Some fundamental issues in our play got exposed last night which hopefully is a good thing for us (subject to it actually being taken on board by us going forwards from this game):
1. We have no real metronome in midfield like a Verratti - Pogba is not this player and he desperately needs someone alongside him who can control games at the top level so he can focus on being a purely destructive force. He needs his Pirlo and United needs a game controller in the middle if we want to compete with the big boys.
2. Playing out from the back/passing back under pressure - our general press resistance is still piss poor compared to European sides or the best sides in EPL - we keep hitting it long or aimlessly into channels instead of confidently playing it out from the back through the thirds properly .. goalkeeper is shaky with ball at his feet, Lindelof apart none of our CBs have confidence on the ball and our midfield need to be more proactive and positive when they’re being closed down instead of abdicating responsibility and passing back.
3. Lack of hold up play in CF position - both Rashford and Lukaku have shite touches and are very easy to knock off the ball in 50/50s. They don’t have a good low centre of gravity or the nous to strike fear into elite intelligent defenders ... compare them to a Kane and they’re very much off the pace and that lack of stickability up top hurt us as we had no outlet.. every time it got passed forward, it came right back at us as Rashford couldn’t bring others into play.
4. Lack of proper attacking full backs - neither Shaw or Young have that ability to beat a man out wide at the very top level or the fitness levels required to be proper up and down without needing to take a breather. Full backs are the engine room of the modern game and we are operating with steam engines whilst everyone else is deploying the latest Japanese style ‘bullet trains’. Our crossing from this position is also very 90s .. we need to work more on our cut backs and threading passes through into the box and finding men - not just hit and hope.
5. We are man united ... until we play someone good - as much as Ole has been lauded for making us play more positive compared to Jose ... we still have an inferiority complex where we can’t seem to go toe to toe against big sides. We had to sit back and counter because we just don’t go out there with the confidence to just take risks with the ball and play with it at all costs and I think that is hurting us from a long term perspective because all the elite teams have such a positive brand of football where they are looking to impose their football on the opposition whether it is home and away and we can’t even do that against a team at home.. even against Spurs and Arsenal - it was more smash and grab style play which can get results but long term it’s not the way to go if we want to return to the elite of the modern game.
Final point is that this game exposed the folly of extending certain contracts and we truly need to get rid of deadwood and inject some more dynamism, youth and technical quality into the side in conjunction with the tactical changes referred to above. No one should realistically have expected a win last night but it can be a pivotal moment for our future if we don’t bury our heads in the sand and think it was a one off.
It was a ‘schooling’ but that can be a positive if you take it on the chin and do something about it. Remember Fergie after 94 by Barca.. that is the type of mindset we need.
Got to agree with all of that to be honest.
We're a bit stuck at CF I feel. No way Rashford wants to drop back to playing second fiddle and missing out on the big games, but unless we want to play on the counter against sides like this he needs to improve with his back to goal.
I think the metronome CM needs to come in the shape of a DM. It would take a bit of onus off of the defence to progress too far with the ball. At the moment, when they pass into Matic he hasn't got the ability to keep it going forwards and so it CES back to the centre backs and inevitably a long ball into the channel for Rashford to chase after.
Young was a joke tonight, just before their second goal he's trying to press their CB. Then drops into CM before realising he's miles out of position and trying to get back. You don't get to make those mistakes against the best sides. I don't think we'll improve at LB in the summer either, we've not got that ruthless streak in saying this isn't working and splashing the cash on someone to come in and do the job. With Shaw and Young both signing contracts this season we'll see them competing for the left back spot next season with a RB bought and Dalot being back up.
As an addition I'd say Pogba was a disappointment tonight, which in itself would usually be fine, however it's not the first time in a game of this magnitude his levels have dropped. He wasn't atrocious in giving the ball away like previous, but his impact was next to none, and for a midfielder who has been awarded a lot of defensive freedom that isn't good enough.
I'd have no problem selling lots of this squad and replacing with 4 or 5 signings and letting some kids step up next season. It's going to take a while to fix all the issues so bedding some kids in next year will be a massive help going forwards.