The real tests will flood in after the FA Cup tie with Reading.
The 2-0 victory over Newcastle, midweek, was only Manchester United’s third clean sheet of this Premier League season. In 21 league games, United have conceded 32 goals. That is already five worse than the total number they conceded in all of the 2017/18 league campaign.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has instilled a new sense of attacking freedom and belief in a squad that, in truth, should never have been 19 points behind league-leading Liverpool after the halfway mark. The goals are flowing but United remain suspect at the back.
Now that Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle have all been accounted for, United will return from FA Cup action with a trickier run of league fixtures. First up are Spurs at Wembley on January 13. Mauricio Pochettino’s side had a blip against Wolves but have scored 22 times in their last five games.
There are away trips to Brighton and Leicester in the next few weeks with a home game against Burnley. Come February, United are on the road for three of their four league fixtures with only Liverpool at home. There is also the not insignificant matter of a Last 16 Champions League date with PSG at Old Trafford.
Strengthening United’s defence during the January transfer window would seem to be a shrewd move. For all of Solskjaer’s coaching qualities, and those of Mike Phelan, Eric Bailly is still a loose cannon and Phil Jones is far from the player former boss Alex Ferguson once hoped he would be. There may be hope for Victor Lindelof but he often appears casual in defence and switches off at inopportune moments. Chris Smalling has been out with injury and Marcos Rojo is an injury-prone disaster zone.
Tottenham’s Toby Aldeweireld has now had his contract extended until the summer of 2020 but, by doing so, the Londoners have now triggered his £25m release clause. The Belgian is 30-years-old but could conceivably give United four or five decent seasons at his best.
The latest comments from Solskjaer, however, suggest United may try to get through until the summer with the squad he inherited from Jose Mourinho. The Norwegian told reporters:
“I’m happy with squad I’ve got. I don’t expect anyone to come in but, obviously, if the club have targeted and identified a few and I think they might fit here, I’ll give my thumbs up. But it’s not just my decision.
“Nobody had to tell me I had loads of talented players [here at United]. I can see that from outside.”
It would appear that Lindelof, Bailly, Rojo and Jones will have until the end of the season to convince the powers that be that they have futures at the club and that United’s defence is not their biggest problem.
