8 Ups And 1 Down Of Man United 5-0 RB Leipzig

0

Red Bull gives you wings, and we are flying above the rest of the competition and leaving the “group of death” behind.

 

Coming off the back of a stellar performance against Champions League finalists PSG, Ole knew his men needed to follow that up with an equally high in quality display against semi finalists of last season RB Leipzig. Well, we didn’t get an equal performance, we got a far better one that brushed aside the Bundesliga leaders with ease.

 

Let’s dive straight into the up heavy article of ups and downs from Man United’s destruction of RB Leipzig in the Champions League Gameweek 2.

 

DOWN – AXEL AXED

After a display that can only be described as sensational against PSG 8 days prior, United fans, me included, was hoping and more to the point expecting Axel Tuanzebe was going to be rewarded with a start.

 

Against Chelsea, you could forgive Ole for not playing Axel after his first match back in 10 months but here you would bank of him at the heart of that defence.

At the end of the day, it made no difference but it would have been nice to Tuanzebe rewarded for his quality showing in Paris with a start against Leipzig.

 

UP – DAVE SAVES YET AGAIN

David De Gea has been the most regular feature in the ups since the beginning of the season and there is strong reasoning behind that.

 

Last season, Dave was hit and miss but despite conceding a bucket load of goals at the start of the campaign, he has been the one constant in the side. Having only conceded own goals since letting in 6 against Spurs isn’t looked on enough. The limelight is being shared by the outfield players but don’t rest of De Gea who is rapidly climbing back to his very best.

 

UP – TACKLING TACTICIAN

You can look all over the land, you will struggle to find a better defender at timing his tackles to perfection than Aaron Wan Bissaka. If any other player hit the deck, then I’d look away in fear but with Wan Bissaka you know there is a very high chance he comes away with the ball or stops the attacking progress of the opposition.

 

He rightly received criticism post lockdown because he was a shadow of his former self, but I am fully convinced we have ‘The Spider’ back to his arachnid best. Let’s hope AWB can keep this level of performance up and not drop off towards critical parts of the season.

 

UP – FRED THE RED

No not that one.

 

Fred is a player that has had a rollercoaster United to the extent that he might qualify for his own ups and downs article. Against Leipzig, Fred was a colossus in the middle of the park and won the ball back with ease. In all honesty, the first half I was suspect of Fred because of his strong touch and misplaced passes but the second 45 minutes highlighted his ability to win the ball back and start a penetrating attack.

 

Without Fred, United don’t win that game 5-0. Simple as. The Brazilian is finally becoming the player we thought we were purchasing way back when under Jose Mourinho. Yabba Dabba Do.

 

UP – PUSHING AND PAUL-ING

Paul Pogba divides opinion every time he steps on a football pitch and he does so yet again.

 

In my view, I saw a Paul Pogba that some Juventus fans saw back in 2015. He was a crucial cog in the works of the midfield and while he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he did hold the side together. Paul Pogba is a box to box player and United haven’t utilised that as of late but against Leipzig we did and he proved why he can be a world beater and why so many sing his praises at any given opportunity.

 

Let’s hope Paul can start to find his form and really push on with United and turn us into an unstoppable driving force in England and Europe.

 

UP – THE GEAR CHANGER

Moment Maker. History Breaker. Gear Changer. Bruno Fernandes.

 

Even when he is on the bench, Bruno can change a game around and shift it to that next gear. We bring on Fernandes and he turns United into a stronger and better force than they already were and if you want another accolade for our Portuguese magnifico then he is also the DIY expert because he put those final nails into Leipzig proverbial coffin.

 

Every time you think Bruno reaches his peak he gets better and better. A truly marvel player I am happy to call ours.

 

UP – MUCH NEEDED GOAL FOR MUCH NEEDED CONFIDENCE

Just a quick point on Martial because I don’t believe he deserved his own up or down but scoring that penalty is crucial for his development and his form this season. The first goal of the campaign is the hardest and Tony has struggled to find it but now he has converted from the spot, that should help him forget about red cards and own goals and focus more on his end product.

 

UP – FEEDING KIDS BY DAY, SCORING HAT TRICKS BY NIGHT

How proud are you to have Marcus Rashford at Man United?

 

We say it every week but his work off the field is nothing short of inspirational and is being rightfully credited by honours and accolades. However, his form on the pitch hasn’t matched up to that off the field until a few games ago when he has filled Martial’s boots ten times over. But against Leipzig. My word. That was Rashford at his best.

 

The thing about Rashford’s hat trick is it could have been more. He could have had a further one or two goals to add to the trifactor and that is impressive. Every time he got the ball, he looked like he was going to either create or score. What a feeling. What a performance.

 

Only two players have ever scored a hat-trick off the bench for Man United. One of them is Marcus Rashford, the other is the manager of the club. That is no coincidence.

 

UP – “GROUP OF DEATH” DEAD

We are through. That is a bold statement I am willing to make. We have beaten the two top teams in our group and have back to back games against the team we should be convincingly beating. That will put us on 12 points and a monumental goal difference which will take us through.

 

The important part is to wrap this so called “group of death” up asap so we can focus on league proceedings.

 

Are you still buzzing from the result or are you focused on Arsenal? Let us know in the section below.

0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *