The horrid season continued for Manchester United with yet another defeat against the in-form Arsenal at the Emirates. It wasn’t that kind of a bad performance from the Red Devils the one they played against Liverpool a few days back. They created enough chances and fought right to the end. But few controversial VAR decisions and chances went against us. The defence looked shaky as always and this is nothing new in mentioning it. United now are into their 4th straight away defeats.
The torrid time in the defence started for Rangnick’s men in the 2nd minute of the play when both Varane and Telles failed to clear the ball and Saka went for the curler. De Gea saved it beautifully but Dalot who was slow to react gave an easy tap-in chance for Nuno Tavares on the rebound. After that Elanga had a wonderful chance to equalise for his club but Ramsdale made a decent save.
Bruno Fernandes’s purple patch extended in this match too as he first failed to fill the vacant net in the 11th minute. He had the easiest chance from a very close range after Ramsdale gave the possession straight to McTominay. But Gabriel made a crucial block to deny Bruno’s chip.
The second goal from Arsenal was like rubbing salt on the wound for Man Utd. At first Nketiah’s goal was ruled off for offside but later VAR checked and declared a penalty for Arsenal. Yet another clumsy defending by Telles on Saka.
Later Ronaldo gave Manchester United a chance with a lovely finish and accurate cross from the veteran Matic. It was an emotional goal for CR7 as he pointed to the sky after scoring the goal. No trademark celebration from him yesterday after the tragic incident. He now has scored 7 goals out of the total 8 Man Utd goals in the last 6 matches. This shows the scenario of our attackers who are underperforming.
2nd Half Analysis.
Though United started the 2nd half on a positive note. Some very good shots by Telles and Dalot who hit the crossbar twice. Matic’s header was blocked by the hand of Tavares and VAR checked it and gave awarded a penalty to United. It was a golden chance for Bruno to score the equaliser but alas it was the second penalty miss from the Portuguese international this season.
Things went from bad to worse for Bruno. He has lost his flair and doesn’t seem to be in a Midas touch anymore in this season. His ball control, dangerous tackles on the opposition, and bad passes all are the worrying sign.
The third goal came right in the end courtesy of a sumptuous hit by Xhaka after Bruno gave the possession to Switzerland International. United should work more on the control and keeping the possession and I hope Erik Ten Hag does the best with the players who are passionate and hungry for victories.
With this defeat, it’s just a mere formality to play the remaining 4 matches and compete for the UEL at most. They face Chelsea who is in a good mood to beat any team any day.
