when we scored the second. Impressive but still a long way to go.

 

[fergosaurus]

That is the big take away for me , we know how strikers thrive on confidence and we need these lads to hit the ground running , Rashfords second goal was very cool and clinical , hope we see much more of that.

Exactly, the last thing we needed was them to go a few games without a goal and have a dip in confidence.

 

[2 man midfield]

Jose had to get that dig in

 

[cyril C]

Well, that was unexpected and probably undeserved. We've no midfield, city and the muck will be cricket scores

Agree with your statement but we do deserve the win. Chelsea is Hazard-less and DC-less, no clinical striker and paid the price.

 

[Imran Mamdani]

very happy with the second half.
still a few glimpses of our negatives from last season - we seem to be slow during the 1st half - hopefully we get better.

GET INNNNN!!!

 

[Massive Spanner]

Here are some quotes from the preceding ten messages.

They're all positive about the performance and result

Maguire literally just said on Sky Sports that we rode our luck in the first half, so what's wrong with people stating it in here?

 

[Sarni]

Please don't let this be a false dawn like Moyes vs. Swansea.
We were really lucky that those two early strikes hit the post.
Maguire looked poor at first, but better second half.
Wan Bissaka still looks good other than a few mental errors.
I'm glad Ole's finally giving Pereira a chance even though he didn't really do much this match.
James looked really good in his brief appearance.
Gotta beat Wolves now.

Way to go man.

 

[crossy1686]

Loved it, more please

 

[SirAnderson]

2 world class assists from Pogba to boot!

 

[EwanI Ted]

Decent game overall, but patchy. Not a dominant game as the scoreline might suggest. We played great on the counter, defended okay in general but when we had to build from the back we really looked lacking in structure.

Thought our pressing was mediocre to be honest and certainly not anything that stood out, which is a bit concerning given that it was supposed to be a key feature of this season's play style. And it's not an exaggeration to suggest that, if Chelsea still had Hazard in their team, he would have been running riot in that first half.

On the plus side, the back four played ok. Maguire and AWB both had solid debuts, plenty for them to be happy about.

We're a long way from the finished article and results like are just what we need to start building confidence. Imperfect perhaps, but encouraging nonetheless.

 

[WensleyMU]

Better side for every minute from the penalty onwards. Tore Chelsea to shreds in the second half. Defensively solid, Maguire deserved MOTM but AWB could have had a claim also.

If you are looking for negatives, then feck you!

 

[United Hobbit]

We were very shaky on the first half and rode our luck, however in the 2nd half its like we suddenly got going.

We looked a lot fitter than Chelsea

Great to see all 3 new signings do well and De Gea looked better too

Some of the pace in those counter attacks

Jose having to comment on Maguire when he wanted him

Wolves will probably be a much sterner test but great start to the season as it could have gone very badly what with Chelsea then Wolves

The goal for 3-0 was fantastic Pogba's pass the Rashy's control and first touch

 

[lewwoo]

Where have all the Maguire haters gone? The mans a rock. All the new signings very good.

 

[Bird Nerd]

I can see being a little hesitant in the first half. New teammates and at home. But I felt in attack and defense we were very good. Without Pogba the midfield would be pretty well screwed with what we have besides him. He was very good today and that delivery to Rashford was top shelf stuff. Wan- Bissaka was also excellent.

 

[Catt]

RvP likes this

Could we just sign him for his sheer hotness?

 

[wr8_utd]

Romelu Whokaku?!

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Very enjoyable match.

Couple of dodgy periods at the beginning and end of first half but Chelsea were terrified when we attacked.
Rashford, Martial, Pogba and Maguire the pick but all played well, McTominay and Shaw bit below the rest.

First time the back 4 have played together and we keep a clean sheet. Maguire looks so calm.

Can't ask for much more than winning 4-0 against Chelsea , been a while since we did that.
Should be massive for the confidence.

Well done.

 

[londonredmaniac]

Much better second half. The goals were excellent. Brilliantly crafted.

 

[fps]

Lots of room for improvement but you just can't be negative winning 4-0 against Chelsea I thought the biggest positives were our new guys, especially Maguire. Our midfield is still very worrying though, the likes of Lingard and Perreira should be nowhere near our first team.

Yep, they're going to have to be the honest tryers this season and we hope their work ethic helps set the tempo and ultimately allow others to win the matches.

 

[montpelier]

Loads better than last year - even during the winning run. I think someone has been watching Liverpool. We don't have the same zip at FB so looks slightly different. Energy was fantastic.

 

[Bilbo]

So many thoughts going around my head at the moment

• Despite the result we still look a long way from a finished article. This is not unexpected though, and of the 3 matches I watched this weekend every side were heavy on early season rust
• The whole attack come alive when we get a chance to counter. Everyone's waiting for those moments. This could end up being such a weapon for us that opponents will adjust their own strategy to deal with us. Only City and Liverpool currently have that power in this league
• Maguire was top class. Easily man of the match. Looked like he'd played here for years
• We aren't going to win the title this season, but it's going to be a bloody fun ride
• Chelsea have huge problems and their kit is dreadful
• We must be patient with this new approach. Sometimes we are going to look dreadful and get spanked and other times like today we'll be the ones to deliver the spanking. Let Ole run with this approach. The squad is young and will often overplay or make the wrong decisions. We have to give the team time to grow

 

[redIndianDevil]

Good result but the first half performance was poor. All the old problems are still there, passing, movement, pressing all have to improve a lot.

Good performers IMO : AWB, McTominay, Macguire, Martial, Rashford and obviously De Gea

Pogba has to cut out faffing around with the ball, Pereira was a bit useless in midfield but got a very good assist.

 

[Tony247]

Very good start of the campaign.

AWB looks 90m player. I had my doubts but I am glad he has proved me wrong. He was solid. Almost motm performance.
Harry brought much needed calmness and positional sense in the back four. Excellent game. Led the line effortlessly. We don't have to worry about those crosses and set pieces anymore.
McT was solid in front of defense. He brings physicality, technique and control, and therefore reassurance.
Shaw was ok. Few times McT and HG covered for him.
Pereira was tireless. Although he is not that intelligent to read the game and build up the attack. But he is a workhorse. Kind of filling Herrera's shoes this season.

Good that Mata and Matic did not start. In their absence Pogba, McT and Lingard connected very well.

Great finishes by Rashford and Marial. What a debut for James. Good for the kid. Greenwood had a chance too.

Martial and Rashford need better understanding though. Some loose balls, time wasting could have been avoided. There were occasions when they should have taken a shot on goal but couple of seconds delay ended up losing the ball. Need improvement in that area. Otherwise good finishes.

Pogba and martial should stop being fancy and stop losing the ball unnecessarily. It didn't work last year, not working this time too.

Lastly about stamina. Except Pogba none look tired after 70 mins. Good sign.

 

[Skåre Willoch]

That was fun.

 

[Robertd0803]

Oh hell yeah. Wonderful result. Not often you end a game vs Chelsea 4-0 and be disappointed we could have scored more.

Some great performances across the team and great to see Martial and Rashford both getting on the score sheet. Daniel James scoring and his celebration caused goosebumps.

 

[Tom Cato]

Very obvious some season opener nerves in the start there. But I don't see that as a weakness of the team, just a fact of life. The anticipation these guys must have felt before kickoff must have been loss of bladder control inducing.

There are so so many great things to take away from this game.

1 game in, and Magiure has me grinning with glee. What an absolute monolith of a centerback he has been this game. We replaced Smalling and Jones with a titan.

AWB was fantastic. Impossible to pass, wins back the ball high on the pitch, and showed up some impressive unexpected dribling skills. Him and Maguire were such tremendous signings for us.

I loved the James swap. He creates such a new dynamic with his speed and acceleration that changes the game for the defenders immediately, drawing free kicks and yellow cards everywhere, and what a dream debut for the kid with a goal. Paul Pogba deserves so much credit not only for his big strides up the pitch on the attack, but the vision to get James the ball.

I saw quite a few possession losses from Pogba today, not for being sloppy but he was trying to do a lot on his own at times. I was a lot happier to see his reaction when losing the ball, or his footing. Chasing the man, or fighting hard to regain it. Incredible key passes on 3 and 4-0 and fantastic effort most of the game. Very happy with this edition of Pogba.

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial earning their wages, 2 for Rashy, 1 for Martial. This is where Lukakus scoring gets replaced.

I don't think anyone on the pitch today had a noteably bad game at all. 1st game nerves, some improvements to be made in passing and establishing pressing, but this is something great to build on.

Overall feeling after game: Ecstatic joy!

 

[Champ]

Second half was actually quite decent.
Fitness levels are much better, still need legs in midfield and a bit of creativity.

 

[Makelele]

Cynical or clinical?

Very defensive. Playing on the counter. At home. Cynical is not very unfair. Though I would accept it wasn’t overly so.

 

[Bratt]

What a great game, I’m absolutely buzzing. Maguire played excellent, Wan-Bissaka was very good, in fact, everyone was very good.

 

[Camy89]

First half - Dodgy. Our first decent move led to the penalty which was rifled home. They hit the bar twice and looked dangerous. Their pressing was causing us all sorts of problems and the lack of quality/composure in the midfield was being exploited as they sliced through us. Pereira, Lingard and Pogba were by far the worst performers of the half - not getting involved, lazy passing, stupid tricks. Our saving grace was the defence which was fantastic. AWB was by far the best player in the first half followed by Maguire. We were lucky to go in 1-0 up.

Second half - Different story. We looked sharper, the defence maintained their high quality (an occasional blip here and there but that can be forgiven) and DDG made some great saves. The latter part of the half was when our midfield seemed to decide to turn up. McTominay got more involved, Pogba threaded through some lovely passes and Lingard even upped his game a bit. Pereira remained fairly anonymous apart from his lovely cross to Martial. We pounced on the momentum and played some great stuff - well deserved win in my opinion. Seeing James' celebration made me smile, these are the players we need at the club: passionate, hungry and young.

All in all I'm happy. Couldn't be happier with AWB and Maguire. Maguire's composure and decision making was a breath of fresh air, he's an absolute unit.

GG boys. G effing G.

 

[Dennis Viollet]

Youth, Courage, Greatness. This Is Manchester United.

 

[2 man midfield]

Lampard is butt hurt as feck