Review Of Manchester United 2020-21 (Part 2)

 Europe

Over in the Champions League, we were drawn in the same group as last season’s finalists, Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) and semi-finalists, RB Leipzig. We got off to a great start in the Champions League. Two wins out of two, both we played well from start to end, getting our tactics spot on. We looked odds on favourites to qualify as we faced tournament debutants Istanbul Basaksehir in our next two matches. We proceeded to produce one of our worst performances of the season against the Turkish side in Istanbul. We made up for it in a convincing manner at Old Trafford and had to get one point from our last two matches against PSG and Leipzig to qualify. We should have beaten PSG at Old Trafford but didn’t take our chances and were punished by the Parisians. All was not lost, one point away to Leipzig would do it but we failed to turn up and lost. From a promising position, we crashed out of the Champions League signalling our mental fragility and lack of winning mentality. I felt a lot of regrets and a huge sense of pity because even if we did mess up one game against Basaksehir, we should have beaten PSG or at least got a point against them. We didn’t play poorly in that match but were punished heavily.

We stayed in Europe and were downgraded to the Europa League. We got on a run to the final and were the favourites to win it. On the way to the final, we beat two Spanish teams, Real Sociedad and Granada and two Italian teams, AC Milan and Roma. The first legs against Sociedad and Roma were scintillating, among our best performances this season. The tag of favourites doesn’t bring the best out of United as once again, we failed to perform as well as we should in the final. In a game which we should have won over 90 minutes, we allowed it to be stretched to the lottery of a penalty shootout and after a marathon shootout, we missed a penalty to hand Villareal victory in the Europa League. It was our big hope to end the season with a trophy in our hands and have now gone four years without winning a trophy.

Players & Tactics

This season, fans can recognise which players are Solksjaer’s favourites and his trusted, go-to pairings and selections. The central defensive pairing of Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire is not a favourite among United fans with both players guilty of elementary mistakes in defence. It wasn’t until the injury to Maguire did fans realised what a key player Maguire is to this team and defence. Eric Bailly had a spell where he was superb but he was used in rotation with Lindelof and didn’t get a consistent run of matches. His performances have since tailed off dramatically. Axel Tuanzebe had a fantastic performance in the first match against PSG but hasn’t quite covered himself in glory in other matches that he has played in. In the later stages of the season, with Maguire injured, Tuanzebe got a bit of run in the first team and looked a bit better than Bailly. A positive this season has been the form of Luke Shaw. He has performed consistently well this season and been largely injury-free.

In midfield, an unpopular tactic was given birth this season, playing with two defensive midfielders in Scott McTominay and Fred. It has been created to stifle the opposition more than going on the front foot ourselves. Fred especially has come under a lot of criticism. He has been industrious but has been guilty of misplaced passes and getting caught in possession in dangerous areas many times before. There is also the mystery of Donny van de Beek. He is a player that is comfortable on the ball, busy in linking up play and running forward to join the attack but he has found his playing time very limited. Towards the end, his form has dropped off as well. Bruno Fernandes has been one of our best players this season. He has broken Frank Lampard’s record for the most number of goals scored by a midfielder in a season but it means nothing because we have ended the season empty-handed. For all his goals and assists, I feel he has had several below-par matches and it is a bit of a worry that he goes missing in big matches. I feel he can still improve and get better. A point not lost on him. Paul Pogba has had some really good games and some mediocre ones. He still lacks consistency but there are no doubts that on his day, he is top quality.

In the attack, Edinson Cavani was criminally under-used. But when he has played, he has shown his class. Throughout the season, he has consistently shown us his class, professionalism and great work rate. He has shown what we have been lacking in the number 9 position since Zlatan Ibrahimovic left. Anthony Martial couldn’t build on a very good season the last time around and was back being terrible. We didn’t miss him a single bit since he has been injured. Mason Greenwood started the season with some personal problems and suffering from the second season syndrome but as the season has progressed he has got better. Marcus Rashford’s performances have been consistent but it’s still not quite at the level we expect of him. On his day, he can be devastating and then you have matches where he can be frustrating and anonymous.

Solksjaer’s job is secure for another season. If the team is to get closer to Manchester City, we need to sign the right players ready to play in the first team. The last matches of this season have highlighted a lack of quality in the first team and the reserves. We need to address the central defence and get a defensive midfielder possibly a younger version of Nemanja Matic as well as a right-winger. This is just for starters. We need more if we are to have a squad that can challenge the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea next season. All three are expected to get stronger over the summer. We got to look at our coaching as well. It has brought out the best of Shaw but the levels of most in the squad got to improve. Psychologically as well, a lot of work needs to be done within the squad.

Solksjaer has to refine his tactics and take more risks. A lot of talk of bringing the team closer to the “United Way” but I don’t see it with the cautious approach he has favoured which is closer to the Jose Way. He has to improve his utilisation of the squad as well, rotate it and show more faith in the players in his squad not just a select group of 13–14 players. Stop playing favourites Solksjaer, it is not going to get you anywhere unless you want to get sacked.