In the last rounds of the Premier League, Manchester United looks good. In the last 3 rounds, there were 2 wins over Tottenham and West Ham and a draw with Chelsea. Manchester United is currently in 5th place in the standings. Ten Haga’s team has 23 points. Newcastle is in 4th position with 24 points in 13 games. So, given the game in the reserve, Manchester United can climb into the top 4.
This season in the Premier League we are in for an intriguing battle for the top 4. We believe that Manchester United has a risk of not getting into the Champions League zone. Mancunians have not yet had time to adapt to Ten Hag football and are still experiencing problems with the squad. So far, Arsenal and Manchester City look much stronger than the rest of the teams, so let’s leave them aside for now.
The fight for the remaining 2 positions should go between Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool. In this article, we will talk about the risks of Manchester United not getting into the top 4.
1 – raw team
Manchester United is the rawest team in the top 6. Ten Hag is a systems coach who builds Manchester from the ground up. And despite the summer purchases, there is still a certain understaffing. The center lacks a Pogba-level player (it was not for nothing that they wanted De Jong so much), and the right lateral and the forward were never taken. Another difficulty is that the Ten Hag style requires very specific players. For example, De Gea is great as a goalkeeper but terrible with his feet, and Ten Hag needs a point guard. The team is just retraining and it will take a lot of time.
Ten Hag: “If Manchester United didn’t have style in recent years, you can’t build it in a week. It will take months.”
2 – contradictions in the composition
Manchester United has a very controversial line-up. The main headache is Ronaldo. It seems to be a superstar, but when it comes out it doesn’t decide, and when it sits down it’s toxic. In the last game against Tottenham, the offended Krish simply left the stadium during the match. Harry Maguire seems to be the captain, but he doesn’t play. Casemiro was not the main one for a long time, and then because of him, they pushed McTominay, who seemed to be in good shape. And in general, Ten Hag seems to put football dominance, and Liverpool and Arsenal beat on the counterattacks.
3 – big problems in attack
Manchester United (15) scored less than Brentford (18) and Fulham (19). United was greatly hindered by the story of Ronaldo because until the last it was not clear whether he would leave or not. In the end, Ronaldo stayed, but in 8 games he only had 1 goal. The Portuguese obviously do not fit the style of Ten Hag. Manchester United has no other killer striker. Rashford, Sancho, and Martial can catch inspiration, or they can get up on the wrong foot and the game in attack does not go. Anthony is also not a goal machine. There is simply no one to score goals now.
4 – no delivered game
The Mancunians do not have a set game for a stable set of points. With teams that are weaker, Manchester did not get many points already (Brighton 1:2, Brentford 0:4, Newcastle 0:0). To get into the top 4 of the Premier League, you need to not just beat such clubs, but do it in series. And without positional football, it will be very difficult to do this. There are no powerful laterals in Manchester United that can change the game, like James in Chelsea, and there are no established connections in an attack like Kane and Son in Tottenham. Goals in matches with middle peasants and outsiders where you need to dominate come with great difficulty.
5 – defense
The defense of Manchester is not for the top 4. In the back line, Ten Hag has a lot of problems. The team conceded the most, not only from the top 6 but also more than many other clubs. Manchester United has a zero-goal difference. In defense, there are practically no unconditional tops. On the flanks are Malacia, Shaw, Dalot, and Van Bissaka, in the center is little Martinez, an average player Lindelof, Maguire who always brings, and Varane, who seems to have scored, but is still far from his game of the Real Madrid times. The defense wins titles, but one Varan won’t get you far.
These were the reasons why Manchester United might not make the top 4 in the Premier League. Follow our website so you don’t miss the following articles.
