Posts by Maria Kazi

Exceptional Performance- Ole Gunnar is impressed with his team.

Premier League

Manchester United showed a wonderful display against Brighton last night as they continue their great form and unbeaten run.

18 year old Greenwood showed some amazing footwork scoring past the seagulls defender Lewis Dunk to give United a lead.

Bruno Fernandez who has scored 5 goals since his signing netted a deflected volley to give United an advantage over the hosts.

David De Gea who was highly criticised by Roy Keane made some wonderful saves when Brighton posed a threat in the second half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu-0yUJFXIs
Full match highlights.

United share the 5th position on the table with Wolves will look for an entry in the Champions League since Man City has been banned from the European competitions.

Ole’s Post-match words:
“I knew there was a leader there, a winner and we knew we needed that type of player. Fair play and well done to the club for making the deal happen. It was hard because of course you [Sporting Lisbon] don’t want to sell your best player and he’s come in and been fantastic. His second goal was good defending on a set-play and we know we’ve got pace and we wanted to counter quickly. It was a great pass by Nemanja, a great cross from Mason and fantastically finished by Bruno so I’m very, very happy with all the goals.”

All smiles after the game.

“I rate this performance highly. Fantastic from the word go. The boys were full of confidence and quality.”

Ole

Here are the unmissable stats from the game that Manutd.com noted down.

The unbeaten run
The Red Devils have continued their unbeaten run of 15 games: winning 11 games and drawing 4. Bayern Munich is the only team in Europe’s top 5 leagues who has a better record: 25 games without defeat.

Greenwood
Mason Greenwood is the first player to score 4 goals at the age of 18 or young in a single Premier League season since Wayne Rooney scored 9 for Everton in 2003/2004.

Mason Greenwood scored an opening goal in 3-0 win against Brighton.

Best start since Robin Van Persie
Bruno has been directly involved in eight goals from his first eight league games for United and only Robin van Persie had more goal involvements (nine) after as many games with the club.

That assist
Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s assist for Greenwood’s opener was his fourth from 29 Premier League appearances with United: one more than he provided in 42 league games for Crystal Palace.

Bruno Effect
Since making a debut in February Fernandes has been directly involved in more goals across all competitions (10) than any other Premier League player – six goals and four assists.

Bruno Fernandez celebrates after scoring against Brighton.

Most celebrated United Duo
Paul Pogba and Fernandes have spent 219 minutes on the field together. In that time, United have scored eight goals and conceded none.

League double after 38 years
We completed a league double over Brighton for the first time since the 1981/82 season, with Tuesday night’s 3-0 success being our first Premier League away win over the Seagulls at the third attempt. They were promoted to the top flight in 2017 after a 34-year absence.

Greenwood dedicated his goal to Angel Gomes who is set to leave United at the end of the season.

Our goalkeeping genius
David De Gea made his 397th United appearance on Tuesday and the goalkeeper is now only one match behind Peter Schmeichel, who played 398 times during his iconic career as a Red. 

The clean sheets
United have kept eight clean sheets from the last 13 Premier League games, which is more than the Reds managed in Solskjaer’s first 40 games as the boss (seven). Furthermore, only Liverpool (seven) have conceded fewer Premier League goals in 2020 than United (eight).

A brilliant performance after a long time, we showed quality and played proper attacking football. Hope we continue this form and qualify for the Champions League next season.

United will play Bournemouth on 4th July, 7:30 IST

Match facts: Brighton vs United

Premier League

Manchester United will be looking to continue their unbeaten run of 14 games till the end of the season when they play against Brighton tonight, while the Red Devils are challanging to finish under top 4.

“Any Manchester United team should go into any game against any opposition believing they can win that game,” said Ole

Ole’s men grabbed 3-1 victory against the hosts in November at Old Trafford.
Where we saw our youngsters score.

“The short answer [if they can go unbeaten] is yes, but the long answer is that there’s more to it than that. Of course, different things can play a part in this run, but we hope to extend it and want it for as long as possible.

“We’re just going to take one game at a time. We know there’s games every two or three days. We need a squad, everyone needs to play a part and we’re delighted with the way things are going at the moment.”

United train ahead of Brighton game.

Hope United score no less than 3 goals.

Finally after seven years, United managed to score a hat-trick.

Premier League

The hat-trick drought is finally lifted by Anthony Martial, who became the first player to score three goals in 7 years. The last player to do so was Robin Van Persie in 2013 against Aston Villa.

United hosted Sheffield United at Old Trafford with the aim of stealing all three points and they did just that. Which mean the Reds continue their unbeaten run (13 games) in all competitions.

Manchester United move closer to top 4 who are just 2 points away from Chelsea who plays Man City in their next fixture.

Martial’s firsts: Anthony Martial has scored his first hat-trick and scored in three successive PL home games for the first time in his United career.

After Sheffield United’s loss yesterday they are three consecutive games without a win since the PL resumed and sitting on the 8th position on the Premier League table.
Over a week ago Sheffield was two points behind United with a game in hand.

With Martial’s three wonderful goals he has equaled the the number of goals (19) scored by his fellow team mate Marcus Rashford in all competitions.
Who do you think will be the top scorer in 2019-2020 season?

Rashford provided two assist yesterday.

Another amazing stat: Rashford, Martial and Greenwood have now scored 50 goals between them this season.
Source: Manchester United.

With Pogba back United are much stronger and looking confident.

Fans were quite impressed by Matic.

Anthony, well done. Your first hat-trick for United, how did it feel?
“I feel very good. It’s my first hat-trick in my career, so I hope I will score more. I’m happy because the team played very good today so I think it’s good.”

Was your favourite goal the hat-trick one? It was a great build-up.
“The last one, I think the last one. It was a very good goal. The first two were two good goals, like a real number nine and I know the manager is happy for these to go in. He was happy.”

You’ve got 19 goals, Marcus has got 19 goals – is there a little competition to see who gets to 20 first?
“He gave me one or two assists today, so the most important  [thing] is to win. I tried to give him a chance to score – no competition, we just want to win.”

Obviously, you’d love to score a hat-trick in front of 75,000 people screaming your name.

“It was really nice. The fans were happy… no, it was a little bit strange! I know they will be happy for me and it’s good to play like this.”

Anthony Martial
Robin Van Persie tweeted after the game.
wtch full match highlights and Martial’s first hat-trick.

United play Norwich on 27th, 10:00 Pm IST.

Match preview: United vs Sheffield United

Premier League

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was encouraged by Manchester United’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday evening and he is expecting all three points against Sheffield United today.

In the reverse fixture, United was two down in the first half itself but made a come back after 70′ min in the game. But 90′ minute goal by Sheffield’s McBurnie led it to a draw.

Sheffield has had a bad start since the Premier League was resumed, they lost against Newcastle and had their goal disallowed against Aston Villa.

United celebrate goal against Sheffield.


After drawing against Spurs the Reds will look for 3 points today. Ole is determined and happy with the performance of his team. Manchester City’s Europe ban gives United an advantage to compete in the Champions League and United will leave no chance to work towards it.

It will be hard to see six-goal thriller again today but Ole will make sure United do not share or give away the points today. United have conceded only thrice in their last 12 fixture.

The Red in the training earlier this week.


Solskjaer will be looking to start Pogba and we will likely be able to see his much-awaited partnership with Bruno.

After the game against Spurs, most of us would agree on starting players like Greenwood, Pogba and bench Martial and James.

When the teams clashed the last time.

“We looked at the game and evaluated, and I think we should be happy with the performance. We’re never happy when we don’t win a game, but we created chances, we were closest to winning the game. We didn’t really have too many moments when we felt under pressure during the game. Yeah, it took a little bit of time to get going, as you would expect after three months, but some of the play was excellent and some individual quality was excellent. So we’re disappointed with one point still, but looking forward now to Sheffield United”.

Ole

Since Bruno Fernandes’ debut, no United player has scored more goals (4), created more assists (4), had more shots (38), shots on target (15), created more chances (26) or played more passes into the penalty area (98).

Scott McTominay signed a long term contract which will keep him till 2025 at the club.

“Yeah. We don’t have any other injury issues. I think they all managed to get through the game. They were tired towards the end, some of them, but we’ve got another 90 minutes under our belt and we’re ready to go again.”

Ole on injuries

Manchester United vs Sheffield United tonight at 10:30 Pm IST.

Ole on the reverse fixture which ended in 3-3.

“Yeah, it was one of those that we showed in moments there what we can do. In those 10-15 minutes in the second half, we were exceptional, and then they also proved how hard they are to play against. They’re hard to break down, good on set plays, they’re strong, they’re fit, well organised, and they had the fans behind them. It’s a difficult place to go to, Bramall Lane, when you meet them on a day like that. Or anywhere that Man United go, it’s a cup final for the home fans. So it was an extraordinary game. Too bad we didn’t hold on to the three points.”

3-3 match highlight of our previous meeting with Sheffield.

“Disappointed with one point, I think we deserve more”

Premier League

The much-awaited game after lockdown has been played and I as a United fan wasn’t satisfied with the result. We lacked quality and stability, at one point we were running across the pitch with good counter and losing possession in the next second.

It was Spurs who scored first at 27′, their January signing Steven Bergwijn scored a stunner collecting the ball 40 yards from goal, soaring past United defence and firing at David De Gea which could have been saved easily.

In limited time Pogba proved how important he is for the club he completed 17 out of his 18 passes against Spurs, including 3/3 long balls, and was successful with both take-on attempts. Only 1/18 passes were backwards.

Both the team displayed “Black Lives Matter” on their shirt.

Daniel James seemed to have a dull game, he managed only 31 touches and losing the ball quickly.

Mason Greenwood and Pogba’s addition to the team made a good difference, Greenwood almost scored a winner but unfortunately, his strike went wide and with just 45 seconds of entering the game Pogba managed to hit a shot at goal but was blocked by the Spurs defender.
Both the sides looked for more goals and United had upped their hopes when they received a penalty again only to be ruled off by VAR and rightly so.

Jose tactics seemed to be working as United have not been able to defeat them on their home ground yet.

In the Post-match interview, Ole said he was disappointed with one point.

“Good performance, disappointed with the one point. I think we deserved more. I think the performance deserved three points,” 

“We started off slow, dominated possession yes but too slow then we conceded a sloppy goal – disappointed with that one. We had a bad five minutes after that one but after that, I think it was only a matter of time before we got the goal. Hugo Lloris made a fantastic save and we should have had more goals.”

However the team did not look dangerous and hungry for goals, the overall performance was sloppy and lacked quality. United had a total of 12 shots in the entire game with 61% possession

Praises for Paul

“Paul Pogba is a fantastic player and is finally fit again. He has had a horrific injury-hit season and he is desperate to make up for lost time, It is great to see him show his qualities and the contribution he made was big in us getting a penalty. I think he showed how good he is as an all-round midfielder.”

On Pogba and Fernandez’s partnership

“It is a definite partnership that we want to build on, they have trained together now they have had half an hour on the pitch together. We want the best players on the pitch of course and want to find a balance in the team.”

The Partnership.

United play Sheffield United in their next game on 24th June 2020, 10:30 pm IST.

Preview: Tottenham Hotspurs vs Manchester United

Premier League

Finally, we will be watching the Reds back in action tomorrow against Jose Mourinho and co in their very new stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. United is 5th on the table at the moment with 09 games to be played.

The season was put on hold since the end of March due to the spread of Corona Virus pandemic but after a lot of thought and arrangements the Premier League officials have decided to restart the league without the spectators.

The Reds were in a good form pre lockdown with 11 games unbeaten run after signing Bruno Fernandez and Ighalo who gave United a much-needed winning streak.

On the other hand, Spurs had a poor run of form, they were winless in their last six games before the halt and were eliminated from the Champions League after losing to 3-0 to RB Leipzig.

When they clashed the last time.

The last time United played Spurs the result was in our favour, Marcus Rashford gave us an early lead only to see it equalized before half time when Dele Ali scored at 39′. But Rashford wasn’t going home empty-handed, he fired in the when a penalty was awarded to the reds.

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Manchester United beat Everton with a whooping 4-0 score and topped the PL table alongside Man City.

Premier League

Wayne Rooney received a warm appreciation on his return to OT but it all ended in disappointment as his club faced an ugly defeat at the hands of Manchester United. Antonio Valencia’s 4th min’ goal gave the reds a perfect start but had to wait till 83rd min’ for the second goal.

Valencia smashed a powerful half-volley past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 4th min of the game to take United ahead. 

United continued to attack and almost doubled the score when Juan Mata collected Michael Keane’s casual pass but it went out hitting the side post. Lukaku had clear chance running with ball from Rashford but was cleared by Jagielka who slides in successfully 

The Reds had to struggle in the second half as Rooney had a clear chance who had only De Gea in front of him but his left footed shot was saved by his former team mate. 

Mkhitaryan slotted home within seconds of Rooney’s departure and then Lukaku fired home against his former club before Martial’s stoppage-time penalty wrapped up a comprehensive victory.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial all netted after Rooney’s exit to condemn Everton to a fourth successive defeat in all competitions.

It was a good end to the game for Manchester United. 

THE LINE-UPS

United: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Young; Matic, Fellaini; Mata (Herrera 77), Mkhitaryan (Martial 88), Rashford (Lingard 61), Lukaku.

Subs not used: Romero, Smalling, Carrick, Darmian.

Yellow card: Bailly.

Everton: Pickford; Martina, Keane, Williams, Jagielka, Baines; Schneiderlin, Davies (Sandro 66), Gueye (Calvert-Lewin 76); Sigurdsson; Rooney (Mirallas 80). Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Besic, Klassen.

Manchester United vs. West Ham: First game of the season.

Premier League

What a beautiful way to start the new Premier League season, United defeat West Ham with a great margin. The debutant Romelu Lukaku scored twice while Martial scored third past Hart and Pogba scored a 20 yard strike to make the score 4 against 0.

We couldn’t have been more impressed by Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku had an outstanding game, Matic protecting the defense effectively. “Chelsea have taken a bit of a risk letting Matic join a major title rival” says Simon Stone (BBC Sport at OT)

New Man Victor Lindelof was left out of the Manchester United squad and was seen sitting in the stands. Marcus Rashford was unlucky with his powerful shot from outside the box that hit the base of the post and back out, could have been a beautiful goal. Chicharito who played for the first time against Manchester United couldn’t show his best side to help his losing team. 

Romelu Lukaku, speaking to Sky Sports: “To play in front of such a crowd is a dream come true but most importantly is the three points.

“When you play for Manchester United, you have a job to do and mine is to score goals. It is promising.

“The manager wants me to be a leader for the team and create as much as I can. We work hard in training and it is paying off.

“The fans want to see attractive football and we have to stick to that. They will be pleased today. It is just the start; we need to keep working to the manager’s plan.”


Nemanja Matic: “It was a really important game for us to start well with the three points. They were very compact but after the first goal we had more space. I am very happy for the team and we will have more confidence going into the next game.

“The manager told me I have to do my job, Paul has to do his. I am very happy everyone gave their best against a good team. We have to continue to work like this.”

Jose Mourinho said his side would be title challengers this season.

Should Ole be the Permanent United manager?

Premier League

It was just Christmas and United had lost all hopes. Finishing in the top four almost looked unlikely, forget about competing in CL and winning FA Cup.

Who would have thought just in few months our baby faced assassin will turn the tables completely?

It would be a miracle if Manchester United finished in the top four this season this is what Mourinho said in December. The fourth position looked almost impossible, Chelsea sitting on that spot comfortably with 11 points clear of Man Utd but in just after one and half months, Ole managed to do the impossible, miracle eh?

Jose’s Pressers had become toxic and we all detested it, what is he gonna say next about the management, the players or how is he gonna embarrass the club, it was all messed up. United needed change. At first, I was sceptical about Ole, we couldn’t afford another manager who will take his time to settle with the club but Ole knew what he needed to do.

Ole’s Paris travelling squad included 12 players who were on tour last summer but did not “belong” to Jose’s United and with the same team, Ole has written history “No team in Champions League history had overturned a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.” United are the first team to do so and without their 10 first team players. Ole passed his biggest test as United manager and he did it in United way.

With 0-2 down in the first leg against PSG and limited options Ole had to build the team with young players.

20 years on from the CL comeback against Bayern in Barcelona, United repeated the history by scoring winner goal in the extra time. United eleminated the CL “favourites”

With just eight games Ole had already made it to the history books, the first manager to win all first eight games with the club. United have won 11 games out of 13 and lost just one. United are now at the 4th position 2 points ahead of Chelsea who is on the 6th position as of now. He got positivity in the club after all those media rantings and even after almost 10 first team players injured United have managed to win the games at home and away.

Ole Gunnar understands the club and knows what the fans and the club really want and most of all he understands the United way, that belief in the team and the history was missing since the departure of SAF and I feel we have found it in Ole. United are playing the way United should.

With 10 first team players missing Ole managed to get best out of players like Lukaku who was struggling to score sitters, Pereira, Smalling, Herrera, Lindelof all have improved under him. Playing the players in their natural position, pushing the full back higher so there’s no empty gap, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba playing in their favoured position. All these basic changes which were needed to get the results. Fred, the player who has been constantly struggling to keep up with the rest of the team has been improving under Ole and was impressive against PSG.

These issues he had previously mentioned to Ryan Giggs:

“I was at a game next to him, and he was pointing out to me, ‘Look at the full-backs, they’re not high enough’. Things that we were used to, things that you associate with Man United teams,” Giggs said.

‘Ok you score two, we’ll score three’ and I think he’s brought, he’s instilled that back into them that we need to score goals, we need to attack and if we’re all higher up the pitch then it just poses the opposition that question. All of a sudden teams are going from, ‘Right it’s Man United, we’ve got a chance today’ to actually, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll be defending, we’ll be deeper’.

“As a supporter, it feels like we’ve got our Manchester United back,” says Phill Neville

“Ole’s done an unbelievable job. He’s embraced everything and let the players play with a smile on their face. I think it’s impossible not to give him the job.”

Players who can fill in during injury crises for United.

Premier League

Manchester United are facing a major injury crisis at the moment after three first team players were taken off within 30 minutes all due to hamstring on Sunday against the scousers. They will now be facing Crystal Palace without 10 first team regulars.

Rashford who was taken down by Henderson in the first minute of the game had to continue after Lingard had to be taken back and is due some much needed rest, we still don’t have an update on when he will be back. Here is the list of players who can possibly start against Palace.

Here are the players who can be used in place of the unfit ones.

1. Andreas Pereira

Pereira made his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Juan Mata in a 3–0 win for United. He joined Spanish club Granada on loan where he scored three goals and then joined Valencia in 2017. He has proved he is worthy of playing in the red shirt more often and can be a good replacement for Herrera.

2. Diogo Dalot

Young Portuguese full-back Signed for United on a five-year contract for a fee of ÂŁ19 million. Have been compared with Manchester United great Gary Neville, but is focused on writing his own history at Old Trafford. He has made just 8 appearances for the reds till now and its time he is given more chances to prove himself.

3. Scott Mc Tominay

Hailed by Ole Gunner as “new Darren Fletcher”, McTom has been a good replacement for Matic who was injured in the training session before the big game on Sunday. He acquitted himself well against a Liverpool midfield holding the fort during an extraordinary first half which saw three substitutions within 45 minutes.

4. Fred.

Solskjear haven’t played Fred despite injury crises and United fans are not liking it. The reds have potentially nine players unavailable and are unlikely to be available for the away trip to Selhurst Park on Wednesday.

McTominay was terrific against Liverpool but fans are still desperate to have Fred in the starting lineup for the next fixture.

OGS on younger players:

“They have been part of our training for a long time. Angel has been with Eng U-17s with Sancho, Foden, Hudson-Odoi. Garner is a Michael Carrick but 20 years younger, Chongy will be taking people on. They are ready.”

List of players who are injured:

“I don’t know the list that’s supposed to be injured, Matteo Darmian trained the other day, I don’t think he’ll be ready, Rojo has been training so hopefully will be involved, Rashy we’re still waiting to see how his ankle is responding to the treatment, muscle injuries are too early to think about. That’s it. There’s quite a few out.

“Phil was ill one of these days, so he’s been out for a little while as well with an illness. Luckily at centre-back, there are quite a few fit ones, Bailly, Smalling and Lindelof, the three of them are ready.”

On Valencia, Martial and Lingard:

Valencia is a bit off because he did his calf again, he’s started running, but he’s still a few weeks off. Martial is not going to be ready for this one, either, we can’t risk it. So maybe Southampton but we’re not going to risk another one too early. Jesse Lingard was eager against Liverpool. He ticked all the boxes in training, had done all the recovery work and rehab but maybe a couple of days too early. Then again, it was Liverpool and he was desperate to be part of it.