Following a series of underwhelming displays in England and in Europe, Manchester United’s obvious deficiencies were exposed thoroughly by German Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg, as Louis van Gaal’s men crashed out of the Champions League in group stages.
Ahead of the game, the Red Devils needed to register a victory in Germany in a bid to ensure qualification, while a draw would have made them sweat over the result of the other game happening in Eindhoven between PSV and CSKA Moscow. However, it appeared that the Red Devils were never really prepared to move on from the drama, and a game that they could have won was lost in a very shambolic display.
After Anthony Martial had given the visitors a lead in the tenth minute of the game, the euphoria was short-lived, as Naldo made the score 1-1 in the thirteenth minute. The game dragged on for United as it has more or less throughout the campaign — a dull and boring display of sterile possession-based buildup with little or no end product while back passes were once again a recurring theme.
After spending 300 million pounds over the last two years, the end product was a place in the Europa League after LVG’s men bowed out of Europe’s biggest club competition in unremarkable fashion to say the least.
After the game, LVG stated that his team had been unlucky, but in all honesty, luck had nothing to do with that. Throughout the group stages, they were given plenty of chances to grab the initiatives in every single game, but they let every opportunity pass them by.
A second-half equalizer, which was an own goal, gave the English giants one final chance to book their place in the knockout phases, but it appeared that the Red Devils had already given up, and a lethargic display of football continued.
Now, Manchester United will feature in Europa League — the ugly duckling of footballing brilliance in the Old Continent — which is indeed a shame, considering the amount of money that has been injected in this team.
Van Gaal and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had been given all the authority they ever needed in a bid to assemble a squad they wanted. However, even having a final say on every sporting matter has not helped the team on the field, with displays looking more and more dull and boring with each passing week.
Despite boasting a major chunk of the possession in each game, United have epitomized boring in football, which is down to the philosophy that LVG has been preaching for the last one and a half years.
While stating that the team has improved quite a lot over the last few months, it is clear to see that the results and the statistics don’t mask the team’s inability to cope with the needs of football in this age.
While the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are leading the classroom in terms of how to play football, United have clearly regressed and have forgotten the theme that was so much cherished and valued during Sir Alex Ferguson’s days at the helm.
Time is probably running out for LVG and although he is under contract at Old Trafford until 2017, it is clear to see that he might be allowed to retire early if last night’s shame does not prove to be a catalyst for the team’s ambitions for the current campaign.
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