by Thursday’s 3-3 draw at Porto means Manchester United have conceded 12 goals in the first nine matches of the season, and there are recurring themes: the scorer left plenty of space in the box, the defenders not are not aggressive enough, the centers are particularly problematic. We analyze each objective and give each one a rating out of five for awfulness. We did not include the Community Shield because it was only partially competitive. Maybe you should look away, Erik…
Danny Welbeck, Brighton (3/5)
João Pedro delivered a dangerous cross from deep from the right without pressure, which Harry Maguire decided not to deal with, allowing the ball to reach Kaoru Mitoma unmarked. The Japanese winger had time to touch the ball in the penalty area and see Danny Welbeck alone at the entrance to the penalty area. Mitoma found Welbeck, who slipped the ball into a nearly empty net to score against his former club.
João Pedro, Brighton (4/5)
After United failed to clear a corner in added time, Brighton came back at their opponents, but Ten Hag’s side had little to fear given they had 10 players in their squad. clean surface. The ball was played back to Simon Adingra, who had space to cross to the far post where two unmarked blue and white jerseys were waiting, including João Pedro, who remained calm and headed towards the corner from five meters out to winning the ball from Fabian Hürzeler. the men, a 2-1 victory. Matthijs de Ligt, Scott McTominay and Lisandro Martínez were marking the space and, for all their experience, had no awareness of their surroundings.
Luis Diaz, Liverpool (5/5)
Casemiro is one of the most experienced central midfielders in world football, but he learned something new on September 1: making a first pass to Ryan Gravenberch is incredibly stupid. The Brazilian’s misdirection quickly gave Liverpool a five-on-three advantage, with United unable to cope with the speed of transition, hampered by the fact that their full-backs were high up the pitch and expecting an attack. Gravenberch found Mohamed Salah, who sent the ball to the far post where Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz had had most of the penalty area to set up camp and from where the Colombian eventually headed a header beyond André Onana.
Luis Diaz, Liverpool (4/5)
The Lightning don’t strike twice… unless you’re Casemiro, who was also responsible for Liverpool’s second goal in their 3-0 win at Old Trafford. The Brazilian was dispossessed by Díaz and Liverpool made the transition in a flash. United actually had the numerical advantage this time, but despite this, Díaz found himself alone at the penalty spot, a slap between De Ligt and Martínez, who obviously did not want to disrupt the Colombian’s plans. Salah was allowed to slip the ball to his South American teammate, who spun on the spot before firing into the bottom corner of Onana’s net. Casemiro, in a necessary act of mercy, was taken off at half-time.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (3/5)
With Casemiro off the field, Kobbie Mainoo showed he had learned a thing or two from his teammate as he was easily brushed aside by Alexis Mac Allister. With Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot up top again, the Argentine midfielder found Szoboszlai, who was part of a four-man attack against United’s two centre-backs. Dalot did his best to get back into the race, but Salah produced a superb first time round the nearest corner. Once again United lost the ball in their own half. Doing it once in a match is unfortunate, twice is sloppy, and a third time is just plain incompetent.
Sam Lammers, FC Twente (4/5)
Giving the ball away in front of your own goal will only cause problems for your team. Christian Eriksen found this out the hard way when he turned inside, not expecting Sam Lammers to rush in and dispossess him. Martínez was far up the pitch, forcing Maguire to cover for him, but he completely missed a tackle on Bart van Rooij, leaving both centre-backs out of position and a gaping hole for Lammers to run into. The former Rangers man took one look at Onana and fired his shot at the near post to secure a 1-1 draw for the Dutch side at Old Trafford.
Brennan Johnson, Tottenham (5/5)
Micky van de Ven was recently recognized as the fastest player in the Premier League. Helping his case was the fact that United allowed the defender to reach full speed by galloping 60 yards unopposed. The Dutchman collected the ball in his own half and sprinted forward while everyone in red fell back, allowing him to reach the touchline and cross to the far post where Brennan Johnson – and you don’t really won’t be surprised to hear that – was completely unmarked. Dalot was alongside the Wales international on the halfway line when he started his run, but decided not to follow him.
Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham (4/5)
Martínez was left on the ground after failing to intercept Dominic Solanke’s header on the halfway line, leaving United a man light. Johnson collected the loose ball and sprinted into open space on the right wing as Dalot, once again, was out, forcing his way into the box where De Ligt’s attempt to block the cross was coming far too far late. Johnson picked off unmarked Dejan Kulusevski, who hit from six yards out. United were down to 10 men at this point, but once again it was far too easy for Spurs to step up a gear and score unopposed.
Dominic Solanke, Tottenham (4/5)
Lucas Bergvall took a corner at the near post, which Pape Sarr took for Dominic Solanke to make it 3-0, the striker having strayed a few meters away without being followed. A classic corner routine and a clear illustration of the disorganization that now characterizes United’s defense.
-
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play Store on Android by searching for “The Guardian”.
-
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re using the most recent version.
-
In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
-
Turn on sports notifications.
Pepe, Porto (4/5)
Two goals ahead and nothing to worry about – unless you’re Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United. No pressure on the ball allowed João Mário to whip in a dangerous cross. Mazraoui, to be fair, won the first header but in doing so forced Onana to make a save. Martínez was on his heels and didn’t react, allowing Pepê to nod home the rebound from close range. No pressure, no marking, limited hope.
Samu, Porto (3/5)
Again, a problem with crossovers. United failed to handle the initial delivery, resulting in another unchallenged delivery from João Mário. On the plus side, the Samu wasn’t left in acres of space; instead he had to overpower De Ligt to head home a few meters away. The Dutchman threw down his arms in despair, but he knew he had not been up to the task.
Samu, Porto (4/5)
Pepê did what he wanted between left-back and center-back. Martínez tried to run for cover but was outplayed, allowing the Porto striker to enter the box and win the ball back for Samu who, once again, was too quick and too smart for De Ligt at the near post, heading home with little fanfare to make it 3-2 for the hosts. Only Maguire’s late header prevented another embarrassing defeat for Ten Hag, but that wait may not be long with a trip to Aston Villa next Sunday.
