Southampton vs. Manchester United | Talking Points

Manchester United walked out of St Mary’s the 3-2 victors. In the end, the win in Southampton was far from comfortable.

With the terrible injury to standout player Luke Shaw and the return of Wayne Rooney to the side, there were questions as to how United would line up. Would Rooney get the nod over Martial, or would Van Gaal drop Rooney in deeper in favor of Martial up front to keep both players on the field? How would the void left by Shaw be filled? Here is how the Red Devils lined up:

UEFA Champions League | Group Day 2

The second set of matches to begin the Champions League certainly have some interesting match-ups.

UEFA Champion’s League | Group Day 1

UEFA Champion’s League Group Play kicks off today.

Manchester United start their return to Champion’s League play against PSV, a team who is undefeated so far in the Eredivisie, with five wins, two draws, and scoring fourteen goals. The game will also pit Memphis Depay against his former club for the first time. The Dutchman stated “I have respect for PSV but I will celebrate. Football is a game and scoring is special.”

Wolfsburg, PSG, Real Madrid, and Benfica should win comfortably on the day. Sevilla might also have an easy time of it, as Monchengladbach look to be a former shade of themselves and have not won a single game yet in the Bundesliga.

Manchester City and Juventus will be a good match up. Although the Juventus midfield may not be as dangerous as last years given the exit of Vidal and Pirlo, Man City is also without last year’s leading scorer Sergio Aguero. City still has dangerous options going forward, with Sterling, de Bruyne, Bony, and Silva. Not to mention that Yaya Toure has looked formidable again so far this season.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool FC | Talking Points

A SLOW START

From the way the first half was progressing at Old Trafford, it seemed we were in for a slow and uneventful game. Liverpool, perhaps stung by their 3-0 home defeat to West Ham, seemed content to allow Manchester United to enjoy the bulk of the possession by not playing a high pressure game. While exacting this type of respect against United teams of the past may have been reasonable, so far this season this United team has not shown a great goal scoring prowess, only netting 3 goals over 4 games in Premier League play. Also with Wayne Rooney ruled out for injury and Marouane Fellaini picking up the striker’s duties, the Red Devils did not look too dangerous going forward. United indeed dominated the possession but seemed to lack in the killer instinct, the patient and deliberate philosophy of Van Gaal dictating the pace of the game but producing a less “beautiful game”.

David de Gea to Stay at United

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has signed a new 4-year contract with the English giants. It is hard to believe after the kind of summer we were subjected to. It was clear Madrid wanted him. It seemed clear he wanted to go to Madrid. It remains unclear which club spoiled the transfer deadline, yet for the coming season, de Gea will suit up for the Red Devils.

Telegraph UK

This is a stark improvement from Romero, who has been sharply criticized for United’s lost to Swansea.

David de Gea’s contract renewal comes just in time for United’s clash with Liverpool tomorrow, September 12th, at Old Trafford.

No doubt Red Devil fans are delighted to have their best player from last season playing again, as the next string of games look to be difficult and Champions League group play beginning.

Whether or not de Gea will stay come next summer, that is another matter entirely. What this does mean is Madrid will no longer get the Spaniard on a free and will need to pay a massive fee to secure their man.