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At different times of the season, Manchester United is dead, buried, on the way back, again and lost in the desert. It is therefore appropriate that Easter Sunday, United finally reaches its lowest point of the season: a defeat 4-0 against Everton, his worst defeat against the Toffees in the history of the club.
It's not just that United got into Goodison Park and got fooled. The wonderful and exasperating thing about football is that no matter who can beat anyone else on any given day, even with a history score. What is worrying is that United looks as out of place and outmatched as ever under José Mourinho, at a time when the team seemed to have finally passed that stage.
Taking the second goal on Sunday, when Nemanja Matić decided that the best thing to do against Gylfi Sigurðsson, a slow dribbler with a powerful shot, is to go back ten meters and let him beat David de Gea:
In fairness to De Gea, who has had a terrible season, three of Sunday's four goals have been pretty damn unstoppable. For example, you can not blame Gea for this perfect volley of the left foot in the traffic from the back Lucas Digne:
United has been fragile on defense all season, even during the mid-season turnaround. (They have now allowed 48 goals in the league, the most cashed ever by a United team in the Premier League.) With the defensive staff on which the team must rely, tactics can only do much more. cracks. So, what is probably more disturbing than the goals that United has allowed Everton are the chances that they have not been created.
Despite scoring just 13 minutes into the game, United only had seven shots on goal all day, compared to 15 for Everton. The Red Devils only managed one shot at goal throughout the match, but it was not until the 86th minute. These are awful numbers for all teams, and even more so for a team made up of all of United's talented strikers.
An attack built around Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford should not be so difficult to create opportunities. It seemed that Ole Gunnar Solskjær had attacked the misfortunes of the mourinho era by relaxing the reins, but the solution was not taken. The first half of Solskjær's mandate was marked by many goals and by pleasure, freedom and victory. But since Solskjær achieved his feat – the victory over PSG to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League – the team seemed moody, constrained, helpless in front of goal and defeated. have passed since the return of PSG, United have won only once, kept no white mark and scored more than one goal in a match twice.
The problem is not Solskjær, just as the problem was not really Mourinho before. United's fundamental problem is that alignment is not so good. From the attacker to the defense, United has gaping holes that must be resolved if the team is to regain its former glory for more than a month or two.
Even the most optimistic fans of United must believe that the team must reorganize at least half of the starting lineup. Their defense is the most terrible. In an ideal world, the club would start next season with a whole new starting line. The midfielder is a bit brighter, but not a lot. Except for Paul Pogba – who has no problem, even though he might become so if he decides to leave this summer rather than beat him again in the Europa League – and Scott McTominay, who has quickly improved no midfield position in the formation or even at the club should be taken for granted. In attack, there is growing impression that Lukaku is not quite up to the center of the front, and at least one and maybe even two big attackers from initial quality would be welcome so that United no longer relies so much on the still. Green pair of Rashford and Martial.
United will get up again – that's not really in doubt. Because of the way European football is organized, unlimited sums of money at the bank will almost always buy you an elite seat sooner or later. What Solskjær and Executive Vice President Ed Woodward need to do is stop whistling when they open the checkbook. United has spent more than almost every other club in Europe since Sir Alex Ferguson resigned in 2013, and they have very little to show. The club's long list of high-priced flops (Ángel Di María, Memphis Depay, Juan Mata, Alexis Sánchez, Lukaku, Fred, Henrikh Mkhitaryan) is what really kept the world's most popular club alive for half a year. decade. United's only salvation lies in reversing this trend.
Solskjær is certainly not the best choice to bring United back to greatness, and he may not even be able to do it. However, unless Mauricio Pochettino plays at the last minute, it will be Solskjær who will occupy the chair of the manager at the next United transfer window. What he and United are doing on the market will be more than a 4-0 defeat for the Toffees in April, and more than the roller coaster of the United season, it will be the way forward for the club.
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