Manchester United finally succumbed to a loss in the Premier League on the weekend, and it was to an unexpected side. Juan Mata and Victor Lindelof made individual mistakes that provided Huddersfield with openings that led to two goals and eventually gave them their first win over Manchester United in sixty-five years.
While some fans may be shocked, and put this down as just a blip in the club’s journey this season, a more observant analyst would be more worried for the club. Since the first international break this season, the team has basically stumbled through matches and won games simply by a few moments of individual brilliance and opposition team mistakes, rather than by brilliant team displays.
The performance at Benfica just a couple of days ago gave a premonition of what could happen this weekend, and as it turned out, it was more than just a premonition. Jose Mourinho should have seen the writing on the wall the last couple of games and should have been more proactive about it.
The game against Huddersfield showed a team that either lacked the desire to win or lacked the quality to even create chances, let alone finish them, and that is not a problem a team like Manchester United should be having. Martial was completely absent, Juan Mata quiet, and Jesse Lingard completely out of sorts. Romelu Lukaku was isolated upfront and had to come deep to get the ball himself a couple of times, he eventually created the only goal his team scored in the match.
This performance was just the peak of the poor performances the club has been putting out lately, and only the three points gained at the end of previous games papered over the cracks, today it came out clearly.
One of the most glaring challenges with the current United side is the obvious overdependence on Paul Pogba for midfield creativity. After the Frenchman’s injury, the team has won games using the ruggedness and aerial superiority of Marouane Fellaini, rather than real creativity and attacking improvisation. Now that both players are injured, the limitations of the attackers on the pitch is obvious.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was tipped by everyone to have a fantastic season due to his brilliant start, but he seems to have lost his creative boots, sometimes going through a full ninety minutes without having any influence on his team’s attack. Maybe the club’s links with Mesut Ozil is a fortunate one, because the current Manchester United side could do with the German’s creative genius if they are to truly challenge Manchester City for the title this season.