Questions left unanswered in Manchester United’s opening day victory

A win will do plenty to quell the surrounding negativity of a dull preseason, but remnants of issues from last season persist.

Starting a season on the right foot is undeniably challenging. It can take most of the first month for squads to round into shape and find a rhythm – even the historically great City side took the first three weeks to hit their stride last year.

Amidst transfer dramas and an underwhelming and dramatic preseason (not helped by the disjointed preparation due to the world cup), a win in their first outing is an undoubted success, especially contending with a slew of injuries to first XI talent.

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In that context, it might seem harsh to spoil the party and take aim at Manchester United, but the similarities that the makeup of their match with Leicester had with the shortcomings of last season does invalidate the Red Devils seemingly triumphant start.

The fundamental flaw that held them back from genuinely challenging their neighbours for the title was an over-reliance on talent that manifested itself in a gimmicky style. They struggled for consistency and proved ineffective in the face of adversity. Without the defensive stability Mourinho prefers, it was impossible to nail down an identity to hang their hat on.

They got results, but there was no week-to-week constancy in how they got there. United often resulted to a by any means necessary approach, most evident against lower-ranking opposition that the other heavyweight teams dismissed with ease. Ultimately, they lacked an overarching systemic quality that defined them.

Granted, the collection of talent they depended on was so strong that they finished in the second spot despite this. It might not have been enough to close the gap between them and City regardless.

Faced with an equally tough challenge this year, the main prerogative to start the season should be to ensure this trend doesn’t continue. They need to nail down an identity that translates to a dependable style they can lean on when the momentum isn’t behind them.

This is what should give pause to celebrating this victory as a turning of the tide. Some rust or unfamiliarity in the early season is understandable, sometimes even expected, but whilst far from their best, United looked like themselves, which is not as positive as it sounds.

A Familiar Story

It’s a fascinating thought experiment to think how the game might have played out had the opening two minutes not included a tide-turning handball penalty. Despite being handed a dream gift to begin the campaign, United didn’t command the match and assert themselves as you’d expect.

Following the opening goal, Leicester dictated the majority of the action, bombing forward in an attempt to level the scores. A lack of composure and eagerness to get forward at every chance meant United were unable to control proceedings and allowed the Foxes plenty of chances to get back into the contest.

David De Gea, as we’ve come to expect, bailed the United defence out multiple times, including two stellar saves against James Maddison and Demarai Gray to deny a potential equaliser. It took 75 minutes and a wonderful finish from Luke Shaw to put the result away, aside from a brief injury-time scare after Vardy’s tip-in.

A lack of control, inability to command tempo and defensive issues being covered by an otherworldly goalkeeper… sound familiar?

Credit has to go the Foxes for being able to stabilise in the face of such immediate adversity, but with the talent deficit this matchup presented, what followed didn’t represent how it should have gone considering the early advantage. Against higher quality opposition, a performance of this level wouldn’t be enough to get the job done.

Ultimately, beating their fellow contenders is what will decide where they fall in the hierarchy; cause for concern considering this was what restricted their success last year.

Success vs Sustainability

Even the most celebrated positives have some underlying issues indicative of these problems.

Paul Pogba, the subject of a few headlines in recent times, was best on ground as he muted surrounding chat about his future and continued his form from the world cup. Even if nothing else about their performance impressed, the easy reaction is to feel secure in the fact that their star man is leading from the front.

However, whether he can sustain this is up for debate: The ideal use of Pogba’s skillset, and when he’s at his show-stopping best (and where he excelled at in the world cup), is when he isn’t the centrepiece the team is built around, but a supplementary weapon able to shake loose and pick apart an already punctured defensive line. He’s previously been unable to sustain form when counted on to orchestrate the attack.

With key players missing, Mourinho had to lean on Pogba’s contributions more than usual and it paid off, but performances like this are rare. It isn’t the fix, it’s Exhibit A in the aforementioned issues that have plagued them in recent times.

Once again, they leaned on their talent, and once again it was successful, but be warned — just because it was successful, doesn’t mean it is sustainable.

Whilst we didn’t see signs of it in game one, the silver lining is that there’s hope they can turn it around moving forward: The right pieces are in place to transcend the previous version of this squad and take the next step.

Fred will be better once he adapts to the premier league; Matic and Valencia are reliable, fundamental members of the lineup who will sure up the defence and assist the structure in attack; Lukaku adds another dimension going forward and should ease the burden of an over-stretched Sanchez.

Their next fixture against Brighton is a great opportunity to display some growth and really dominate proceedings against an inferior opponent and begin to find a rhythm ahead of the first real test against Spurs in a fortnight.

No matter how you cut it, three points is a success and following the dark days of the preseason, it is a sigh of relief. Problem is, a sigh of relief isn’t ideal for a team looking to build on an underwhelming campaign, and there isn’t much stock to put into grinding out a win where an emphatic performance was possible.

This wasn’t the Red Devils announcing their arrival to the contention pool, but a reminder of how much potential they have if they’re able to pull it together. Before considering this a return to form, consider the vast improvement they still have to make.