Manchester United this season are a paradoxical maze of a club. They replaced David De Gea, a goalkeeper who “only” stopped shots with Andre Onana, a goalkeeper who can’t stop shots. They have scored the fifth-most goals in the Champions League this season but they have the worst Premier League goalscoring record in the top 12 of the table. Only four teams in the Premier League this season have a better defensive record. But in the Champions League they have shipped 14 goals in 5 games. That’s just two less than they’ve let in across 13 league ties. They lead the English top flight’s form table, but they have yet to string together a complete performance over 90 minutes. In almost every metric, Manchester United make absolutely no sense at all.
The unpredictability is getting predictable now. The only thing for sure about the Red Devils is that nothing is for sure. Sadly for manager Erik ten Hag, being rampantly erratic does not win trophies or secure top four finishes. Having set his stall out by doing both in his maiden season, the Dutchman is playing out his own version of the “difficult second album” of rock ‘n’ roll myth.
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The reasons United conspired to draw 3-3 with Galatasaray after enjoying 2-0 and 3-1 leads are familiar. The most simplistic one being Onana’s continued struggles between the posts.
Increasingly, the former Inter Milan man is looking like United’s answer to Claudio Bravo. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola signed the Chilean in 2016. Bravo’s capture echoed Onana’s. He was brought in to replace an established goalkeeper who was seen as primarily a “shot-stopper”. In Bravo’s case it was Joe Hart, while Onana has taken De Gea’s place. Both Bravo and Onana were signings made with a tactical change in mind, as Guardiola and now Ten Hag looked specifically for a keeper to play out from the back.
Bravo ultimately flopped, but he paved the way for Ederson to come in. The Brazilian is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world today and brings the stylistic flourishes Pep wants. Could Onana be the Bravo in this situation, rather than the hoped-for Ederson? Certainly if he keeps making mistakes, the Cameroon international will end up as more footnote than solution. His struggles have been so frequent and severe that rumours abound surrounding De Gea returning as a free agent to steady the ship.
Despite his errors grabbing the headlines in Turkey, there was more to United’s collapse than Onana’s failings. Just a few days removed from the Red Devils midfield looking much more settled against Everton, the engine room reverted to an erratic mean at Rams Park. The big difference of course was the fact Kobbie Mainoo was not present against Galatasaray. Its was probably wise to spare the 18-year-old the intense atmosphere at this stage of his development. But his absence was still keenly felt.
Sofyan Amrabat continues to look below the required standard for a Manchester United midfielder. Scott McTominay got on the scoresheet again but still falls short tactically. Bruno Fernandes falter badly, giving away two fouls that led to Galatasaray goals. It says a lot that the absence of a teenager made the midfield look this much worse. The centre of the park continues to look like Ten Hag’s biggest problem area.
Then there is a wider problem that Ten Hag touched on in his post-match remarks. “Game management” as the Dutchman put it. United do not seem able to dictate the pace of a match when it comes to either retaining a lead or indeed when pushing to try and go ahead. So much of their game seems to be led by their opponents, even in victory. Ten Hag has spoken of United becoming “the best team in transition in the world” frequently this season. But this reactive style is costing his team. Too often they are caught on the hop by sides well-equipped to decide what they want from a match and take it from under United’s noses.
It’s impossible to predict where United go next. They could go on a five-match unbeaten run where they play poorly in every game. They could lose their next three but score 11 goals in the process. This is a team in flux, on the pitch and off it. The ownership situation is pendulous, the tactical one is nebulous. Manchester United, ladies and gentleman. Where the only certainty is utter uncertainty.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
