Match Analysis

It’s been a rough time for Manchester United and their fans. We were expecting a title charge from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. With a window that saw us add Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, we were expecting more. When we added Cristiano Ronaldo, I thought we were there. The 4-1 win over Newcastle helped that belief. And yet on matchday 5 of the Champions League, we are nowhere near our goals.

Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Wattford. These were the defeats that cost Ole his job and led to our season to be in disarray. Do we have it in us to change? Maybe. We were at a bad point this time last year too, and we turned it around in the new year. With Michael Carrick as intern, and (hopefully) Mauricio Pochettinno on the horizon, let’s look at the pluses and minuses of the match.

Manchester United Positives:

There were some highlights from the match. David De Gea is brushing off his Europa League Final loss and showing his class once again. Jadon Sancho and Donny van de Beek linked up well together, and Sancho netted his first club goal. Fred and Victor Lindelof will be the unsung heroes of the night. I definitely think Carrick’s idea of dropping Bruno gave him the shock to the system he needed.

Cristiano Ronaldo. My goodness. What more can be said about him and the Champions League? Many argue that Messi is the best. Some older fans point to Cruyff, Maradona, and di Stefano. In my lifetime, I can say that Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest football player alive and of all time.

If my life was on the line and I needed a team to score a clutch second half goal in a Champions League match, give me whatever team has Cristiano Ronaldo. When he retires (hopefully not for a long time), they should rename the competition the Cristiano Cup.

Manchester United Negatives:

Michael Carrick. A club legend like Ole. I love them both for their contributions to the club. But our first half performance was abysmal. Villarreal controlled the first half, and De Gea kept us in the match. We came alive in the second half but we need a manager with a sound plan.

I am continued to be baffled by the selection of Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay. While Aaron Wan Bissaka didn’t have that great of a game either, Diogo Dalot as an alternative would have cooked us alive defensively, so I don’t blame Carrick. What baffles me is Maguire and McTominay. I understand that Maguire actually had a decent game, but we have continuously picked him when he has not been match fit and has made several errors. Eric Bailly is here for a reason.

Normally, Fred is the one being scapegoated, but today he was the stronger of the McFred pairing. McTominay needed more time to recover from his illness, and I was disappointed to see Bruno sub off Donny instead of Scott.

But hey. A win got us to the top of the table, now let’s see what the weekend has in store.