Man United are statistically the Premier League’s form team but performances have been unconvincing.
Manchester United have won four of their last five games in the Premier League, they’re sixth in the table and Andre Onana has kept the joint-second most clean sheets.
If you’d just woken up from a coma and glanced at the league table, you’d probably wonder what the fuss is about.
But looking beneath the surface reveals the truth and pressure has mounted on Erik ten Hag’s position because his players have been awful; their performances have been unconvincing and results have been scraped.
The supporters who make the pilgrimage to Old Trafford each week and follow United up and down the M6 motorway for away matches will tell you following their team hasn’t been much fun.
The biggest victory and best performance of this season came in the 3-0 win against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, but the gloss was taken from that result when Palace beat United a few days later in the league.
Roy Hodgson hoodwinked Ten Hag and his side won the game they prioritised. It’s not been difficult to leave Old Trafford with a victory in this campaign and Luton Town felt they could get something last weekend.
United have won seven games in the league against Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Brentford, Sheffield United, Fulham and Luton, and they’ve all been secured by a margin of just a single goal.
Wolves were unfortunate not to get at least a point, Forest had a two-goal lead within five minutes, Brentford only lost due to a miracle from Scott McTominay and United needed a 90th-minute goal to win against Fulham.
There’s been a feeling that United have just been getting by and that any top team would expose them, something which became a reality when Manchester City won 3-0 at Old Trafford despite not leaving first gear.
United have the status of being the most in-form team in the league because of their four wins in the last five games prior to the November international break, but it’s a quirky statistic and lacks context.
United won 1-0 against Luton. (Image: 2023 AMA Sports Photo Agency)
Although United deserve credit for getting points when the noise has increased and fans would rather win when playing badly than lose and play well, there’s no sensible-headed punter taking those victories at face value.
The recent wins have given some encouragement and hope, but the larger picture remains unchanged: the performances have been unconvincing and urgent improvement is required across the remainder of the season.
United return to action on the last weekend of this month and a trip to the historic Goodison Park, which could potentially be the last visit as Everton are moving stadiums next season, is the first assignment.
Sean Dyche kept Everton up following his appointment and they’ve improved after a slow start to the new campaign, with the Toffees having won three and drawn one of their last four games and looking well-organised.
Everton won 3-2 away at Crystal Palace before the break and confidence will be high when they welcome United to Goodison Park, a ground which has traditionally been a tricky place to visit over the years.
Another two away games against Newcastle and Galatasaray will follow that clash and those successive fixtures have something in common: the home atmospheres should be raucous and a test of United’s mentality.
It’s no secret this group of players have a tendency to shrink in atmospheric grounds – they delivered embarrassing displays against Liverpool, Newcastle and Sevilla away last season – and they will be tested again.
Parken Stadium, home of F.C. Copenhagen, was expected to be the most hostile atmosphere the players had faced so far this term, but Star Wars music played before kick-off and the noise wasn’t intimidating yet they still lost.
Everton, Newcastle and Galatasaray fans, especially the set of supporters in Turkey, should create raucous atmospheres when United visit and that run of games already looks like a potential nightmare period.
There will be no place to hide when football resumes after the international break.
