Manchester United and Arsenal played one very interesting game at Old Trafford. The final result was 2-2, with Arsenal dominating at some points, and United making mistakes and scoring.
Mustafi and Lacazette brought the lead twice for Arsenal, while on the other side, Martial and Lingard leveled the score.
The majority of today’s scores were a product of sloppy defense or some huge mistakes. Arsenal’s opener happened because of David De Gea’s horrifying error. The Spanish goalkeeper allowed the ball to go through his hands and cross the goal line before cleared. United’s equalizer came after a slow reaction of Arsenal’s defenders, who weren’t there to pick up the ball after their goalkeeper deflected it.
https://twitter.com/FulwelI/status/1070425393243533312
Still, Jose Moutinho spoke with kind words after the game, crediting his players for many things.
“Everybody gave everything,” he said, “that is for sure.”
“We played against a team that is in the top of their season, in the top of their moment where everything goes well for them. That is clearly a team that is on a high, against a team that has so many problems,” Mourinho stated.
Arsenal currently has 20 straight matches without a loss. The last one came against Chelsea back on 18th of August. Since then, Unai Emery has made one very cohesive team, which plays superb soccer, and is lethal upfront like they used to be in the time of Thierry Henry and the rest of the boys.
However, Mourinho did had to look back on mistakes his team made, and the Portuguese told the reporters that his United scored all the goals in this event.
“The team had a very good response, had a big soul. We scored four goals and drew 2-2. Even in matches like today where we play well we always shoot ourselves [in the foot]. Sometimes we miss chances with open goals, sometimes we make defensive mistakes, but a fantastic spirit and good performances.”
The truth is not far away, as United’s players had several good chances, and by failing to use them allowed Arsenal to gain the lead.
He then spoke about all the troubles hosts had coming into this one, with several very important players injured and sidelined, and some of them playing on the field, dragging various issues.
Unai Emery praised De Gea after the game, saying that he was the ultimate hero of United’s win. The Spanish goalkeeper reacted superbly in the late stage of the event, keeping the Red Devils in the game, on several occasions.
“I think we were close, more than them, to do the third goal but De Gea saved two or three times with good action.” said Emery.
One very interesting thing occurred tonight, and that was Mourinho’s high five to a young kid who was sitting next to his dugout. As usual, the Special One couldn’t hold his anger, and during the second 45 minutes of this clash, he was so mad that he kicked the wall beside his bench.
Whether he frightened the kid, or something else, moments after that, United’s boss got up and went towards the kid, throwing a high high-five, and smiling.
Class from Mourinho
(🎥: @ManUnitedZone_ )https://t.co/iba0jX7aII— Troll Football Media (@Troll__Footbal) December 5, 2018
That smile will probably disappear when he looks the standings. United has 23 points, 18 fewer than Citizens who are on top of the table. The Red Devils are 8 points behind the Champions League spot.
Their next match is against Liverpool at Anfield. It is one of the fiercest rivalries in the world, between two of England’s finest clubs. Mourinho is searching for a win which might boost the morale of these guys, and create a positive momentum to turn their season upside down.
Arsenal is tying the 3rd place along with Chelsea, both having 31 points. Emery’s team is playing against Huddersfield, which would be an excellent situation to improve their unbeatable streak. The Terriers are awful away from home, and very inconsistent, which puts the Gunners in a nice situation.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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