Return of Shaw can bring width and pace to Reds
UNITED had already taken two short corners and, after Henrikh Mkhitaryan tapped the ball to Antonio Valencia for the third time, those in the Sharp End vented their exasperation at the indirect decision. Stoke easily cleared and a minute later took the lead.
When the ball was finally swung in directly, United scored and almost won the game with another direct centre in stoppage-time.
United had 11 corners at Stoke and are the second tallest side in the Premier League behind West Brom, so their reluctance to compete aerially was perplexing.
It was not the only time Jose Mourinho overestimated Mark Hughes’ side. The decision to omit a forward (Juan Mata) for a midfielder (Ander Herrera) paid Stoke an excessive amount of respect.
Mourinho conceded United were not as sharp or intense as they were in August, partly blaming the internationals.
That did not quite stack up when other top six sides won comfortably on Saturday and the handshake incident diverted attention away from some of the Portuguese’s mistakes. One of them was starting Matteo Darmian, who was dropped at Stoke last season. Mourinho admitted in January Darmian is effectively selected to just defend, and while he might be needed to hold the fort against Sadio Mane or Bernardo Silva, he should be expected to offer more in the final third at Stoke.
Darmian has tallied a woeful two assists for United.
That is the paradoxical aspect about this United side. Left-back has re-emerged as a problem position and their crossing still maddens, yet they are scoring goals and creating chances from the flanks.
United had freedom on the flanks, only there were a lack of options due to the switch to 4-3-3 and Marcus Rashford’s tendency to drift infield was not offset by an overlapping full-back, such was Darmian’s reticence. That increased the workload for Antonio Valencia on the other flank.
Jermaine Jenas had a point about United’s width against Swansea. He said: “Mourinho likes to play with wide players tucked in and central. It’s great when Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Lukaku are central, but they need to do it with Valencia and Blind as wide options.” It is easy to see why Mourinho wanted a winger capable of playing on both flanks in Ivan Perisic or Gareth Bale. United might get away with rotating Rashford and Martial upfield but they lack sufficient back-up and the right flank is an increasing issue. Luke Shaw and Ashley Young’s returns are welltimed. Darmian and Blind’s performances so far this season should encourage the England pair. Shaw, who played his third reserves match within a month on Friday, is the natural solution who has the adventure Darmian is devoid of and the pace Blind lacks. If both fail then Mourinho might use Shaw as a bargaining chip to convince Tottenham to part with Danny Rose. Shaw remains close with Mauricio Pochettino but United are due to trigger the extension clause in his contract. Particularly if he can take a corner.