Evaluating Manchester United’s Previous Month

Manchester United are, once again, on the international break. The much dreaded period of the season when there is no club football happening – at least not at the top level – is here again, but if nothing else, it will be for the last time until March. This period is always good for taking a look back or trying to figure out what the future might hold. So, how good or bad was Man United’s previous month, between the October and November international break?

Premier League – Some Positives And Reality Check

There were four Premier League matches in this period that Man United have played and it brought decent amount of seven points. Decent, because Man United played against Chelsea and Man City, alongside Bournemouth and Everton. Sure, there could have been two more points away at Chelsea if not for Barkley’s (very) late goal, but then again, it could have been two points less at Dean Court, as Marcus Rashford saved the day for a 2-1 win.

Looking merely at points – it is okay. Two wins against weaker opposition and one point against two clearly better sides. The positives of this month were performances from Anthony Martial in particular, but also Alexis Sanchez’s improvement as central forward and Jose Mourinho’s realization of the possibility to actually sometimes bench Romelu Lukaku,

The positives were the character team showed against Chelsea and Bournemouth, too. Though, it would be much better for this club if ‘the character’ was not the most praised thing, as that is often overshadowing what really should matter the most – performances. If you too often have to look up to the character of the team in tough situations, that also means you get into tough situations too often.

The reality check? Well, Manchester City. They really showed the Devils how far behind the champions they currently are.

Champions League – Mixed Feelings

Well, after that match in Turin last week, the feelings are not really going to be that mixed, because the fans are absolutely delighted to see United beat some big European club away from home in a match that is not in fact meaningless. And Man United had two similar performances against Juventus, but the outcomes of them were far apart.

In Manchester, the boys had the chance to see how a proper European team that wants to win Champions League plays from start to end. They were outclassed. But in Turin, it was not so much different. Juventus could have scored three goals instead of just one, but United managed to make a late turnaround and win it. This match could have the big influence on the season, if the players get the positives out of it – confidence and belief especially.

Conclusion

Manchester United did not thrill in the past month. There were no exhilarating performances and we will probably still have to wait for those times to return. But what the players did have was fighting spirit in abundance, the drive to actually change things and do something differently and that brought the positivity back. However, this is still a very long ride.

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