Ole’s woe as United fail to trouble rivals
MANCheSTeR City third-choice goalkeeper Zack Steffen has had an interesting introduction to big-game occasions for his club.
On Sunday at Chelsea, he started by terrifying his back four by picking up a back pass in the first minute. At Old Trafford last night, his own player John Stones put the ball past him in the second minute. The goal was ruled out for offside.
But in both games — following those early worries — the American found himself withth hardly anything to do. City wonn both matches comfortably.
Against Chelsea, it was no surprise. here, against st an improving Manchester - United side, it was.
This was a big test for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men and they failed it pretty convincingly. United were not particularly bad. They y were in the game until il Fernandinho’s clinching ng goal with seven minutes utes remaining. But nor werere they particularly good in any way and d that is the pertinent point.
We expected more, for sure. United have been rolling nicely in the Premier league either side of Christmas, scoring good goals, nicking tight games and building the kind of momentum you need ahead a game against Pep Guardiola’s team.
So we thought they may worry City but they simply hit a brick wall. This was no chasing, far from it. United were organised and largely resolute and they responded to Stones’s goal in the second half with some sporadic spells of possession.
But what did they really do? Who left a mark on the game for United? Bruno Fernandes brought a very good save from Steffen with a 20-yard shot in the first period, but after that there was not terribly much to cause the 25-year-old concern.
United have improved under Solskjaer. If they take a point at Burnley next Tuesday, they will move above liverpool to the top of the table.
Nevertheless, this game pointed to enduring issues, problems they are yet to solve. Namely how to establish more control of the ball against the very good teams.
This United side can be exciting to watch. They have some boxoffice players. Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and, when he is fit and mentally in tune, Mason Greenwood. They are capable of turning games around and rescuing them late on. But forcing other teams to play at their pace and to their rhythm? Not so much.
United remain skittish. They lack reliability. They are prospering this season on the back of their own strides forwards, but also from the inconsistency of others. Place this United side in any of the last three or four Premier league seasons and they would be contenders for fourth and little more.
The truth is they probably need a couple more players of real quality. United need a world-class holding player and a centre half. They could probably be improved in both full back positions, too.
Solskjaer has been fortunate with injuries at a time when other clubs — such as last night’s opponents — have not.
This all sounds picky and, at a time when United are occupying an exalted league position, it most certainly is. United’s form has been good, the resilience of their over- scrutinised manager has been impressive.
But United will need to get to another level if they are going to challenge for this year’s Premier league title and this was a night that illustrated that.
They were sharp at times in the first period. United’s transition from defence to attack can be seriously hard to handle and there were glimpses of that against a City team who are only just coming into form themselves. With the much-improved pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred sitting in front of the back four, Paul Pogba was asked to occupy the left position of the front three. If the Frenchman is ever to succeed at United — highly unlikely — it is going to have to be from this position.
City were never greatly stretched but had to be on their mettle. On occasion, the most serious threat to their goal seemed to come from the assistant on the near side, who seemed intent on leaving his offside calls until the ball was pretty much in the net.
United needed a match-winner here, a stand-out performer. City had them. Fernandinho, who will be so hard to replace if he leaves in the summer, was one, while central defender Ruben Dias was another. Further forward, Kevin De Bruyne used the ball better than anybody else.
The home team did not have those individual performances to drive them. Under Solskjaer, they have become increasingly dangerous without reaching the levels of intimidation and brooding desire that characterised their great teams of the modern age.
This was a fourth semi-final defeat for Solskjaer and that will hurt him. In the league, meanwhile, he will know that the likes of City and liverpool will improve as the campaign moves on.
United will have to do likewise if they are to make good on their recent return to relevance.