Manchester United still have questions after their hollow 1-0 victory against Wolves in the opening Premier League fixture of the 2023-24 season. Erik ten Hag kicked off his second season in charge of Manchester United against a dangerous Wolves team managed by new boss Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil’s Wolves surprised many and produced some great attacking football that lacked the end product. Adding more goals will ensure that the name Gary does not become extinct. I predict a resurgence in Gary’s in Wolverhampton in nine months time if fruitful performances like this sow the seeds of love in the coming season.
However, watching the new look Manchester United team still posed the same old questions that are required to be investigated.
The first major question being, where are the goals going to come from?
Starting Rashford up front has merits in nature and demerit in outcome. Before you ask ‘De Merit’ is not the latest young expensive striker plucked from Ajax. The merits should be promising but Rashford running in from the left is missed massively and the pace in Manchester United’s attacks are lost.
New signing, Rasmus Højlund will be key here in bringing Rashford into play. However, he has a stress fracture in his back. Hopefully the injury has not been caused from carrying the hefty transfer fee of £70 million plus. Manchester United need more goals and hopefully these two can link up to good effect.
The second question is will Antony come good?
Antony and United’s right hand side is a concern. Antony has a weapon of a left foot but he slows down attacks through cutting in on his left foot. Yes, he scores wonder goals but he should be able to get on the outside and whip crosses in as well.
I have often wondered whether he would actually be better on the left. Swapping Antony and Rashford would only keep defenders guessing. The full backs are adequate and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is industrious enough but he just does not possess that killer instinct or final third quality consistently. Saying that, his clever flick for Varane’s winner will help boost his confidence and should keep Diogo Dalot on the bench.
Talking of Dalot, it cannot be forgotten that his misplaced pass that resulted in new goalkeeper André Onana being chipped form near the half way line in preseason highlights the importance in quality possession. This highlights that any loose pass could be critically punished which in my opinion is a positive. My reasons are that sloppy soft passes that go behind the intended destination as opposed to in front are exactly what I’ve seen from the Manchester United back four over the last few seasons.
I still recall panicking watching Maguire and others just lazily sweeping the ball sideways at Southampton last season with a kind of flick and not a punch pass. I quite like that possession needs to be meaningful with sharp intensity and intent.
This leads us smoothly onto the final question of the evening.
Will Manchester United’s new goalkeeper be consistent enough to help them challenge for major honours?
André Onana has been signed to add that sweeper keeper dimension to United’s attack but he will take some getting used to.
Onana is certainly casual on the ball and it seems the defenders are taking time to adjust. However, there seems to be a mutual trust in terms of Onana passing to his defenders and in return sending the ball back to their goalkeeper. United need to create more angles than Pythagoras’ Theorem and the old adage of creating triangles needs to be consistently implemented.
Onana made some great saves with his legs, much like his predecessor David de Gea. There was a late scare when Onana threw himself into a cross in what seemed like the 997th minute (Fergie time would have a field day) and clotheslined the Wolves attacker WWE (Or WWF if you are like me) Style. VAR was called to the rescue and bizarrely no penalty was awarded. One minute later Onana flew across his six yard box to dive and catch the fizzing low cross.
You sort of got the four seasons of André Onana in the opening Premier League match at Old Trafford. Watch this space for the latest goalkeeping weather report.
The major positive is that Manchester United kicked off the season with a hard fought victory. A victory that was not deserved but nonetheless a victory. Manchester United needed to get off to this campaign victorious and hopefully these three points will go a long way in a successful season.
It worth keeping an eye on their midfield as Casemiro looked extremely leggy. He looked like he was recovering from a good night out with Robson and Whiteside. Could it be his powers are on the wane? Or more likely his partners in midfield crime were too attacking. Mason Mount was running around lots and Bruno Fernandes plays like he has a non-position. Not quite midfield, not quite attacker.
Casemiro may be forgiven singing on his night out, ‘clowns to the left of me. Jokers to the right. Here I am stuck in the middle with you.’ Watch that midfield space.
Manchester United needed to reshuffle and if you look at their starting eleven by end of August it will dramatically look different to that from last season and beyond. Also I like they have signed players in positions they need that are not necessarily big names. Hopefully, this suggests hunger for a continued improvement.
Welcome to the 2023/24 season.