At the King Power Stadium this afternoon, Manchester United played with the arrogance of champions. They just have one flaw: they aren’t champions. They aren’t going to be champs very soon, either. In a barnstorming 4-2 triumph, Leicester City produced some beautiful football, but the more the game went on, the more United seemed like a rabble. They lacked fight and the capacity to match Leicester due to a lack of leadership on the field. They played as though they didn’t feel they needed to strive to win. They acted as though competing was a waste of time for them.
For the first time in nine years, they began this season with serious hopes of capturing the Premier League championship. After eight games, it is clear that this will not be the case. They have issues all over the field, but especially in defense and defensive midfield, where they were exposed once again. With each game that goes, Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to anonymity appears more and more like a terminally misguided vanity project. In offense, United has a plethora of skills.
Their flaws are found elsewhere. United has even been chastised for flying the 100 miles from Manchester to Leicester, and this season already appears to be lurching from one mistake to the next. Liverpool and Manchester City are gaining ground on United and appear to be in a different league. Ronaldo’s arrival has exposed United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more than at any previous point in his tenure. Falling down so early and performing so badly plainly constitutes a problem for a club whose supporters felt Ronaldo was the last piece in the puzzle.
Solskjaer is under pressure, and if things do not improve fast, there will be rising calls for his dismissal from a disgruntled fan base. Perhaps that would be a fitting way for United’s underachieving vice-chairman Ed Woodward to finish his dreadful tenure in charge. Especially considering the fact that he inherited a squad that won 3 trophies in 2 years before he was appointed, spend close to 430m dollars, and is yet to eclipse Mourinho’s 81 points let alone win a trophy.
