Manchester United needed to show more quality, control, and fight against Tottenham Hotspur after their dismal display against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opener.
Unfortunately, it was once again another familiar away display from Erik ten Hag’s team as they succumbed to their first defeat of the campaign.
Ten Hag deserves criticism for his flawed team selection and it almost looks like the team have gone backward as compared to the manager’s first season.
Mount has struggled in United colours so far
One major area which has let the team down is the midfield and new signing Mason Mount has created more problems rather than being an upgrade on the previous options.
He did not enjoy the best of pre-seasons and that form has carried on in the new season and while it is still too early to write him off, it is worrying to see how mismatched he looks out in the middle.
In 85 minutes, he had only 26 touches while playing alongside Casemiro. He completed only 14 out of 17 passes, ending the game with a pass completion percentage of 82%.
Such low numbers are not expected from a central midfielder and Christian Eriksen, who played for only 24 minutes, surpassed his passing figures.
Mount’s energy levels are not to be scoffed at but that was the same thing that Fred was bringing to the table. The former Chelsea man was supposed to bring more creativity and control but that has certainly not proven to be the case.
Mount could be dropped soon
He failed to successfully complete a single dribble, while winning only one out of seven duels (both ground and aerial) to end up with a dismal duel win rate of 14 percent.
The 24-year-old did not manage to take a single shot and was largely on the periphery of the game and he will be lucky to keep his place for the games to come.
Ten Hag clearly needs to change his plans keeping in mind the Arsenal game to come in the next fortnight and maybe a midfield tweak is in order.
As of now, Mount’s place is the most dicey. The England star definitely needs to pull his socks up if he is justify the price United paid to the Blues in the summer.