In their second pre-season game in the build-up to the 2021/22 season, Manchester United travelled down south to face Queens Park Rangers at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, in a game that saw what some may argue as a shock drubbing of The Red Devils.
Starting off Bright
Returning loanee Jesse Lingard bagged a goal in the 3rd minute, giving an early indication for a potential blowout as Manchester United looked tidy from the whistle. The goal involved a wonderful bit of build-up play with the likes of Mason Greenwood and Facundo Pellistri contributing, creating the opportunity for Jesse to be through on goal and easily slot the ball past the keeper.
However, Manchester United’s dream start quickly crumbled…
Sloppy Defending
Charlie Austin scored the equaliser for QPR in the 7th minute as they capitalised on a couple of defensive errors from the Manchester United back line. Wan-Bissaka consistently struggled to put pressure on QPR’s left wing-back and left winger when they crossed the ball, and that was exposed via a pin-point cross to the back post. Then the second error occurred when youngster Teden Mengi had no idea where Charlie Austin was, completely losing track of the striker, leaving him in acres of space to comfortably nod the ball into the back of the net. These defensive and positional mistakes became a noticeable factor that led to Manchester United conceding four goals on the day.
Moments of Quality, But Only Moments
Manchester United shown some glimpses of attacking prowess within this match, notably the penetrating runs for Jesse Lingard’s goal, alongside a multitude of efforts for substitute Anthony Elanga which were created via his clever attacking runs. One of said attacking runs he eventually managed to convert, to make the score-line appear a tad more respectable. There were moments of quality passing play and build-up that advanced the ball up the pitch nicely, however, the final ball and bit of quality was often lacking.
With that being said though, there’s plenty of reason to be hopeful…
People Forget It’s Pre-Season
Pre-season is not about results. Rather than requiring the entire team to dominate a smaller opposition, it’s simply about improving match fitness, conditioning, and seeing which players manage to perform and impress. It should also be noted that QPR, who started their pre-season earlier than Manchester United, are simply more match-fit than our squad. It’s nothing new, we see this every year, and it is admittedly easy to lose yourself in the inherently competitive nature of football, even if it is a friendly. However, it really doesn’t mean anything, and no Manchester United fans should be panicking about this result.
Well Done, He’s 13
Coalescing with the previous point within this article as to why Manchester United fans shouldn’t lose their heads over this result, the average age of the players who featured within this game for The Red Devils was 21 years old, with many being teenagers. It’s not like we fielded our first eleven and got destroyed by what should be an inferior team. The harsh reality is that some of our academy players will end up likely being on the level of a QPR, or even potentially below.
What’s important and useful about these games, especially when such young players are involved, is giving an opportunity to those youngsters to show they’re a step above the opposition, and have a legitimate chance to make an impact in the first team.
The likes of James Garner and Dylan Levitt displayed an ability to settle the midfield, after a shaky first half that saw QPR bypass United’s midfield on multiple occasions. Anthony Elanga displayed a keen ability to get in behind and whilst wasn’t the most clinical on the day, was very promising in the way he was able to frequently get into good positions.
Despite the loss and the result, there certainly was positives to take away from the match, and as the players get more match fit, alongside being given more opportunities, hopefully they can display why they deserve to play for Manchester United.