United just drew to bottom-of-the-table Fulham 2-2 at Old Trafford, after going a goal down for the longest time, turned it around after a 2 minute double, then conceding late into the 5 minute added time. If anyone can find me pictures of Mata and De Gea looking beaten at the end... I just... can't. Seriously, that was depressing.
Fair play to Meulensteen, he got his tactics right. Park the bus and counter. They have 6-8 players in the box most of the time. All 10 outfields stay inside their own half, except for the counter attacks. So, United got about 75-80% possession all night, passing it around trying to find a way through, and just got blocked. What ended up happening was crossing. United, couldn't get through the middle, passed the ball out wide and cross. But with 8 Fulham players in the box, and only 2-3 United players, pretty much all of those crosses were headed out by Fulham. It was insanely frustrating to watch.
The second half started, and it was the same. However, United seemed to be able to find more openings, and getting to the end of more of the crosses (still few though compared to how many crosses they put in). Even then, I was pretty much preparing myself for losing 1-0. But the goals happened (RVP from Mata assist, and a deflected goal from Carrick). There were 10 minutes to go, and I feared that United would take their feet off the pedal and start to back off. They kinda did, although they still tried to pass the ball around and attack.
But the inevitable –– seemingly inevitable this season –– happened. We conceded late in the game. I mean, what the hell? It was, again, a mistake in defense. In the first goal, Vidic decided to move towards Smalling and left a huge gap between them and Evra. Rooney, Mata, and Fletcher were ball watching and didn't notice Sidwell making the forward run. The second goal... it was a mess. I really don't want to be blaming Vidic –– his last season and all –– but I do think he's at least partially at fault on both goals.
You know what, I'm gonna try to stop thinking about the match and stop picturing that image of Mata looking really down at the end of the game... Oh, Mata, 3 assists in 3 games. Hopefully we'll get better.
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