Another victory in the United Vs Reading FA Cup tie took their winning streak to five games under new interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Manchester United has been in emphatic form since Solskjaer took over as caretaker manager. With five wins in five games, Solskjaer has achieved what no other United manager had achieved before.
The Red Devil’s ran riot on their opponents in their first 4 games under Solskjaer, creating chances, scoring goals, and controlling the entire flow of the game with overwhelming possession.
As such, United went into their F.A. Cup tie against Reading with high hopes, and though, they got the result they wanted, it was far from convincing.
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Reading enjoyed more possession in the United vs Reading game than they would have expected and United, with continuous miss passes and sloppy play, had to be content with just 40% ball possession.
Solskjaer made several changes to the matchday squad, choosing to rest the likes of Pogba, Herrera and Matic.
Here are some takeaways from Manchester United’s 2-0 win against Reading.
Fred Is Promising But Has A Long Way to Go
United’s summer signing Fred has found it hard to get into the starting XI in his brief time at the club. Jose had cited the Brazilian’s lack of game time to United’s need of defensive stability in the midfield.
Fred has started twice under Solskjaers management and neither has been a performance that might establish him as the first choice in the Norwegian’s matchday squads.
Fred was decent while going forward. The ex-Shakhtar midfielder did pick out some very good passes while on the counter but made a mess of the simple things.
Fred needs to go on Lukaku’s bulking up diet, the guy is lighter than a feather ffs.
Needs to use his full Brazilian name too
Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, none of this boring Fred nonsense anymore need some real samba sauce flowing, not this shit we seeing.— Legacy SS 🇿🇦 (@alleyne_kammies) January 5, 2019
Fred is relatively new to the English game and it will be harsh to write him off so early in his career at Manchester. However, with Pogba, Matic and Herrera putting up solid performances, it will be hard for the Brazilian to get too many chances.
He either needs to tidy up his game or else Manchester United will definitely look for a replacement in the coming months.
Alexis Sanchez’s Injury
Sanchez’s Manchester United career has not been what he would have hoped for when he made the switch from Arsenal.
He failed to perform consistently under Jose Mourinho and then spent the latter part of 2018 sidelined with an injury. The Chilean has bagged two games in 2019 under Solskjaer’s management and adorned both games with two brilliant assists.
…@Alexis_Sanchez has been directly involved in 18 goals in his previous 19 #EmiratesFACup appearances (nine goals, nine assists)… pic.twitter.com/i5vcq1Nanh
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 5, 2019
His return to fitness and form could be a huge asset for United for the rest of the season. The Chilean international, however, picked up an injury in the 2nd half of the United Vs Reading game cutting his road to redemption short.
The ex-Arsenal man can only hope that this time, the injury will not keep him out of the game for too long.
Back to Back Clean Sheets In The United vs Reading Game
Ole Gunnar emphasized his desire to keep clean sheets after his side conceded in each of his first 3 games as United’s manager.
The Baby Faced Assassin finally got what he wanted in his 4th game when the Reds managed to shut out the struggling Newcastle United.
🔴 The Reds go marching on, on, on! #MUFC pic.twitter.com/RoYBBt20VX
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 5, 2019
His side followed it up with a second clean sheet at home against Reading. However, the 12-time winners of the F.A. Cup looked defensively volatile. Reading managed to create several chances throughout the United Vs Reading game and it was only the finishing that let the Championship side down.
With Rojo and Smalling still out injured and Eric Bailey suspended, United must splash the cash if they want to strengthen their defence in January.
