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So, United eke out a 3-2 win over Fulham at Old Trafford. I am not here to provide a match report. I’ll give my views on how United fared today.
1 – Bad Defense: We had this issue last year and we STILL have this issue plaguing us. Not a good sign for the future. The defense looked shaky and to be honest, the amount of chances Fulham had, we would have conceded 4 goals easily had it been Chelsea or another top side. De Gea needs to buck up with respect to incoming crosses. He was totally at fault for the 2nd goal. He made some good saves. In two games, he has made 10 saves already! Carrick was decent but on occasions he made judgmental errors. Vidic wasn`t too comfortable either. Rafael Da Silva was amazing though. He did make some errors (as is his wont) but on the whole his contribution was highly praiseworthy.
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2 – Shinji and RvP: Our new signings had a good game. They gelled well and created chances. All in all, it was a good outing for these two. Shinji is a good buy. His intelligence and work ethic have already endeared him to the United faithful and I am sure he will churn out a lot of assists and goals over the course of the campaign. RvP’s goal was a peach and it gave a huge lift to the side. Wazza’s injury was a big dampener and I sure hope he gets back before the 4 weeks which SAF gave as an estimate!
3 – Cleverley’s continued form: Tom was good today. He brings urgency to the midfield play which we missed last year. His shooting troubled Schwarzer and linked well with Shinji, RvP and then Giggs. For our sake, I really hope we get a full season out of the lad. Anderson was decent too. He, however, was totally unable to shackle Dembele and he needs to learn to be better at the defensive side of his game.
4 – Dembele’s a star: Moussa Dembele was absolutely outstanding for Fulham. In fact, his presence at the club is as bemusing as it is weird. He caused all sorts of trouble for our defense and was a constant thorn in our side. He is suited to a 4-3-3 and would be a huge plus to any top side. Apart from him, the others weren’t outstanding in their play. They had a lot of chances and should have arguably come away with a point from OT.
In conclusion, I am both happy and worried. Happy that AV7, Rvp and Shinji are doing so well and worried at the state of our defense. For our sake, I hope we have a long, hard look at how to turn things around and fast!
