Bharath Rammr
As the first half of the season comes to a close, Manchester United will be reflecting on a tough six months under the regime of Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese was always expected to have a tough time at the club given that he had set targets of winning the league title in his first season. United are without a league victory since 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson guided them to the title. After a fine start to the season, there was an almighty collapse during the months of October and November.
At one stage, there was even a danger of United missing out on the top four once again. It should have been catastrophic given that the club spent more than £150 million on players like Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the summer. In recent weeks, though, plenty of tactical changes and variations in the starting line-up have brought about the best from the club. Following a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, United are now only a couple of points below Manchester City, who occupy the final top four spot.
Even though Manchester United have not scored with the same flamboyance that they once did, the football is certainly better than the days under Louis van Gaal. Manchester United are creating a lot of chances despite not committing a lot of men forward. The club has certainly been unlucky in several games, and the opposition have been able to capitalise. Draws against the likes of West Ham, Burnley, and Stoke have proved to be costly in the race for the top four, but there is still plenty of time left for United to improve in the second half of the season.
There have been very few positives for the team so far, but it has come in the form of the Europa League campaign. United have made it to the knockout stages after receiving some scares, while the club are also into the latter stages of the EFL Cup.
At the same time, there are also plenty of low points with the heavy loss against Chelsea being one of them. Mourinho was returning to Stamford Bridge for the first time since being sacked last season, and he received a 4-0 thrashing against Antonio Conte’s team.
Despite having spent close to £500 million since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, Manchester United are still no closer towards finding perfection in the squad. As a result, the club are expected to be busy in January once again. Most of the transfer business may be done early with Benfica defender Victor Lindelof being one of the first arrivals. A fee of around £38 million has been touted and it could make him as one of the most expensive defenders in the world.
