Manchester United’s start to the 2023/24 season has not gone to plan, and after 11 matches this campaign there’s a growing sense of despair at Old Trafford.
Scott McTominay may have ensured United went into the international break on a high after his two injury-time goals rescued three points on Saturday in the 2-1 win over Brentford, but that very much masked another underwhelming display from the Red Devils.
United currently sit 10th in the Premier League table after losing four of the opening eight matches this term. Erik ten Hag’s side have also lost both group matches in the Champions League, but did manage to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a win over Crystal Palace.
That cup victory was perhaps the only good performance of the campaign to date, albeit against an understrength Palace side, and even in the wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Brentford, United didn’t play well across the 90 minutes. In truth, only one of those matches did the Red Devils actually deserve to take the three points from.
It’s an incredibly worrying trend for Ten Hag, who enjoyed such an optimistic first season at Old Trafford. But his second has been fraught with issues since it began nearly two months ago.
So what has gone wrong this season and what needs to improve? We’ve taken a look back at the campaign to date and picked out seven issues that Ten Hag must address if he’s to turn things around…
1. Injuries
Perhaps injuries have been the biggest problem this season for Ten Hag, and up to 14 players have been out through injury, as well as the non-footballing absences of Antony, Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho. United were without 12 players for the recent trip to Bayern Munich, for example, and Ten Hag has had to deploy certain players out of position, like Sofyan Amrabat at left-back and Bruno Fernandes out wide. Meanwhile, fourth and fifth choice centre-backs Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans had to start at the heart of defence at the weekend. It's an issue Ten Hag must address, and he'll hope the recent appointment of Gary O'Driscoll as head of sports medicine will have an impact soon.
2. Defensive lapses
A complete inability to defend as a unit has hugely impacted the team this season, with Brighton & Hove Albion's 30-pass sequence for Pascal Gross' goal the best example of United's deficiencies off the ball. It's simply too easy for opposition sides to score, and United have conceded seven in two Champions League matches and more than Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Much of that is down to the performances of Casemiro and the inability to pair him alongside Sofyan Amrabat in the middle.
3. Creating chances
On the ball, and things haven't been much better for the Red Devils, who so often look disjointed and ponderous in possession. Like under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have become too reliant on big moments rather than coordinated attacks, as demonstrated by McTominay's double on Saturday. Even in wins over Wolves, Burnley and Brenford, only one goal was scored that wasn't from a set-piece or long ball. It's an alarming pattern and a lack of cohesion, creativity and moment off the ball are impacting the team.
4. Underperforming stars
So many of the key players from last season haven't been able to make an impact this term. Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw are injured, David de Gea's moved on and Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford are not performing at their best. The latter pair were replaced at the weekend despite United being in a losing position.