Manchester United drew goalless against Newcastle at Old Trafford yesterday, in what was a disappointing setback for Erik ten Hag.
Several of United’s stars did not appear, even more so their attackers who, according to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, were forceful and lacked a cutting-edge touch in their performance.
In a game analysis that revealed the extent of the Red Devils’ lack of sharpness in passing and in front of goal, some of the players at fault according to Whitwell included Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Fred and Antony.
Whitwell reports: “In truth, if United do not sharpen to a lethal edge, the campaign will end in disappointment. Ronaldo had eight successful passes in the opposite field and seven failed attempts. By comparison, Sancho had 24 compliments and one missing, Antonio 23 and three, Fernando 23 and seven.
“Ronaldo’s overall passing success rate was 57.89 per cent. Fernandes was the next worst starter out of the field at 77.78 percent.”
“They should have scored at least one goal against Newcastle. There may be a defender down the line, but Fred had a largely unprotected net to target after Marcus Rashford rounded Nick Pope squared.”
On how United compare to other teams in the league, The Athletic reckons they sit ninth in the league for shots on goal at 42, behind Leicester City and Brentford.
In terms of expected goals, Ten Hag’s side are in 10th place, below West Ham and Leeds United.
His season tally of thirteen goals so far is enough for eleventh in the league.
Pointing out his team’s glaring shortcomings after the game, the manager took a more diplomatic approach rather than employing the realism for which he has become known.
He indicated that he was happy with what he saw, despite being disappointed with the end result.
There is much work to be done, as Whitwell’s analysis shows. For a team of United’s caliber it is not good enough and looking for an additional front runner must comprise the next stage of the team’s development.
