Beginning on Sunday, the upcoming six days will be an excellent time to evaluate Manchester United's progress. The following day, on day seven, they are scheduled to arrive at Stamford Bridge.
A team that needed a goal in the 93rd minute to defeat Omonia Nicosia at Old Trafford faces an intriguing triple-header this week. Newcastle, Tottenham, and Chelsea are all currently ranked among the top six teams in the league. It is a blessing that the Europa League will not have any more interruptions for the next two weeks.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to stumble to victory over Omonia even once may be considered a misfortune, but to stumble to victory over Omonia twice appears to be carelessness. Over the course of the two games, United had 65 shots on goal against the Cypriots, but only four were saved by their goalkeeper.
United would be acting irresponsibly if they were to disregard the performances of Omonia when they were up against two different goalkeepers who both put a curse on the majority of their attackers. United were not as ruthless as they needed to be at Everton, inviting pressure in the dying moments of the game and being indebted to Raphael Varane for preventing Jordan Pickford from connecting with a corner kick.
There is a pattern of problems: Manchester United only has one goalscorer who can be counted on, and Cristiano Ronaldo has been starting more games on the bench. They are missing Anthony Martial, Antony's performance level is too inconsistent, Marcus Rashford is still prone to carelessness, and they have no Anthony Martial.
Since the previous week, Erik ten Hag's coaching reputation has improved as a result of the fact that each of the four substitutions he made on Thursday night had an effect. In each of the last four matches that United has played, a player who came off the bench to fill in has scored at least one goal.
"The encouraging thing is that the team continues on," Ten Hag emphasized. They do not give up, have faith that they will score, and in the end they are rewarded for it.
Since their thrashing in the derby, United have displayed admirable belief, and Scott McTominay had the fortitude to recover from a conversion that endangered spectators in order to rifle in the winner three minutes later. A lot of people didn't see it because they were so disgusted by what he did in the 90th minute that they left through the gangways and didn't come back.
Everton, which has not lost a game since the middle of August and has a stout defense, served as a useful outlier for Manchester United just in time for their more challenging Premier League matches. Newcastle is a more expansive opponent, and they are currently one point behind United after scoring nine goals in their most recent two games.
It would be surprising if Newcastle were still in that area come May, despite the fact that their current standing is quite favorable. They were unrecognizable under Eddie Howe in December, having been easy pickings for Manchester United to take advantage of three months earlier on the day that Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his home country.
The selection strategy of Ten Hag will also be put to the test by Newcastle, Tottenham, and Chelsea. In some of his lineup decisions, he has shown a lack of foresight, but he gave Christian Eriksen a well-deserved break against Omonia, and he benched Casemiro in favor of Scott McTominay. The manager of Omonia, Neil Lennon, admitted that he was still shocked by the quality of United's starting XI.
United were more coherent with Eriksen on the field, as Fred failed once more, and Bruno Fernandes lost his patience faster than any of his teammates. It is unrealistic to expect Eriksen and Casemiro, both of whom are 30 years old, to start all three of Manchester United's games in the next six days, so it is likely that Scott McTominay will be given a significant amount of playing time after serving his suspension against Newcastle.
There are some strategic shifts that need to be considered. Graham Potter, who was synonymous with a defensive trident at Brighton, has reverted to a back four in the league but defeated AC Milan with three center halves. Antonio Conte, on the other hand, continues to be a disciple of the back three formation.
The brilliant Potter is in the second band of coaches in the Premier League, while Conte is among the elite group of coaches in the league. Had Howe not been hired by a club in the Premier League, it would have been a disgraceful turn of events. Despite Ten Hag's attempts to downplay the significance of this fact, he will be competing directly against all three. There is also the additional plot thread where Tottenham gave Ten Hag information about himself after interviewing him the previous year.
West Ham, who finished second to United in the standings the previous season, will close out the month playing at Old Trafford. That was foreseeable with a manager who has hardly scratched the surface of his potential.
David Moyes was never cut out to play for United. Ten Hag looks it.
Abiola Issa Mukaila 2 yrs
Good