Manchester United’s season is in danger of fizzling out in spectacular style after turning the corner in Erik ten Haag’s first campaign as manager.
The Red Devils, with the League Cup already in the bag and the FA Cup final through, were favorites to finish in the top four in the Premier League a week ago.
They are still in fourth place, but after dropping eight points from their last four games, are just one point away from fast-charging Liverpool in the race for a Champions League place, albeit with a game in hand.
United, who appear tired after a long season, are counting the cost of a lack of firepower and a serious defensive crisis.
Both issues showed that the club lacked the squad depth to sustain a title challenge, despite making significant progress under their Dutch manager.
United have scored just 49 goals in the English top-flight, the second-fewest among the top nine and 40 fewer than leaders Manchester City.
Marcus Rashford has enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 16 Premier League goals and 29 goals in all competitions, but United are more reliant on moments of inspiration from the England man.
Next on the list is midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who has just six league goals. Jadon Sancho found the net five times while Antony and the injured Anthony Martial only found the net four times.
Sancho and Brazilian winger Antony, who are worth a combined total of more than 150 million pounds ($190 million), have been frustratingly inconsistent.
Loan signing Wout Weghorst, brought in to add firepower following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November, has not scored a single league goal.
Ten Haag admitted after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at West Ham that he was disappointed his team could not capitalize on the opportunities.
A new number nine will be a priority for United in the upcoming transfer window, with Tottenham’s Harry Kane frequently mentioned, but the player they can attract could depend on whether they qualify for the Champions League. do or not.
-Double whammy-
Ten Haag has been forced to juggle in recent weeks after losing his first-choice centre-back pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in the same match against Sevilla last month.
Argentina’s World Cup winner Martinez, ruled out for the season with a metatarsal injury, has added steel to United’s defense along with Sylvie Varane, who could soon be back in action.
Luke Shaw has been used as a makeshift centre-back alongside Victor Lindelof, with club captain Harry Maguire being reduced to a minor role.
Behind the defenders, doubts are growing over whether goalkeeper David de Gea is the right man for the long term after another horrendous haul against West Ham.
The Spaniard has now made four mistakes to score a goal in all competitions this season, the joint-most of any Premier League player.
Ten Haag came to the defense of his goalkeeper after the match at the London Stadium, pointing out that he has the most clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
“We want him to stay and we want him to extend his contract,” he said.
United’s long campaign – Sunday’s game was their 57th season in which they have made deep progress in every cup competition – is catching up with them.
But Ten Haag, who delivered the club’s first trophy for six years at Wembley in February, said his men “cannot feel sorry” for themselves.
“Exhaustion is in your mind,” he said. “If you want, if you have the will, you can have it. We can have it and this team has.”
He said: “It’s not about Liverpool, it’s about us – look at the table. Everything is in our hands. If we play, if we bring our standards, we’ll win matches.
“We don’t need to look to others, we have to look to ourselves and find a way to win and find a way back to our level.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)