Manchester United were expected to continue their nine-game unbeaten streak on Sunday. But instead they succumbed to an unexpected 1-3 thrashing at the hands of Aston Villa.
Erik ten Hag’s dubious decision to start Donny van de Beek in the place of a suspended Bruno Fernandes was severely criticised while he was not helped by the attacking options at his disposal.
In fact, so limited were the options that the Dutch manager had to call upon a struggling Anthony Elanga and left-back Tyrell Malacia apart from a half-fit Anthony Martial to rescue the situation.
United lacking in firepower
The absence of Antony and Jadon Sancho ended up really hurting the Red Devils and the manager will be hoping they can be back for the game against Fulham.
The Villa drubbing once again brought into focus United’s lacklustre firepower up front and the need to strengthen in that crucial area of the pitch.
And former United defender Gary Neville made a scathing assessment of Ten Hag’s options while comparing the sorry state of affairs at the Old Trafford outfit when compared to the rest of England’s elite clubs.
“Manchester United’s front three are the weakest out of the top six” 😬
Gary Neville says Manchester United are NOT back 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/zMwgraRexi
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 7, 2022
“United’s front three are the weakest out of the top six in my opinion. Overall, I’m not wholly convinced by United at all. This idea that United are back, they’re not.
“I think Ten Hag is getting the maximum out of them. He needs two or three years in the job and a few transfer windows. There’s signs they’re getting better but they’re not back,” the United legend said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
The stats speak for themselves. Among the current top six, United are the lowest scoring team with only 18 goals. Manchester City have more than double with 39.
Cristiano Ronaldo, last season’s top scorer, has bagged only once in the league while Marcus Rashford, the top scorer so far, only has four goals to his name.
Anthony Martial‘s injury woes have meant he has managed only two strikes so far this campaign while Jadon Sancho has lacked any sort of consistency.
Neville slams recruitment
Neville did not stop there as he then went on to compare United’s frontline options with the rest while commenting that the former Ajax manager would take most of the rival players instead of the ones he has inherited.
“United’s front three are the weakest out of the top six. You think of Kulusevski-Kane-Son – United would take those three.
Arsenal have Saka-Jesus-Martinelli. Liverpool have Nunez, Diaz, Jota, Salah and Firmino – you’d definitely choose three of them over what United have got. You’d take Chelsea’s even.”
The likes of Brighton, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur have outscored the Red Devils and in an even more damning statistic, United are 11th in terms of goals scored.
The 20-time English champions need a proven goalscorer in January and hopefully, the Glazers will relent and allow Ten hag to continue his rebuilding and ensure the club has the best chance of finishing in the top four at the end of the campaign,
