MATCH REVIEW - BRIGHTON v MANCHESTER UNITED

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TALKING POINTS

It was a bright start from Manchester United as they looked to dominate proceedings, something which they had failed to do in the past few games. Mata was dictating play from midfield as United kept on building towards a final ball. Their first chance came when a Brandon Williams' through ball was intelligently pulled back for Odion Ighalo who failed to make the chance pay. From then  on, it went downhill for Ighalo as he didn't get into the game. Brighton slowly grew into the game but failed to materialise any of the chances as United's defence led by Eric Bailly was extremely rigid. Late in the half, Mata was brought down near the penalty box. From the following free-kick by Mata, McTominay put United in the lead through an easy header into the net.

Brighton started the second half with a point to prove as they were searching for an equalizer. Near the hour mark Leandro Trossard and Neil Maupay were introduced with the instructions to get them back into the game. They nearly did but Leo Trossard was denied by a De Gea-esque reflex save (seemed almost impossible to stop). Following that, Ole introduced Rashford and Pogba to take the game away. Shortly afterwards, Mata deservedly got on the scoresheet as knocked the ball into the net from a smart flick by Van de Beek. The linkup play between both of them was exquisite throughout the game. To wrap up the game Pogba thumped a free kick home into the net to put the Red Devils into the quarte-finals of the Carabao Cup. 

TACTICS REVIEW

I almost got the selection right. Diogo Dalot surprisingly (although shouldn't be) started with Lindelof pairing Bailly. McTominay paired with Fred and Van de Beek in midfield and the front three was as predicted - James , Ighalo and Mata. The formation stayed the same i.e. 4 - 2 - 3 - 1. 

HITANSHU'S VERDICT

Thankfully, this time around it wasn’t a nerve-wracking finish against Brighton. It was a much more composed performance from Manchester United as compared to the one last weekend. It was a much more convincing win. This match could almost serve as an audition for many United players as Solskjaer made 10 changes to the side that played last week. Eric Bailly performed excellently tonight and could even have been a contender for Man of the Match if not for Mata’s brilliance. He has been really solid at the back and the gaffer must be considering him in his plans for the Tottenham game. While Dalot had a decent game, I personally was expecting more from him as it was his first start in a long time. Dan James was played on his preferred LW today but he couldn’t get going either. Though both him and Ighalo lacked much service, they were unable to affect the match or stretch the opposition. Brandon Williams put in an average performance as well though I would like to see if his performances improve when he’s played as a RB. All in all, it was a good performance by The Red Devils with Mata, Bailly and Van de Beek excelling, while Pogba would be happy to chip in with a good performance as well..


VARUN'S VERDICT

A dominant performance from Manchester United was all I could ask for and they delivered. There were a couple of impressive individual performances and room for improvement in some. Mata was absolutely brilliant as he pulled all the strings and capped off a great performance with a goal and an assist. It was almost as if he wanted to say that 'I'm not done yet at Old Trafford' . Bailly was superb and my predicted player to watch out for did not disappoint as he bossed Brighton's attackers and even made Lindelof look good. Van de Beek and Mata's link up play was a joy to watch and I was extremely pleased to see Pogba gain some confidence as he scored the free-kick. 

There is room for improvement however in some areas. Brandon Williams has been disappointing for quite a while now and we need a new left back badly in this transfer window. I do hope that Dalot plays more as he needs to build confidence and I will be disappointed if we ship him away as he has the potential to be great. Dan James clearly needs a loan move as he is simply not up for it at the moment and Ighalo's deal should not be extended at any cost. Cavani is a free agent and he will be a much better than the Nigerian. The loan simply hasn't worked out for him. 

MAN OF THE MATCH

JUAN MATA - Mata was the best player on the pitch for me as he marked off a brilliant performance with a goal and an assist and this doesn't even tell the whole story. He created the most chances in the game and deservedly is our Man of the match. 


Blogger at The Devil's Den https://the-devilsden.blogspot.com/

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