Manchester United are finally gelling as a unit, but early-season woes could prove costly in the end

Manchester United began the season solidly if not convincingly. They won three games in a row, scoring six goals and conceding one. Big-name signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored three of those goals and the world’s most expensive player, Paul Pogba, seemed like he was playing for United for many years. Although the wins were against Bournemouth, Southampton and Hull City, everything seemed fine.

Then began a very poor run nobody had anticipated. United went on a run of 11 matches winning only twice. During most of this run, manager Jose Mourinho seemed stubborn to use the full depth of his squad. As pointed out previously, Mourinho was reluctant to pick the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger despite the poor results.

The Portuguese didn’t know his best XI and was using Pogba as a No. 10 (second striker), rather than a No. 8 (attacking midfielder). The latter has been proven as his best position for club and country. But there two sides to this 11-match run and they fall either side of the 4-0 drubbing United received at Chelsea.

From a disjointed unit...

Right from the fourth match of the season, Mourinho seemed to pick a United team that was disjointed at best. His selections did not look right and the decision to omit some of his best players seemed very odd. Mourinho rarely fields players out of position unless injury forces him to. But even when he seemed to pick the right players in their favoured positions, there were better alternatives on the bench or some that were completely left out.

The likes of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford can do a good job on the right wing, but Mkhitaryan is a far better player and was totally overlooked. Juan Mata’s best position is a No. 10, but has done a good job for United on the right wing over the years. While he is not traditionally a winger, his superior creative outlet is better than that of Lingard and Rashford combined.

Mourinho also seemed to pick Marouane Fellaini in a defensive midfield role in every match. The Belgian is at his most effective as a second forward. All this led to Ander Herrera doing a lot of running rather than using his passing ability to good effect. Pogba is at his best when running with the ball from a central midfield position, but he was being deployed too close to Ibrahimovic. And with hardly any other option in front of him, Pogba was unable to do much.

Then, United lost to Chelsea on Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge. There seemed to be shades of the Chelsea under Mourinho in his final season with the London club. It all seemed very bleak. But something changed after that.

...to a cohesive unit

Things could not go on like the way they were. United had won only four matches from their first nine fixtures. They were seventh in the table and out of all European spots. Their very next Premier League match was against Burnley at Old Trafford. Anyone who saw the match could not believe how United failed to score even once when a win by six goals would have justified their dominance. The match ended in a frustrating 0-0 draw.

United won their next match 3-1 away to a struggling Swansea City. There was a key inclusion this time in the starting XI. Carrick had started after what seemed like an age. Even till date many United fans don’t really appreciate Carrick’s role and importance in the team, but he is their most influential player. Carrick then started against Arsenal at home. United played them off the park. They should’ve easily scored four goals as they created chance after chance. But the match ended 1-1.

United then drew 1-1 again with West Ham at Old Trafford. Their poor finishing proved costly again despite outplaying the east Londoners. There was another 1-1, this time away at Everton. United played well enough for a win, but a late and unnecessary foul by Fellaini in the penalty box cost another two points for Mourinho’s men. United had drawn six of their last eight matches by then. This had completely derailed their title challenge.

Their secondary ambition of finishing in the top four also seemed to be getting away. But the underlying factor was that United were playing really well. Mourinho kept saying before and after the games that for him, the performances were more important than the results as he was building a team for long-term success.

Finding the winning formula

By this time he had reintroduced Mkhitaryan in the first XI. The Armenian repaid his manager with a goal and a Man-of-the-Match display against top-four rivals Tottenham in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. It has since been the Zlatan and Pogba Show. In the team’s dire run, Ibrahimovic had failed to score in six consecutive matches. United could’ve turned some of those draws into wins if the big Swede put away some of the chances he received.

But he is now on a rich vein of form, scoring eight goals in seven matches. Pogba has assisted three of Ibrahimovic’s goals as well. The Frenchman is playing with panache and an authority that made him touted by all the big clubs when he was at Juventus. The consistent selection of Carrick has seemed as the catalyst here. United have won six and drawn two of the eight matches he has played in. Overall this season, Carrick has started 13 matches and United have won 11 of those and drawn the other two.

Carrick adds a level of fluidity to the attacking brand of football Mourinho is trying to introduce. The Portuguese has employed a 4-3-3 formation in the last half-a-dozen matches. This system calls for a more passing type of football and Carrick is the key. In this formation there is no No. 10 behind the No. 9 (centre forward). Pogba joins in the attack from midfield and the wide forwards either converge centrally or stretch play from the wings.

United have looked very cohesive since that loss to Chelsea. Playing better and not getting the results is better in the long term as the desired results will follow. But that patch of 11 matches could prove costly at the end of the season.

Prediction

The pre-season prediction was that United would finish second in this season. But after 18 matches, the Red Devils are in sixth position – four points off fourth and 13 points behind the leaders. Though their form has improved, they have a lot of catching up to do. And all the teams above them are actually playing decently. Even the most ardent United fan would agree that winning the Premier League is out of question.

Like other teams, United will falter in some matches later in the season. And hence a fifth-placed finish seems likely. United can still qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League as they are the favourites to win the Europa League this term. If they do qualify for the Champions League next year, one way or another, it would be termed as a successful season from this point onwards.