Last night we saw another late comeback courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo putting another three points onto the Champions League table. Here are five things that we learnt.
We Concede Too Easily
The two goals that United conceded were really simple chances that should have been defended against. The first one was simply a case of not tracking the opposition men properly. And then letting a cutback come across the box with no one in the way for a tap in that beats de Gea. This is just simple basic defending. And then their second goal is a similar situation. They send in a corner that’s a half-decent ball in. And then we basically give them a free header. Luke Shaw and McTominay get muddled as to who their marking and they put away another easy chance. These things are just basics and they have to improve. We can’t keep letting people score as soon as they create something in our box. This was not good enough from United in the first half.
Not Finishing Chances
In the first half Marcus Rashford was through on goal a couple of times. Those trademark balls over the top seemed to be working well. But Marcus just couldn’t find the back of the net. Fred also had a couple of chances in the box. But obviously, Fred being Fred, none of those chances found their way past the goalkeeper. Ronaldo also had a couple of chances in the box that could have been put away. Add all of that together and you’d expect at least one of those chances to go in. If that had happened, we’d have been looking at a very different game. And the narrative around this whole match might have been different.
Another Comeback
We saw this trend a lot last season, and it has started cropping up again this season. United can’t seem to get going properly unless we concede. No Premier League team has gained more points from a losing position than Manchester United. And whilst, this gives us some great atmospheres and exciting matches to watch. It is a slightly worrying trend to emerge. What this does show, however, is that there is a real sense of team spirit back. This is something that has looked lacking recently. And so to see that fight come back, and that willingness to play for Ole is great to see.
How much have we missed Marcus
Marcus Rashford has hit the ground running hard since his return back. Scoring against Leicester and again last night against Atalanta. He looked like a threat all of the time he was on the pitch. He provides something that we have clearly been missing for a while. That willingness to make those runs in behind just provides another dimension to United’s attack. Especially when we come across a team like Atalanta last night who didn’t shut up shop and sit in a low block. There was space for players such as Marcus to exploit with their devastating pace.
As good as Marcus looked last night, he clearly isn’t 100% match fit. I think we saw that with some of the shots he was taking that had he been playing since the start of the season he would’ve put away. Ole probably took him off in the 67th minute with an eye on Sunday’s Liverpool game.
Bruno Conundrum
Bruno Fernandes had what can only be described as a very Bruno game. He pulled off some unreal passes. The assist for Rashford’s goal was just unfathomable. The way he hit it outside of his boot over his shoulder into the right area for Marcus was world class. He created 8 chances for Manchester United. That is the most chances created by a single United player in a Champions League game since optics were being taken for the Champions League. But, as Paul Scholes pointed out on BT, and as I mentioned in my preview for this game, Bruno leaves this massive hole in midfield that is there to be exploited. With a team like Atalanta who like to hold possession in midfield you are going to struggle with this.
And then as we saw United struggled to play out from the back because of the limitations of Fred and McTominay. These two are not the best at progressing the ball as it as. Combine that with Bruno not being in the area directly in front of them and you get a serious problem. United couldn’t play out from the back and we essentially had to bypass the midfield in order to get the ball further up the pitch. And then when the ball was with Fred or McTominay they couldn’t get it forward. And so we saw a lot of passing between each other until they get caught in possession. Or they would pass it back and put the defence under pressure.
At the end of the day, Ole has to look at what is best for the team as a whole. Bruno leaving gaps in the midfield is a genuine worry. Yet, he is still one of our most creative and productive players. And so, not playing him seems illogical. I think no matter what we think of Bruno, Solskjær will continue to play him. But, if he could just switch that one aspect of his game and drop slightly deeper. Then we could be dealing with an even better player than what we already have.