Erik ten Hag's Manchester United team looks leggy after just two matches in the new Premier League season. Credit: Action Images/Andrew Mogridge
When Liverpool made their appearance at Old Trafford last August, it was against a backdrop of chaos and unrest at Manchester United. Protests, poor results, troubling performances, problems with strikers, injury headaches and transfer problems — the season started in just a couple of weeks, and Eric ten Hag's problems were already piling up. Even at that rudimentary stage of the campaign, playing against Liverpool represented a mandatory victory for a club that had been thrashed by Brighton and thrashed by Brentford and was struggling with problems on and off the pitch.
Having inherited a toxic mess just a few months ago, Ten Hag no doubt knew that the beginning might not be easy. But the United manager probably couldn't have foreseen that 12 months later, with a full season and a first trophy under their belt, the club would once again be in the throes of a mini-crisis and desperately in need of a result and a game, so soon at Old Trafford, to calm the noise a bit.
However, with regard to last year's Liverpool, now you can read Nottingham Forest. United may have three points after having none last time after two games, but a lucky 1-0 victory over Wolves in their first leg raised more questions than answers, and a loss to Spurs' 2-0 win last Saturday left Ten Hag seething over an «unacceptable» result. a fall in standards as familiar, glaring flaws resurface.
At the same time, United come across as a club constantly swinging from one drama to the next, and while things aren't quite the same as last summer, there are some obvious parallels as Ten Hag prepares to greet Forest on Saturday afternoon with the team. storm clouds are moving in again, and Arsenal will be next on the horizon.
The buzz around the Manchester United owner continues to swirl. Posted by Old Trafford: Pennsylvania/Nick Potts
While that match against Liverpool took place in a mid-air mutiny as United fans staged angry protests against the Glazer family, the game at Forest will be followed by a 60-minute sit-in as fans once again demonstrate their unwavering opposition to the offended club owners. Last November, the Glazers announced a «strategic review» in which they raised the prospect of a full sale. But nine months later, the two top bidders, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, are still no closer to knowing if the Americans will sell, amid familiar radio silence in the family, as impatience and growing frustration fester. in the stands.
Saturday will also mark United's first exit since the club announced the departure of Mason Greenwood after abandoning plans to reinstate the 21-year-old striker in a huge public and internal backlash that now CEO Richard Arnold is facing calls to step down from -for the way he's leading this saga.
With Greenwood no longer an option for Ten Hag, who hoped to bring the striker back to his team, United's problems in attack have become even more pressing. Fans will have to wait at least another week to see the first look about their new centre-forward Rasmus Højlund, who was sidelined with a back injury after a £72m move from Atalanta three weeks ago and whose need to hit the ground running seems to become more important every day. It's a big responsibility for a 20-year-old with fewer than 90 senior appearances to his name and no Premier League experience, and with United still looking so flippant at first glance, fans will be shocked and dismayed to hear words by Ten Hag. acknowledge that there will be no proposal for a new striker until next Friday's transfer deadline.
Likewise, fans may wonder how the club ended up in this position when it was obvious last summer that there were notable gaps that needed to be filled. Ten Hag lost Anthony Martial to injury ahead of the season, forcing him, at least initially, to turn to Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed most of pre-season and no longer wanted to play for the club. Hoylund's injury, the Greenwood episode and the inability to improve further forced Ten Hag to improvise again, but moving his biggest goal threat — Marcus Rashford — from his favored position on the left to a centre-forward only blunted United's attack and experiment further. will definitely have to postpone against Forest.
Jadon Sancho has been used as a false nine with some preseason success, and this could represent the best way to counter Steve Cooper's team, who are likely to sit deep and try to hit the counterattack. But United's troubles don't end with attacking, where their only league goal so far came from a right-back and completed by a central midfielder, even as Ten Hag was furious at his front players in the last hour of the match with » Spurs.»
Injuries weakened Ten Hag's defenses
United have lost midfielder Mason Mount for six weeks with a hamstring problem, meaning two of Ten Hag's three-year-olds are currently unavailable, with another major injury this week when it was revealed that left-back Luke Shaw could be out until November due to muscle. injury, and his stunt double Tyrell Malasia is still a few weeks away from returning.
No team in the Premier League has conceded more balls than United this season and the ease with which their midfield has been taken over will be of further concern to Ten Hag. Casemiro looked terribly isolated in midfield alongside Bruno Fernandes and Mount, especially when United's aggressive pressing system was bypassed. Also, United looked leggy and under-energized, perhaps a hangover from the previous season's marathon when they played 62 games, and a crazy pre-season tour of the US where players complained about too much travel.
United have allowed the opposition more shots (31) and touches (88) in their box after two games than any other top division team, so they're not only porous, they're also wasteful.
Ten Hag wants more reinforcements, but Like last summer, United are struggling to move the deadwood to help raise funds for reinvestment.
In the match against Liverpool last August, United surprised everyone with a great performance and a result that cheered up and gave impetus to the team. season. Ten Hag will be hoping for the same against Forest, not least because they have a tough trip to Arsenal ahead of them.
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