Manchester United suffered their first loss of the current Premier League campaign. And while that’s a tough pill to swallow, we knew it was going to happen eventually. The Red Devils did not look like the dominant side they have been in the current term. And as a result, they dropped a winnable contest against Huddersfield 1-2 this Saturday.
Goals from Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoitre during the first half were enough for Huddersfield, as the recently-promoted side pulled quite an upset in front of their fans. Marcus Rashford pulled one back for United, but Jose Mourinho’s men could not complete the comeback and lost their first game in the Premier League this season. In fact, the loss put an end to United’s 12-game undefeated streak across all competitions.
There is no question fans should be mad about this result, and rightfully so. No one – and I mean NO ONE – expected Manchester United to lose against Huddersfield. But what was more complicated was the way they lost. It’s one thing to lose against a team that is better than you, like it happened in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid. But it’s another one to drop a winnable contest against a team that is considered a massive underdog. Fans should have the right to express their discomfort over the team’s performances after the international break.
Unfortunately, the numbers do not lie. Since the end of the international break roughly two weeks ago, United have a less-than-inspiring record of one win, one draw, and one defeat. The Red Devils have scored twice – both goals from Rashford – and conceded twice as well. But that should be worrying is the fact that the team has not played well. We were lucky to escape with a draw against Liverpool, the win against Benfica came on a huge mistake from the opposing goalkeeper, and we lost against Huddersfield.
It is okay to worry, especially after today’s display and considering a key player like Phil Jones left the game with an injury in the first half. But there’s a fine line between worrying, and panicking. And United fans shouldn’t do that. The season is extremely long, and it’s not the end of the world by any means. Sure, City already have a five-point lead in the standings. But United are still in second place, and top their group in the UEFA Champions League standings. They’re still in good shape going forward, regardless of recent results.
So don’t panic, guys. There are things to improve, but this is the time where fans need to keep supporting the players. With hard work and the amount of talent they have, United should continue to dominate the opposition just like they were doing in the first few weeks of the campaign.