Manchester United vs Valencia Match Analysis
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| Source: The Manchester Evening News |
In what has been a horror show past few weeks for Manchester United, it didn’t get any easier when they faced Valencia in the Champions League. With no win in their last three games, United looked to change their fortunes and Mourinho looked by all accounts to be trying to save his job as manager of the club.
The team sheet saw a few changes from the defeat at the weekend against West Ham. Eric Bailly finally returned to the starting eleven and Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford were both called back into the side. Additionally, there was once again no sign of Andreas Pereira in the United team sheet, to the displeasure of many.
Manchester United XI: David De Gea, Luke Shaw, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia (c), Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford
Valencia XI: Neto, Matteo Piccinini, Ezequiel Garay, Gabriel Paulista, Jose Gaya, Francis Coquelin, Daniel Parejo, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo, Michy Batshuayi
On the whole the performance by United was an utter embarrassment. They showed no desire or impetus to create any opportunities and looked completely bereft of ideas in front of goal. United were completely out played in midfield, and as a result they lacked any conviction in or out of possession. This led to a dull and slow game, which neither team deserved to win, making the final 0-0 score a accurate scoreline and reflection on the game as a whole.
The game only saw Manchester United have 4 shots on target with many of them not even testing the Valencia goalkeeper. To say that this performance was at home in front of the crowd at Old Trafford is really unacceptable by a United team. If a team can’t get up and ready for a game at home in the Champions League then you have to say that there are serious problem with the commitment and desire of the players.
But it’s not just the players to blame for a performance like last night. The managerial team also needs to take responsibility. When only a few of the players on the pitch look like they are up for a game, it’s easy to see that there is a huge problem in the dressing room. If things carry on this way on the pitch then it’s hard to see there not being a change off it and with the rumour mill in full flow at the moment, it is looking increasingly like a matter of if not when Jose Mourinho is replaced as manger of Manchester United.
