Manchester United is only 5 points away from the top 4 of the Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Luton Town but to participate in the Champions League, the Red Devils need to control the matches better.
Although Kenilworth Road is one of the smallest stadiums in the Premier League this season with somewhat old architecture, this is a place where the big guys have to “sweat” every time they march. Arsenal needed a header in stoppage time from Declan Rice to win 4-3, Liverpool only got 1 point on this field, defending champions Manchester City only had a minimum victory of 2-1, even In fact, an emerging giant of English football, Newcastle United had to “hang their shirts” with a score of 0-1. Last night seemed like it would be an easy match for Man United when Erik ten Hag’s team had 2 goals in the first 7 minutes of the match, but Luton did not give the guests “easy breathing”.
Right at 37 seconds, Rasmus Hojlund put his name on the scoreboard after a disastrous mistake by the home team’s defender, thereby entering Man United’s history by becoming the fastest scorer on away field. Continuing the excitement, 7 minutes later, the Danish striker once again made fans remember him with a close-range header after Alejandro Garnacho’s previous volley left goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski helpless.
Leading 2-0 after less than 10 minutes, it was thought that this would be a strong victory for the Red Devils, but suddenly in the 14th minute, Luton pulled one goal back thanks to Carlton Morris with a dangerous close-range header. From this moment, it was surprising that the match was completely controlled by the home team even though Ten Hag’s army was rated much higher.
Previously on Saturday night, Tottenham Hotspur unexpectedly stumbled against Wolverhampton Wanderers, so Man United really needed a victory against Luton to close the gap with the Champions League group, but after last night’s match, even though they actually took got 3 points from Kenilworth Road but coach Ten Hag himself was not satisfied with his students.
“We flourished in the first few minutes, but the whole team must be more focused throughout the entire match,” the Dutch coach said after the match. “If you don’t stay awake for 90 minutes, you will be punished. We cannot let this situation continue, we must play more focused, control the match even when things are the most chaotic. From an easy victory, we were “tortured” most of the time today.”
Last night’s victory was the fifth consecutive time the home team at Old Trafford had a triumphant song, but it was yet another match where Man United smiled with a “bruised face”.
Only having to face one opponent in the relegation race like Luton, but Ten Hag’s expensive stars show no difference in class with the home team’s players. The most expensive defender in the world, Harry Maguire, was easily overcome by a less famous striker like Morris to score, while five-time Champions League champion Casemiro was tormented in the midfield. And if David Coote had been more aggressive in finance, the Brazilian star might have been disqualified after foul fouls on Amari’i Bell or Ross Barkley.
Above, the duo Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford appeared almost completely harmless against the Luton defense. Only young talent Kobbie Mainoo still plays stably in the face of countless storms to make a great contribution to helping Man United stand firm.
After the first half, Ten Hag was forced to immediately withdraw two “disasters” Maguire and Casemiro from the field, replaced by Jonny Evans and Scott McTominay. If in the first half, Man United, after Hojlund’s two early goals, had to suffer against Luton, then in the second half, the Red Devils made fans frustrated by ungraceful missed opportunities.
In this match, the attacking trident of the Old Trafford home team is Garnacho – Hojlund – Rashford, who started together 7 times this season and Man United scored an average of 2.4 goals/match on these occasions. In addition, when Ten Hag named all three players above to the main squad, the Red Devils had not yet lost a match. But last night, besides Hojlund, the other two players lost themselves and appeared ungainly in front of goalkeeper Kaminski’s goal.
In the opposite direction, Man United’s defense had to receive 22 shots from the home team, a number that showed that Ten Hag’s army completely lost control against Luton, and also showed the current class difference between The red half of Manchester with other big names in England such as Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City.
Even though they won all 5 recent matches, if they want to do great things, the Ten Hag team needs to play like a true giant if they don’t want to be “punished at any time”.