Man United Need To Use The Derby Win As Springboard To Better Things
Manchester United managed to comeback from a two goal deficit to stop derby rivals Manchester City from claiming the Premier League title today.
United claimed, what seemed to be, an unlikely victory after a sensational second-half performance.
Jose Mourinho needs to use that performance and result as momentum to get the team playing like that on a regular basis. If they can do that, then you should see them challenging for the bigger trophies next season.
In truth, Man Utd started off well but were then bullied at a corner and allowed City captain Vincent Kompany time to fire his header beyond David De Gea. United didn’t react well to that and looked disinterested and defensively they were all at sea. That was summed up when City scored a second in the thirtieth minute.
Once again star players such as Paul Pobga and Alexis Sanchez didn’t turn up in the first half. They were struggling to get on the ball, tracking back was non-existent and the United team could hardly keep hold of the ball, never mind getting it up near Ederson’s goal.
In the second half, United showed more desire, character and importantly they started to get attacks in.
Sanchez had an interest to get on the ball and Pogba started to make runs into City’s penalty area.
Liverpool showed the world during the week that if you get in Man City’s faces then they can have a wobble, Man Utd proved that to be the case at the Etihad today. Ander Herrera was great a breaking up play and United need to keep him fit.
Nice direct play from Alexis and a superb knockdown from Herrera gave Paul Pogba a chance inside the area and the Frenchman bundled the ball home. Within two minutes, the central midfielder was once again in the box and this time he connected brilliantly with a header and it was all square.
At this point, Jose’s men were inspired and had a swagger. A Chris Smalling finish from a Sanchez free-kick suddenly had the Red Devils winning the match.
Man United boss Mourinho needs to go against his instincts and let the team play with more attacking freedom. Things clicked, in the second half, for the Old Trafford club and their star men started to look like world class players again.
At times, Jose seems to put the reigns on and asks his team to be too cautious in search of gaining points. That might have been the way of it at previous clubs for the Portuguese manager but at United things go better when they play with a constant attacking threat and with flamboyant flair!
They worked hard defensively too. They also had a bit of luck when City should’ve had a penalty after a rash challenge by Ashley Young on Sergio Aguero but you always need to have luck in football. De Gea once again showed his worth with his top-class save towards the end.
Jose Mourinho needs to see that by allowing his team to attack, they get better results and that his players can dictate things by going forward, even in the biggest of games!
Posted on April 7th, 2018 by scott
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