Manchester United face three crucial away games in a little more than six days that could define their season: by 10pm next Saturday they could be out of the Champions League and eight points off fourth place in the Premier League, should Spurs beat Aston Villa on Sunday. But despite being a long way from their best form, they can still produce when it matters.
Erik ten Hag’s side will face hostile atmospheres at Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle as he aims to keep everything on a fragile track. United have won four of their past five league games, although have rarely looked convincing, but victories breed confidence and they have found a way to grind out results in a top-flight campaign where they have scored 13 goals in 12 matches.
United have secured seven league wins, all by a single goal, although no United forward has scored in a victory, a sign of struggles in the final third. There were laboured successes against the promoted teams but, ultimately, they got the points. United’s two victories in added time prove they are able to battle through to the end, a quality that meets Ten Hag’s approval.
“Many of the routines are not 100% working but make sure you get the foundation by getting into the fight,” Ten Hag says. “Make sure you run harder than your opponent, you cover for each other and you have quick reactions. That gives you a foundation because our players have a lot of skills and abilities.
“Their football is always in there so once we have our mindset clear and bright and we are in the fight, we will find the moments where we can do brilliant things because our players are capable of doing that. We have seen that in the past couple of games and that’s why we have won four of five.”
One reason that could explain United’s pedestrian style is the hectic schedule, which Ten Hag says has “crossed the limits that players can handle”. This is a team that played 62 matches last season, in addition to any individual international commitments, and this week is another gruelling one of travel and intense occasions. “Every team knows you have to suffer and sacrifice,” Ten Hag says. “If you want to prepare for games then at certain right moments you have to go to certain physical levels if you want to match those standards and those standards are not set by us but set by the opposition.”
Injuries have caused huge problems. The return of Luke Shaw to the squad for Everton is welcome news but Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia will be missing and Rasmus Højlund is a doubt. If the Dane does start it would give him the chance to score his first Premier League goal. He has scored five in four in the Champions League but struggled domestically. “It [the relationship between players] is growing but you can see we are creating chances,” Ten Hag says. “It’s a matter of time and he will net in the Premier League as well. If you score in the Champions League you will also score in the Premier League.”
Shaw will bring balance to a side that has suffered with Victor Lindelöf playing at left-back because of injuries. United’s wingers prefer cutting in and taking a shot, while Højlund feeds off service from out wide, something he has lacked and could explain why he has failed to score in nine league games. Having Shaw, who can overlap, on that flank gives United a double threat of him and Marcus Rashford, who is most dangerous when moving inside.
Rashford’s form has dropped off this season, producing a solitary goal and assist in his 11 league games. Only Bruno Fernandes has supplied two assists for United in the league as those in charge of sparking the team into life have shown a dereliction of duty. Antony and Mason Mount have failed to lay on a goal between them; even the centre-backs Harry Maguire, Evans and Martinez can each boast an assist. In five of their 12 league matches United’s expected goals was lower than one. They won two of those fixtures, against Burnley and Fulham, yet things are certainly not flowing at Old Trafford, making the more rudimentary skills of physicality and fitness imperative.
The first two games will be battles for much of the time. United will need to match Sean Dyche’s side, who will be backed by an angry crowd after the club were deducted 10 points, before the Rams Park rancour on Wednesday, which will be a completely new experience for many of the squad and in which the leadership of Maguire, Scott McTominay and Fernandes will be vital on the pitch.
“The last games showed the personality of the team,” Ten Hag says. “You saw them stand up and they took responsibility. They fight for the team and organised themselves for the team and that’s why they got the results.” And results are all that matter.
