The defeat of Manchester United at the hands of Sevilla in the last campaign sends a message to the Red Devil fans all over the world that their darling team might just be a participant, rather than a contender in the European elite club competition come next season.
The Red Devils have qualified for the next season’s UEFA Champions League after defeating Leicester City at the King Power Stadium with a 2-0 win.Â
A second-half penalty by Bruno Fernandes eased the nerves before Jesse Lingard left it until the 98th minute of the final game to score his first goal of the season to take the game beyond control for the Foxes. United simply needed to avoid defeat to guarantee a place in the top four, but victory has resulted in a third-place Premier League finish on 66 points.
The odds put the United at +1500 [track them here] to be victorious in the elite club competition come next season. But, can United be the champion of Europe once again? The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic sent shock waves that forced the authorities and football governing bodies to halt the last campaign for a while. This will definitely come back to haunt the big teams around and most especially, the top English team.Â
Manchester United and the rest of the English top-flight teams have a robust season at hand already with the League Cup (Carabao Cup), FA Cup, and English Premier League taking the schedule off the pace.
Moreover, the addition of a compact UEFA Champions’ League group stage to the small space remaining will further stretch the fitness of English top guns this season which includes Manchester United.
The group stage of the emerging campaign of UEFA Champions League will run from October 20 and 21 through till December 8 and 9, deviating from the traditional time of mid-September to the mid-December, can only mean that the Red Devil will be playing six UEFA Champions League matches within the span of eight weeks. Keep in mind, there are League Cup games and no winter holiday for the British teams.Â
Judging by the run of form that the Old Trafford team found since the acquisition of Bruno Fernandes since late January 2020, one would argue the efficiency of the team among the big boys in Europe. Having climbed into the top four after their 37th league game of the season (a 1-1 draw at home to West Ham), United confirmed third place with their 2-0 win at Leicester on the final day.
A 70th-minute Bruno Fernandes penalty, followed by a freak second goal in the 98th minute when Jesse Lingard capitalized on a mistake by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, secured victory for United in a game that Leicester needed to win to deny their opponents a Champions League spot.
But, with the Old Trafford team lackluster games in a match the saw United breaking more sweat to overcome relegate Norwich City and under per match of the Red Devil that saw United dropping point against Southampton in such a game that the United could have closed long in the match and finally West Ham United 1-1 draw exposed the Old Trafford team flaws.
However, the performances of the Red Devil at King power stadium in a win against Leicester and against Crystal Palace not to mention the FA Cup semi final defeat against Chelsea and Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League all exposed the lack of depth within Solskjaer’s squad.
The Norwegian’s first XI can take on and beat any team in England, but beyond that, the cupboard is worryingly bare in terms of Manchester United quality.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had improved his Midfield with the addition of Van Der Beak from Ajax and he will further add to his squad this summer with Jadon Sancho being his prime target, but he needs quantity as well as quality to rob shoulder with the English Premier League favourites and neighbouring rival, Manchester City.
His team selections have shown that he has lost, or is losing, faith in the likes of Lingard, Fred, Juan Mata, and Daniel James, while players such as Phil Jones, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and Andreas Pereira are unlikely to be at Old Trafford in the emerging season. It’s difficult to see United signing another seven to replace them.
Similarly, Jurgen Klopp inherited an imbalanced squad when he arrived at Liverpool in October 2015, and it took the German at least two years to remodel the team into one that had a chance to compete, and one that has done spectacularly since.
Solskjaer can at least rely on a star-studded forward line of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Mason Greenwood. He also has Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, and now Danny Van Der Beak developing an understanding in the final third of the pitch.
But that kind of attacking quality will only make the Red Devil a participant rather than a contender. It has arguably been the key to getting into the Champions League, but United need to be about more than simply being in the competition as their history demands that they challenge to win it.
It is true that the Old Trafford team, Manchester United, has competed and not just participated in the Champions League during the Ferguson era and the story has since changed in the European Premier Club competition since Sir Alex Ferguson walked away, but they have been participants rather than contenders.
Unlike Liverpool, City, and even Tottenham, who reached the final in 2019, United have never looked like challenging Europe’s best sides in the post-Ferguson era, and Solskjaer’s team is unlikely to restore the club’s old reputation as a Champions League superpower next season. But the crucial element for United is that they are back among the best again, which gives them the opportunity to accelerate their route back to the top.
That won’t happen next season, but being back among the elite is a crucial first step for United. By winning at Leicester, they have at least given themselves the chance to take it.
READ MORE:Â Top 5 Manchester United Transfer Targets Summer 2020
