"There's a lot of things going on at the minute, don't get me wrong," Scott McTominay said after his Manchester United side failed to win for the eighth time in only 10 matches. "For us, when we get back into the dressing room, it's about going home and taking a look at ourselves in the mirror."
How much more can you take?
For United, it has sincerely become a drawn-out season riddled with players dishing out 'honest assessments' and 'looking in the mirror' weekend-on-weekend. By beating Arsenal on Saturday, they could somehow have drawn level on points with their theoretical top-four rivals. But really, many could have foreseen the result that was coming.
It has turned into a story of stagnation that just won't end.
Even before the weekend encounter, Ralf Rangnick didn't hesitate when admitting, "I don’t think that it makes sense to speculate about finishing fourth."
Realistically, the damning truth is that you don't remotely deserve to mingle with Europe's elite when you are on track for your worst Premier League points tally ever. Defeat at the Emirates Stadium now means United will have to win each of their last four games of the season to avoid the aforementioned feat.
Rangnick even disclosed, "We haven’t been training on the kind of level I would’ve wanted us to train and obviously we are very far away from the football I would like to play that I normally stand for as a manager."
It's inexplicable that a side producing such mediocrity every week could possibly fail to exert themselves even in training. But this particular football club has shown to be in a state of dysfunctionality in a multitude of departments in recent times. The start of proceedings on Saturday showed that.
During the week, Rangnick had essentially rendered United's defence inferior to relegation contenders Burnley, which is statistically true. Within only three minutes from kick-off on Saturday, it was a basic defensive mishap which saw United fall behind. The entirety of the back-line bar Victor Lindelof were involved in what could aptly be described a calamity.
Granit Xhaka was allowed to deliver a cross, albeit it was simple to deal with; with United at the moment though, nothing is routine. Raphael Varane missed the ball, as did Alex Telles, with possession falling to Bukayo Saka to unleash. David de Gea made a strong save, but Diogo Dalot was caught unawares and afforded left-back Nuno Tavares to get goal-side of him and promptly tap the rebound into an empty net.
It was made all the more frustrating by the fact that United did subsequently up the ante and settled into the game as the dominant outfit, with increased directness indicating promise. Nevertheless, as has frequently been the case, United were behind to an avoidable goal. In addition, when they found themselves on the front foot, chances were going begging.
However, it was defensive frailties that reigned supreme. There was more poise on an attacking front, but the defence were proving liable once more - unable to even execute the basic principles. Soon after De Gea had denied Eddie Nketiah, who found himself in a gulf of space inside the penalty area, Telles, much like against Norwich, switched off and Saka was able to find Nketiah - again free - to, on this occasion, finish.
Even though Nketiah was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed, the same VAR review adjudged Telles to have fouled Saka. It was a panicked, clumsy challenge and ultimately costly as Saka converted from 12 yards.
With a surge headed by Ronaldo, United did prove their ability in the final third with a near-instant response to Arsenal doubling their advantage. Jadon Sancho displayed some intricate footwork before Nemanja Matic's precise delivery met Cristiano Ronaldo, who's movement was dynamic and finish controlled.
It was Ronaldo's 100th Premier League goal, coming with a real sense of poignance after the devastating passing of his newborn son only a few days prior.
Despite the burden of his personal tragedy, Ronaldo displayed incredible fortitude to essentially orchestrate a disordered team with a very well-rounded showing. He was involved in every attacking phase, offering himself in link-up passages, willing to move around, performing in a sharp and tidy manner. He was instrumental to United operating with more spirit and at an increased tempo comparative to the Liverpool defeat, for which he was absent.
Into the second half, Ronaldo's involvement only grew as he had a goal disallowed and supplied for Dalot, who hit the post after earlier hitting the crossbar, which encapsulated the lack of luck United were enduring. But the epitome of such misfortune came slightly earlier after the juncture as Bruno Fernandes hit the post from the penalty spot (having taken ahead of Ronaldo) following his usual hop, with the ball finding its way out for a goal-kick.
It was a killer for any hint of confidence that remained for an out-of-sorts Fernandes. The United playmaker's misery was later compounded as he found himself dispossessed by Mohamed Elneny in a threatening area after a loose touch, leading to Xhaka making Arsenal's lead more comfortable once more with a strike from range. There were also arguments as to whether Fernandes should have remained on the pitch after a rash challenge on Tavares.
United were improved on an attacking front but lacked conviction and were somewhat unfortunate at times. Overall, lapses elsewhere were detrimental against a side who were largely unconvincing themselves. When 'good' or even 'better' is still far from good enough, you know you're in a bad, bad place.
"For us, [lack of] self-belief, lack of confidence, you can see it all in the last two months," Scott McTominay acknowledged. "We had a half-decent game, but even then, the belief, which is so big in football, it's just not here at the minute."
It's clear the morale of the entire squad and beyond is at rock bottom. On top of Scott McTominay saying that "there's a whole load of problems in terms of players, staff, anything within higher up", Paul Scholes revealed, "I had a quick chat with Jesse [Lingard] the other day. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying - the dressing room is just a disaster."
At the moment, as matches pass by, it seems likely that Rangnick's pre-match analogy that the squad needs "an operation at the open heart" will age all the better. In his words, "It’s not enough to do some little minor amendments, some little issues here and there, some minor cosmetic things."
Right now, even if there are positives, there is a rut of negatives consistently prevailing.
Comments