by These are strange times at Old Trafford. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% investment in Manchester United has been confirmed by the Premier League. They have won their last four games in all competitions and are unbeaten this year. They have a forward line that is young and dynamic and, while you wouldn’t trust it yet that it won’t get out of control, nuts and bolts fall out until it collapses into a heap of broken potential, it’s starting to appearance. it could be extremely effective. Are things finally starting to look up for United?
Everything is, of course, relative. It feels like every detail comes with a caveat; everything is subject to multiple interpretations. With the top five likely (but not guaranteed) to qualify for next season’s Champions League, United remain sixth in the Premier League but at least have a four-point cushion over seventh-placed Newcastle. They are eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa – but the gap would have been wider had Scott McTominay not scored an 86th-minute winner at Villa Park last Sunday. They conceded three goals in the last 20 minutes at Wolves two weeks ago, but at least they won 4-3.
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No one can argue that a corner has been irrevocably turned. United’s difference is 0, poorer than eight other teams going into this weekend. It is entirely reasonable to ask whether what is happening is similar to last season, when a series of narrow victories, many of them late on, offered an overly positive impression of United’s form. Arsenal’s demolition of West Ham put them on top of United’s 3-0 home win the previous week. And even Newport County made life difficult for them in the FA Cup.
So don’t draw any firm conclusions. But what is true is that United have scored 17 goals in their six games in all competitions this year, and Rasmus Højlund has scored in each of his last five games. After the misery of the 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium two days before Christmas, one of the most insipid and joyless performances from a supposedly top-flight club in the history of the English top flight, the turnaround is remarkable – even if happened. caused an uneasy openness at the back. A similar thing happened in the Champions League this season, where the devil-may-care United looked like a completely different team to the weekend fidgeters, like a dour husband gone wild on business trips.
It could be that, at the end of the season, this period seems to be dawning, a string of good results where United’s flaws were still all too obvious. But it may be seen that the promotion began, when Erik ten Hag’s side showed the heart and hunger to overcome their flaws and start winning games; the emotional impact of the Ratcliffe takeover before any real – and difficult – business of rebuilding the club begins.
But whatever lies ahead in the next three months, what is certain is that a side that seemed to have lost its way at the first sign of adversity has found a new resilience, at least temporarily. They may be doing silly things and leaking unnecessary goals in games they seem to be dominating, but they are, at the moment, finding ways to overcome that.
And if this is indeed the moment of tentative rebirth, it is the front line that probably offers the most hope. Marcus Rashford, the oldest of the three at 26, has been out of sorts at times this season but there should be no doubting his quality. Alejandro Garnacho, while capable of brilliance, is quite unpredictable – quite reasonably so for a 19-year-old – but, happily for United, he seems quite capable of playing on the right, even if he would prefer to come from the left, which allows Rashford. work on his best side. Meanwhile, Højlund, who looked in danger of being crushed by the responsibility, has started to take chances with unflustered ease up front now playing with confidence. His goal against West Ham, creating space on the edge of the box and drilling the ball into the bottom corner, was relentlessly ruthless and his quiet volley against Aston Villa suggested a predatory sharpness in the six-yard box.
Perhaps he was lucky, but if he was really aiming between the legs of Emi Martínez – and from that range it seems possible – it was an instinctive poacher’s finish. If he has both aspects to his game, he could be a very dangerous forward. A conversion rate of 19% is exceptional (11% is about standard) and suggests that his lack of goals earlier in the season had less to do with the service he was receiving.
Denmark’s starting relationship with Rashford and Garnacho looks very important. United have played a front three of, from left, Garnacho, Højlund and Rashford seven times this season and have won all seven. It’s true that they played together in the 4-3 Champions League final against Copenhagen – but not only did Rashford start that game on the right with Garnacho on the left, he was sent off after 42 minutes with United 2-0 up ahead.
All three have a combined age of 66. They have all had successful careers so far. But there is a balance when they play together, a sense of mutual improvement. Ten Hag need to find a way to restore solidity, without compromising their attacking freedom too much – and Rashford and Garnacho have been criticized for failing to live up to their defensive duties. There is still plenty that can go wrong, nothing is guaranteed. But Ratcliffe’s arrival is the beginning of a new chapter, and new pages usually mean hopeful news.
This may not be the front line that anyone at United intended – if they did, there was no need to spend £160m on Antony and Jadon Sancho, and it would certainly have been used before – but the they have one, and for now it seems to be working. And it’s been a while since you could say that about anything at Old Trafford.
