AZ Alkmaar 0-0 Manchester United: 4 Talking Points

Manchester United's dismal away form continued as they failed to win for the 10th consecutive time away from Old Trafford (D4 L6). AZ Alkmaar could perhaps be the side that's more disappointed with the result having posed more of a danger to Solskjaer's men through the 90 minutes.

The home side began the game well and Manchester United appeared thoroughly overwhelmed for the opening 20 minutes. They started to get a foothold in the game and pushing Alkmaar back without really creating much. On the other hand, when the Dutch side pushed forward, they looked like creating a dangerous chance every time. Oussama Idrissi was a particular thorn in Manchester United side as he drove at defenders and played in curling balls that were difficult to defend.

Unfortunately for Solskjaer, none of that attacking impetus appeared in Manchester United's play. Daniel James and Angel Gomes still appeared to be attempting runs and getting involved with play, but Mason Greenwood became a rather peripheral figure as the game progressed. The youngster probably had Manchester United's best chance of the night when James drove a low cross back to him but Greenwood's shot was blocked.

There's a long way to go for United and they have 4 points from two games, which is far from a poor return, but there's plenty for them to improve upon in terms of performance.

#1 De Gea shines again

De Gea made a couple of stunning game-saving saves for United

Manchester United finished the game without even a single shot on target. Disappointing as they may have been in front of the opposition goal, their custodian was once again a big reason that they took a point from this game instead of returning to Manchester empty-handed.

On more than once occasion Alkmaar tested De Gea and found that the Spaniard would not budge. He's come under some criticism in recent games, but his positioning and shot-stopping against AZ were without any blemishes.

#2 The playing surface

The unfamiliar surface took some getting used to for Manchester United

There was some conversation about the actual playing field affecting the game ahead of AZ Alkmaar's home clash with Manchester United as they played out 90 minutes on an artificial grass pitch. The visitors appeared to be struggling with the pace of the game in the beginning and improved considerably towards the end.

On plenty of occasions we saw the ball skipping away from Angel Gomes and Daniel James as it tended to skid off the surface, especially when played over longer distances. It was another area where United had to adapt and by the time they were starting to look slightly more dangerous, it was perhaps too late.

Alkmaar did plenty tactically to stop Manchester United from attacking effectively, but they also benefitted from the fact that Manchester United had to adapt to playing conditions that they aren't entirely familiar with.

#3 Manchester United's static midfield

Most of Fred's passing was down the sides and without any real penetration

Any effective midfield has a player who's dynamic enough to receive the ball in tight spaces and progress it either by quick passing or dribbling it forward. Neither Fred, nor Nemanja Matic played that role for Manchester United against AZ. The presence of Mata in the team suggested that he may have played closer to this midfield duo and provide that spark, but the Spaniard played closer to the striker rather than dropping deep.

When Fred arrived at Manchester United, he showed glimpses of such dynamism, but against Alkmaar, he was limited to passing down the sides and didn't really show any signs of carrying the ball forward.

The only real midfielder that Manchester United have who's shown that he's able to link play with the attackers effectively is Paul Pogba but his current unavailability poses a big question of this squad.

#4 All promise, no effectiveness

Sugawara proved to be a real threat for most of the second half

There were plenty of good individual performances across the pitch, but Manchester United weren't able to stitch them all together. Daniel James perhaps personified that as he started off playing upfront in an unfamiliar position and was fairly invisible for the early phases of the game. His move to the wing saw him get more involved and start to make use of his pace and trickery to try and take on players, but little movement around him let him down.

Similarly, Angel Gomes on the other wing showed signs of life in spurts but quickly found that his team-mates weren't on the same wavelength as him. By the time Marcus Rashford came onto the pitch and started to impact play for Manchester United, it was already too late.

The attacking moves that Alkmaar made were much more coherent with Idrissi and Boadu linking up well. Even the 19-year-old Japanese full-back Sugawara had a few good moments against Brandon Wilson, especially when he combined with Stengs on the flank, but they were unfortunate not to find the back of the net.