Man United clear awkward hurdle but tougher tests lie ahead،
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United cleared a tricky hurdle against Luton Town on Saturday, winning 1-0 in the Premier League, but there is a mountain to climb after the international break. Erik ten Hag’s side beat Luton thanks to Victor Lindelöf’s second-half goal but – again – it was not a display to inspire confidence ahead of a tough run of away games against Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle United after the November internationals.
United are not playing well enough to do things the easy way and it is telling that they are still waiting for a victory by more than one goal in the Premier League this season. At least they found a way to win, and just like last weekend at Fulham, Ten Hag gratefully accepted a narrow 1-0 victory.
Even after all the setbacks we’ve had, we’re still in a position close to the top four, and when we start playing well and when we succeed, a team is built for a few weeks and months, then other teams are going to suffer setbacks and lose points,” Ten Hag said afterwards with a little more optimism than the performance deserved. “Now we have won four of our last five Premier League matches. If you see all the problems we have had, we are in a very good position. That is a reason to be optimistic. Then we will move forward and We will achieve better performance and get even more points.
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Ten Hag are facing many different problems, including an injury list that was lengthened after Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Højlund were both sent off against Luton. However, his team doesn’t help itself.
Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho both had good chances to score before half-time, but instead another first half passed without United managing to find the net. In 12 Premier League matches so far this season, they have scored four first-half goals and led only once at the break, against Burnley in September.
If early goals take the pressure off, then United have a habit of letting it build. They haven’t scored in the first 15 minutes of a Championship game this season and here Luton were happy to let the frustration take hold.
As the away fans in their corner of Old Trafford became louder, the home support began to become more agitated. This seeped onto the pitch and Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay clashed with lots of gesturing and finger pointing.
The mood inside the stadium only calmed once Lindelöf put United ahead with his first goal since December 2020. After Højlund and Marcus Rashford both missed good chances, the Supporters were biting their nails again during eight minutes of injury time during which Luton pumped away. long balls into the box and United were defending frantically.
The hosts dominated the match and deserved to win, but in 90 minutes Luton matched their four attempts on target. André Onana made a good save from a Carlton Morris header in the first half but, as is often the case this season, the afternoon was far from comfortable.
In 18 games in all competitions this season, they have won just one goal in two, and even that was against Crystal Palace’s reserves in the Carabao Cup.
“We could have made life easier when we scored goals, but we created a lot of chances,” said Ten Hag, who was booked for dissent and is due to serve a touchline suspension against Everton on November 26. There were four 100 percent chances. If you get the first one you get the second one and it gets easier, but if you don’t score they can still drop a ball in the box and you’re in trouble, but we had to fight until the end. END.
“I don’t think it’s a question of confidence, because Rasmus Højlund has scored five goals in the Champions League, so that will come. [in the Premier League]. Rashford scored 30 goals last season, so there will come a day when he starts scoring again. We already have 13 scorers in our team and that shows the way we want to play football; everyone attacks, everyone defends. »
United fans are still waiting to see if Ten Hag can turn things around this season. United’s weather trips to Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle in the space of seven days will be a good indicator.
Win these three games and Man United will move closer to the top four in the Premier League and back from the brink of elimination in the Champions League. If you lose, any hope of campaigning will be gone before the end of November and Ten Hag will face more questions about its future.
