In the 34th round of the 2021-22 Premier League season, a focus battle was played at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal taking on Manchester United at home. This game is a veritable battle of 4, the difference between the two teams before the game is only 3 points, which is also a game worth 6 points. If United win, the suspense of the fight for 4 remains. If United loses, it can basically announce its withdrawal from the top 4 with only 4 rounds left.
In this game, Lonnick made rotations in multiple positions. Questionable Maguire was on the bench, with Varane returning from injury paired with Lindelof at double centre-back, with Dalot and Tres on either side. In midfield, Scott McTominay returned to form a double back with Nemanja Matic, and B Fei front waist. In the front, Ronaldo returned to lead the trident, and Sancho and Erlanga were separated.
After the opening, Arsenal dominated the attack and the balance on the pitch was broken in the 3rd minute. Xhaka hoisted the ball into the box, Tres unblocked the ball, Saka received the ball and the shot was saved by De Gea, Tavares followed up with a follow-up shot, and Arsenal took a 1-0 blitz lead! Everyone laughs at Maguire, everyone is Maguire! Although Maguire did not play, United's backline remained unstable. After conceding the goal, Arsenal's winning percentage is already as high as 66%!
In the 5th minute, Erlanga inserted the ball in front of his teammates, burst into the box to hit the goal and was saved by Ramsdale; in the 7th minute, Arsenal fans stood up and applauded for Ronaldo, and the Premier League once again had a warm scene; in the 12th minute, C Ronaldo was straight, Elanga took the ball on the side and suddenly fell into the box, Tavares had a move in his hand but it was not obvious, the referee did not award a penalty, VAR did not give a hint, the game continued; in the 19th minute, Manchester United played 3 people on the right side of the front court, and B Fei handed the ball to C Ronaldo in the penalty area. The latter's shot was deflected and United showed signs of taking off after a jolt. Since then, Manchester United have continued to maintain a high-pressure posture in the front, the overall movement of the formation is reasonable, Arsenal's attack has been well contained, and there have been many coordination mistakes.
In the 22nd minute, Cedric was suspected of handball after falling to the ground in his own penalty area, but the referee did not show any indication; in the 24th minute, Dalot shot at the crossbar from a distance outside the box; in the 25th minute, Arsenal patiently organized to create a good shooting opportunity, Nketiah successfully faced De Gea's defense against the offside, but the shot was too directly blocked by De Gea, Manchester United escaped the disaster; in the 26th minute, the cooperation between Arsenal's 3 people easily penetrated the Manchester United defense, Saka held the ball on the right side and cut inside to Erdegao, Erdegaard then knocked Saka into the box, Tres knocked Saka down in defense, and the ball fell to Nketiah's feet, who adjusted slightly and pushed the goal.
But new issues were found in the VAR replay, with Nketiah suspected of being offside, but Tres was suspected of foul before scoring. The referee awarded a penalty after watching the VAR replay, which was Tres's mistake again! Saka scored in and Arsenal took a 2-0 lead!
At the hard moment, it was the man who stood up again! In the 33rd minute, Manchester United organized an attack on the left side of the field, Sancho broke through the block and returned to Nemanja Matic, who made a slight adjustment and crossed, C Ronaldo grabbed a left-footed goal in the penalty area, and Manchester United pulled back a goal. It is worth mentioning that this is also Ronaldo's 100 goals in the Premier League. After the goal, United rekindled their confidence and continued to increase the intensity of the frontcourt, but the sustainability was insufficient.
Since then, Arsenal have continued to dominate possession, but United's defence has withstood the pressure well, which is inseparable from Varane's state of mind. In first-half stoppage time, the two teams tested each other's goalkeepers with long-range shots. Both Tres and Erdegaard's long-range shots were threatening, but both were saved by the mentally focused goalkeeper. At the end of the first half, Arsenal temporarily led Manchester United 2-1.
In the first half, although both teams made mistakes on the defensive end, both teams let go of the fight, and overall it was a good game. Although United are behind, they play much more smoothly than in the last game against Liverpool, and their tactical thinking is clear. Expecting an adjustment in Lonnick's midfield, United blew the clarion call for counter-attack in the second half.
At the beginning of the second half, the two teams came and went, but Arsenal's attacking organization was obviously more organized, and the players' cooperation was more tacit. And Manchester United's cooperation to play in the front court seems to be not much routine, and the passing is frequently wrong. In the 50th minute, Arsenal created a chance inside the Manchester United penalty area, but Tavarez's shot went high above goal and Arteta hid his sigh.
In the 55th minute, United won a corner kick from the left side of the front, B Fei took the penalty, accurately found Nemanja Matic, the latter's header hit Tavares's outstretched arm, the referee decisively blew the penalty, VAR confirmed that the penalty was correct, B Fei stood in front of the penalty spot, but the penalty was missed! The goalkeeper had already misjudged, but B Fee was too angle-oriented and the penalty hit the left upright. If United lose the game because of this 1 penalty, B Fee will definitely fall into endless self-blame, and the media and fans will certainly question why C Ronaldo will not be allowed to take the penalty.
After the penalty was missed, it aroused the morale of the Manchester United players, and in the following minutes, Manchester United continued to exert pressure. In the 60th minute, Ronaldo swept a shot inside the penalty area, but the referee raised his flag to indicate offside, and VAR confirmed that the penalty was correct.
In the 62nd minute, United counter-attacked and Ronaldo was handed over to Darot, who followed on the right, who pumped hard but was saved by Ramsdale and hit the upright, and Arsenal escaped again. The situation was passive, Arteta made a substitution adjustment in the 63rd minute, Martinelli replaced S Ronaldo. Since then, Manchester United have taken the initiative on the pitch, and Arsenal defenders have frequently made mistakes in passivity.
After withstanding a wave of United attacks, Arsenal began to organize the attack. In the 70th minute, Xhaka got a powerful long-range shot from outside the box, De Gea's vision was blocked and he could not react, arsenal led 3-1! It was difficult, B Fei did not score a penalty, and then a wave of attack could not score, and finally Arsenal used a long-range opportunity to open the score, and Manchester United's momentum may be saved.
In the 77th minute, Lonnick made a substitution adjustment, With Jesse Lingard replacing Erlanga and Marcus Rashford replacing Nemanja Matic. In the 83rd minute, B Fee was replaced by Mata. Since then, United have clearly been like a deflated ball, with it difficult to create chances under Arsenal's high-intensity defence. In the end, the score of 1-3 was maintained until the end of the game. After the defeat, Manchester United trailed Arsenal by as many as 6 points in more than 2 rounds, and with only 4 league rounds left, it can be said that they basically withdrew from the 4-game battle.
Throughout the game, Arsenal got 57% of the ball, creating 14 shots on goal and seven shots on target. United, on the other hand, had 43 per cent possession and also created 14 shots on goal and 5 shots on target. The score was unfair because United's performance was not bad, but B Fee's penalty was a turning point. Failed to tie the score, but was pulled apart by Arsenal, and the overall situation was basically determined.