#Roberto De Zerbi

[nuonzheded]

[jessethegoat]

Passion

"Don't hang on that anger, Roberto. It's bad for your heart..I know it's rich coming from me"

[schmel-schmel]

Brighton vs Brentford

[henry-tasman]

🤭

[trentskis]

the mutual respect of two slayful managers is something that can be so personal

[millythegoat]

Then and Now 🥲

[dinosaur-stickers]

Alexis Mac Allister and Roberto De Zerbi

[thommi-tomate]

According to Florian Plettenberg, after Xabi's confirmation to stay at Leverkusen, Bayern is forced to reduce its list to two candidates, Roberto de Zerbi and Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick was mentioned but is no longer on the list, Max Eberl's goal is to announce the new coach in April

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion

Well fuck. There goes the home game record.

Following the Arsenal defeat, matches against Brighton and Bayern Munich weren't exactly upcoming points of optimism for United fans. We're in an injury crisis off the back of a busy (perhaps too busy) pre-season and looking laggy and disjointed.

Contrast that with Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton sitting high up in the league, with only a shock counter-attack defeat to West Ham besmirching their name. Today, 5 starters were missing from the first XI and they sold MacAllister and Caicedo in the summer. Surely United could capitalise, right?

The first half started well for United, with a good opening 15 minutes where the Reds could have put themselves ahead. Hojlund looked promising, Rashford was finding space out left, and the midfield was compact and holding possession well, with a generally strong pressing game high up the field.

De Zerbi understood Ten Hag's pressing approach though, and started to drop Pascal Groß deeper and let Veltman push up at RB. This worked and let Brighton break through United for an easy Danny Welbeck goal to make things 1-0. Notably poor marking and tracking from both Casemiro and McTominay on this goal.

United were unlucky not to equalise, with Hojlund slotting home from a Rashford pass, but the assist was judged by VAR to have crossed the goal line and was ultimately ruled out. HT 0-1.

If the first half was an unfortunate scoreline, the second half was not.

Brighton came out the more positive in the second half and United failed to regain control of the possession, and looked timid on the counter. The lack of a proper RW (not that I miss Antony) meant United saw heavy pressure on Rashford and Hojlund which ultimately stifled their chances.

Rashford perhaps could have done more, and there were a few occasions where fans deemed him greedy rather than servicing his striker, but the lack of a trusted CF will take time to unlearn for Marcus. That relationship with Rasmus will come good.

Unfortunately, it's not good yet, unlike Pascal Groß who decided to send all of our defenders to the shops with a great feint on the edge of the box before burying a 2nd goal for Brighton.

From here the game felt all Brighton, and this is where I put blame on the manager. Hannibal came on for the lacklustre Casemiro, which was a solid move, but Eriksen was left on (for the full match) despite being a slow, heart risk 31 year old, and so too was Scott "I don't like to play possession football" McTominay. This is a big part of why I personally wanted McSauce sold in the summer - he does not suit Ten Hag Ball and it's a big issue. He is a talented player, and shining for Scotland, but like Maguire he needs to move to a club that plays a system which suits his skill set and style.

Unfortunately Brighton's subs also paid off and saw João Pedro score a 3rd and Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati almost bag a 4th. Confidence at 0-2 amongst defenders was not high, and it felt like United missed Aaron Wan Bissaka at RB today vs Mitoma and Lamptey.

Props to Hannibal Mejbri who, bar a clumsy yellow card, had a very solid performance and scored United's consolation goal, but it's a game where it's very difficult to find players to praise.

Ten Hag's late substitutions of Pellistri and Garnacho for McTominay and Reguilon felt like too little, too late. They also meant that for the last 5 minutes (+ 6 stoppage too) Bruno Fernandes had moved from RW to CB. Madness.

I won't blame ETH for resting Hojlund, despite the crowd's protestations and boos, because ultimately the lad's returning from an injury and trying to find match fitness. Steady as it goes on that front, and especially with so much promise and the Bayern game coming up. It's just a shame, because Martial as his replacement was pretty useless - as per usual.

Had United capitalised on the early pressure, maybe the game is different. If Ten Hag responded to De Zerbi's tactical tweaks, maybe the game is different. If Ten Hag made the winger substitutions earlier, maybe the game is different. If Mount/Amrabat/Mainoo were fit then the game is definitely different. This is the problem though: there's so many ifs, buts and maybes, but the cold hard fact is that United were outplayed and deservedly beaten at home.

Next up: Bayern Munich away. We can only pray that their draw with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga has hit morale a bit and that United turn up eager to make amends / prove a point against a fellow big club. Defeat isn't awful, but we have to show improvement, desire, and cohesion. Today looked like 11 individuals thrown together, and our best player was a loanee LB from Spurs, closely followed by the youngest player on the pitch. Hardly awe-inspiring stuff.

[protect-daniel-james]

This has a whole new meaning now... For Thomas, Brighton will forever be his boyfriend Graham's club. And he will stand for what's right for his boyfriend.

[coachtfd]

Ferguson’s on a hat trick and you take him off for Welbeck? De Zerbi wyd?? 😬

[garciapimienta]

Brighton on Europa next season 🥺🥺🥺

[jessethegoat]

Brighton?! U okay man?!?!

All raise to the Worm Nation President Sean "brexitball" Dyche

[ohhtobeagooner]

could you imagine

[eurofootnews]

OM - Le Havre AC : Roberto De Zerbi ne cache pas sa déception malgré le succès

Continue reading OM – Le Havre AC : Roberto De Zerbi ne cache pas sa déception malgré le succès