Is Manchester United’s Win over Leeds United a Sign of Things to Come at Old Trafford This Season?
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Having fan back inside stadiums has been a huge boost for everyone in English football and there were capacity crowds around the Premier League on the weekend. The biggest attendance was at Old Trafford as 72,732 fans cheered on the teams at the Theatre of Dreams.
Manchester United sent out new signing, Raphaël Varane, prior to kick-off and that added to the atmosphere as the French international defender saluted the crowd and they responded with loud cheers.
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This has the makings of being a huge season for the club and Ole Gunnar Solskjær knows he needs to deliver a trophy if he is to keep Manchester United moving in the right direction.
If the performance against Leeds United is anything to go by, the Red Devils look up for a title challenge this season. It took 30 minutes to make through against Leeds United as Manchester United took advantage of some sloppy play from a goal kick to punish their rivals, Bruno Fernandes scoring the goal following a nice pass from Paul Pogba.
Manchester United deserved their 1-0 lead at half-time but Leeds United silenced the home fans with a good long range strike early in the second half. Unfortunately for the visiting supporters that goal seemed to wake up the Manchester United players and from that point onwards, the hosts turned on the style as they scored 4 unanswered goals to win the match 5-1, with Fernandes claiming a hattrick.
One of the most impressive aspects of the performance was the pressing and Manchester United did not give the Leeds United players time to settle on the ball. The intensity of the display is something that has rarely been seen following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and when Manchester United clicked going forward, they were tremendous.
However, Manchester United recorded a similar victory over Leeds United last season and the next step must be to replicate this type of performance in games against other teams in the Premier League.
An additional note of optimism going forward this season is the addition of Jadon Sancho. The England international will play on the right side of the Manchester United attack, which has often been the weak side of the team in recent years.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is great defensively but needs to work on his final ball in attack whereas Daniel James is good at causing panic in the opposition defence with his pace but his final ball also leaves something to be desired. Sancho will add the quality of final ball to the right side of the attack meaning teams will no longer be able to leave that space open in the knowledge they are unlikely to be punished.
Varane will allow Manchester United to defend with a higher line this season and that will only add to the pressure they can place on teams when the opposition is in possession of the ball.
It is only one match but the signs are looking good and we could be about to see a serious Manchester United challenge for the Premier League title this season.
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