Humiliated in the derby, Manchester United is massacred in England!

The theater of dreams has become the scene of humiliation. This Sunday, Manchester United hosted Manchester City for the tenth day of the Premier League. The locals had the perfect opportunity to come back to within three points of their rival in the event of victory. Ultimately, the scenario of the game was very different. Despite an interesting start from the Red Devils, Manchester City quickly took control of this match and a penalty converted by Erling Haaland (26th) set the tone. The Norwegian widened the gap after returning from the locker room (49th) before Phil Foden (80th) completed this successful performance. A 3-0 defeat at home and a top 4 now at 8 points, Manchester United are more in the hole than ever.

Already conceding its seventh defeat in fourteen matches since the start of the season, Erik ten Hag’s team is going through very complicated times. And if the European places remain accessible, the Champions League is already starting to fade away. Even beyond the results, a question has constantly come up for several weeks: what is the identity of Manchester United? To this game, Erik ten Hag gave his answer on the microphone of Viaplay : “players decide how you play. Ajax has a very typical and characteristic style of play, with Manchester United I will always show different football, I did it last year too. We play a lot more direct football here because I have the players for that here. Statements that the British consultants do not seem to endorse.

The culprits are being sought

Former Manchester City player Micah Richards particularly pointed out this lack of consistency among the Red Devils: “It was a football lesson. Manchester United didn’t know what to do.” “None of us here can explain yet what Manchester United are trying to do in terms of how they play. He (Ten Hag editor’s note) has been here for almost 18 months, we saw Unai Emery arrive at Aston Villa, we saw Ange Postecoglou arrive at Tottenham and change things in a very short time. It doesn’t mean you win every week, but when you go to the games you know what you’re going to see. We still don’t know what we’re going to see with Manchester United. Can you tell me how they play with the ball? It’s really shocking to see them trying to play from the back. They play on the counter-attack and on long balls. No other top team plays this way. noted consultant and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports.

In debate with him on the same set, Garry Neville preferred to criticize the management of the Mancunian club: “this is what is happening and I honestly believe that this toxicity which exists in this football club, and which has existed for years, in fact, is eating away alive every manager and every player who comes. Harry Maguire had to go to Manchester City, Mason Mount had to go to Liverpool, they come here and it’s a graveyard for them. Are we going to continue to blame the kids in the class or are we going to blame the principal?” The English press is looking for its culprits on the Manchester United side and Roy Keane has targeted another: Bruno Fernandes.

“I would definitely take away the captaincy from him. 100%. I know it’s an important decision, (…) but Fernandes is not a captain. He’s a talented player, there’s no doubt about that, but I think with what I’ve seen from him today, he’s complaining, he’s moaning, he’s constantly throwing his arms in the air, that’s not all. This is really not acceptable. You have to start somewhere, we’re talking about the board level, the managers, I would start there because the coach is able to do that and put his hand up and say: ‘Look, I was wrong’. Fernandes is a brilliant footballer, but in terms of captaincy he is the opposite of what I would expect from a captain., explained the Irishman. There are many culprits, the crisis is total on the side of Manchester United.

Recruits in difficulty, an attack at half mast

Experiencing the worst start in its history since the 1986/1987 Premier League season, Manchester United are experiencing a terrible lack of confidence and the recruits are struggling to adapt. Performing well in the Champions League with 3 goals in 3 matches, Rasmus Højlund has still not scored after 7 Premier League matches. Arriving this summer, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat and Sergio Reguilon are more replacements while Jonny Evans just came to play utility. Goalkeeper André Onana is also in the eye of the storm since although he showed himself capable of some nice interventions yesterday, he is particularly irregular at the start of the season.

While the club’s top scorer in the league is Scott McTominay with 3 goals in 10 matches, Manchester United has only 11 goals, the 12th best attack in the championship. If we concentrate the playing time of the six main attackers of Manchester United (Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho), we obtain a single goal and an assist in 2104 minutes for Expected Goals of 6.07, a hell of an inefficiency ahead. With 16 goals conceded, it is also tied for 11th with Fulham. An observation which is cause for concern two days before challenging Newcastle in the Cup and ten days before a decisive meeting in the Champions League against Copenhagen.