Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has explained what his former club have done wrong this season. The Premier League giants’ inability to hold on to a lead has hurt them severely this campaign.
The Red Devils were seconds away from securing a 2-1 win against Everton last month at the Hill Dickinson Stadium before the Toffees scored late to deny them victory. United were also 2-0 up by the 10th minute against Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup third round, before losing 3-2 and exiting the tournament.
On Saturday, 10 October, the Red Devils went 1-0 up in the 73rd minute against Tottenham Hotspur through a Bryan Mbeumo goal. Tottenham Hotspur were then reduced to 10 men five minutes later when Rodrigo Bentancur saw a straight red card.
However, the visitors scored in the dying minutes of the game to leave Old Trafford with a vital point, leaving United fans with a sense of déjà vu. The Red Devils’ lack of running has been making headlines for a while, with the opposition covering more distance in five of the six league games so far.
On Sunday, Michael Carrick’s team ran around five kilometres fewer than Tottenham Hotspur, further fuelling criticism. Rooney has now identified a major flaw in his former side’s performance this season.
Rooney pinpoints United’s biggest flaw
Speaking on The BBC’s Match of the Day, Rooney insisted that United’s struggles are rooted in the fact that they have tried to implement a mid block in games without success. He said: “I think in a lot of games, they have been happy to go into a mid block.”
“And then what that means, if you think of Jose Mourinho with his Chelsea team, the first time around , his team were very much a mid block team, but when the ball got moved from side to side, they were aggressive and they got up to the ball and they got in your face and made it very difficult, and they were horrible to play against.”
“I think with Manchester United now, they’re in that mid block but they’re just not getting up to the ball. So, they are quite passive. So you want the players to go and get in the opposition’s faces, but they’re not, they’re not very difficult to play against.”
“So it’s not that the player aren’t running, they just haven’t got that aggression and they’re not getting up to the ball as quick as Michael Carrick would probably like.”
United are losing their fear factor
Rooney went on to point out that United need to get their act together fast, or they are simply inviting teams to exploit the strategy against them.
Wazza concluded: “I think that they’re just stuck, they need to get out of that because if they don’t get out of it, teams will be going to Old Trafford or playing against Manchester United thinking, you know what, if we do keep the ball, and then change that tempo, we can get at them.”
United next face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, 13 October, at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Final Thought
United have to show more determination and purpose against Los Rojiblancos in midweek ahead of a crucial visit to Elland Road to face Leeds United next weekend. Michael Carrick will also have a few key decisions to make, with Carlos Baleba impressing in his debut off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Featured image Richard Heathcote via Getty Images
