In one of their most directionless and impotent performances of the season, Manchester United lost 2-1 away to Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday night. Moussa Sow and Jermaine Lens scored exquisite goals before Wayne Rooney pulled one back towards the end of the game.
Also Read: Mourinho slams United attitude after Fenerbahce defeat
Manchester United were expected to pick up from their 1-0 win against Manchester City in the EFL Cup but drew to Burnley 0-0 last weekend in a performance that lacked any clinical ability. It was more of the same frustration for Manchester United fans tonight against Fenerbahce in Turkey.
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The United lineup included players who haven’t been regulars in the squad, namely – Matteo Darmian, Morgan Schneiderlin, Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney. However, Mourinho’s side faltered to muster any goal threat worth mentioning against a stubborn Fenerbahce defence. The stats before the game did not help Manchester United either.
Here we take a look at the 5 major talking points from United’ s defeat.
#1 Manchester United concede early again
The Chelsea defeat was the warning for Manchester United’s defence to stay alert early on, as many believed they lost the game by shooting themselves in the foot and conceding in the first minute of that game. Pedro’s goal in the first 30 seconds after kickoff highlighted United’s lack of concentration in the opening exchanges.
Against Fenerbahce, they made the exact same mistake, this time, just past the one minute mark. Blind and Rojo failed to get tight on Moussa Sow or get to the ball before him as a cross came in from the left flank and the striker acrobatically struck the ball into the United net, a shot that De Gea could do nothing about.
They could have closed down the supplier of the cross before it was put into the box as well but failed to do so. That made it 1-0 and United had an uphill task from then on.
#2 Pogba’s performance and early injury
Paul Pogba who seems to be buckling under the gauntlet of the ‘World’s Most Expensive Player’ tag, but he was perhaps one of United’s better players in the first 30 minutes of the game, but mind you United were very poor. The midfielder has attracted intense criticism from football fans across the world over the course of his first 4 months back playing for Manchester United.
Whether it is his failure to adapt to the rigors of Premier League football or his “disappearance” in games throughout this season, or if it is, in fact, a case of burnout after the Euros as his France teammate Hugo Lloris pointed out, Pogba has simply been below the level of performance many expected of him.
He has shown flashes of brilliance at times and has even scored 3 goals but this is not the same player that played so exceptionally well for Juventus. In this game, he showed glimpses of starting attacks and battling in midfield for the ball but failed to do anything noteworthy or create any significant chances and was injured after 26 minutes.
He tried to play on despite the knock but eventually had to limp off after 30 minutes to be replaced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The severity of his injury remains to be seen but here are some United fan’s thoughts with some suggesting that this was a good thing.
#3 Fenerbahce’s defence was more than able to deal with United’s attacks
It was a standout performance by Fenerbahce’s defence, as they rebounded well from their thrashing at the hands of United in the reverse fixture. Skrtel and Kjaer were particularly impressive in the heart of the defence but it wasn’t just those two, but rather the whole Fenerbahce team who pressed and defended with high intensity through the game when without the ball.
They effectively nullified Manchester United’s attacks at early stages of play before the English team could build up any sort of momentum. As a result, there was very little for Volkan Demirel in the Fenerbahce goal to deal with, except for a few half chances like that one that fell for Rooney.
Kjaer and Skrtel came out on top in the game and restricted United to very few sights at goal. Fenerbahce were compact, organised and played well. Although one may suggest that United lacked any belief and confidence and played poorly, credit should be given to Fenerbahce for keeping them at bay.
#4 Manchester United’s midfield and attack are major areas of concern
Pogba is only brilliant in flashes and struggles. Herrera is solid and has industry but isn’t able to provide that creative spark. Schneiderlin was awful and was substituted at half-time. Mourinho doesn’t know where to play Mata. United lack proper out and out wingers, with only strikers and number 10’s masquerading as wingers providing barely any width.
United’s midfield looks nothing like their midfields of old. United’s legendary midfields boasted the likes of Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs – All of who were absolutely top quality players in midfield, at their positions. Their current crop don’t even come close in comparison.
They lack decisiveness, they aren’t able to provide the killer pass, they lack bite, and they barely score goals. There is no proper defensive midfielder like an N’Golo Kante to do the running and ball winning. They lack a proper passer of the ball and a goal scorer from midfield. Pogba was bought to create and score goals from midfield but continues to struggle.
Carrick still has the quality but not the legs and is surely playing one of his last seasons for United and is past his best. Mkhitaryan remains a mystery while Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are not wingers and inherently drift inward and hardly provide any telling crosses or service to the strikers. United’s formation is also too rigid and predictable to defend against. It’s not just them. United’s striker position is another conundrum. Ibrahimovic is too static and barely has the legs to run into channels and on top of that, he seems to have lost his lethal touch, missing loads of chances. Rooney scored today but had a less than stellar game otherwise.
This game was another example of the same old story – They were directionless, lacked any belief or intent whatsoever, and were simply impotent against Fenerbahce. They just can’t score with this team and they are not at all as clinical as under Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s a huge issue for Mourinho to sort out.
His transfers have been poor – He could have bought a holding midfielder, proper wingers, and a striker entering his prime but instead splashed the cash on big names like Pogba, Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan who haven’t performed well enough.
Of course, there is still time for a turnaround but it has to come quick with December approaching soon, or this could be another season to write-off for the Red Devils.
#5 Jermain Lens scored a beauty while Wayne Rooney proved he still has some quality left in him
Jermain Lens had an excellent outing, tormenting Luke Shaw all game long. He showed drive, ability and put in effort defensively in his performance tonight. His freekick to beat David De Gea in goal was nothing short of spectacular. He curled the ball effortlessly into the net, leaving De Gea rooted to the spot. It was a brilliant freekick that sealed the game for Fenerbahce.Wayne Rooney started this game as a striker but later dropped into the no.10 position behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic after Pogba limped off the field. United proceeded to dominate the game until half time but could not make telling chances in the second half. Although he didn’t have the greatest of game, he showed that he still has something to offer
The much-maligned forward scored a top-class strike from 25 yards out as he lashed out a shot into the roof of the Fenerbahce net. It was yet another goal for the man who is so often the scourge of Fenerbahce.
He might not be the Wayne Rooney of old, but the captain can still make a difference on his day.
