Man Utd Vs Chelsea

Match Preview

Louis van Gaal has urged Manchester United to "dare to
play football" as they look to end a run of four straight
defeats when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford.
United suffered to a 2-0 Barclays Premier League defeat
at Stoke City on Boxing Day, their fourth in a row in all
competitions.
The Dutchman even suggested after the match that he
could consider stepping down should United lose at Old
Trafford on Monday, although he remains in charge.
With just two days to recover both physically and
mentally after the Stoke loss, Van Gaal has called on his
players to be brave against the BPL champions, who are
unbeaten in five against United.
"You can say we can quickly get over this defeat by
playing against Chelsea but in the time in between, you
have to recover because the players have given
everything," he told MUTV.
"Then you have to manage that you are very confident to
start the Chelsea game, and that you dare to play football
– our football! It is very difficult to do that in just two
days but we shall try."
Chelsea parted company with Jose Mourinho earlier this
month but were forced to settle for a point against
Watford in Guus Hiddink's first match back in interim
charge, as Oscar missed a penalty in the 2-2 draw at
Stamford Bridge.
Hiddink has a strong record against Van Gaal, having
beaten his AZ Alkmaar side three times with PSV
Eindhoven in the 2005/06 season, and Willian says
Chelsea's top-four hopes will remain alive if they can
take maximum points from Old Trafford.
"I think we deserved to win. We played well second half.
We kept fighting and then we scored," he told
www.chelseafc.com after the Watford match.
"Now we have to rest and be ready for Monday. This
situation is difficult for us but I think we can go and win
game by game and finish the league in the top four."
Chelsea's hopes of winning on the road for just the
second time in the league this season were dealt a blow
when Diego Costa picked up a fifth booking of the
campaign against Watford, ruling him out of the United
match.
Radamel Falcao could lead Chelsea's attack against the
side he struggled with during last season's loan spell
from Monaco, having shaken off a muscle problem. Eden
Hazard is still battling for full fitness, though.
United captain Wayne Rooney may be restored to the
line-up after being benched against Stoke, while Matteo
Darmian (hamstring) could be fit to return and Bastian
Schweinsteiger is back from suspension.
Jesse Lingard (hamstring), Marcos Rojo (shoulder),
Antonio Valencia (ankle) and Luke Shaw (leg) are out.

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Romero, Johnstone,
Valdes, Darmian, Jones, McNair, Smalling, Varela, Blind,
Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Pereira, Schneiderlin,
Schweinsteiger, Young, Depay, Martial, Rooney.

Chelsea (from): Begovic, Blackman, Courtois, Azpilicueta,
Cahill, Djilobodji, Ivanovic, Rahman, Terry, Zouma,
Fabregas, Hazard, Loftus-Cheek, Matic, Mikel, Oscar,
Ramires, Traore, Willian, Kenedy, Pedro, Falcao, Remy.

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Stoke City Vs Man Utd

MATCH REPORT: STOKE 2 UNITED 0

26 December 2015 | Britannia Stadium | Attendance: 27,426
| Scorers: Bojan 19', Arnautovic 26'

Goals from Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic inflicted
a Boxing Day defeat on Manchester United, meaning the
Reds are now without a win in seven matches across all
competitions.
Louis van Gaal described the fixture at the Britannia
Stadium as a must-win ahead of kick-off but the Reds
were disappointingly outplayed by a flourishing Potters
team managed by Mark Hughes, the former United
striker whose second season at the Britannia Stadium is
going from strength-to-strength.
Wayne Rooney spoke admirably about galvanising the
squad on Friday and admitted this match could become
a defining moment in the season, yet the captain
watched the first half from the substitute’s bench after
Louis van Gaal started Ander Herrera ahead of the
captain for “tactical reasons”. The Spaniard registered
the first shot at goal, too, with a 20-yard drive that was
saved by Jack Butland.
In typically windy conditions, with strong gales blowing
through the exposed corners of the stadium, the
opening exchanges were scrappy and the weather
played a small part in Stoke taking the lead on 19
minutes. Memphis, faced by a bouncing ball, tried to
head back to David De Gea but failed to must enough
power, allowing Glen Johnson to intercept and set up
Bojan for a simple finish from inside the box.
United fell further behind seven minutes later, but the
Reds could have done little to prevent it as Bojan’s free-
kick cannoned off the wall and bounced into the path of
Marko Arnautovic, who hit a rocket-fuelled shot that
soared past De Gea from the edge of the area. The
Austrian was especially dangerous throughout the first
half and could have scored again when shooting wide
on 35 minutes, which was the last opportunity of the
half despite some late pressure from those in black
shirts.
HALF-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: Stoke 46% United 54%
Shots at goal: Stoke 8 United 6
Shots on target: Stoke 2 United 3
Corners: Stoke 1 United 7
Van Gaal introduced Rooney for Memphis at half-time
and the skipper was visibly cajoling his team-mates at
the start of the second period, urging them to fight back
in difficult circumstances. The 30-year-old played with
fire in his belly and flew into several challenges -
catching the attention of the referee - yet scoring
chances were at a premium as the game uneventfully
rolled past the hour-mark.
The first real opportunity of the half was created by
Rooney as he dribbled away from two markers inside
the area to find Fellaini but the Belgian’s close-range
shot was well-saved by Butland, the in-form England
international who has impressed so much this
campaign.
Erik Pieters, who signed a new long-term contract on
Boxing Day morning, almost floated a 40-yard free-kick
into the top corner on 76 minutes as the hosts searched
for a third goal, with Bojan forcing a save from De Gea
moments later. Former United striker Mame Biram Diouf
also caused problems with his movement and fellow
substitute Charlie Adam went close with another
bending free-kick.
Van Gaal made his second change on 83 minutes by
replacing Herrera with Andreas Pereira and the Brazilian
was booked just seconds after coming on, before
Anthony Martial and Juan Mata both saw shots saved
by Butland as the Reds pushed forward in search of a
consolation strike that never came. It's United’s fourth
consecutive defeat this month and the next match,
against Chelsea, is of great importance.
FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: Stoke 42% United 58%
Shots at goal : Stoke 13 United 11
Shots on target: Stoke 3 United 6
Corners: Stoke 1 United 12
THE TEAMS
Stoke: Butland, Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid,
Pieters, Whelan (van Ginkel 46), Cameron (Adam 75),
Shaqiri (Diouf 65), Afellay, Arnautovic, Bojan.
Subs not used: Haugaard, Joselu, Wilson, Walters.
Booked: Bojan
United: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Jones, Blind, Carrick,
Herrera (Pereira 82), Mata, Fellaini, Memphis (Rooney
46), Martial.
Subs not used: Romero, Borthwick-Jackson, McNair,
Varela, Schneiderlin.
Booked: Young, Pereira

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Man United Vs Norwich City

FT MAN UTD 1- 2 NORWICH CITY

Match Report

Louis van Gaal saw his Manchester United suffer a 2-1

home defeat by Norwich City to go a fourth Barclays

Premier League match in a row without a win.

Wayne Rooney, making his 500th appearance for the

club, returned from injury and helped United make a

promising start at Old Trafford, but they were stunned by

Cameron Jerome's goal shortly before the break, as

Norwich capitalised on their first chance of the half.

Alex Neil's side shocked the hosts again early in the

second half as Alex Tettey prodded in a second, with

United failing to make their control of possession count

against a disciplined visiting defence.

Anthony Martial, fresh from claiming the Golden Boy

prize for 2015, gave United a lifeline with a calm finish

from close range in the 67th minute as United poured

forward in the Manchester rain.

Juan Mata came close with a free-kick, but Norwich held

on for only their second win in 20 away games in the top

flight.

United, who were beaten by another promoted side, AFC

Bournemouth, last time out, started on the front foot, with

Memphis Depay curling one effort narrowly over before

Rooney dragged a shot wide after a good Mata run.

Memphis just failed to connect properly with a Rooney

cross as the home side continued to dominate, but

Norwich kept them largely at arm's length and began to

grow into the match as the half wore on.

The visitors snatched the lead just seven minutes before

the interval. After Tettey's good break, Nathan Redmond

turned inside Ashley Young before teeing up Jerome, who

sidefooted past David de Gea from close range despite

the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.

The Stretford End gave a rousing cheer in an effort to

encourage United, but Norwich sent the away fans into

raptures after another clinical counter-attack 10 minutes

after the break.

Jerome burst clear of Phil Jones after Rooney and

Michael Carrick had lost possession near halfway and

Tettey latched on to his pass before toe-poking the ball

past De Gea and into the bottom corner.

United had peppered the Norwich penalty area with

unsuccessful crosses, but one proved telling midway

through the second half, as Martial pounced on Rooney's

flicked header from a Mata delivery before firing high

past Declan Rudd from 12 yards out.

Mata's free-kick brought a good save out of Rudd, while

Chris Smalling,  playing as a makeshift striker in

stoppage-time, headed wide after running clear through

on goal, but Norwich held on for a vital three points in

their bid for survival, while extending United's winless run

in all competitions to six matches.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: “I can say a

lot of things but every word is too much I think. You can

see what confidence is doing to the players. Now it’s

very important that everybody sticks together, but that

was not good enough today. We have to win against

Norwich and we know that.

"We've lost three matches in a row so it’s not happening

so much for Manchester United. We can’t accept that and

that’s why I have to repeat, we have to stick together and

believe in ourselves. I’ve encountered these

circumstances also with other teams and other staff. The

main thing is that you have to be professional and do

the things that you have to do and work very hard

to come out of this bad period."

Norwich City manager Alex Neil: “It’s a really important

win. We’ve been in most of the games against the bigger

sides, our problem has been that we’ve been the makers

of our own downfall if you like, but today we eradicated

those mistakes. The boys were fantastic and deserved to

win the game.

“We wanted to attack this league and sometimes you

take a bit of a hiding on the back of that, but since we

lost to Newcastle we’ve been a lot more resilient and

harder to break down. Hopefully we’ve kick-started

something with this win. We deserved this victory. We’ve

got important games coming up, we’ve not got as many

points on the board as we’d have liked but this is a

welcome three points and hopefully we can add to that

tally over the Christmas period."

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Bournemouth Vs Man Utd

Report: Bournemouth 2 United 1

12 December 2015 | Vitality Stadium | Attendance: 11,334. Scorers: Stanislas 2, King 54 | Fellaini 24
Manchester United's seven-match unbeaten run in the Barclays Premier League came to an end on Saturday with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth, where Jesse Lingard was also added to a worryingly long list of injured players.
Goals from Junior Stanislas and Joshua King outweighed Marouane Fellaini's strike to secure victory for the Cherries, who are flying high following last weekend’s victory at Chelsea. The Reds, meanwhile, will drop out of the Barclays Premier League top four if Tottenham beat Newcastle on Sunday.
United – without the suspended Bastian Schweinsteiger and seven injured players before kick-off - made a slow and disappointing start by conceding in just the second minute. Junior Stanislas unleashed a corner from the right wing that caught the wind and sailed over David De Gea into the top corner at the back post, much to the delight of a rowdy home crowd at the Vitality Stadium.
The Reds responded positively to falling behind and almost restored parity a few moments later as Artur Boruc made a terrific double save to deny Marouane Fellaini and the recalled Paddy McNair. Anthony Martial then spurned another opportunity when sent through on goal by a wayward Bournemouth pass, as the French striker could only drag the ball wide of Boruc's right-hand post.
After De Gea did terrifically well to claw possession away from Stanislas when the forward was through on goal, United deservedly drew level through Fellaini as the Belgian pounced on a loose ball to bound past Boruc and finish from close range after the keeper denied Memphis. The ecstasy of that goal was quickly tempered, however, when an injury to Jesse Lingard forced him off for Andreas Pereira on 31 minutes.
Neither side truly threatened in the final exchanges of the half with the only real moment of note being a yellow card for Pereira, who flew into a rash challenge with Stanislas. Had the young Brazilian caught the goalscorer, he may have received a sterner punishment from the referee Anthony Taylor.
FIRST HALF STATISTICS
Possession: Bournemouth 41% United 59%
Shots at goal: Bournemouth 6 United 6
Shots on target: Bournemough 3 United 3
Corners: Bournemouth 3 United 3
United’s travelling fans on the South Coast may have experienced a sense of déjà vu at the start of the second half, as the Reds started slowly again and conceded another early goal from a set-piece. King, the former Academy graduate who made two substitute appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson, did the damage, this time by escaping Daley Blind inside the area, to hit a calm finish past De Gea.
Fellaini saw a shot saved by Boruc moments after and he was frustrated again when a second effort from the resulting corner was blocked by a defender. King suffered an injury and was replaced on 64 minutes by Glenn Murray, the man who scored a famous winner at Chelsea just last weekend.
Bournemouth were in the ascendancy for much of the second half and the Cherries should have extended their lead on 71 minutes when Murray ran onto Dan Gosling’s incisive pass to round McNair and blast a shot over the bar from close range. Seconds later, the substitute wasted another glorious opportunity to score with a left-footed strike that flew well off target from the six-yard line.
Martial flashed a left-footed shot off target as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, but United never really threatened to level as Eddie Howe's held on to secure a famous win that also leaves the Reds with a win in five matches across all competitions. Next weekend's clash with Norwich City is now of great importance.
FULL-TIME STATISTICS
Possession: Bournemouth 43% Unitd 57%
Shots at goal: Bournemouth 11 United 11
Shots on target: Bournemouth 5 United 5
Corners: Bournemouth 5 United 7
Bournemouth: Boruc, Smith, Cook, Francis, Daniels, Ritchie, Surman, Arter (O'Kane 86'), Gosling, Stanislas, King (Murray 65').
Subs not used: Federici, Distin, Pugh, Rantie, Kermorgant.
Booked: Arter, Boruc

United: De Gea, Varela, McNair (Jones 91), Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Carrick, Fellaini (Powell 74'), Lingard (Pereira 31'), Mata, Memphis, Martial.
Subs not used: Romero, Tuanzebe, Young, Schneiderlin.
Booked: Pereira

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