Manchester United: A season start with more shadows than lights
The Manchester United fans don’t have much time to celebrate. After 180 minutes of the new Premier League season, the team seems to be struggling, evidenced by the 1-1 draw against Fulham, which recalled the disappointing previous season instead of the redemption that Ruben Amorim seeks.
A goalkeeper with mistakes, a captain trying to do too much, midfielders who don’t create, and a forward line that fails to score. Sound familiar? This was United’s story in the 2024-25 season, which ended with their worst position in the Premier League (15th) and their worst season since 1974. This year, a change was expected.
However, after missing a penalty (Bruno Fernandes sent the ball over the crossbar), Manchester United squandered the lead obtained thanks to Leny Yoro’s header and was saved from defeat against a Fulham that tied with Emile Smith Rowe’s goal.
The club invested £200 million in forwards Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, giving them more attacking potential, but no forward can score if they don’t receive the ball.
Cunha had two clear chances in the first half at Craven Cottage, but one hit the post and the other was well saved by goalkeeper Bernd Leno. Afterwards, the situation did not improve.
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Mbeumo chased after lost balls and Sesko offered a point of reference when he came on in the second half, but they were signed to score goals and turn draws into wins for United.
A similar situation was experienced against Arsenal at Old Trafford, where United lost 1-0. Mbeumo and Cunha looked dangerous, but neither scored. At Craven Cottage, they left without scoring again.
The reasons lie in what happens behind the scenes, starting with the goalkeeping and culminating in a midfield that seems far from the level needed to compete in the Champions League.
Let’s start with the goalkeeper. Against Arsenal, Altay Bayindir’s error in clearing a corner led directly to Riccardo Calafiori’s goal. Despite his mistake and weakness in set pieces, Amorim surprisingly kept the Turkish international in goal ahead of the recovered starter André Onana.
Onana is not perfect, but he is better than Bayindir. Amorim’s decision to leave him out of the team, after United’s failed attempts to sign Emi Martínez from Aston Villa and Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, suggests that the coach does not trust either of his goalkeepers.
The same thing happened with Bayindir at Fulham. Every time a corner was taken, Bayindir hesitated, allowing Sander Berge, Timothy Castagne, or Rodrigo Muniz to push him at crucial moments. A top-level goalkeeper would solve that problem, but Bayindir fell to the ground on more than one occasion.Janusz Michallik: Man United performed like last season vs. FulhamThe defenders look nervous with Bayindir in goal. The same goes for Onana, a risky goalkeeper.
United is in talks with Royal Antwerp for Senne Lammens, but sources indicate that he will not be the starting goalkeeper, so Amorim could end up with another goalkeeper who is not good enough to play every week.
A goalkeeper who is not reliable weakens the team, just like a midfield that neither runs nor creates.
Fernandes can do both, but the defensive aspect of his game hurts him. The problem is that he has to do the work of two players because those next to him, Casemiro and substitute Manuel Ugarte, can’t run or can’t pass the ball. Ugarte, often, can’t do either.
Mason Mount is a talented player, but he is neither a midfielder nor a forward, however, Amorim uses him in offensive positions at the start of matches because he needs someone capable of relieving Bruno’s workload.
But Mount is not the player United needs: they need a midfielder to cover the defensive zone and let Bruno create for the forwards, who are still not receiving the ball, although Amorim said after the match against Fulham that his team is “more solid” with the Chelsea player in his team.
Solid, perhaps, but still lacking creativity, which brings up the problem of Bruno being involved in too many tasks. Amorim still hasn’t found a way for his best player to perform at his best for the team.
Meanwhile, with the rest of the team struggling, three expensive forwards are still waiting to have the opportunities to score the goals that will take United to where it wants to be.
If they don’t score this week against League Two’s Grimsby in the Carabao Cup and against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, the alarms will sound again.
