Former Red Devils midfielder Owen Hargreaves was let down by Manchester United’s in-form front five players.
Owen Hargreaves believes that Manchester United’s “fabulous front five” failed to impress in the shocking defeat to Sheffield United. Yes, we are talking about Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, and Paul Pogba. It was clear and simple for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side that a win over the last-placed team would lift them back to the top of the table. However, these dreams were smashed by the Blades who came out with a surprising victory over the Red Devils.
United have shown great resilience over the past few weeks to overcome similar difficulties. Especially, the away performance for Ole’s side has been top-notch. Fernandes, Pogba, and the others have been proved worthy in the event of a crisis. But they could not salvage a comeback on Thursday as Sheffield pulled the necessary three points at Old Trafford.
The Blades shocked the star-studded line-up.
Former United midfielder Hargreaves told Premier League Productions: “I can’t really remember Aaron Ramsdale having to make any saves. They just weren’t at it. Offensively or defensively. You think about Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Pogba, and Fernandes – that fabulous front five didn’t really create anything. Defensively, they were quite vulnerable at times. Even though their form has been fabulous, Solskjaer will be disappointed they just weren’t at the races.”
“Solskjaer will be furious with the transition initially. I don’t think Sheffield United wanted to attack but because the front four didn’t want to come back, there was only really two blocks. The Sheffield United players thought, ‘wow, there is a chance here’. They joined in slowly.
“Credit to Burke, he’s not a goalscorer, he just sat in that pocket of space in between the lines. [Alex] Telles and [Nemanja] Matic swapped positions and that created a tiny bit of confusion. Burke is away from Telles, Pogba, and Fernandes and they just react a little bit late.”
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