Manchester United did not bounce back as hoped from their disappointing Derby loss to Manchester City, slumping to a second consecutive defeat in a limp display against Dutch side Feyenoord. Tonny Vilhena broke the deadlock with just over 10 minutes to play, and it’s hard to argue the winner wasn’t deserved. United simply didn’t do enough to secure three points.
The competition is certainly of lower priority to the club, and being fixtured on Thursday nights does not help. This is something Jose Mourinho has already expressed his distaste towards. However this does not excuse a display that was utterly boring to the point it echoed the same issues the team had last season under Louis Van Gaal.
The new manager’s honeymoon is now officially over, and the trip to Watford appears even more pivotal now after a second loss.
Heavy Rotation Doesn’t Pay Off
Mourinho had previously expressed his desire to rotate his squad, and give his squad players a chance to bring themselves in from the fringes. Eight changes were made to the starting eleven, as well as the team playing in more of a 4-3-3 system. Only David De Gea, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly kept their spots from Saturday’s derby.
The Portuguese boss also seemingly didn’t get his tactics right yet again after doing the same against City. An offside goal certainly didn’t help, but the performance itself was limp and lifeless. Despite the rotation it was still a relatively strong squad, but the depth in the team were not up to scratch.
Trips to Turkey and Ukraine await, with the team knowing they will likely need a win in one of those trips to secure comfortable progression from their Europa League group.
Some Players Miss Their Chance
The likes of Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Memphis and Ashley Young were all among those to get a chance. Unfortunately none of them could take that and turn it into something productive and give Mourinho a selection headache, and have made his decisions for Watford on Sunday a lot easier.
Darmian’s crossing was better than it had been in his first season, but there were occasions where he didn’t provide the width Antonio Valencia does. His defensive work wasn’t up to it’s usual standard either, though in his first game for the campaign he was shaking off some rust. He may yet get another chance.
It would be surprising if Marcos Rojo does. He was worst on the ground, and it has to be wondered at this point why exactly he is still a Manchester United player. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson would be better served returning from loan to be Luke Shaw’s backup. Memphis and Young came off the bench and were completely off the pace. They’ll be desperate to redeem themselves, but when they get to do that is now more of a question.
Herrera and Schneiderlin Stake Their Claims
Ander Herrera was very impressive in his 45 minutes off the bench on Saturday, and he followed that up with a very solid performance against Feyenoord. His defensive work and endeavour have certainly improved, whilst he continued to link play in attack in typical Herrera-like fashion. He is giving Mourinho something to think about particularly if he persists with a 4-3-3 going forward.
His French teammate Morgan Schneiderlin returned from the cold of the bench to impress in his performance. He was solid under pressure, protecting the defence well. The problem for him is he is neither good enough as a defensive midfielder or box to box player to stand out. It is the former that gives him the best chance of starting however. He did his job well and is certainly in the frame to take Marouane Fellaini’s spot in the first team from here on out.
It will be a point of interest to see how much these two are involved on the weekend at Vicarage Road.
Rashford Misses Chance To Impress
Marcus Rashford got what he and the fans wanted when he started up front, but it would only last an hour as he put in a frustrating display. He was somewhat isolated in his preferred role, and it was perhaps apparent that in the change to 4-3-3 Mourinho needs to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen when he doesn’t operate with an obvious number ten.
Anthony Martial also struggled yet again, and both players will be disappointed with the shifts they put in. Mourinho grew frustrated with this and withdrew them, and it’s likely one of them does not start from the first whistle on Sunday.
A Reminder of the Work Still Ahead
Despite starting the season with a victory in the Community Shield and three in a row in the Premier League, Jose Mourinho never believed all of what ailed Manchester United was fixed. This became apparent to fans with inflated expectations when their weaknesses were exposed this week.
“When we won the Community Shield and the three Premier League matches, I was not on the moon, I was not saying that we are a phenomenal team and we are going to destroy every opponent. I know that the situation is not click your fingers and everybody is perfect.
But, to be honest, I think we didn’t play phenomenal matches in these two defeats, but in both I think it is a punishment for the team because we deserved more than the results we got.”
All is not lost, but there is still a lot of work ahead. The high profile summer signings particularly that of Paul Pogba, who endured another frustrating display have made fans hungrier than ever for a return to success. Instilling confidence, tactical discipline and certainly a much more attacking mindset in a team robbed of all of those qualities under Van Gaal and David Moyes is going to take time.
United are still title contenders, but they are behind the eight ball compared to their Manchester City rivals. They are by no means in disaster or panic mode, but this was a sobering reminder that just because the team has a shiny new look that does not equal automatic victories. Intensity in both defensive pressing and more attacking urgency are going to be required, and that task starts again when the Premier League resumes this weekend.
