United Slashed By The Blades

 Ever since Manchester United reached the summit of the English Premier League, I have exercised caution against getting my hopes up. The main reason for my caution was that I wasn’t convinced that we were the real deal to be able to sustain that position for long. I want the team to convince me on the pitch and answer my doubts. We were going fine until we slipped on an unseen banana skin and landed on our bum with a 2-1 defeat at home against Sheffield United. It was the Blades first win at Old Trafford since 1973 and they were the first-ever Yorkshire club to win at Old Trafford in the Premier League.  The humiliation was compounded by the fact that we lost to a team that statistically is the worst in the history of the Premier League after 20 games.

Fruitless Possession

We started the game with utter dominance of possession but nothing to show for it. The one attempt that we fashioned out was put wide by Marcus Rashford. In tight games such as this when the opponent is sitting back in numbers, fighting for their lives, every small chance, half-chance created MUST be taken. We didn’t take it and this is not the first time that we have not taken a chance when we have got it in a tight game. The inconsistency of our players rearing its ugly head.

Goal & No-Goal

Out of no-where, Sheffield United took the lead and it was a former Manchester City youth product that scored to add salt to the wounds. At that time, it looked like David De Gea made a mess of the corner by failing to get a hand on it. But after viewing it again, it has become apparent that Oliver Sharp had nudged De Gea in the back when he was coming out for the corner. It wasn’t over-ruled on VAR and what happened next just summed up our day very early on. We had a corner, their goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale came out and challenged for it with Harry Maguire, the ball dropped for Anthony Martial who poked it into the goal but this goal was disallowed. Just not our day.

Struggle To Break Down The Opposition

But that was not why we lost. We lost due to a very familiar reason, we struggle to break down teams that sit back and defend in numbers. We had a lion’s share of possession but most of it was in areas that didn’t threaten the opposition. We couldn’t find the penetration or magic to unlock the tight defence. Paul Pogba started the game very strongly, taking it by the scruff of the neck but as the game wore on, he fizzled out. Bruno Fernandes had a poor first half, exemplified by a poor first touch when played in by Pogba. He did better in the second half but couldn’t make the difference.

Soft Goal To Knock Us Out

Back on the matter of missed chances, Mason Greenwood had a great chance early in the second half that he missed, typical of the season he is having. Very disappointing. But he was still the brightest of a dull front three. Martial and Rashford were invisible but strangely it was Greenwood who was substituted. We finally got the equaliser through a set-piece, Harry Maguire’s header from an Alex Telles corner, a route I had lamented for not taking advantage of in recent games. Just when it looked like we would press on to possibly take the lead, we went to sleep. It all started with Martial losing the ball in opposing half, closed down by three players. Sheffield United broke on the attack. Maguire had the chance to put his foot through the ball so did De Gea but they were both pussyfooting around. Sheffield United was able to play the ball into our box without any pressure and getting closed down. A shot by Oliver Burke took a deflection off the unfortunate Axel Tuanzebe and crashed in off the bar. A very irritating goal to concede. Soft, soft, soft, soft goal.

Not Looking Like Genuine Title Contenders

There’s nothing positive to take from this game. Manchester City had played a day before and won handsomely 5-0. It was our turn to respond and we didn’t. I have seen many champion teams and champion teams don’t mess up games such as this. Even if the team is not performing well on the day, a champion team will push across the line and show character to win. How many times must we miss chances and pay for it? How many times must we struggle to break down teams that sit back? To be honest, the last time we really played well and won was in the big win at home against Leeds United. I have repeatedly mentioned the lack of fluidity in our attack and that our performances aren’t great. Ironically, it was the character and individual quality that got us those wins and those exact qualities were missing today. My judgement on this squad not being the real deal for the league title was sadly proven right. It will take a massive shift in terms of performance, character and consistency in a short time for us to be considered as genuine title challengers this season.