Match preview: Man Utd v Chelsea

90 days since United's last competitive clash, the Premier League returns in style as two of the top six locks horns in a heavyweight clash at Old Trafford.

 A monster opening fixture with a "fresh start" feel.
Whether by necessity or choice, both clubs are set to give young players more playing time this season - part of the long build, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has described Manchester United's path.
How long he gets to oversee it may depend on how well United start, and that could be influenced by Paul Pogba's mood and plans for his own future.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have their own main man back, with Frank Lampard having proved himself a fine manager of young men in his one Derby season, which included League Cup success at Old Trafford.
It's a huge day for the Blues legend, who may have come to Premier League management earlier than planned - but somehow it just feels right.

 It's a match littered with subplots and talking points aplenty as Lampard takes charge of his first Chelsea match meaning that there will be two rookie, inexperienced managers in the respective dugouts. Lampard has not been able to add to the squad he inherited from predecessor Maurizio Sarri due to the Blues transfer ban. That means he will likely be forced to turn to the many talented Chelsea youngsters who will now finally get an opportunity in Blue after what seems like an eternity - Tammy Abraham, Kurt Zouma, Kenedy, Fiyako Tomori and Mason Mount (whom both played under Lampard at Derby) are all in contention to start after loan spells at other clubs in the Football League and Championship last season.

This is only the Chelsea legend's second season as a manager after his good work for Derby saw them narrowly miss out on promotion from the Championship - pipped at the Premier League post by Aston Villa in the Play-Off final. Despite this near miss, the Chelsea powers-that-be saw enough to persuade them to bring their all time top scorer (211 goals in 650 games) back for a romantic return to the place where he became one of the all time greats.

Ole begins his first full season at Old Trafford without the financial constraints placed up his opposite number. Summer signings Aaron Wan - Bissaka and the world's most expensive defender Harry Maguire will make their debuts, with fellow new boy Daniel James also expected to feature. With Romelu Lukaku having departed for pastures new, our attack will have a youthful look to it - will Mason Greenwood get his chance? Eric Bailly is out until Christmas and Alexis Sanchez is short of match fitness. Timothy Fosu - Mensah is also unavailable.
Antonio Rudiger and long term injury victims Ruben Loftus - Cheek and Callum Hudson - Odoi will miss out for the visitors, with N'golo Kante (hamstring) and Willian (knee) facing a late battle to be fit in time for Sunday's encounter.

The Reds boast a superb opening day record, winning 20 from 27 at Old Trafford in the Premier League era, and 18 of our previous 27 games around the first weekend of the season. No other club has more wins and points than that. An omen?

 Ole’s men were unbeaten in pre-season, winning five of our six games while triumphing on penalties in the other following a draw. The Reds started with wins against Perth Glory (2-0) and Leeds United (4-0) in Perth, Australia before we beat Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan (the latter on penalties) in the International Champions Cup. United ultimately finished second in the 12-team tournament, although we could drop to third should Atletico Madrid beat Juventus on Saturday. The Reds also beat Ole’s hometown club Kristiansund 1-0 in Oslo during pre-season.



 United manager  Solskjaer on the loss of Romelu Lukaku: "Of course Rom has a good record and stats, he's one of the top number nines around when you want to play with that kind of striker, a target man.
"I'm very confident that we'll get goals from (Anthony) Martial, Daniel James and (Marcus) Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
"I believe Mason Greenwood is going to be playing and involved a lot and, when he is, he's going to score goals."

Chelsea are one of our oldest foes and, along with United, are one of just six ever-presents in the Premier League era. Since the league’s inception in 1992, we’ve hosted Chelsea 27 times and have won 10, drawn 11 and lost just six times. The Reds first played the west London side in 1905 and, of the 183 previous meetings in all competitions, we’ve won 75, drawn 55 and lost 53. United have a good recent record against Chelsea at Old Trafford and are unbeaten in our last six encounters with the Blues, the last of which ended 1-1 in April.

 Man Utd v Chelsea, Old Trafford, 4.30pm KO
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Match odds: Man Utd 5/4 Draw 12/5 Chelsea 5/2

Good riddance and thanks for nothing, Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku's 73m move to Inter Milan late on Deadline Day finally brought the curtain down on a forgettable two years at Old Trafford.
Lukaku's style was clearly at odds with the fast, incisive counter-attacking ethos that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to implement. That - coupled with the fact he missed training and leaked private data - spelt the end for Lukaku. Juventus had seemed his likely destination but when a swap with Paulo Dybala failed to materalise, Inter, who have been linked with him all summer, got their man.

He becomes the third most expensive signing by a Serie A club after the Juventus duo of Cristiano Ronaldo (£99.2m) and Gonzalo Higuain (£75.3m).

It represents great value for a player signed from Everton two years ago for only 2 million more than we sold him for, a player and striker supposed to be the figurehead of Jose Mourinho's new-look, new era Manchester United side. Signed as the marquee spearhead of the attack in the wake of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's departure, he arrived with a lofty price tag and even loftier expectations. So how will he be remembered at Old Trafford? Quite simply, as a player who was never good enough to wear the red of United. A catastrophe, in fact.

Lukaku hit 42 goals in 96 games for the club, but most of these were consolation strikes or tap ins at 3-0 up. He probably missed as many sitters as he did score.
However, 26% of his United goals - 11 out of 42 - came in the first two months of his Old Trafford career during a red hot start in which he scored ten goals in his first nine months. Every new relationship has a honeymoon period.

You can point to his brace against PSG as evidence of his importance to the club as a match-winner, but let's be honest - both were gifts that any striker worth his weight in gold should be putting away. Statistically he outscored everyone else during his time in Red, but then Djimi Traore won the Champions League so it goes to show stats can be misleading. Distorted somewhat further by the fact that he only scored more because he played every week whereas his contemporaries - Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial et al - were in and out of the team through injury.

He was injured tripping over the ball at Southampton, couldn't trap a bag of cement, can't run, doesn't put a shift in and always looked double the size he should be.
 His disaster class away at Valencia last season, albeit one in the final throes of the Mourinho era, came to epitomise Lukaku's time at the club. It was the worse individual performance I've ever had the misfortune to witness. It's also fair to say that Lukaku has not behaved very professionally whilst angling for a move away. He's missed training twice and publicly leaked private data, actions that saw him fined, left Solskjaer incensed and paved the way for his departure. 

He will be remembered as another expensive flop - up there with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez, Memphis Depay and Radamel Falcao. The latest in a long line of foreign exports to find the challenge of reinvigorating United one too much to ask.

To celebrate Lukaku's depature from Old Trafford, here is a video of him doing what he does best. Good riddance and thanks for nothing.

Lessons have been learned as United pull out of Dybala coup

United have finally shown we've learned our lesson after pulling out of the deal for Paulo Dybala with the forward's wage demands deemed excessive. Dybala's heart never seemed to be geared towards Old Trafford, and the Argentine will instead stay and fight for his place under new Juve boss Maurizio Sarri.

The swap deal - which also would have involved Romelu Lukaku - is certainly not the first time United have gone after a big name signing in the final throes of a transfer window. It was in not too dissimilar circumstances that a certain Angel Di Maria arrived as the club's then record signings back in 2014. A superstar Argentine forward interested only in the pound signs in front of his eyes, under a star-struck boardroom regime only wanting the shirt sales and sell on value such a signing can bring. Where have we heard that one before? It seemed like we were walking that road once again with the 25-year-old Argentina international but have come to our senses and, on reflection, made the right decision.

Di Maria came with a hefty price tag and even loftier expectations but turned into a flop during a catastrophic ten months in Manchester. He never wanted to come, was motivated only by the wages and used us a stepping stone to get his move to PSG.
  The Alexis Sanchez saga is further proof of what can happen when a player's demands cause the entire wage structure to become lopsided. Further proof, again, that lessons have been learned and wrongs are being righted.

There is no doubt Dybala would have represented a significant upgrade on Lukaku. A versatile, technically gifted, two-footed player capable of playing anywhere across the front line, it would have been an undoubted and surprising coup had we managed to land him. But I don't want any player at our club that doesn't want us, they need to want to play for the club and that seemed a major sticking point during the talks with Dybala, his agent and the club. Perhaps we've dodged a bullet.
This looked to have the grubby stamp of Ed Woodward all over it, unable to resist the big name, big money commercial signing that has become the United CEO's raison d'etre during his reign of terror.
It is a strategy that has become synoymous with the wider Old Trafford malaise. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made no secret of his preference for young British talent, Dybala did not seem to fit that philosophy so it stands to reason that United officials concluded further bids for Dybala would be a move away from that.

 Our need for a central midfielder is arguably greater than it is for a forward or winger with the window closing on Thursday. Lukaku has been left in limbo with United having turned down a bid for him from Inter Milan. With the emergence of Mason Greenwood and Angel Gomes during pre-season, United are likely to turn to youth should Lukaku leave without a replacement being signed.

Maguire comes with a hefty price tag but no doubt an upgrade

So it's official. Manchester United have finally got their man after agreeing an eye-popping 80m fee with Leicester for Harry Maguire.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had made the signing of a centre-back his top priority this summer and after what has seemed like an eternity, despite Leicester digging their heels in, Maguire is on his way to
Old Trafford. So badly was the 26-year-old needed, United have made him the world's most expensive defender, eclipsing the £75m paid by Liverpool for Virgil van Dijk back in 2018.

If Maguire goes on to have even half the impact of his centre-back cohort down the east Lancs road, then it's money well spent. He may be not worth even half the fee we have paid, but anything to keep Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo as far away from the team as possible is fine by me. A one legged Maguire would be a significant upgrade on the defenders we already have at the club - Victor Lindelof aside. United have been in need of a dominant defensive force since Nemanja Vidic left for pastures new five years ago. Having watched the Chuckle Brothers - Old Trafford's survivors extraordinaire -   stealing a living through our fingers - for the best part of a decade, Maguire will certainly provide that. Calm, composed, strong in the air (no surprise with a head that size!) and a ball-playing centre back, he will complement the grit and guile of Lindelof perfectly. These two have to be our first-choice pairing it is as simple as that. Axel Tuanzebe has done well in pre-season and can provide the cover if needed as third choice.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, United have a centre back pairing to trust and have confidence in. With the addition of two excellent young English full-backs on either side in Aaron Wan - Bissaka and Luke Shaw, the Reds backline looks in its rudest health for many a year. I'm a big fan of Eric Bailly, he is our best defender, but you can't rely on a player made of balsa wood.
Matthijs de Ligt was a non starter after our previous target went to Juve, and - although we could've had Toby Alderweireld - no doubt considerably superior to Maguire - you can see why Solskjaer plumped for the latter. We were priced out of a move for Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly.  Alderweireld would have been available for a paltry £25m, peanuts for a player considered one of the finest exponents of his craft. But he's 30, injury prone and would only be a short-term option, albeit a very good one. Maguire, on the other hand, is still only 26, appears a better fit long term and is also in keeping with Solskjaer's transfer raison d'etre of bringing the best of British to Old Trafford.
Maguire's aerial prowess also makes him stand out and he is considered one of the most consistent defenders in the league.

On average, he won an aerial battle once every 22 minutes for Leicester last term, better than both Lindelof and Jones (37 and 27 minutes respectively) and significantly better than Bailly (49 minutes). Smalling, though, won aerial duels slightly more regularly, once every 20 minutes last term, as per BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49208153

The rise and rise of Maguire - from Sheffield United to Leicester via Hull and England - to one of the biggest clubs in the world for a gargantuan transfer fee - is undoubtedly a great story. But his move to Old Trafford brings a kind of scrutiny that will be alien to the player. For that price tag, he will be expected to transform our defence in the manner Van Dijk has done for the Scousers. Not just plugging the cataclysmic chasm and the most glaring leaks, but doing so with a sense of calm and authority.
For a young man from England's Steel City who went with his mates to Euro 2016 to cheer on his country, his life has changed beyond all recognition.
The Slabhead Cometh.

The Slabhead Cometh: Harry Maguire to become world's most expensive defender

United finally look set to land manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's priority signing with the deadlock broken in our pursuit of centre-back Harry Maguire.

After having a 70m bid turned down earlier in the summer, United upped the ante and, after a game of tug and war in which Leicester dug their heels in, this time we look to have got our man.
Maguire, subject to the obligatory medical, will become our third summer signing after Aaron Wan - Bissaka and Daniel James. Despite other cheaper, arguably better, options being up for grabs elsewhere (Toby Alderweireld, anyone), the signing of Maguire continues Solskjaer's raison d'etre of bringing the best of British to Old Trafford.

United have not boasted a centre-back worthy of the name since Nemanja Vidic, and - although I'm not for one minute suggesting Maguire is anywhere near that level - he represents a significant upgrade on what we already have. Maguire, or Marcos Rojo and the Chuckle Brothers? It is a no brainer. With respect, anything to keep those three as far away from the team as possible is good with me.
There is no way on Planet Earth that Maguire is worth the money we have paid, but United's defence in its current state has more holes than a packet of Swiss cheese, so its needs must. It's been common knowledge that we've needed a centre back for what feels like an entirety, and that desperation no doubt contributed to the eye-watering sum Leicester demanded for the player. It is an epitome of the current transfer market that ten years ago, £80m would have got you Cristiano Ronaldo at his peak, now it gets you a Sheffield-born lad from Leicester with the most famous forehead in the land. How times have changed.

After years of watching Chris Smalling and Phil Jones's slapstick antics through our fingers, Maguire provides us with a calm, composed ball-playing centre back to slot in alongside United's "Iceman" Victor Lindelof. With the exciting addition of Wan - Bissaka on the right and double Player of the Year Luke Shaw on the other side, our backline looks to be in its rudest health for many a year.

He will become the world's most expensive defender with the fee to eclipse the 75m paid by Liverpool for Virgil Van Dijk - and let's hope the man affectionately known as 'Slabhead' has a similarly stellar impact for us. If that's the case, then Maguire will represent value for money.

Maguire became an unlikely cult hero during England's run to the World Cup semis last summer and his much-anticipated United move caps a meteoric rise to the upper echelons of the English game for the boy from Sheffield.

Three weeks ago, United were still assessing other options but slowly these had fallen by the wayside, leaving Maguire as the single option.
Solskjaer believes Maguire has not only the playing style but also the leadership qualities United's current squad requires.

 The Slabhead Cometh!

Pre-season match report: Man Utd 4-0 Leeds

United turned on the style in our second pre-season tie Down Under to put old foes Leeds United to the sword with a 4-0 drubbing.

Mason Greenwood scored his first goal at senior level, fellow Academy graduate Marcus Rashford added the second before unlikely scorer Phil Jones and Anthony Martial completed the rout against Marcelo Bielsa's men.
Although this was only a benign pre-season friendly on the other side of the world, the first meeting between these two historic footballing Uniteds since 2011 was witnessed by 55,274 fans inside the Optus Stadium.

Energy and intensity were again features of the performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United. Some of the attacking football, particularly on the counter, was really pleasing on the eye.

Once again, the boss handed out valuable playing time to 23 members of his squad and he also started new signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James together for the first time. Axel Tuanzebe was the only unused substitute, while the ill David De Gea and injured Lee Grant, Luke Shaw and Romelu Lukaku were all ruled out ahead of kick-off.

After Rashford had fired off a post early on, United took the lead four minutes later. Aaron Wan - Bissaka latched on to Paul Pogba's perfectly weighted through ball and in turn picked out Greenwood. The 17-year-old has been widely tipped for stardom and definitely looked sharp to slot in his first senior goal with aplomb.

The Reds kept up the early pressure and Pogba was in the thick of it, bending a 25 yard free-kick just wide of the post before stinging the palms of Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla with a rasping drive moments later. The engimatic Frenchman looked hungry and busy in the heart of the Reds engine room.
The Championship side then went close twice in quick succession as Jack Harrison flashed a shot wide and Patrick Bamford was denied by Sergio Romero from close range.

Leeds were made to pay for those missed opportunities on 27 minutes, when a sweeping Reds move culminated in Rashford's smart finish beyond Casilla after Scott McTominay had played him in.

The Reds' pace was proving to be effective on the break and a third goal almost arrived on 44 minutes, via the right foot of new signing Daniel James. He burst forward up the flank and saw his low shot bounce off the post in the last meaningful moment of first-half action.

 Just like he did against Perth Glory, Solskjaer made 11 substitutions at the start of the second half and that fresh side began with the same intentions as the men they replaced – to attack and score. After seeing a shot from range tipped over the bar, Andreas Pereira earned an assist from the resulting corner when his in-swinging cross was powerfully headed home by the much malinged Jones.

Angel Gomes was playing in the no.10 position, just behind striker Martial, and the diminutive Academy graduate showed several glimpses of his natural talent on the ball, most notably having cut inside from the right and dragging a left-footed shot just wide.
 The fourth goal arrived with 21 minutes to play when impressive substitute Tahith Chong was scythed down by Liam Cooper and Martial duly did the rest from the spot.

Solskjaer’s United have now confidently earned two successive wins during Tour 2019 and proudly, all six of the squad’s goals so far have either been scored or set up by an Academy graduate, including the spot-kick earned by Chong and converted by Martial.

The squad is set to fly from Australia to Singapore on Thursday afternoon for the second leg of this hard-working pre-season tour.

Serie A giants Internazionale await on Saturday, in a match that will provide a more detailed assessment of the progress that is being made by Ole and his staff. 

First half United: Romero, Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Lindelof, Rojo, McTominay, Pogba, Greenwood, Mata, James, Rashford.
Second-half United: J. Pereira, Dalot, Smalling, Jones, Young (C), Matic (Garner 78), A.Pereira, Chong, Gomes, Lingard, Martial.

United’s full-back positions in safe hands again following exciting Wan-Bissaka signing

February 25, 2018. Crystal Palace are preparing for a Premier League game at home to Spurs. They have more players on the treatment table than they have available for selection and a crisis in defence.
Right-backs Joel Ward and Martin Kelly are both out. Reds loanee Timothy Fosu-Mensah is needed in central defence because so many other players are injured. Eagles manager Roy Hodgson hands a professional debut to a player few in the ground had even heard of: an English 20-year-old of Congolose heritage by the name of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
 You’d have got long odds on that very same young man quickly becoming Manchester United’s fourth most expensive player ever. Only Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria have cost us more. Exalted company indeed.



Fast forward a year, and Wan-Bissaka is now among the most sought-after young players in English football. He has the kind of vital statistics that make football’s data analysts drool, and the Croydon boy has burst on to the scene with a stunning breakthrough season in south London, his first full campaign at the top level. ‘Rapid rise’ hardly begins to cover it. Leading the way for tackles, take ons and interceptions, Wan – Bissaka, statistically at least, is the real deal.
The saying goes that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Eight years on from the retirement of the last Manchester United full-back worthy of the name in Gary Neville, and following the signing of Wan - Bissaka, the Reds finally look set to once again possess a full-back that doesn’t make cover us our eyes in horror.
From the reckless Rafael, the consigned to oblivion Matteo Darmian via the never-quite-good-enough winger turned full-backs Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young, the United right-back berth has gone from a beautifully maintained, well trodden footpath of Neville and co. to a polluted and abandoned wasteland in recent years.

Consigned to the history books are the days of craned necks as Young’s umpteenth cross ends up ten rows back in the Stretford End, and the howls of derision as another corner trundles tamely into the shins of the nearest opposition defender. Gone for good is United’s penchant for the makeshift, the make do and mend that has epitomised our fall from grace. No disrespect to Messrs Valencia and Young – both loyal and long-serving – but both have become synonymous with United’s dated mentality.

Wan-Bissaka may be, in my view, £20m overpriced after one season at this level but, still only 21, he is both our present and our future. The second summer signing in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s new, fresh transfer policy of recruiting the cream of young British talent, Wan – Bissaka is well equipped to serve United for more than a decade. When you look at it like that, and consider the fact that his fee probably reflects the current going rate for any decent full-back, then 50 million doesn’t look so steep after all. If Juan Bissaka is worth that much, then what’s the demand for two Wan-Bissaka’s (sorry, see what I did there?).

Worlds apart from the moribund mob that masqueraded as their predecessors, the prospect of Wan-Bissaka in tandem with Diogo Dalot (one year AWB’s junior), is enough to have United fans excited again. Regarded as two of the best young attacking full-backs on the continent, the pair – together with Player of the Year Luke Shaw – will ensure that United’s full-back positions are in rude health again. There is lots to admire about Solskjaer’s Old Trafford ideology, now we just need to crack on with getting a midfielder and a centre back or two.