Manchester United continue their search for the second win of the season, as they fail to win in their third consecutive match. They are held at St Mary’s against Southampton, who will be happy with the 1-1 scoreline. Daniel James opened the scoring for the Devils, but Jannik Vestergaard brought the equalizer in second half.
James Makes Huge Strides
Daniel James is taking Premier League by the storm! The Welsh youngster has been magnificent for Manchester United ever since arriving from Swansea, so much so that it is a surprise how quickly he seems to be accustomed to the top flight. His beautiful finish was his third goal of the season in just four matches so far and no Devil will have anything wrong to say about him.
His performance showed that he is not scared of the Premier League and that his finishing skills have been very interesting. However, the fans should not make a star of him just yet, simply because this will be a long season for the whole team and if James makes a dip in form at some point this season, that should not be a surprise, nor something overly negative.
At 21, James can still improve a lot and so far he helped the team massively. The fact that his three nice goals brought just one point to United offer the bigger picture of this team. He will shine brighter when the whole team starts playing better.
Lack Of Control Hurts Devils
Manchester United’s midfield problems continue. Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba were central midfielders and none of them offer exactly what the team needs in the more creative department. McTominay does his more defensive work well enough, while Pogba’s inconsistence between “world class” and “utterly frustrating” are not something to rely upon. Juan Mata failed to offer that with his measured style and that part of United’s play might be the easiest to defend against. When there is a lack of control and tempo, opposition teams struggle less to win the midfield battle.
Starting Lineup Shows Problems
And finally, just the look at the starting eleven showed a lot of potential problems creeping up against Southampton. Andreas Pereira played at right wing, Juan Mata was the number 10, Ashley Young a left-back and players like Rashford, James and others are still far from finished products. Had United won, this would still be highlighting the problem, as United are very thin in numbers.
Just a couple of injuries were enough to make this United team far weaker and even more inconsistent than they already are. Putting faith in youth is all well and good, but this is what you get in return – a team that has big fluctuations in performance throughout a single match and inconsistent results. This was the third match in a row in which United were the better team, but still did not win. That could be a positive for the future too, but with the squad set to play over 50 matches this season, it could be just a first sign of a tough, rollercoaster-like season.
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