#4 Struggled against mediocre opposition
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Manchester United may seem to have made light work of the Europa League this term, but, in reality, there’s been more than one occasion where they’ve barely scraped past very average sides. What we desire from the victors of a big competition is exciting and quality football, not a side which places emphasis solely on conservative, defensive football and which aims to win by slim margins.
In the round of sixteen, Manchester United drew 1-1 with FK Rostov in the first leg, a side lingering in mid-table of a low-quality Russian league. Granted it was a somewhat intimidating away leg, but the club only managed to defeat Rostov 1-0 in the home leg, a game where Mourinho’s men had the opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of going forwards.
The quarter-final match-up with Anderlecht played out in identical circumstances, with United needing extra time to defeat the Belgians by a single goal on aggregate. Naturally, any side should be respected for advancing in a competition regardless of their style of play, but this is Manchester United and very few of their performances in the Europa League this term warrant silverware.
