TOTL. And worthy of it. We are the half-way Champions. Great game and great performance today. A match where we demonstrated all the good things about this team – skill, quality, determination and character. This was thrilling, if not a little nerve wracking. The quality of play was very high – from both sides. And the last 20 minutes were pure domination. We showed our desire to win and belief that we would. By that stage, if there was to be a winner that was only one outcome.
Two weeks running now we’ve knocked off possible contenders. And this match was more challenging. United are a way better team. Maybe we benefitted from them having a midweek game. We, as ever, had the same selection and for the first few minutes overrun them. There were a number of occasions when Martinelli had chances to either shoot or take on WanBeserker. We created openings but failed to make that final pass or shot. But we moved the ball quickly and put pressure on them. They found their feet quickly though and played some decent football. Without Casemiro they used McThickey and, consequently, lost some control and balance.
The game of number 8’s was won by our Martin. Up until he picked up a knock in the first half he controlled the game. Their big-eared #8 linked them up well. However Erikson was out of his depth today. But they did have one legitimate striker. And when Saka lost the ball and then Partey misplaced a pass, Rashford pounced and struck a mighty impressive goal. This boy can play. And once they replace their Burnley striker and that ugly right winger, then they will be a real threat.
Within 6 minutes we were level. Their goal only reignited us. The quality of our play was elevated even from last week. And central to this was Zinny and Xhaka. Throughout the game Zinny received the ball, pushed us forward and linked up the entire team. Xhaka was intelligent with his distribution and also moved all round the pitch. Odegaard pulled the strings and Saka caused Shaw nightmares. As good as Shaw was, Saka was tearing him to pieces. He was a constant threat. This is a player that is there for us in big moments and big games.
White had a funny old game. His passing was off as was his positioning. He did not look right today. Something was up. Aside from him and Martinelli, everyone turned up today. Partey, aside from that mistake, dominated the midfield. And behind him Gabriel overpowered their Dutch monster. Saliba, though relatively quiet, continued to read the game well and cover Rashfords runs.
Our response was down our left care of playing out of a corner rather than delivering it. Ultimately Zinny freed up Xhaka who placed a perfect cross for Eddie to hear home. A classic forwards goal. The kind of goal that Jesus might score. But today, in addition to scoring, Eddie was very strong. His link up play and movement was excellent. He really looks like he fits in this team now. As good as he was last week, this week he was able to revel in a few goals. He is a natural goalscorer. One, who, in the past, I’d given up on and despaired that he would ever be able to play at this level.
This game, as much as we controlled, looked like it could grind out to be a 1-1 draw. Until, that is, a moment of pure magic from Saka. Coming in from the right, he sauntered past Erikson and then, to everyones surprise – including De Gea – unleashed an unstoppable curling shot into the corner. Unbelievable. As good as Rashfords goal was, this was even better. Absolutely brilliant. You have to love this boy. As good as we thought he was he’s proving to be even better. He might have started the season off a little slow but in the last two games – as great as Odegaard, Zinny, Xhaka, Partey and Eddie have been – he has been the star; the difference maker. This boy is a super star.
A digression. Rashford, seems to have finally grown from a breakaway striker into a skillful, talented and brilliant striker. And he come out of their academy. And we have Saka. A little younger but brilliant as well – just even more brilliant. And he came out of the academy. And both are English. And then we had another English striker who scored two goals today that also came out of our academy. So much for spending money. And look (if you can bare the ugliness) to look at their right winger. £100m for that. He was absolute crap. Zinny was barely troubled by him. He’s one footed and predicable. Compare his output to that of Saka. His passing was wayward and there was no link-up play. £100m for that? He made Grealish seem like good value for the money.
There were a few instances when the referee, Anthony Taylor, could have handed the game to them. A few calls could have given them a penalty but thankfully he called a good game. He kept most of the players under control and was using good judgement. So the game flowed and he managed to even hand out a card to Shaw after his fifth foul on Saka. But how does Arteta get a yellow first? Someone needs to tell the referees they have an obligation to protect Saka. Fortunately neither Saka or Gabriel picked up another yellow today.
At half time Arteta did the right thing and replaced White with Tommy. Their only threat was coming down our right via Rashford so replacing the off White helped strengthen our defense. Unfortunately, it did not help then that Ramsdale decided to try and catch rather than punch their corner resulting in them drawing level. But rather then cause us to withdraw into a shell it invigorated us. We then found the spirit and belief to completely dominate the rest of the game. Odegaard came back into the game, Zinny run through the midfield and Xhaka was making penetrating runs. Martinelli was finding it hard to make that killer shot or pass, often needing too many touches and only infrequently getting by WanBesker.
Arteta made another great call, this time to replace Martinelli with Trossard. And what a mighty fine introduction that was. Right from the start he added that penetration that Martinelli did not have today. And was a key architect of the winning goal. He ran at their back line and laid off the ball to Zinny to crossed for the ball to finally have Eddie flick it in. Immediately I assumed it would be called offside. I had thought both Zinny and then Eddie were offside. And the ref seemed to also think it was offside. So, my celebration was entirely muted. But, again, VAR helped us out though technically it just confirmed the right decision. Mayhem then broke out. What a last minute goal. Eddie the poacher. Ian Wright would be so proud of him. All three goals from our academy players. But this last one was set up by our Friday signing. How just was that. £21m fee rather than the brutal £100m that LA Chelsea chose to spend on the signing we should have had. That’s karma for you. And, note that this stupid £100m was because of the benchmark that United set for Anthony. What a joke. Given me 3 or 4 Trossards any day of the week.
What a game. What a performance. And what an outcome. Deserved and warranted. We were, again, the better team playing the better football. But now we’ve added belief and spirit. We had them pinned in their box for the last 20 minutes. They could not escape. They had no outlet and we didn’t let up the pressure. The crowd were loud and supportive pushing the team on. Today Saka, Zinny, Martin, Eddie and Xhaka were immense. And somehow we found a way – Eddie found a way – to grab the well-earned three points.
So here we sit. TOTL. Halfway through the season. This team is not the team that started the season. And, try comparing it to the team that lost the first three games last season. If that’s the trajectory we are on, we have a long way to go still. The improvement is off the charts. The progression has been driven by key signings. Zinny is the pick of the bunch, he has liberated both Xhaka and Partey and has allowed each to focus their game in the areas where they excel. Jesus has not been too shabby either. I know we lack experience. And as we continue to progress the pressure will mount. I’m still not convinced we are equipped to win the league but we’ve certainty demonstrated the ability to complete with City for it. We are better than that lot down the road. And we’re better than United. It’s just a case of whether we’re the City reserve team or their first team. With the points difference and two games against them to come, we have some leeway.
It’s so enjoyable to watch this team grow, evolve and develop. Each game we see some incremental improvement, some new sign that this team is special. And when you see Saka and Eddie being interviewed after the game you are reminded how pathetically young they are. The future is bright that’s for sure. Adding Trossard was a brilliant move. Experience and a style of play that enables him to fit in seamlessly. We just need midfield cover now. The new Pole we’re adding will protect us from poor Gabriel having to play every game.
The F. A. Cup is up next. With three games against City it’s not plausible to think we won’t lose one of them. So, this is the one I’d be happy to lose. Let’s focus on the league (and the NoHoppaCup). Let City progress – along the way knocking out that lot down the road – and have to play yet more games. For this game we need to rest Saka, Partey, Martin and Eddie. We should play Elneny – assuming he’s fit – along with ESR. I’d give Ramsdale the night off. Let Turner get some game time. And protect our key players from injury and let them rest. We have a long way to go yet. And the league now should be our focus.
Today was brilliant. To see our team perform like that, under pressure responding by committing players forward and ripping through United. They just had no answer. This team will get even better even if we don’t quite manage to win the league this year. I know people state that this is the year – in the way that 2016 was with Leicester City. But we are not like that City and the other teams aren’t as weak – we are just better than them. And we’re way better than we were 6 years ago.
By the time we return to the EPL, Everton might well have a new manager. Let’s hope they keep Lampard in place, at least for a few more weeks. Now would be a sensible time to replace him as they have 2 weeks before they play us. But then Everton have never been sensible.
Enjoy the next few days. Wallow in the glow of being TOTL. We’ll be there for a few more weeks. And here’s a statistic to make you happy. We are 17 points away from 5th place. We could lose 5 straight games and we’d still qualify for the Champions League. Not too shabby.
-LB7