MANCHESTER UNITED SEASON REVIEW PART 3

MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

SEASON REVIEW 2017-18

THIRD HALF(10^th MARCH 2018 - 19^th MAY 2018)

Manchester United’s season was now in a very crucial phase and the month of March was going decide whether their season was going to be better season in comparison to previous years or it will once again turn out to disappointing.

United kicked off a crucial week with an excellent win over their rivals Liverpool with a 2-1 victory and had almost assured their 2^nd spot in the league. The win against their rivals made the fans once again believe in the team and then came that dreadful night at Old Trafford on 13^th March where they were facing Sevilla in the return leg of UCL where though United were the favourites to win they lost the match 2-1 in the second leg and the aggregate score was 2-1 in favour of Sevilla. This dismal performance by the team disappointed the fans once again arose many questions on manager’s tactics and his style of play.

Then they faced Brighton in the FA Cup quarter final and despite winning the match 2-0 the fans were unhappy with the team and were rightly so. That week was going to be a very crucial week in context of the entire season and they needed to win all the matches but the lost the most crucial match i.e. UCL R16 match and as a result FA cup was the only competition left for them to play for. Manchester United were playing in the league just for the sake of finishing second. Next they faced Manchester City who were just one win away from becoming champions of Premier league but United and their fans didn’t want it to happen specifically against them. In the match at the end of first half United were 2-0 behind and what transpired next could feature as one of the greatest comebacks in recent times as United defeated City 3-2 as their star player Paul Pogba scored a brace and by delaying City’s celebrations United fans had something to cheer for but the corresponding week they lost to West Brom who were on the verge of relegation and making City the rightly deserved champions of England. United’s next main fixture was in the semi finals of the FA cup where they successfully defeated Tottenham 2-1 and booked a place in the final on 19^th May against Chelsea. The league ended on 13^th May where they defeated Watford 1-0 unconvincingly though but the fans had got used to it . Next task for the Red Devils was to end the season with a trophy but they failed to do so as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea and left the fans disappointed once again.

The season that started with such high promises ended in despair for Manchester United . 5 years have passed since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager of Manchester United and since then the team has lost its way of playing but fans have full faith in the players and the manager and hope that the glory years will return soon.

MANCHESTER UNITED SEASON REVIEW PART 2

MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

SEASON REVIEW 2017-18

SECOND HALF(18^th NOVEMBER 2017- 5^th MARCH 2018)

Manchester United’s season was slowly and steadily losing its pace and the injury to United’s star midfielder Paul Pogba was one of the reason. The international break (5^th Nov - 17^th Nov) proved to be a boon for the team and after the break the team was galvanised together with the returns of their star players. The first game after the break saw them face Newcastle at Old Trafford and despite the away team taking an early lead United came back and won the match quite comfortably 4-1. From there on the red devils took charge and went on a string of wins and got a very crucial victory at the Emirates where David De Gea was simply sublime that day.

United defeated Arsenal 3-1 that night and their keeper was to be given most of the credit that day for making record 13 saves in a single game. In UCL as well they coasted their way into the round of 16 by winning 5 out of the 6 games and losing just once against Basel 0-1(A) in the group stages. Then came the biggest challenge of the season for them where they faced the inform Manchester City who proved to be too good for them . Their encounter on 10^th December saw the Citizens sweep away the Red Devils 2-1 and the title seem to be gone at that point as Manchester City had 11 points lead over second place Manchester United. This game not only proved to be a nightmare for United but also destroyed their team’s confidence and United got shockingly knocked out by Bristol City 2-1 in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup and went win-less in the next 3 games of the league and their title challenge disappeared.

At beginning of the new year United were out of the Carabao Cup and were too far in the league. FA cup and UCL were only competitions left for them to play for. United began their Fa cup journey by defeating Derby 2-0 in the 3^rd round. They defeated Everton, Stoke & Burnley since the start of the year. The transfer window was open in Jan and Manchester United made a very big and much awaited signing of Arsenal’s star player Alexis Sanchez in a swap deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Sanchez started his United career on a good note by winning against Yeovil town 4-0 in the 4^th round of FA cup but then they faced defeat against Tottenham 2-0 and from there on rumours of rift between manager Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba started to arise and United’s season started to drift away from its actual target . Then on United went on to again get defeated by Newcastle 1-0 despite winning a few games against Huddersfield in the league as well in the Fa Cup the fans were disappointed with team’s performance and their style of play.

United were the cause of their own problems. Though they reached the quarter finals of the FA cup there were rumours of lack of team bonding since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez who was himself not performing well and few of the experts questioned the teams decision of signing him. Despite this the team had to go ahead and perform and with the much awaited UCL clash with Sevilla the players had a chance to shut the haters. But the manager had other plans as he set a very defensive side in the away leg and they survived there with a 0-0 draw against Sevilla due to the heroics of their ever reliable goalkeeper. Whether that away result suit United or cause problems to them was to be seen in the future. In the next few games they defeated Chelsea 2-1 at home and even defeated Crystal Palace in late dramatic comeback to win 3-2 .

There were many important fixtures lying ahead were they would face Liverpool in the league , Brighton in FA Cup quarter final and much anticipated return leg in UCL against Sevilla. The coming weeks were going to shape the club’s season of were it could end.

MANCHESTER UNITED SEASON REVIEW PART 1

MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

SEASON REVIEW 2017-18

FIRST HALF(12^th AUGUST 2017- 5^th NOVEMBER 2017)

Manchester United has been historically a huge club with its rich history but since SIR ALEX FERGUSON retired in 2013 the club had been on a decline. In 2016 United appointed JOSE MOURINHO as manager who managed to deliver in first season with 2 titles(EFL cup, EUROPA league) and got back in the Champions League where they belong.

The challenge for United this season was to build on last season and once again become a powerhouse in England and Europe and the season started with some new signings such as Lukaku (£75 million) ,Matic (£40 million) and Lindelof(£30 million) and United set to start the season with huge confidence. The Premier League trophy was set to come back to Manchester but which side of Manchester it will be was still to be seen.

The season started on a bright side for United with winning 3 on 3 matches and the team was in red hot form defeating West Ham 4-0,Swansea City 4-0 and Leicester City 2-0 . In the first seven games in the league United won 6 of them and securing 19 points in the process, then the Red Devils went to Anfield (home ground of Liverpool) and was evident form the match that Mourinho parked the bus there and succeeded in getting a 0-0 draw and from there on United lost their form and went on to get defeated by Chelsea (0-1) and surprisingly to Huddersfield (1-2) and their title challenge was seem to be fading away whereas on the other hand Manchester City were on a riot destroying teams in their path. At this moment United were 8 points behind the leaders City.

In the other competions the team from red half of Manchester were doing well. In the CARABAO cup United had reached the quarter finals of the cup defeating Burton Albion 4-1(H) , Swansea City 2-0(A) and were in the Quarter finals were they would be facing Bristol City on 20^th December. In the prestigious UEFA Champions League they started their campaign on 12^th September with a 3-0 win over Basel at home and went on to get 4 wins out of 4 defeating CSKA Moscow 4-1(A) , Benfica 1-0(A), Benfica 2-0 (H) and were on first position in the group stages with 12 points and on their route to confirm their position in Round of 16 in UCL.

Till then(5th November) United were in good spirit despite the odd defeats and were the nearest title challengers to City though City were playing some magnificent football ever seen.

Stats till 5^th November

• PREMIER LEAGUE

Matches played = 11

Wins = 7

Points = 23 (8 points behind Manchester City )

Position =2

• UCL

Matches Played = 4

Wins = 4

1^st in group stage

Qualified for Round of 16

• CARABAO CUP

Progressed to the Quarter finals

Start of a new era in F1

F1 2018

SEASON PREVIEW

Life without F1 had become boring for F1 fans but with the start of the new season around the corner it has brought a new lifeline for the fans. 2017 season was an outstanding season that showed class driving by the top drivers of the world. The season showed a mixture of aggression, passion and the dedication by the drivers to win the Driver's and Constructor's championship for their respective teams.

Lewis Hamilton was at his peak throughout the season and he described it as his best performance of his career. A season where he was greatly challenged by 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel. But due to various technical issues and driving errors by the German he lost the title and Hamilton was crowned as 4 time world champion and Mercedes won their 4^th consecutive Constructor’s championship continuing their dominance in F1.

But 2018 promises to be as exciting as it can get with various changes being made in F1 and the introduction of new tyre compounds and with the biggest change of introducing HALO it has marked the start of new era in F1.

Lewis Hamilton will once again start as the favourite to regain the title and it seems almost possible looking at his red hot form and the dominance of Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas will need to up his level with being in a big team last year he has to show his worth why he is at Mercedes as he played a backup to Lewis last year and was not able to match his teammate's pace last season. Sebastian Vettel will be once again the closest challenger to Lewis and will this time try to avoid technical issues and driving errors (like in Singapore GP last season) which cost him the title. With the vast improvement made by Ferrari last season they surprised everyone and provided a great challenge to the Silver Arrows (Mercedes) and will require Kimi to be also at his best if they want to challenge to Leaders.

Kimi Raikkonen was no where near the pace of his teammate last season and didn’t help his team as they lost the championship but will this time need to bring a next level of his driving to match the forward pack. Daniel Ricciardo was also impressive throughout the season with the car he had along with his teammate Max Verstappen who was equally impressive with his aggressive driving in the second half of the season. Red Bull were not equally as fast as the Ferrari and Mercedes in qualifying but were good in the race with showing good race speed. With the car been upgraded from last season they are expected to challenge the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari and with the strong finish last season they will be eager to start the season on the bang.

Force India Mercedes were the best of the rest last season with the budget they had they showed extremely good performances throughout the season setting a bench mark for the rest of the pack. McLaren have broken their partnership with Honda engine and are going to use Renault engine this time around and will try to turn their fortunes this season. While Renault , Haas and Williams teams will like to challenge in the midfield of the pack.

It promises to be an exciting season this time around with the involvement of all the 3 big teams challenging for the championship it will be exciting to see who keeps their calm till the end of the season. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will start as the extreme favourites to regain the Driver’s Championship and Constructor’s Championship respectively,.

Australian GP will provide the exact info what this season has in store for us with the season starting on 24^th March 2018 as Qualifying day and 25^th March 2018 as the race day.

The season is going to be one to remember.

UCL

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

QUARTER FINALISTS

UCL season 2017-18 is reaching its final stages. The quarter finalists for this season have been found. The round of 16 ties were extremely intense as well as one sided. The teams that have progressed through the quarters are

JUVENTUS

LIVERPOOL

MANCHESTER CITY

REAL MADRID

BARCELONA

ROMA

SEVILLA

BAYERN MUNICH

The most awaited match of round of 16 was PSG vs REAL MADRID but the match was not as close as it was thought. The 1st leg was almost evenly fought until the substitutions made by Zidane that shifted the tie in favour of Madrid. Before the second leg PSG suffered a huge loss which saw Neymar missing the second leg and the rest of the season with an injury. The aggregate score was 5-2 in favour of the team from Spain which helped them prevail in the next round.

Liverpool vs Porto and Manchester City vs Basel both were one sided matches as it was expected with both the English clubs going to next round easily. Both the teams literally ensured their qualification to the next round in the first leg itself. The aggregate scores were 5-0 to Liverpool against Porto and 5-2 to Manchester city against Basel.

Juventus vs Tottenham was the most exciting match of the round. The first leg saw a great comeback from the English side from being 0-2 down to finish the leg at 2-2 which gave a slight advantage to Spurs. The second leg was intense as expected with Tottenham playing at their home ground and with their excellent home record this season they were the favourites and they took the lead as well but later on in the second half they conceded 2 goals within a span of three minutes from Higuaín and Dybala which shattered the dreams of the English club and the tie finished at aggregate score of 4-3 in favour of Juventus.

Bayern Munich made easy work of Besiktas with an aggregate score line of 8-1 which saw them go to the next round. Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk was a tug of war fight between them. Shakhtar won the first leg 2-1 at their home but went to lose the return leg 1-0 to Roma and Roma qualified to the next stage on the basis of away goals with an aggregate score of 2-2.

Barcelona vs Chelsea was expected to be tough game for both sides and so it panned out to be in the first leg with a score of 1-1 at Stamford Bridge but in the second leg it was easy for Barcelona who won 3-0 on their home ground and the tie as well with an aggregate score of 4-1 in favour of Spanish giants.

The shock of the round came in Manchester United vs Sevilla game where the 3-time UCL winners lost to Sevilla who were the underdogs going into the game. United’s tactics were shocking both in the first leg as well as in the second leg. The first leg ended in a goal less draw at Sevilla’s home ground. United were the favourites to win it at Old Trafford but due lack of commitment from the players as well as some strange tactics from the United manager Jose Mourinho saw the English powerhouse dropout in the R16 against the opponent’s whom United should have defeated given the big name’s in their team.

So, the tournament has come to its final 8 starting from the top 32 teams all across Europe. The draws for the quarter finals have been made and they are

ROMA vs BARCELONA

JUVENTUS vs REAL MADRID

LIVERPOOL vs MANCHESTER CITY

BAYERN MUNICH VS SEVILLA

The quarter finals are filled with mouth-watering clashes which sees the top 8 teams in this year’s competition take centre stage. Its going to be fascinating with the entire world’s eye on the biggest club competition in Europe the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Preview

 Manchester United vs Liverpool

The rivalry between United and Liverpool needs no introduction to anyone. Over the years these matches have been considered as potential title deciding matches but this time around it is for the second spot in the premier league.

 Last time when these two sides met at Anfield the side from red half of Manchester held their troops back and played for a 0-0 draw but considering the fact that this time it is going to be played at Old Trafford it is highly unlikely that United would play the same way.

Liverpool with their trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino would look to continue their fantastic goal scoring form and pose a threat to United’s defence. As free flowing is Liverpool’s attack their defence is quite vulnerable and present their opponents with chances which could prove very costly.

Manchester United would look to continue their confidence after a great 3-2 comeback victory against Crystal Palace on Monday night. United are extremely solid defensively with one of the best defence in the league are equally dangerous in their attack with the likes of Sanchez, Pogba and Lukaku going forward.

The game would see the clash of two of the sharpest brains in world football Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp. Jose would most probably set United to play on the counter in the first half but would go more attacking in the second half as the game would open up for both teams. For Klopp it’s a no brainer how he would set his team that is attack.

Its going to be an epic contest between two top teams in Europe. It would be most probably UNITED’S DEFENCE vs LIVERPOOL’S ATTACK. A thrilling footballing Saturday awaits not only for the fans of both clubs but also for the entire world .