Manchester United are soft, flimsy and vulnerable

Despite a summer of transfer activity Manchester United have managed to start the season looking like ‘the new Spurs’ and have the same old problems… they are soft, flimsy and vulnerable

• Manchester United’s problems were clear in their defeat to Tottenham 
• Erik ten Hag’s side are vulnerable and Roy Keane dubbed them ‘the new Spurs’ 

Maybe spare a thought for Rasmus Hojlund, recovering from a back injury in the knowledge he will soon be carrying quite a burden in Manchester United’s attack.

To listen to Erik ten Hag in the wake of a quite miserable defeat at Tottenham was to believe things are not so bleak. And they are not, because we still have the thick end of a fortnight to run in August.

But what played out on Saturday evening, and indeed their opening victory over Wolves, would serve as a quick reminder that this United squad have entered the new campaign with a variety of their old issues.

To go by the words of Roy Keane — never one for tweezers when an axe is in reach — they are, ‘The new Spurs’, and the inference is clear. A soft touch. A side who roll over. Hard to argue there, certainly based on the manner in which they shaded this match for 30 minutes and then offered so little resistance for the remainder when an inexperienced, energetic, exciting Spurs team realised there was not so much to fear.

Of course, we can pinpoint moments when this game might have turned another way, but they only reinforce the view that Hojlund will be under some extra pressure when he is deemed fit to make his debut.

It will be tricky as a relatively unknown 20-year-old to shoulder the expectations that come with a fee north of £60million, and they are harder still when United badly need him to plug a major shortfall in front of goal.

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United were deeply disappointing as they lost to Tottenham

Marcus Rashford would rather be out wide, which emphasises United’s imbalanced squad

Bruno Fernandes missed a glaring opportunity and United’s team requires more cohesion

Ten Hag argued into the night that there are goals in his wider squad, and that is true up to a point, but they had 22 shots at Tottenham, managed only six on target, and the result was characterised by a number of misses. Most glaring was Bruno Fernandes’s header in the first half, the very definition of a sitter, but as with last season the feeling is United still need three or four good chances to bury one.

It is symptom of their unbalanced squad and strange approach to recruitment that Hojlund’s absence means they are so short of alternatives — Marcus Rashford would far rather be out wide — and yet the concern is that United’s biggest issues are elsewhere.

The Wolves game illustrated their flimsiness in midfield and this loss added urgency to that situation. Mason Mount is a high-calibre player who will adapt, but so far his partnership with Fernandes is not working. They do not seem to be recognising the rhythms of eachother’s game, those intricacies of movement that make a unit out of quality individuals, and even though Mount was given a deeper brief on Saturday, we saw that Casemiro remained vulnerable to being overrun.

There were two instances in the first half where Pape Matar Sarr was able to run untracked for 50 yards or more through the middle of the pitch, culminating in chances. When he scored the opener, it was followed by a similarly unchecked dash to the box — an element of that is his guile, and what a fine game he had, as did the brilliant Yves Bissouma and James Maddison next to him, but United made it easy.

Again, Ten Hag chose to take shelter in his reflections of a decent first half, but privately he must be worried, especially when it concerns the drop in intensity after the break, best shown by the lethargy of Raphael Varane and Christian Eriksen in the build-up to Tottenham’s second, a Lisandro Martinez own goal.

Far too early for a crisis, but early enough to say not enough seems to have changed over the summer.

The same could not be said for Tottenham, who have undergone an image transplant under Ange Postecoglou. We have no idea how long it will last, and clearly Richarlison is no replacement for Harry Kane as a lone striker, but with a young team they are playing some excellent attacking football. Fearless, fast, brilliant — they were the opposite of the team they beat.

‘Everyone is talking about how we play,’ said captain Son Heung-min. ‘It’s good. We are enjoying it, but it’s only the second game of the season. We want to stay calm. It’s very, enjoyable, attacking football which is very, very good, but there’s so much room to improve.’

Mason Mount needs to be given time to adapt but his partnership with Fernandes isn’t working

It was evident against Tottenham that Casemiro is still vulnerable to being over-run

The absence of summer signing Rasmus Hojlund means United are short of alternatives

MATCH FACTS

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario 7.5; Porro 7 (Royal 88min), Romero 7, Van de Ven 7, Udogie 6.5 (Davies 70, 6.5); Sarr 8 (Hojbjerg 76), Bissouma 8.5; Kulusevski 7.5 (Solomon 88), Maddison 7.5, Son 6; Richarlison 5.5 (Perisc 70, 6).

Scorers: Sarr 49, Martinez 83 (og).

Booked: Udogie.

Manager: Ange Postecoglou 7.5.

Manchester United (4-1-4-1): Onana 6.5; Wan-Bissaka 6 (Dalot 66, 6), Varane 6, Martinez 5, Shaw 6.5; Casemiro 6.5; Antony 6.5 (Eriksen 66, 6), Fernandes 6, Mount 6 (Pellistri 85), Garnacho 6 (Sancho 66, 6); Rashford 6 (Martial 85).

Booked: Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes, Antony.

Manager: Erik ten Hag 6.

Referee: Michael Oliver 7 

Att: 61,910.

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