***Champs v Rags Official Match Thread***

[brite blu sky]

Just seen the Sly post match - Fucking hilarious

Gary "i know everything about the rag cunts" Neville whinging like a mard pig, basically blaming everyone and anyone.

Micah - 'Oh so you just want to be mediocre for the next 10 yrs'. ( Rednapp quietly nodding away )

Comedy Gold and Neville is also one of the problems utd have got - so full of shit.

[Bear60]

glass topped up…bring on motd2

Yea
Lets see what them
Cunts have got to say

[Pretty Boy Lee]

What a performance that was.

I'll let this one go but try not to exaggerate in future, ok.

Duly noted

[Beefymcfc]

Ha ha, McTominay just done a sly finger to the camera on interview.

Saw that, and it was more than once.

Find me a screen shot that I can share with the "stay classy" tag

Watch on youtube.com

not convinced

Ha ha ha, little cunt.

[Beefymcfc]

glass topped up…bring on motd2

Yea
Lets see what them
Cunts have got to say

Brings us back to earth.

We enjoyed a day in the sun, reality of life is quite different.

Sad.

[Slim]

No passengers today.

Even Mahrez who I had to be reminded was on the pitch in the first half, shows up late and makes a mark.

Great controlled performance.

United taking the piss trying out a false nine against us.

[Tokyo Blue]

Mahrez, even when not on the ball much, makes a big difference to our attacking power. He stays out wide and,by stretching the opposition defence, creates space on the other side. This is a big part of the Pep system and why two natural wide men are a must every single game for it to be at its most effective.

[salford city]

Mahrez, even when not on the ball much, makes a big difference to our attacking power. He stays out wide and,by stretching the opposition defence, creates space on the other side. This is a big part of the Pep system and why two natural wide men are a must every single game for it to be at its most effective.

Agree, I've never been Mahrez"s biggest fan, despite him having the best first touch I've ever seen, he stops out wide and is integral in our system.
Pep got it spot on with team selection yesterday, best available team and tactics. Thought they were dangerous in the first half and I was nervous at HT but we ramped it up 2nd half and it made for a relaxing last 25 mins which has to be a shocker if you are a mune. Great day , bigger games to come so we move on

[PeterParker]

Interesting morning, anyone else woke up and felt like singing the blues?

[zuricity]

Mahrez, even when not on the ball much, makes a big difference to our attacking power. He stays out wide and,by stretching the opposition defence, creates space on the other side. This is a big part of the Pep system and why two natural wide men are a must every single game for it to be at its most effective.

Agree, I've never been Mahrez"s biggest fan, despite him having the best first touch I've ever seen, he stops out wide and is integral in our system.
Pep got it spot on with team selection yesterday, best available team and tactics. Thought they were dangerous in the first half and I was nervous at HT but we ramped it up 2nd half and it made for a relaxing last 25 mins which has to be a shocker if you are a mune. Great day , bigger games to come so we move on

I think the defensive nervousness was du to the fact that had anyone even blown on a Rag and gone down Oliver would have gifted a penalty.

[Hazy2]

Mahrez, even when not on the ball much, makes a big difference to our attacking power. He stays out wide and,by stretching the opposition defence, creates space on the other side. This is a big part of the Pep system and why two natural wide men are a must every single game for it to be at its most effective.

Agree, I've never been Mahrez"s biggest fan, despite him having the best first touch I've ever seen, he stops out wide and is integral in our system.
Pep got it spot on with team selection yesterday, best available team and tactics. Thought they were dangerous in the first half and I was nervous at HT but we ramped it up 2nd half and it made for a relaxing last 25 mins which has to be a shocker if you are a mune. Great day , bigger games to come so we move on

Mahrez is world class, I said it when Leicester won the league. I sit CB L2 he had to watch the first 30 mins with us, first time he gets the ball he is alive the whole stand stands up when he gets the ball. Wonderful player a few on here should be embarrassed to ever doubt him. Same with Pep. Got to mention Jack wow his performance again, the doubters !!!! His arrogance his skills his passion and instant grasp it’s the fans day. Brilliant to see him torment the scum. Bernie and KDB just have gears and levels I have never seen in all my years watching City, and the teams work rate is mind blowing. Onwards.

[PeterParker]

See what happens when he doesn't fuck around with the first eleven?

No brainfarts, spectacular performance.

[stupot]

Mahrez, even when not on the ball much, makes a big difference to our attacking power. He stays out wide and,by stretching the opposition defence, creates space on the other side. This is a big part of the Pep system and why two natural wide men are a must every single game for it to be at its most effective.

Agree, I've never been Mahrez"s biggest fan, despite him having the best first touch I've ever seen, he stops out wide and is integral in our system.
Pep got it spot on with team selection yesterday, best available team and tactics. Thought they were dangerous in the first half and I was nervous at HT but we ramped it up 2nd half and it made for a relaxing last 25 mins which has to be a shocker if you are a mune. Great day , bigger games to come so we move on

Mahrez is world class, I said it when Leicester won the league. I sit CB L2 he had to watch the first 30 mins with us, first time he gets the ball he is alive the whole stand stands up when he gets the ball. Wonderful player a few on here should be embarrassed to ever doubt him. Same with Pep. Got to mention Jack wow his performance again, the doubters !!!! His arrogance his skills his passion and instant grasp it’s the fans day. Brilliant to see him torment the scum. Bernie and KDB just have gears and levels I have never seen in all my years watching City, and the teams work rate is mind blowing. Onwards.

100% this. There were loads slagging Mahrez off last season and still some this don't seem to get him. The guy is brilliant and he's got a few years yet as he doesn't rely on pace. The Bernie can't play with Kev bollocks should stop for a bit after yesterday. Bernie was everywhere, he was tremendous taking them on- tracking back. Kev was quite simply unstoppable. They were absolutely shit scared of him running at them constantly and knowing he practically always picks the right ball. Grealish was on fire, taking them on constantly and murdering AWB down that side. His best performance for us, it all bodes well. And Cancelo who apparently can't defend was brilliant defensively as well as going forward. What a pity his volley didn't go in.

[Mase]

Like I said earlier, Mahrez is usually “quiet” but then there’ll be a moment of brilliance from him that changes the game. He holds on to the ball as well, his first touch is class and then he rarely gives it away. He’s gone from someone I hated seeing on the team sheet in his first season to someone I expect to see.

[johnny crossan]

Ronaldo and a trip to Portugal that caused surprise at Manchester United

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground on March 02, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
By Laurie Whitwell Mar 6, 2022 87
To the outside world, Cristiano Ronaldo had been expected to lead the line against Manchester City. As it happened, he was not in the country by the time of kick-off at the Etihad.

It is believed Ronaldo flew to Portugal once his absence for the Manchester derby became clear. He reported a recurrence of the hip flexor problem that troubled him earlier this year, which treatment could not soothe, and then took a flight to his homeland before Sunday.

Sources say the trip caused surprise among the United dressing room given the significance of the fixture. Injured players are not obliged to attend matches but it is said Ronaldo’s team-mates feel his presence at the stadium, given his aura and contributions this campaign, could have been beneficial.

United do not play again until Saturday, when Tottenham Hotspur visit Old Trafford, and Ronaldo might well contend that Portugal’s warm weather is conducive to a full recovery.

The temperature in Manchester was quite mild, with blue skies up above, when Ralf Rangnick’s shock line-up emerged. There was no Ronaldo and no Edinson Cavani either. Cavani had trained “well” for three days, according to Rangnick, but “at the end didn’t feel quite well enough to be able to play”.


Both Ronaldo and Cavani missed Sunday’s Manchester Derby (Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Instead of starting Marcus Rashford, United’s only available centre-forward, Rangnick picked Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba as two false nines in what appeared set up as a 4-2-4. Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga provided the width ahead of Scott McTominay and Fred.

United had trained in the system even before Ronaldo’s hip problem, so it is possible he would not have been in the starting XI in any case. “We decided with that formation to be as compact as possible and in transitional moments to create chances,” said Rangnick by way of explanation. “That’s why we’ve started this way.”

Incorporating Ronaldo into a high-pressing team has been one of the major conundrums for Rangnick since taking charge in November. The 37-year-old continues to be United’s most potent goal threat — he has scored 15 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions, six more than the next best, Fernandes. But in the winter of his career, his contributions in other aspects, such as prolonged dynamic movement, struggle to fit with Rangnick’s approach.

Pep Guardiola said before the game that Rangnick’s selection meant United could play more aggressively and in line with the German’s ideals.

For periods of the first half it seemed the radical line-up might work. United conceded an early goal as lax defending allowed Kevin De Bruyne a simple finish from close range. But in possession United caused City some problems, with good rotation of players and runners in behind.

Sancho scored one of United’s goals of the season, finishing superbly after being found by Pogba following good build-up by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. But after De Bruyne scored again the second half became a procession, with City toying to such an extent that home fans on all sides of the ground turned round and linked arms to do their “Poznan” celebration.

In the stands, United’s newly-installed chief executive Richard Arnold wore a grimace. David Gill, sitting next to him, looked equally underwhelmed. Sir Alex Ferguson was also in attendance for what finished as a rout.

Before the game, Roy Keane, United’s former midfield general, said: “There seems to be something more with the Ronaldo situation, the manager coming out talking about his hip flexor but the man is a machine and is rarely injured. Every now and again he comes out with that about his hip flexor, doesn’t add up to me.”

In response after the game, Rangnick said: “I have to believe our medical department. Our doctor came to me on Friday morning to say Cristiano couldn’t train because of some problems with his hip flexor and the same on Saturday.”

Quite what Ronaldo made of events remains to be seen. He has been a major figure in United’s dressing room since rejoining the club and is unafraid to speak his mind. Last month he voiced his feelings on how best to serve him and the team during a meeting with Rangnick and other senior players. Ronaldo proposed playing two centre-forwards in tandem.

For one of United’s biggest games of the season, Rangnick went the other way and played no strikers at all and when asked if the system might be repeated, United’s interim manager hinted at frustration over options. “We didn’t have that many strikers available for the game today,” Rangnick said. Mason Greenwood is another unavailable to Rangnick, of course.

Ronaldo has rarely missed matches for United. He has played 1,835 minutes in the Premier League, the fourth-highest total for the club this season before kick-off at the Etihad despite not signing until the fourth game.

Ronaldo was ruled out of the fixture at Aston Villa in January through the hip flexor issue, but started four days later at Brentford. He reacted badly to being substituted by Rangnick with 19 minutes left but returned in the next game against West Ham to play a part in Rashford’s injury-time winner.

Rashford was less effective off the bench on this occasion, cutting a forlorn figure at the final whistle, and if Ronaldo’s injury sustains then getting the best out of a player who scored more than 20 goals in each of his past two completed seasons will be crucial.

On Cavani, Rangnick said: “As a manager, I can’t force a player to play if he doesn’t feel fit enough to play. What does it help if I say I’m frustrated?”

After Tottenham comes the return leg against Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford. Ronaldo dragged United into the last-16 with six goals in the group stages and as a five-time winner, he counts as a big asset on a high-pressure occasion. An exit then, on March 15, would however leave United’s season in danger of frittering to insignificance.

(Additional reporting: David Ornstein)

[Mase]

I think Stu pointed it out earlier as well, Wan Bissaka usually has Sterling in his pocket in these games. I think when Raza comes up against a fullback with pace, even if they’re shit, he’ll still bottle it a bit.

Grealish was different and made Obi Wan look like a League Two defender. Drove at him, cut inside, went outside, kept the ball close to him, played one-twos. Brilliant.

[Mase]

Just on your story JC, it says David Gill was sat with the United lot in the stands. What the actual fuck?! Isn’t he a member of the UEFA Exec Committee? How can he get away with that?!!!

[carl_feedthegoat]

We should still have had a penalty..its always the same when its a blatant penalty for us , no replays , no mention, nothing to see here.

McGuire....hes one lucky lucky bastard getting paid shit loads for being a fake professional football player.

[Slim]

We should still have had a penalty..its always the same when its a blatant penalty for us , no replays , no mention, nothing to see here.

McGuire....hes one lucky lucky bastard getting paid shit loads for being a fake professional football player.

Odds on us getting an apology from PGMOL?

What I cannot stand is the shit media pointing at the Wolves game and the pen that was given, ignoring the stonewall penalty we weren't given in the first half of the same game.

[carl_feedthegoat]

We should still have had a penalty..its always the same when its a blatant penalty for us , no replays , no mention, nothing to see here.

McGuire....hes one lucky lucky bastard getting paid shit loads for being a fake professional football player.

Odds on us getting an apology from PGMOL?

What I cannot stand is the shit media pointing at the Wolves game and the pen that was given, ignoring the stonewall penalty we weren't given in the first half of the same game.

Just listening to some of these commentators saying '' That's just a coming together , cannot give a penalty for that , surely'' then they laugh and move on as quickly as possible without anymore replays.

Makes my piss boil.