On Sunday night, Sevilla recorded a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the first of the Europa League semi-finals. The defeat showed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team are not yet the finished article when it comes to challenging for silverware.
The game saw the Red Devils suffered a second semi-final defeat of the season, as they had also lost the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. Although they finished in the Champions League spots this season, there is a sense that the team have come up short when it comes to winning when it matters.
Some will claim that United came up against an inspired goalkeeper in the shape of Bono against Sevilla. However, in terms of winning silverware United still haven’t found what they are looking for, top goalkeeping display or not.
Solskjaer has improved the Red Devils defensively this season. In fact, the Red Devils finished last season with the Premier League’s third-best defensive record.
However, United were poor in defence at times in Cologne, as full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams both endured nights to forget. Centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire did not look like a pair that cost United over £100m combined either.
In attack, Manchester United have some highly gifted individuals in the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and of course youngster Mason Greenwood.
The concern is for all their qualities, arguably none of their forward line has that ruthless streak when it comes to finishing.
They may get better at finishing as they mature, but maybe they won’t and will never quite become the top forwards they could have become.
Some are talking about Manchester United as potential title challengers for next season in the Premier League. However, displays like the one in Cologne suggest that they are not quite ready to duke it out with arch-rivals Manchester City and Liverpool for the English top-flight title in season 2020/21.
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