If we can go on scoring goals like this, from Fabio Borini and only by then for pride and goal difference, we’ll be all right.
Having spent Christmas in France – just three nights – I was driving home when the match against Manchester United kicked off. I’d boldly gone for 1-1 at ESPN FC, more from the heart than the head though I did think we had a chance.
From the radio snippets I heard, we played well in the first half, had a couple of decent chances and perhaps deserved to feel aggrieved at having gone behind. Second half sounded different but we clearly defended reasonably well until the Didier Ndong clanger set up the second goal (I hear the third, astonishing as it may have been, was offside but we were beaten by then).
The two bright spots:
- Borini’s fabulous strike makes him our fourth player to score this season and will make him believe he can go on scoring.
- Swansea, Hull, Leicester and Boro all lost. Palace and Watford drew
The bottom half could have looked a lot worse than this tonight ….
11 West Ham United P18 GD-9 22
12 Stoke City P17 GD-5 21
13 Bournemouth P18 GD-8 21
14 Burnley P18 GD-11 20
15 Middlesbrough P18 GD-4 18
16 Leicester City P18 GD-8 17
17 Crystal Palace P18 GD-4 16
18 Sunderland P18 GD-15 14
19 Swansea City P18 GD-20 12
20 Hull City P18 GD-25 12
Nothing is lost. There is every reason to hope and believe we can pull clear. But with Liverpool at home on Jan 2, a result at Burnley on Saturday becomes a rather important and necessary target.
Spot on Ken, the media drooling rubs salt in.
Superb goal by Borini. I’m still worried by Ndong, his distribution is dreadful.
We will need to get stuck in against Burnley and I pray the Lads are ready for it.
I mentioned in my report of the Watford game (and Pete has made similar comments) that Ndong does not appear comfortable with the ball at his feet. Our record signing can’t appear to pass the ball.
Luckily, he’s been called up for the ACON and will be missing for a few weeks.
Decent, committed performance overall. Not sure how all the media can drool over an offside goal no matter how clever. I doubt whether Jose would have been so impressed had we scored it. Even a draw at Turf Moor and the half-way stage will look far better than it did after 11 games. Ha’way!
Did you notice the “not so special one” fuming after Kone shoulder charged Mata when he was looking to shoot. Now unless the law has changed and I haven’t heard about it, shoulder to shoulder contact is still legal but even so some daft commentator on MOTD said maybe it wasn’t a penalty because “perhaps the referee saw it as a 50-50 challenge”.
When pushes with the hands and examples of all in wrestling go unpunished am I missing something?
I also thought that the “foul” by Manquillo that led to Palace’s winner in the last minute was a fair shoulder charge so what do I know!
I didn’t notice the special one admitting that Hazard wasn’t touched and fell over when the ref gave MU a free kick just outside the box as half time approached.