Premier League giants Manchester United have made a horrendous start to the 2023/2024 season. The Red Devils have only nine points after seven Premier League matches and they currently occupy the 10th position on the log.
The fortune of the club is the same on the continent as well. In the UEFA Champions League they are last position with no point after matchday two having lost to Bayern Munich and most recently Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray in the competition.
The Turkish side came back from losing postions twice before snatching a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils start to the new season is far xontrast to how they ended the 2022/2023 season.
They had a good finish in the Premier League last season with a third place position in the standings at the end of the campaign.
The Red Devils even challenged the high-flying duo of Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League title at some point.
Even though they had a shaky start to their Premier League campaign last season and they eventually improved as the season went on.
It appears that Erik Ten Hag’s men are following that same path this season and the team is in a precarious position at the moment. However, the club’s faithfuls expect the team to be in a better place with the arrival of five new players at the club.
United signed Andre Onana this season from Inter Milan where he guided the Italian team to a second place Champions League finish last season and was the Serie A goalkeeper of the season.
Ever since the goal he conceded in the preseason game with Lens when Sotoca chipped him from 40 yards out, it seems the Camerounian has lost his confidence.
He has made costly errors in recent games. For instance, the Red Devils 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich and the 3-2 home loss to Galatasaray.
Another player who has been poor so far this season is England international, Marcus Rashford. The English winger was a huge reason for Manchester United’s great displays last season as he was in fantastic form in the 2023/24 campaign. But he has been a shadow of himself lately.
Also captain, Bruno Fernandes has had inconsistent performances as well as Casemiro.
Injuries to key players like Luke Aaron Wan Bisakka, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Sergio Reguillon have also contributed to the club’s misfortunes. There also has been the longstanding issue of the club’s sale to either Sir Jim Ratcliffe or the Qataris.
Ten Hag brought United to the Champions League in the 2023/24 season after playing the Europa League in the previous season but this season has started on a shaky note.
The manager’s lack of tactical response to games where United have drooped points has been criticized by fans and the media.
One might argue that, perhaps the new signings are yet to ntegrate into the coach’s methods. Time will tell as the season as United try to find solutions to their on and off the pitch problems.
