Man United have looked a shadow of their normal self and have struggled to play anywhere near their usual best.
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Manchester United have had a below-par start to the new season. They have looked a shadow of their normal self and have struggled to play anywhere near their usual best. It has been evident both in domestic and European competitions. The Red Devils lost both their openers in the Champions League and were equally poor in the Premier League. However, they seem to be gaining some sort of momentum in recent games after putting together three successive wins in all competitions.
They need that winning feeling against what would arguably be their biggest test game of the season so far. Manchester United host Manchester City in a mouth-watering derby on Sunday. This blockbuster Premier League contest is undoubtedly the match of the weekend. Ahead of the game, manager Erik ten Hag was informed in the pre-match press conference that Christian Eriksen said the balance is still not there and the routines are missing. When asked how do you get that back, ten Hag, quoted by the club’s website, said, “I see positives, I see also negatives, which is probably what Christian is referring to.”
“We are not consistently, in possession, on the level where we can be, where we show in games we can be. Like for instance, Arsenal away. Also, the first 30 minutes in Bayern Munich away. But we should do this on a consistent basis. But pressing, we are quite good. We have the most ball regains from the whole Premier League, we have the most middle regains from the whole Premier League.”
He further added: “So, there you see, our defensive organisation, our pressing organisation. I said before the season how we wanted to play, that is us. But then, we don’t take the benefit in the attacking transition moments, and we should be because we have the abilities in our team, the players there who can take benefit from it. We paid some attention to it, and this has to grow, this has to progress. Then games will become easier.”
Going into the Manchester derby, the defending champions are the clear favourites, however, United can never be underestimated, especially at home. Ten Hag was asked what special quality the Manchester derby has in his mind. He replied, “I think it’s a match above many other derbies. It’s so huge because it’s Manchester internally, but it’s also about world football. All the eyes will be on this game globally.”
Meanwhile, new signing Andre Onana has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford. However, he was the hero on Tuesday night, making a last-minute penalty save to secure the three points against FC Copenhagen in a Champions League group stage contest. The manager was asked how has he been able to keep Onana’s spirits up during his low moments. “You give him the standards, you give him expectations but then it is about getting to the same level,” ten Hag started.
He added: “But he has really high expectations from himself and, so, the first thing, you have to find out is if we are talking about the same and we were. And from there on, you give him the confidence. Tell him: ‘Look at what you did in the past in great leagues with great clubs, and so you have the abilities and the skills to do it.’ I think the last two games were definitely good progress and now he has to keep this going. I mean, it’s very good, but as you know at Man United, good is not good enough. And that not only counts for Andre Onana, that counts for everyone.”
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