Rashie!!!!

Dre_00 said:

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Maybe I don't know the offside rules anymore but I think we struck the lottery with that decision. I'll take it but...I'd be livid if I was a City fan.

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Um yea. We got one there.

Mathguy64 said:

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Holy ***** Rashford may be the hottest player on the planet right now.

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Was just thinking the same thing. What a run of form

Dre_00 said:

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Maybe I don't know the offside rules anymore but I think we struck the lottery with that decision. I'll take it but...I'd be livid if I was a City fan.

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The guardian guy saying its in line with the new law…but add me to the group that doesn't understand why that was allowed to stand

Dre_00 said:

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Maybe I don't know the offside rules anymore but I think we struck the lottery with that decision. I'll take it but...I'd be livid if I was a City fan.

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At the professional level just running at the ball isn't enough. Playing it means touching it.

Garnacho has turned this game around. What a run for the 2nd goal and that wasn't his first since coming on.

Now defend like mad for +5.

Here comes slabhead. Everyone clinch.

Lets ****ing GOOOOOO

What a match. What a win.

Glory glory Man United!

It doesn't appear to be that black and white. Which is probably why this is going to be talked about ad nauseum.

This seems to be the point of debate. Question is whether slowing down to avoid touching the ball is an "obvious action" or not.https://t.co/00Tiklfg42 pic.twitter.com/etLrAdE2jz

— Grace Robertson 🏳️‍⚧️ (@GraceOnFootball) January 14, 2023

Regardless of the 1st goal...I'd say that United probably just about deserved the win. City did absolutely nothing in the 1st half and United easily could have had a goal before half time. City were better the first 25 minutes of the 2nd but they had exactly ONE shot on goal all game and looked lost after giving up the equalizer.

Shut your stupid mouth Tim Howard! Lol

At the professional level that's a goal IMHO. He didn't play the ball and the whole "impact the defender" clause for a field player is really gray. That's used much more when affecting the GKer.

You could argue that Emerson had to play things differently because of Rashford…but yeah it's grey

The second goal was just horrid defending by City. How both center defenders left Rashford behind them is beyond me.

gougler08 said:

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You could argue that Emerson had to play things differently because of Rashford…but yeah it's grey

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Not a chance. The center defender maybe. Emerson? Never.

*********what a game. ETH is dialing up some crazy ass decisions and each one seems to work.

The way I read the rule is that unless Rashford physically impeded the defender bc of his offsides position , then it's a good goal.

I honestly haven't seen United play like this since Fergie. Aggressive. Intense. Free flowing. Fun.

Great win! City defense turned off on both goals, fully deserved all three points.

So tomorrow we cheer for Spurs so we stay in contact with Arsenal? Cheer for Arsenal so more secure in top 4 or cheer for a tie and injuries?

I'll be happy with any result but gun to my head, I guess I'd go with an Arsenal win. A serious title challenge unlikely even if Arsenal lose tomorrow, IMO. Our form has been fantastic but we more or less would have to keep it up for the rest of the season to win. We could realistically drop what...max 10-12 points the rest of the season and still challenge for the league? Just don't see it.

nm

Dre_00 said:

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I'll be happy with any result but gun to my head, I guess I'd go with an Arsenal win. A serious title challenge unlikely even if Arsenal lose tomorrow, IMO. Our form has been fantastic but we more or less would have to keep it up for the rest of the season to win. We could realistically drop what...max 10-12 points the rest of the season and still challenge for the league? Just don't see it.

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I guess the question is how much faith do you have in a young unproven Arsenal squad to keep the pace they have had.

Analysis from Christina Unkel on why the possible offside call was correct.

Our rules expert @ChristinaUnkel says Manchester United’s controversial equalizer in the Manchester Derby was right to stand.

She explains why under the laws Marcus Rashford was NOT interfering.🍿 pic.twitter.com/T5RZ6I7Rez

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 14, 2023

If that was the only question on the test, then I'd feel more confident. But the other question is how confident are we that we can earn more points than Man City in the 2nd half of the season considering that they have better players, a deeper roster, they are still (marginally) ahead of us in the table, and we have no more head-to-head games with them.

Now come on, if I had told you in August ManU would be one point behind City in January, you would have said that's awesome, let's go for it. I think City looks a tad bit lost right now. Teams are starting to take away Haaland, and they looked a bit out of ways to score without him.

Now United will need to find another scorer, we cannot expect Rashford to continue on this pace, but City being a point ahead in January should not prevent your desire to really go for the title.

I think this coming weekend will tell us a lot. If they can claim 3 points at Arsenal then the title chase is on. If Arsenal win then it might just be too much for ManU to overcome.

Aston94 said:

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Now come on, if I had told you in August ManU would be one point behind City in January, you would have said that's awesome, let's go for it.

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I mean yeah but that doesn't mean that I would have thought it likely that we'd win it. And it's not like I'm saying don't go for it now. I'm just saying at this point, I'd rather secure top 4 because the league is still a stretch.

City don't look themselves but it's still January. Even at this point in the season, I'd say the most likely scenario is that they improve significantly in the last half.

Arsenal are definitely young and not battle tested but...their lead at the top isn't insignificant and gives them a decent cushion.

And finally, our form during the last month has been perfect...and yet we're still in 4th place virtually even with 2 other teams and pretty far behind a 3rd. That form is going to slip at some point. Or at least the odds are that it will.

The fact that the league title is even a conversation is in and of itself amazing. In August I would have given us .01% chance of winning the league. Now? It's shot up exponentially but it's still not terribly likely. Today, I'd put our chances at 10-15%. We need 3 different scenarios to fall our way. If one doesn't, it ruins our chances. Of course the longer our form sticks, the longer City struggles, etc. then that number will keep going up. I do agree that Arsenal will go a long way to determining if our chances are realistic going into February. A loss and we're minimum 12 points behind...maybe 15 if we lose to Palace midweek and Arsenal win their game in hand. Can end the title talk on Sunday if that scenario plays out. A win and a win midweek means we're 3 points back come end of the day Sunday.

Should also say that if we do beat Palace midweek, we'll have a very firm grip on the top 4. Not a stranglehold but definitely favorites for top 4 IMO. That would put us 8 ahead of Tottenham. 13 ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. And 10, 11, and 12 ahead of Fulham, Brighton, and Brentford...who should be applauded for their seasons but still are very unlikely to make that gap up in the 2nd half of the season.

(Sidenote: those first 2 losses of the season were bad...especially the Brentford loss...but they don't look nearly as bad half way through the season with Brighton and Brentford sitting in 7th and 8th respectively)

Those first two were horrible. But they were also clearly before ETH decided he couldnt be friendly and started acting like a manager who didn't care if he was shattering anyone's ego. I'm looking at you CR7 and Maguire.

The change in the team (and I mean how the team reacted to him and how they reacted to playing on the field) had nothing to do with understanding his system and everything to do with ETH as a manager.

We won't win the league. Arsenal is playing way above their pay grade and City is way way way too deep and talented up top. But this is a top 4 team right now. Play for that. Prioritize that first and foremost. Play for the Gummy Bear Cup which is definitely there to be had. Play for the EL if you can but don't let it break you. Play for the FA cup fourth.

I would agree with your 10-15% chance. I think right now I would put the chances at:

Arsenal 40%
City 35%
Man United 15%
Newcastle 5%
Rest of Field 5%

I guess I don't know the difference between going for 1st and going for 4th at this stage. I think we play to win every game in the league regardless.

Later on if you aren't close to first in league and have a big Europa league match maybe you play a weaker side for leave game to win Europa, but right now you play to win it all.

Absolutely. I was more responding to what I hope happens around United rather than how United approach their games. But if we're talking about United's approach, then it's certainly to win every match. They shouldn't be sacrificing any tournament at this point in the season.

Wout gets the start. Not that surprising I guess considering Martial is half fit and just played 3 days ago. With the exception of him and AWB, it's the pre-WC first XI

[Team Lineup] Premier League | United v Crystal Palace #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Lfa0p3Dzo3

— Manchester United USA Supporters Club (@ManUtdUSA) January 18, 2023

Casemiro misses the Arsenal game if he gets a yellow tonight. Eek.

Sloppy first 10 minutes or so. Lots of misplaced passes and being a little too casual at times.

De Gea with maybe the best save I've ever seen. Oh my word.