A Surreal Night in Dubai and a Scrappy Win: United Go Third
Oh boy, this is an interesting one. These past two days have been something else entirely. We had missile and drone alerts at 12:50 am. There were sounds of blasts echoing in the night. The UAE forces and defence in Dubai seem incredibly solid. Many videos are going viral on Insta and X. They claim that Dubai is not safe anymore. Yes, there have been loud sounds, but those are just the interceptions keeping things secure.
Football as a Distraction
My experience felt like being in a warzone. Despite this, my mind kept drifting to the United versus Palace game. The stakes were huge. If we win, we go third because Aston Villa got beat by Wolves.
The game started far too quickly for us. We conceded in the first 5 minutes from a setpiece by Maxence Lacroix. Leny Yoro struggled to mark Lacroix. The positioning of our goalkeeper Lammens was also a bit dodgy.
After that shock, the game kind of felt even enough. Around the 20th minute, Luke Shaw got subbed off. I hope it is a minor injury. He would be a massive miss for England if he does not get fully fit. Mazraoui came on to change things up.
Chances Before the Break
At the 31st minute, United came really close with a clever corner routine towards Harry Maguire. He headed it right on target, but it was saved by Sarr. United were actually playing well for the last 10 minutes of the half. Bruno Fernandes created a great chance for Benjamin Sesko, who headed it straight at the goalkeeper. It would have been so good if United had scored before the half. This really felt like a tough, grinding game.
The Diogo Dalot Problem
Last week Dalot had a good game. United fans immediately started talking about how he is one of the best right-backs in the league. Honestly, he has been at the club for more than 5 years and has been nothing but average. He just is not all that, and you could clearly see it in today’s game. He is an average player who can make a decent cross sometimes. I respect his fitness, and he is a good athlete, but he lacks real footballing IQ. We definitely need a good right-back in the future.
The Turning Point
The game started to go United’s way at the 52nd minute. We got a penalty call which took way too long, getting checked by VAR for 4 agonising minutes. It was a debatable DOGSO penalty. In my books, it was not a penalty but it was a clear red card and a foul. Some say that Matheus Cunha made a lot out of a light hold, but Lacroix had absolutely no intention of playing the ball. Lacroix still tried to stop Cunha, so in my opinion, it was a clear red even though the tackle felt a bit light. Anyway, Bruno stepped up, took the penalty, and scored. 1-1. We just needed one more.
Sesko Strikes Again
The game went quiet again even though United started to have much more of the ball. Then, Bruno played an amazing cross from outside the box straight to Sesko. Sesko headed it perfectly into the bottom right corner. Henderson was having a lovely game for Palace, but he could not do anything about that header or that exact placement. What an incredible run of form Sesko is in right now.
Seeing Out the Game
At around the 72nd minute, Amad came on for Sesko and the game went a bit dull. United still felt in control, but there was no big urgency from Crystal Palace. They were not getting on the ball much, mostly focusing on the counter-attack whenever they got the chance.
Amad had a few shots. One of them was a brilliant strike from outside the box with his right foot, which Henderson saved amazingly at full stretch. The match stayed dull afterwards, and the game ended 2-1 to United.
Warning Signs for Carrick
United won, but there are warning signs. If we give this manager job to Michael Carrick permanently, I think it is an issue. We tend to do poorly whenever we face low blocks. The same is true against teams that do not play a high press against United. This was the exact same issue with Ruben Amorim. However, Amorim never really got the results. At least Carrick is getting the results and making sensible changes.
But we were not great. We were just okay. We created more than Palace for sure, but we do not play two games a week like Palace does. We were not looking completely sharp. We also cannot ignore that they were down to 10 men, playing away at Old Trafford against a fully rested United starting eleven.
Adam Wharton was decent for Palace. However, it is not a good game to judge him. They were a man down for so long.
Looking Ahead to Newcastle
Anyway, the next match is Newcastle away. That will be a very tough game, even though Newcastle are without Bruno Guimaraes, Nick Woltemade, and Fabian Schar. What they do have is Sandro Tonali, who United are currently being linked with. I would absolutely love Tonali playing alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno. That would be a class pairing. But well, that is a topic for next week. Till next time, YANITED YANITED YANITED.
UNITED SCRIPTED. 
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