Manchester Bore Draw

A trend is emerging this season involving Manchester United and big games in the Premier League. I am afraid the effects of that crushing 6-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur has meant a change in tack in approaching these games. In three games after that hammering, we have scored zero goals and conceded once. All three games have been dour, tentative and cagey. The focus is to protect the defence first and foremost before going forward. If we go forward and nick a goal, all good, otherwise the team is happy to keep a clean sheet and draw.

Not A Good Point To Gain

As a fan, it is frustrating to watch. It’s a throwback to Jose Mourinho days where we defended deep, went forward in hope rather than with a defined strategy. This I feel is a regression in our approach from last season where we did quite well in the big matches. I am not buying the argument that this is a good point to gain. It would have been if we were injury-hit, coming into the game in terrible form or were just not good enough on the day to win it. I don’t buy it if we don’t show ambition, desire and hunger to win.

Tough Position For The Manager

I understand that it is a tough position for the manager to be in. If he released the reins a bit and we got caught out, he will be criticised for being tactically naïve or outclassed. If he did what he did in these games, then he will be criticised for not showing enough ambition or courage. This strategy tells me that the manager doesn’t trust the defence enough to be able to handle the opposition’s attack if they have to take them on. Which is why he has given it a layer of cover in front of it.

Diamond Midfield

The diamond in midfield is perfect for that defensive cover but with it, the team loses its natural width. Our strikers are all over the place, they are going out to the wings, trying to run with the ball on their own and doing anything but strike up a partnership. When we counter-attack we lose the fluidity because the players aren’t in the positions they should be in. There aren’t enough players flooding forward to support the attack and by the time they do, the attack is slowed down. In this system, our full-backs got to act as wing-backs but except probably Alex Telles, we don’t have full-backs like that.

Perfect In Defence

Defensively, we were perfect. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was criticised in midweek but he always got the better of Raheem Sterling last season and did the same today. I felt the most impressive player was our captain, Harry Maguire. He has shown improvement in his performances since the Newcastle United game was at fault for the third Leipzig goal in midweek but was faultless this morning. I would go on to say that it was probably his best performance for us. The same can be said of Victor Lindelof in terms of his performances since the Newcastle match. Luke Shaw returned to the starting lineup as I expected and to his credit, he was too was defensively superb.

Greatest Threat

The greatest threat we posed was through set-pieces. The closest we came was when Lindelof’s near-post header was just missed by Scott McTominay at the back post. While we were winning corners, we looked superior in the air, just no attempt to trouble Ederson in goal though. I felt we played better in the first half and got tired in the second half. The best chance we created was through Bruno Fernandes winning the ball high in their half. The ball was played toward Paul Pogba who took a shot that was deflected wide but had he left it, Mason Greenwood was in acres of space behind him. Decision-making in the final third and lack of ruthlessness left a lot to be desired.

Not Doing Enough To Win

Teams changing their tactical system to play against us is a compliment but the onus is on us to find a solution to the question posed. It is not for us to applaud them at the end of the game for doing that. Not especially if we tried our best to force the agenda. I felt that after a certain point, it was obvious that our midfield was tiring. Solksjaer didn’t show enough courage to change tactics and find a winner. He had three substitutions available and he made only one! That too a like for like change. This is what I am upset about. Take a risk, give it a go, change the pattern of the game to try and win it. Go for the three points and if we fail to get all three, we could at least get one. I know it could go wrong and we lose the match but Manchester United is all about taking the risk and believing till the end that we would win. Very disappointed that we didn’t do more to win the game.