Man Utd's win over Everton showed what's wrong with Erik ten Hag's side
If ever a victory papered over the cracks, this was it.
Everton became the fifth side in six Premier League games to register at least 20 shots against Manchester United, further proof of the underlying vulnerability of Erik ten Hag's side.
That Sean Dyche's side were unable to turn those shots into the hard currency of goals owed as much to their lack of conviction in front of the target as it did to United's defensive resilience.
Conceding so many goalscoring opportunities to a side as wasteful as Everton is one thing. But if United are as obliging in Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final tie at home to arch rivals Liverpool, they could find themselves on the wrong end of a humiliating scoreline.
United have now allowed 198 shots against them in their past 10 games in all competitions and there will be concern among Ten Hag and his coaching staff – not to mention the club's new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – at the ease with which opponents repeatedly expose them.
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As well as allowing opponents to put them under pressure with alarming regularity, United have issues going forward themselves, squandering chances from open play and relying on two first-half penalties for the victory.
United are the lowest scorers in the top 12 in the top-flight, with just 39 goals, with their goal difference zero after conceding the same amount. Injuries may have sabotaged Ten Hag's second season in charge, but that alone cannot explain the alarming drop-off that has seen his future placed under legitimate scrutiny.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have all had to contend with losing key players to injury, but all have coped and managed to stay in the hunt for the title, as well as remain in Europe – unlike United.
Everton missed a host of chancesUnited's squad simply does not have sufficient quality to cope with enforced losses like Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund, those glaring deficiencies in personnel a central strand of the overhaul planned by Ratcliffe and his new regime.
Yet there are some shafts of light amid the gloom currently hanging over Old Trafford, notably the ebullience of young winger Alejandro Garnacho, whose pace and quick feet drew two clumsy fouls and yielded the two spot-kicks, converted by Bruno Fernandes and Marcud Rashford.
United captain Fernandes was honest enough to acknowledge United's shortcomings, particularly in giving the ball away cheaply, with midfielder Casemrio surrendering possession eight times in the first half-an-hour.
“No-one gives the ball away on purpose,” said Fernandes. “You miss the pass and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want. Obviously we need to get a high focus in these kinds of games, because we know Everton have a really strong counter-press and a really strong counter-attack.
Man Utd meandered to their win“I think, overall, the performance was good, but obviously there’s always a margin to improve. I think keeping more on the ball, more spells with more passes, trying to play higher on the pitch in their half and keeping the ball there.”
Fernandes also admitted United's players have fallen short of the standards expected of them and must finish the campaign strongly to have a chance of salvaging something from it.
“Obviously we know this season is not as good as we want,” said Fernandes. “So we want to improve as much as we can until the end of the season. Improve, obviously, position-wise, because we want to try to get as close as possible to the Champions League spots.”
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