Football - The beautiful game

United's current strikers The strikers at Man United - Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani - are facing worse seasons than expected no matter how you think of them. The statement holds more true for Martial than for Cavani though, with the former scoring just 4 goals whilst xG would predict an average striker to score about 7 goals from those chances. With only about a third of the season left to play, amassing an xG of just 7.4 would still be considered diabolical for a starting forward at Manchester United.  Martial is 25 now, and can no longer be considered a "youngster who can develop into something special". He had a good 2019/20 season, as he scored 17 goals (from an xG of 13.2) and also provided 6 assists (from an xA of 4.6). Fans and the manager rightly considered it to finally be the season after which Martial explodes and fulfills the promise he showed as a youngster. However, in hindsight, it seems to be a flash in the pan, since the only other time he scored ov...

The stories around Paul Pogba at Manchester United always swing one way or another. Ever since Pogba joined United in 2016, it is safe to say that not everyone has been convinced if he has ever completely justified his then world-record transfer fee of €105m . What everyone can agree to, however, is that he has certainly shown flashes of his ability and his seemingly unlimited potential. The United fanbase seems to be split into two major chunks; one believes he is equal to Kevin De Bruyne, and the other believes he has been a waste of money, and is arrogant and simply too flashy. The reality, however, lies somewhere between the two. Pogba has been consistently good, hitting levels of "great" in parts during his time at United. A standout match would United's 3-2 victory over Manchester City on 7th April 2018, where United came from 2-0 down at half-time and Pogba scored two crucial goals. He also went on a hot-streak during Solskjaer's initial days as the interim man...