Man Utd had to come from 2-0 down to salvage a draw against Leeds in the Premier League on a night when they badly missed Casemiro again.
Marcel Sabitzer replaced Casemiro against Leeds at Old Trafford
Casemiro is irreplaceable
This is supposed to be five things we’ve learned about Man Utd, but you don’t exactly need a full quota of GCSEs to already understand that this is not the same team without Casemiro.
One of the bedrocks of the improvement under Erik ten Hag has been the defensive record, but take Casemiro out of the picture and that steely facade crumbles. Since his suspension against Arsenal this team have now played 200 minutes without their Brazilian holding midfielder and conceded six goals.
There was no control at all without the 30-year-old organising the midfield against Leeds. It isn’t just his positional nous and quality on the ball that United miss when he’s absent, but also his leadership.
It was Marcel Sabitzer who nominally replaced him on Wednesday night, but United just don’t have anyone else like Casemiro in this squad. If this is the level of the drop-off in their midfield when he doesn’t play then it’s going to remain a problem.
United already have a striker on their shopping list for the summer, but they might need a capable back-up to Casemiro as well.
Title challenge fades again
There have been two occasions since the New Year when United have hauled themselves to the fringes of a title race. Both times they’ve failed to win their next game and lost momentum at a time when it was beginning to bubble away.
It’s probably fair to say that a consistent title challenge is still too early for this side, but they are not chasing a Manchester City or Liverpool at their very best. This season is shaping up to be an opportunity for someone and it’s one United are likely to pass up.
Victory against Leeds would have closed the gap to Arsenal to five points and although the Gunners would have had two games in hand, they’ve also got to play City twice, with the first game next Wednesday. That is two occasions when one or both of United’s rivals will drop points.
Conversely, United have already played them both twice, so the games in hand are less of a concern. But failure to make it 14 home wins in a row eased the pressure on Arsenal and City and keeps United only on the very edge of this discussion. Had they taken six points from this Leeds double header then the title talk would have gathered pace, instead the narrative will remain focused on the top two.
Sabitzer’s role
It was something of a surprise to see Sabitzer taking Casemiro’s role at the base of United’s midfield, rather than Fred dropping back, or United switching to more of a two-man pivot in the centre of the pitch.
It was a baptism of fire for Sabitzer, who usually plays as more of a box-to-box midfielder and considers himself a threat at the other end of the pitch. Leeds hassled and harried him in the early stages and for 15 minutes United’s midfield was cut to shreds by the speed of the visitors.
The 28-year-old did show his skills in reading the game to steal in and win possession a couple of times for United, but there were also occasions when he was outnumbered in that role and had his hands full.
But Sabitzer is a quick learner and his life was made a little easier once United got a grip of the game and began to exert some control, although it will be interesting to see if this shape and the personnel involved remain in place for Sunday’s trip to Elland Road.
Sabitzer said after his arrival at Old Trafford that he liked to shoot and on that front, he was telling the truth. Despite playing the deepest role in midfield he had three shots inside the first half-hour, the last of which forced Illan Meslier into a save.
Fred’s inconsistency
There’s been a lingering thought this season that Ten Hag just doesn’t quite fancy Fred. It felt like the midfielder would be a natural fit for the Dutchman, but it hasn’t turned out that way.
This was just his seventh Premier League start this season and the last couple have come about through necessity as much as anything else. Fred started the early season defeats to Brighton and Brentford and has been pretty peripheral ever since.
There’s no doubt he has qualities he can bring to this side, but there also remains an inconsistency to his game that might just frustrate Ten Hag. This was one of those nights, when his radar was wonky and he was the reason for several attacks breaking down.
He was far from on his own in that regard, but it is a recurring problem with Fred’s game that you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.
Slow starts
Ten Hag might be new to this rivalry but he spoke about it in his programme notes and plenty of his players are well aware of how intense it is, which makes their slow start all the more perplexing.
Pascal Struijk was more switched-on than Fernandes in the first minute, when the Portuguese had already been pressured by Tyler Adams, and Wilfried Gnonto and Patrick Bamford had too much room to exchange passes. Gnonto wasn’t closed down sufficiently and although his finish was smart, it was probably too easy for him to get the shot away.
The goal and the ensuing celebrations lit the fuse at Old Trafford when the bonfire didn’t need any more fuel added to it, but the atmosphere and intensity in the stands wasn’t matched by United on the pitch in the first few minutes.
They evidently didn’t learn their lesson. They started the second half as badly as they began the first. For three minutes they were forced to defend their own box and made poor decisions when they had the ball. It eventually led to Raphael Varane’s own goal.
source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
