Manchester United 1-0 FC Astana: 3 talking points | Europa League 2019/2020
While the big names in European club football strutted their stuff across two matchdays on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Champions League, Manchester United fans had to contend with watching Thursday night football as the Red Devils hosted Kazakhstan champions FC Astana in the Europa League.
Manchester United had been given a bye into the group stage, owing to their sixth place finish in the Premier League, while their visitors had to go through eight arduous matches to get to this stage after dropping out from the Champions League playoffs.
Given the vast difference in size and quality of both sides, the hosts were expected to triumph in this match, and a Mason Greenwood goal was enough to give Manchester United all three points in their opening fixture to top Group L.
Here, we shall be highlighting three talking points from Manchester United's 1-0 victory over FC Astana in the Europa League.
#3 Even in victory, familiar problems creep up again for Solskjaer's men
In a group also containing Partizan Belgrade and AZ Alkmaar, Manchester United are clearly overwhelming favorites to top the group.
While not being pushovers themselves, FC Astana are somewhat beneath the other two clubs on the footballing hierarchy, and they were expected to be the easiest fixture to navigate for Manchester United.
In light of this, Ole Gunner Solskjaer named a significantly weakened squad, giving players on the periphery such as Fred, Marcus Rojo, Phil Jones and youngsters like Tahith Chong and Angel Gomez a run-in.
Even when the regulars play, the Mancunians have faced criticisms over their lack of inventiveness and laborious play, with their difficulty in breaking teams who defend deeply brought to the fore in the defeat to Crystal Palace.
Given their underdog status, it was foolhardy expecting Astana to come out and play, and it was not in the least bit surprising to see them defend with two deep blocks of four, with forwards Rotariu and Murtazayev also dropping back to literally 'park the bus.'
The visitors were content to let United have all the possession (72% in total), safe in the knowledge that they would not do too much with it.
This proved to be the case, as a predictable Manchester United saw a lot of the ball, but lacked any penetration, with their play characterized by ineffective sideways passes and inaccurate crosses.
Other than a Fred shot which ht the post as early as the third minute, there was never really another period where the Red Devils gave off the impression that they could score a goal despite all the amount of possession they had.
A major criticism about the previous two Manchester United managers was that they were not playing 'the United way', but over nine months on from taking the managerial reins, Ole Gunner Solskjaer has not given any indication that he has a full grasp of what the Manchester United way of playing really is.
Also check out: Premier League Table La Liga Table Champions League Schedule