Three Things We Would Like To See From Manchester United Against Tottenham Hotspur

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Manchester United are getting ready for their third match of the campaign and it is a potentially huge match for them. The Devils will be taking Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Monday night. This is the clash of the weekend, but the match itself could prove even more important, depending on the result and performances from both set of sides.

Jose Mourinho’s team needs to improve drastically from their showing against Brighton last Sunday. It was an appalling performance and every Manchester United fan will never want to experience a gutless loss like that. The opposition to improve things against could hardly be any tougher, as Mauricio Pochettino’s players will want to make it three wins in three matches and continue their good start to the season.

Leadership Steaming From Players

That is why Manchester United need to step up. A loss at home to Tottenham would not only mean United have won three points out of nine possible, but it would make the mood in and around the club even more toxic. A single loss to Brighton managed to do a lot of harm to both the manager and his players, as everyone had their say about United’s poor performance.

If something was missing throughout the team at the Amex Stadium, it was leadership. Paul Pogba was the captain but never really looked like one. His performance was very poor, with him managing to score late on via penalty. His decision-making was off for the most part of the match, but the way he behaved every time after losing the ball or making a naive foul showed much more. In that match, Pogba embodied the lack of leadership throughout the team.

Other players did not help much either. Lukaku was drifting around, mostly unable to get into good chances, while Juan Mata offer next to nothing. That must change against a well-knit side like Spurs.

Cohesive Attacking Display

Manchester United lacked this for a big part of the last season. Chance creation has been problem at Man United ever since the Louis Van Gaal’s days, but the issue is still here, even though the team overall has improved. When United go forward, nothing gives a feeling of knowing what the players need to do. The movement is often chaotic, leaving players with the ball without much options to pick their next move.

That was even more obvious against Brighton and against Spurs that will probably not lead to scoring two goals. Lukaku needs to link up better, while the movement of Fred, Pogba, Sanchez/Martial/Mata needs to be purposeful.

Bailly And Lindelöf Bouncing Back

It was a very tough afternoon in Brighton for both of Man United centre-backs. The Swede and the Ivorian were also under a barrage of criticism after match, but not only for their mistakes that afternoon. It was more a cumulation, after continuing what they have been occasionally doing last season, not being secure enough in the heart of the backline. If they bounce back and show a strong performance against a tough team that boasts Harry Kane, it would be a perfect way to tell everyone Brighton was just a bad day.