Once again, the focus at the top of the Premier League will be on the two Manchester teams. The last time that happened, it didn’t turn out too well for either of them.
While Pep Guardiola and his Blue Citizens finished third, Jose Mourinho’s United failed miserably after a record summer outlay and a world-record transfer to finish sixth, eight points above Everton and 23 goals behind fifth-placed Arsenal.
Fifty-four goals throughout the season is a poor return for a ‘world-class’ club; hell, Monaco scored more at home as Old Trafford turned into the ‘Theatre of Draws’. Ten draws were played out at home as United were less devil and more chicken as Jose’s men failed to knock out teams with a fifth of their summer outlay.
Attacking troubles will not disappear overnight
Mourinho may complain all he wants about Arsene Wenger getting a long leash, but he must come under scrutiny if United finish anything below second, with a combined spend of almost 300 million Euros under the Portuguese.
Unfortunately for those believing that United have significantly improved from last season, that assessment is covered in a thick gravy of clichés. “Mou always improves in the second season” is the one that most stands out as even the most ardent of United supporters will realise that the former Real Madrid manager has lost some of his sheen post his sacking from Chelsea in 2015.
Taking a closer look at the team, United’s attacking troubles have not disappeared completely. If they were over-reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic last season, Romelu Lukaku is expected to shoulder some of the same burden this time around.
Another assumption is that it may not be so due to Henrikh Mkhitaryan having an improved second season, an upgrade on his start-stop first campaign. In the event that the Armenian, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard serve out some of the same dross that they did last season, Lukaku who looked out of sorts against Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup will resemble the forlorn figure that the mercurial Ibra was at times during a difficult season.
Defence needs a further upgrade
The fact that Marouanne Fellaini remains the most effective Plan B despite a boatload of investment is as bewildering as it is shocking, with regards to United’s transfer policies in recent years.
Nemanja Matic looks like the only new signing who will settle in rather quickly, ably shielding the back four (or three) alongside the battle-hardened Ander Herrera and the enigma that is Paul Pogba.
Speaking of the defence, Victor Lindelof must get over a series of blunders in pre-season if he is to hit the ground running. Luckily for Jose, Eric Bailly does seem like he will emerge as a leader of the backline this season with Antonio Valencia and David de Gea’s qualities for company.
The left-back position proves to be problematic with neither Daley Blind nor Matteo Darmian truly equipped to handle the rigours of what is likely to be a long campaign across Europe and in England.
The non-addressal of this issue is a mystery in itself. While Guardiola has brought full-backs in bulk to plug holes in City’s defence, United’s rearguard continues to have chinks that need to be tackled before the end of the season.
Pressure on Mkhi and Pogba to deliver
Their match against Madrid was a stark reminder that they are nowhere close to the best teams in Europe and a quarter-final finish in the Champions League should be more than satisfactory.
Jose has indicated that he has four signings in mind and with three players signed, there’s a good chance that another player, possibly a left-back may be on his way to Old Trafford. The back three against Madrid is likely to be a variation rather than the standard, and thankfully too, as it simply does not fit Mourinho’s preferred style of play.
The 54-year-old has built his team in an image closer to his sides of old and with much more physicality in this team than the one that Louis Van Gaal had handed over, United may not be pretty but the expectation will be to close out games and shut opponents down.
Yet, a nagging feeling remains that this United side is not quite ready to challenge for the title. Logic and faith in improved seasons for Pogba and Mkhitaryan in particular might be misplaced. The whole hypothesis that United will be sharper in 2017-’18 hinges on the success of the seasons that these two will have, behind the main striker, Lukaku, and that is a lot of pressure to be placed upon their shoulders.
Prediction:
Get ready for another season of hits and misses. There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ riding on this campaign and an improvement is expected but not a massive one. Can Jose pull it off? Too tall a task considering the firepower that the noisy neighbours possess. Second place may be the squad’s (plus Ivan Perisic and/or Danny Rose) full potential playing out, but fourth place seems realistic and a safer bet.
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