We thought going into the new season that our problems would stem from midfield. While there has been a bit of that too, our defending has been atrocious, although Michael Carrick has managed to concede just one goal since taking charge – against league leaders Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
United defended well against Chelsea, who like to spread the ball from either side, but with Scott McTominay dropping back to help out we were able to deal with the pressure.
Former Premier League striker Darren Bent thinks our back four lacks confidence and that is why they’ve performed so poorly this season. On top of that, it does not help having Raphael Varane out injured and he’s still waiting to properly kick start his United career.
Bent told talkSPORT: “Manchester United are struggling collectively in defence, it’s affecting their individual performance.”
I suspect we’ll see a vast improvement when Varane returns from injury.
Ralf Rangnick’s appointment will also see the manager do things differently. The German knows that successful teams are built from the back, so he will have his work cut out for him.
Neither Harry Maguire or Luke Shaw have been able to take their Euro 2020 form with them into this season and both have gone backwards. Aaron Wan-Bissaka hasn’t developed a lot since joining United, while Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly will be unsure of their roles under new management.
Rangnick has a lot to fix!
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