The Red Devils will visit St James' Park, the fortress of Newcastle with a fragile back, in the 14th round of the Premier League this weekend
The result of Manchester United's match against Turkish hegemons Galatasaray is already known. As for Manchester United's summary of this game, I believe everyone has only one sentence: goalkeeper Onana is the sinner, and he needs to bear all the blame for Manchester United's fear of not being able to qualify for the Champions League.
Of course, there are other players in Manchester United who are also responsible, and even coach Ten Hag cannot shirk the responsibility. Ten Hag said after the game: "If we are out, I will blame myself. ”
He used the word "if", which means that he is still optimistic that the team has a chance to qualify, but you must know that Manchester United at this stage needs to beat Bayern Munich in the last game, not that it is impossible, but the fate of qualification will be in the hands of Copenhagen and Galatasaray in the next game.
Bayern have already qualified, and they may be able to hide a bit of strength and send some back-ups (not all of them will be represented by Team B).
However, with the current pressure on Manchester United, no one can guarantee 100% that Bayern will inevitably lose to Manchester United. As long as it takes a draw, Manchester United will be out of the game, for sure.
However, if the team is to beat Bayern Munich, United will have to hope for a draw between FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray to have a chance of staying in the Champions League.
In addition, as long as Copenhagen and Galatasaray do not draw goals, Manchester United can beat Bayern Munich and become third in the group to play in the Europa League.
How far are United's long-term plans?
A team as heavily indebted as Manchester United cannot afford to miss out on any Champions League games in December, which would be a huge blow to the team's finances. The consequences are also disastrous, and Ten Hag is optimistic despite admitting that the blame lies with him.
He proudly said to **: "I believe that in the long run, we will succeed." ”
So, the question is, how far is the long term?In the current Premier League, not only Manchester United is improving (not talking about it yet), but other strong teams are also constantly improving, depending on who improves faster.
Ten Hag took office last year and said that after he arrived, the era of Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp was about to pass, but today, on the contrary, he himself is in a precarious state.
Patience with Ten Hag is exhausted?
Manchester United's performance in November was commendable.
But here's the problem, remember that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also facing such a problem, he should have been fired, but because of two or three "excellent" performances from time to time, the team's idea was delayed, and the occasional surprise covered up the team's long-term problems.
In the end, when everyone's patience has been exhausted, it is still necessary to change the coach to lead.
Ten Hag is currently facing some long-standing problems, such as how many times have United chased down a falling opponent to a draw this seasonHow many times did Onana make a mistake in the gatekeeping?And what is the identity of the praised midfielder Scott McTominer?Although he has scored a few sneak attacks and scored goals, as long as you pay attention to it, you will know that he is often the best in midfield and has not contributed to the help defense.
Onana's introduction, Ten Hag's explanation is that he needs a goalkeeper with a good ball-handling type, so he let go of former goalkeeper De Gea, I believe many Manchester United supporters think this is a big mistake, today De Gea is still a free agent, and more and more people are asking Manchester United to re-sign him.
After squandering a two-goal lead twice in the Champions League group stage in midweek and being held to a 3-3 draw by Turkish giants Galatasaray, United have conceded 33 goals in all competitions this season, the most of any opening 20 games in any season since 1962-63.
Newcastle have been tough at home this season
Manchester United have been very inconsistent in both league and cup competitions this season, and now after three consecutive league wins, manager Ten Hag has finally taken a breather.
With five wins and one defeat in the last six league games, with wins over Brentford, Sheffield United, Fulham, Luton Town and Everton, only a defeat to Manchester City, Manchester United will also be looking for their first league win against Newcastle since September 2021.
However, the Magpies have been strong at home this season, winning six of their seven league games at St James' Park and losing just to Liverpool.
Newcastle beat Chelsea 4-1 in their last Premier League game and have won five in a row at home, including a 1-0 win over leaders Arsenal.
In the Carabao Cup last month, Newcastle eliminated Manchester United 3-0 to advance to the last eight.
While the current situation does not seem promising, the good news for United is that after beating Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park in their last league game, they are sixth on 24 points from 13 games, just six points behind leaders Arsenal, and will be close to winning four in a row this weekend.
In addition, Manchester United's injury squad is gradually decreasing, and striker Hojlund has returned, giving Manchester United more confidence to face Newcastle. Newcastle's injury problem will not be lighter than Manchester United's, this campaign is to pursue six consecutive wins in the home league, however, Newcastle has only won 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses in the last 4 games in all competitions, and may not be able to continue this season's League Cup after the victory over Manchester United.