It’s rarely all peace and quiet at Old Trafford these days, but a rousing summer off the pitch has left Manchester United fans feeling optimistic that better things are on the horizon for Erik ten Hag.
However, even with the cash injection from Ineos and new infrastructure, the Red Devils have looked a bit lost on the pitch during the start of the 2024/25 season.
A penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester City in the Community Shield was followed by a dramatic win over Fulham, but back-to-back defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool have left fans more than a little worried unitedoutlook for 2024/25.
Here’s what we learned from Ten Hag’s side in August.
United can be all or nothing when it comes to taking on the Premier Leaguethe best sides. They have produced performances such as last season’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City and the likes of Liverpool have been written off almost equally with Erik ten Hag.
Despite playing against a City side without most of their stars bar Erling Haaland after Euro 2024, the Red Devils still stuck to their task and could have won again at Wembley if Bernardo Silva would not have equalized after Alejandro Garnacho’s goal.
This side has what it takes to make life difficult for more rounded opponents, but inconsistency continues to plague them.
Joshua Zirkzee’s late winner against Fulham he gave United’s early campaign what they needed. The holes throughout their set-up were clear in that game, but they finished the inaugural season with all three points.
The Dutchman was one of five signings made by United during the summer alongside Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.
Zirkzee then showed in the Liverpool defeat that he is still a raw talent, but there is enough in De Ligt and Mazraoui to suggest they are valuable additions to the Ten Hag defence. However, each will need more time to adapt to the rigors of Premier League football.
United had better defensive numbers than many of their rivals last season, but it’s been a rather porous start to the year. Five goals have been shipped in three games, two of which are irritatingly similar.
João Pedro and Luis Diaz both scored with unmarked headers in wins over Brighton and Liverpool, showing the lack of awareness that United’s full-backs are guilty of displaying. It was a problem last quarter and this time it’s a thorn again.
Ten Hag will be hoping his preferred starting eleven can deliver when everyone is fit, but for now United’s opponents seem to know how to exploit their weaknesses.
2023/24 was a campaign to forget for Marcus Rashford, but the hometown hero has yet to shake off the malaise that clouded him last season.
The 26-year-old can’t seem to get into any rhythm. He’s only been successful with three of his 15 dribbling attempts and hasn’t even had a shot in the Premier League so far.
A fit Rashford could certainly help United challenge a little further up the table, but right now he is a long way from the striker who struck 30 times in all competitions during Ten Hag’s debut campaign in charge.
Casemiro had a couple of career hiccups during his second season at United, often arriving when he was asked to play out of central position.
His stinker against Liverpool cannot be attributed to that. The Brazilian looked lacking in confidence and twice saw Luis Diaz and the Reds capitalize with goals after sloppy possession.
Manuel Ugarte was caught at the end of the summer transfer window and his tenacity and tackle-heavy approach cannot be included in the starting eleven soon enough.
