United vs Wolfsburg: the takeaways
The attack livens up, but the defense collapses. Three separate defensive errors let VfL Wolfsburg through to score. For the first, the Reds failed to defend the near post, allowing Naldo to walk the ball into goal. The second saw scattered defending and several players out of position. Poor placement in the box cost United a third and their Champions League qualification. What has normally been one of the only positives for the Reds this season – a strong back line – let the team down severely in this match. United created several excellent chances (some of which were only denied by implausible saves and clearances), but at the other end, they disappointed.
The Reds lost the midfield battle, with Marouane Fellaini providing less defensive cover and sharpness than Bastian Schweinsteiger’s usual partner, Morgan Schneiderlin. Wolfsburg created most of their chances through the middle, with United failing to stop them from breaking past a shaky, high defensive line.
And with that, United drop to the second tier of European competition. With CSKA Moscow losing to PSV Eindhoven, the Reds finish third in the group and drop into the Europa League knockout stages. The current competition favorites are German club Borussia Dortmund, but any English team who drops in – United now, Chelsea and Arsenal possibly – will be right up there as potential winners. Of course, that comes with a rather more difficult Thursday-Sunday schedule, but the Reds cannot afford to take the competition less than seriously.
Based on performances this season – or even this year – there has been a strong argument that United do not deserve to progress to the knockout stages in the first place. Tonight’s performance has only underlined that; the team seems unable to find any level of balance. A strong defense has hampered the offense, but tonight’s attacking performance left the back third too open. Teams that cannot perform on both ends of the pitch cannot consider themselves contenders in Europe’s premier football competition. Perhaps United might be better off regrouping in the Europa League.
But of course, it may not feel like it but there are positives to be taken from this match. United’s front line gave a far better display tonight than in recent outings, with the Reds fashioning plenty of chances that Wolfsburg were lucky to block. Jesse Lingard’s goal was also wrongly ruled for offside. And aside from that, United ended the match with four academy graduates on the pitch – Nick Powell, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Guillermo Varela, and Lingard. Six different players were 22 and under. While the current situation is far from pleasant, the performances of the young players were encouraging and should give United more hope for the future, which is Van Gaal’s intention. While stabilizing the club after a rocky year under David Moyes, the Dutchman is attempting to build a youth core upon which United can rely in future seasons.
For now, United fans will have to make do with Thursday night football. Hopefully the team bounces back in the match against Bournemouth this weekend.
