An anonymous Premier League club analyst has revealed that Manchester United’s biggest flaw took them by surprise at Old Trafford this season.
The Red Devils, under Erik ten Hag, could end in a dismal campaign without European football, possibly signalling the exit for the Dutchman as new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ponders more big changes. United’s vulnerability, visible throughout the season and marked by numerous late goals and significant goal concessions, left little room to doubt their downfall, via the Mirror.
The rival club analyst offered interesting insights into playing against the Reds on their home turf, revealing how surprisingly easy their game plan was to put into action. The source told The Athletic: “It was quite easy to see that they were better with the ball than without it.”
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They went on to add: “With their pressing, if they weren’t able to win the ball high in the first couple of passes, they would be quite passive and not as comfortable in the low or medium block. We knew that if we were patient and we were good on the ball, that we could have a good amount of ball possession.”
However, it was the abundance of time and space provided to the visiting side that astonishingly caught them off-guard. They stated: “The thing that we were surprised by the most was actually how much time and space that we were able to get at Old Trafford that we were able to get out of the pressure so much.”
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With Newcastle and Chelsea’s recent surge, United have slipped to eighth place, putting them at risk of a cringe-worthy failure to secure European football through the league standings. However, they’ve still got a shot at the Europa League if they can snatch the FA Cup, though it would be quite the shocker if they managed to topple Manchester City in the final.
“Of course it’s important but we have two opportunities,” Ten Hag remarked as he looked forward to United’s clash with Crystal Palace on Monday night. “There is one in the league and one in the FA Cup final.”
When quizzed about how snagging a spot in the Europa League rather than the Conference League could affect things, the gaffer from United admitted: “Definitely, it will have an impact on the budget. But I’m sure Manchester United is a very attractive team and club to play for.”