This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
So just like that, everything seems to be rosy in the Manchester United garden. From the turmoil of staring the Premier League’s relegation places right in the eyes before the Liverpool game, to the jubilation of knocking out Chelsea on Wednesday night, things have turned around dramatically at Old Trafford for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Red Devils earned a hard-fought draw against Jurgen Klopp’s men to halt their rivals’ flawless start to the league campaign, before sealing back-to-back away wins against Partizan Belgrade and Norwich. And to well and truly cap off their recent revival, Solskjaer’s men turned over Chelsea 2-1 in the Carabao Cup to reach the quarter-finals of the competition. So everything back to perfect then?
Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Not quite. Whilst the confidence appears to be soaring back to some of the squad’s most important players – Marcus Rashford in particular following his run of four goals in three games – there are some under-lying issues that need to be fixed. The Red Devils’ victories over Partizan and Norwich were absolutely to be expected – the former are currently only fourth in the Serbian top-flight, and the latter are deep in the Premier League relegation zone.
Their triumph in the League Cup against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea was decided by a thunderbolt free-kick from Marcus Rashford – the type he has ballooned into the stands multiple times before. Not to mention that neither side put their best team out. So whilst United do deserve credit for going away to Stamford Bridge and clinching victory, the kind of praise they get should be tempered. They remain goal-shy, having scored just 13 times in their opening ten league games, and only had seven shots in the entire game against the Blues on Wednesday.
Injuries have taken their toll on the side in these opening months of the campaign, not least the almost two-month lay-off suffered by Anthony Martial. The Red Devils’ squad depth means that injuries to just one or two players in key areas can threaten to leave a gaping hole in the side. With an already congested December schedule further made troublesome by their progress into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, issues of burn-out and muscle fatigue are likely to be far more prominent.
So whilst things appear to look like they’re heading in the right direction, Solskjaer simply cannot afford to get carried away.