Manchester United lose once again, in what was a shambolic performance from the team as well as the manager tactically. Istanbul Basaksehir won their first game in their Champions League history as they defeated Manchester United with a scoreline of 2-1. The pressure mounts on Solskjaer as United as the team looked clueless on the pitch and the team again failed to break a low block.
Manchester United put on a strong lineup, but with a few selections raised eyebrows, like the starting of Juan Mata. Ultimately, it came back to haunt Solskjaer as United conceded early in the game despite dominating in the opening exchanges. The goal came directly from a United corner, which was rather amateur as the Red Devils had Matic as the last man, who is the slowest player in the team.
Demba Ba scored and United panicked as Basaksehir got their confidence level high, and they scored again. It was another counter-attack from the Turkish club as United’s defensive fragilities were on show again. From then on, the Red Devils dominated position, but barely created chances, as the side fails against low blocks.
Manchester United finally scored in the dying minutes of the first half, with Martial scoring with a good header from Shaw’s cross. At the start of the second half, Solskjaer took off Tuanzebe and brought on McTominay, as Matic moved to centre-back. As the game moved on, United dominated more possession but failed to have a real chance for any of the strikers.
In about the hour mark, Solskjaer took Rashford, Mata and Van de Beek off for Greenwood, Pogba and Cavani. The substitutions were shocking, as Van de Beek was arguably United’s best player by far and such a decision will only bring Solskjaer criticism. With Bruno, Pogba, Martial and Greenwood on the pitch, Manchester United failed to create anything at all going forward.
It was a terrible loss for the Red Devils as Istanbul Basaksehir defended deep but created more and better chances. Manchester United need to have a reality check as they have been poor for a couple of games now, as the team needs consistency. The Red Devils face Everton in the weekend which will be surely a tough game.
