Chronicle Editor
Harry Maguire won a towering header in defence, Nemanja Matic pinged a sumptuous volley out to Mason Greenwood on the left. The youngster surged forward and crossed beautifully for Bruno Fernandes to finish clinically at the back post.
From their own penalty box to the opposition’s net in three passes and 12 seconds, this was precisely the kind of exhilarating football Manchester United are famous for.
The dominant performance United produced in their 3-0 win at Brighton on June 30 could be held up as template of what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is trying to achieve at Old Trafford. There was brimming optimism around the club at that time. United were unbeaten in 15 matches across all competitions, a record bettered only by Bayern Munich across Europe.
Fernandes was running the show; Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial couldn’t stop scoring; Paul Pogba was back from injury and having an impact and the defence had stopped leaking goals.
There was the promise of winning the FA Cup or the Europa League — or even both — and the summer transfer window would surely see Jadon Sancho arrive from Borussia Dortmund to take United to the next level.
But as United prepare to head to the Amex Stadium again on Saturday, less than three months on, all of that optimism has drained from the club. United are at a very low ebb and what could be a torturous season has only just begun. Solskjaer’s side had just about enough in the tank to ultimately finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League. But they didn’t win any silverware, crashing out of the
FA Cup and Europa League semi-finals to Chelsea and Sevilla respectively.
A trophy would have signified that United were heading in the right direction under Solskjaer but the third-placed finish — some 33 points adrift of champions Liverpool and 15 behind Manchester City — represented the bare minimum of expectations.
As we know, Sancho hasn’t arrived and United haven’t been lifted to a level that may allow them to improve on last season.
Borussia Dortmund, under no pressure to sell and with no agitation from the player, have remained steadfast to their £108million valuation of Sancho and United have refused to pay it. Now, reports suggest United will table a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer of £90m in a desperate-looking final effort to get Sancho. Actually, it will be £75m up front and a further £15m in add-ons.
Ed Woodward will reportedly inform the Bundesliga side there will be no negotiating over the fee or the structure of the deal.
If so, he risks having Dortmund shut the door in his face. The German club know Sancho’s value isn’t going to drop and there could well be a bidding war among European powerhouses next summer when the Covid-battered market has recovered.
A signing of Sancho’s ilk would be handy because in contrast to those heady days in June and July, United lack a cutting edge.
In that game with Brighton, United had six shots on target and scored three times, with the first-half strikes from Greenwood and Fernandes killing the contest inside half-an-hour. Against Palace, despite 76 per cent possession, 17 shots in total and four on target, they could only muster one goal — which came from the one signing they have managed to make this summer, Donny van de Beek.
And their shambolic defensive performance against the pace of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend has only raised more questions.
Now Solskjaer has hinted that Eric Bailly may replace Victor Lindelof as Maguire’s central defensive partner. The lack of depth in Solskjaer’s squad was highlighted alarmingly at times last season.
His first choice XI were reliable, sometimes excellent in the second half of the campaign, but his back-up brigade represented a significant drop in quality. Woodward, who watched the Palace capitulation from the stands at Old Trafford, must know reinforcements are urgently needed.
Online Reporter