Man United were knocked out of the Champions League once again, this time in the Round of 16 by Atletico Madrid and according to Diego Simeone, the Spanish side exploited a very basic flaw in the United side.
United lost the second leg 1-0 as they once again failed to get their act together – particularly in the second half of the tie. Despite starting the game with a lot of assertiveness, the home side went behind in the 41st minute and according to Simeone, Atletico’s plan was to hit Manchester United on the counter all along.
He said, as quoted: “Manchester [United] has competed well since their coach arrived and has improved a lot. We found them a team very tough, very difficult.
“They said in the previous match that we didn’t like the ball, we found attacking situations to be more forceful.
I’m totally convinced that Harry Maguire is man of the match every game……….for the opposition. pic.twitter.com/2CVLTO09RV
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) March 16, 2022
“I’m excited to see a team that has no shame. At the start of the game I saw that in any counter attack, we could hurt [them]. We have a brilliant collective, it leaves me with joy.
“It was not only a general effort. I want to make it clear that the team knew what they had to do. [Man Utd] have great individuals, they started very well but it was a little messy to create pressure at the start.
“We knew we could play with spaces. We suffered and once again we are among the best eight in Europe, and this is extraordinary for the club after winning La Liga.”
Can Man United solve this issue in the coming months?
This is not the first that a rival manager has spoken publicly about Man United’s gaping weakness as Hassenhutl had recently highlighted this same issue when United had played Southampton.
“It is not a big secret that when they lose the ball that the reverse gears are not the best from everybody,” Hasenhuttl had said, as per talkSPORT.
“Then you have the chance to create something and we did.
“The pressing for them was good in the beginning but they aren’t used to doing it for more than 30 or 40 minutes, we came into the game after that.”
It’s like an open secret that Man United are not apt at handing pace on the counter and this is primarily because of a lack of a defensive midfielder plus the poor and pathetic form of Harry Maguire.
I don’t blame Harry Maguire because he keeps getting selected. He’s just not good enough. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/FQwe0thBGj
— Tom McDermott (@MrTomMcDermott) March 15, 2022
The pairing of McTominay and Fred clearly cannot break down counter-attacks efficiently and unless Man United sign someone like Ruben Neves or Declan Rice, there’s no way they will be able to command the respect of their opponents. What players like Rice do single-handedly, Fred and McTominay cannot even achieve that as a pair.
Also, Harry Maguire has been the major achilles heel for Manchester United this season and opponent strikers are no longer afraid of the defender. In fact, a lot of the forwards now target Maguire purposefully and want to take him on because they know very well that the English international does not have recovery pace.
That 100% is not on Dalot. He's got 3 players to try and mark. All happens because Maguire gets pulled out of position again
— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) March 15, 2022
Rangnick somehow still wants to stick with Maguire in central defence, maybe because he is the club captain but until Varane gets a new partner and a world-class defensive midfielder arrives, Man United will be susceptible to counter-attacks. The only way they can pick up wins is by scoring goals multiple quick-fire goals so that they have a good-enough lead to defend.
