Judging by all the analysis done on Manchester United before the season, you would be forgiven for thinking the club was in crisis. This is despite finishing second last season. However, in all seriousness, most of the criticism against Jose Mourinho and United has not been unfounded.
Manchester United: August Round-Up
Transfers
The summer window began promisingly for United as Mourinho seemed to heed to fans’ pleas of addressing problematic areas. In came Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk and young full-back Diogo Dalot from FC Porto. However, when the transfer window slammed shut on August 13th, no other major transfers had been concluded by United, unless you count Lee Grant’s arrival from Stoke City.
Andreas Pereira’s return from loan delighted fans as the Brazilian has always been a fan-favourite after coming through the system.
Leicester (H)
World Cup stars Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and the great Marouane Fellaini were rested. On the other hand, World Cup-winner Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Sweden’s Victor Lindelof declared themselves available.
United needed an early goal to settle the nerves and they got just that. Leicester gifted them an early penalty which was coolly converted by the man of the hour Paul Pogba.
United struggled to grab a stronghold of the game with Leicester having the better of possession throughout. De Gea made more saves in the first half than his total for Spain in four matches in Russia.
The hosts, admittedly, did defend impressively throughout with Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly providing long-term hope to the club. Matteo Darmian, still somehow at Old Trafford, was a default starter at right-back amidst a lack of other options.
Another player looking to make the most of an opportunity was Luke Shaw. The former Southampton prospect left his mark on the first game of the season, scoring the clincher late on. It was his first ever senior goal in professional football.
David de Gea was denied late on what would’ve been a deserved clean sheet. A cross, which came back off the post, was turned in by Leicester substitute Jamie Vardy – who always seems to score against United.
The match also featured an exciting new midfield trio for United with Pogba, Fred and Andreas Pereira linking up for the first time.
Brighton (A)
United lost at the Amex in May and things didn’t get any better this time. Matteo Darmian dropped out of the matchday squad as Ashley Young took his place. Alexis Sanchez missed out due to an injury with Anthony Martial coming in. Marcus Rashford also dropped to the bench as Romelu Lukaku made his first start since the third-place match in Russia against England.
United started slow but, unlike against Leicester, dominated possession this time. An injury to captain Lewis Dunk failed to upset Brighton’s game plan, however. Two goals in three first-half minutes gave Jose Mourinho’s men a mountain to climb. The United defence was everywhere, struggling to cope with the industrious duo of Anthony Knockaert and Solly March on the wings. Lukaku halved the deficit soon after Brighton’s second. But Eric Bailly gave away a penalty with a rash tackle on the stroke of half-time. The opportunity was converted by Pascal Gross to hand Brighton a 3-1 lead at the interval.
Mourinho made two changes at half-time, throwing on Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford for Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira. At the hour mark, he sent on his trusted lieutenant, Marouane Fellaini, who was recently tied down to a new two-year deal for reasons best known to Jose himself.
United showed little fight and even less urgency in the second half. If you didn’t know the score, you would be forgiven for thinking they were winning by a couple of goals. Fellaini eventually won a penalty in added time which Paul Pogba converted for his second penalty in as many games. It was, however, too little too late and a first defeat of the season for the Red Devils.
Tottenham (H)
United had a good record in the league against Spurs and Harry Kane had never scored at Old Trafford before this game. However, both those stats were shattered emphatically as Spurs, thanks to a clinical second-half performance, took the spoils in a 3-0 reverse in Manchester.
Mourinho caused a few eyebrows to be raised with his team selection. He picked four orthodox centre midfielders and Ander Herrera as a centre-back in his starting eleven. He seemed to get away with it though. Eric Bailly and Anthony Martial were dropped after erroneous outings last time out. A rusty-looking Spurs didn’t create much with United bossing proceedings. Romelu Lukaku’s glaring open-goal miss on his weaker foot was the biggest chance before the interval.
After starting Bailly and Victor Lindelof as his centre-back pairing for the first two games, Mourinho opted for Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to combat Harry Kane. Jones was at fault as he let Tottenham’s number ten escape him from a corner early in the second half. Kane rose highest to head home and give Spurs the lead. United completely fell apart soon after as Lucas Moura latched shot between the legs of Ander Herrera and past a helpless De Gea a couple of minutes later.
Mourinho’s response was to take off Herrera, Jones and Nemanja Matic and throw on Alexis Sanchez, Lindelof and Marouane Fellaini. After spending hundreds of millions of pounds, Jose sent on Fellaini to make the difference against a side which didn’t make a signing all summer.
Lucas Moura put the icing on the Spurs cake with a third, leaving Chris Smalling in his wake before finishing past David De Gea. Spurs won at Old Trafford for the first time since New Year’s Day 2014, a day when Emmanuel Adebayor was one of their goalscorers.
Jose Mourinho
Many are claiming that the reason for United’s lacklustre performances is Jose Mourinho’s negativity. The man, known for his man-management skills, is failing to motivate his players. At the same time, Jose seems to be happy bemoaning everything from the lack of transfer funds to the Manchester weather hindering his training plans. While it is true that there is no existing major crisis at the moment, one might be inevitable if things don’t improve.
There seem to be problems higher up in the United hierarchy with regards to Mourinho. One has to wonder whether this will translate well for the team on the pitch. Unless they can sort themselves out soon, things could get worse before they get better at Old Trafford. After the Spurs defeat, Mourinho came out and demanded respect for having won three Premier League titles; more than all other current Premier League managers combined. It’s behaviour like this that alienates him from any sympathy from neutrals and sometimes even his own fans.
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