da dobrowin： It was a game in which Manchester United rode their luck at times, but it was also a game which sets next weekend’s derby up perfectly. It kept United in the title race.
da prosport bet： Perhaps the biggest criticism of Jose Mourinho’s side this season is that they haven’t looked to attack their opposition when playing in games against top six rivals, especially away from home. And one look at every stat apart from the scoreline might look similar: Arsenal had 33 shots to United’s eight, whilst the Gunners had over 75% of the possession.
And yet, United earned the right to defend in numbers once they took a 2-0 lead after only 11 minutes. It was the sensible thing to do.
But what made it all the more impactful was the fact that when the Red Devils did get the chance to break, they did it with directness and devastation. Jesse Lingard’s stats show exactly what the gameplan was.
Despite not being one of the sexier names in the Manchester United team, Lingard is fairly reliable and often gets the job done. With two goals from three shots, he was deadly efficient, and at his contribution at the other end, with three tackles and three clearances showed his worth.
Interestingly, the fact that Lingard attempted only 18 passes across the entire game – of which 83% found their intended recipient, much higher than the team average of 66% – showed the efficiency of his performance.
United may have David de Gea to thank for thank for ensuring that there was no Arsenal comeback, but the game would not have had the same outcome if Lingard wasn’t just as precise and efficient at the other end.
If Jose Mourinho was looking for a Ji-Sung Park or Darren Fletcher figure, a man to rely on in the bigger games of the season, then he may well be uncovering one in Lingard.