'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Manchester United traveled to John Smith's Stadium to face Huddersfield in the penultimate game of the season. Before the game, United still had every thing to play for and aim to finish in the top four. Things had been so bad that even wins in the last two games might not be enough to see them through. However, Huddersfield decided that they would end United's hopes themselves.
Huddersfield had already been relegated from the Premier League. They were at bottom of the league table, with 14 points and had not won since beating Wolves in February. United on the other hand, desperately needed a result away from home, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named his team accordingly.
David de Gea continued in goal, with Ashley Young, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones and Luke Shaw making up the back four. The midfield three comprised of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay, while up front, Solskjaer opted for a new look front three of Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford.
United started the game on fire, scoring as early as the 8th minute through McTominay. However, they failed to take control of the game and Huddersfield equalized in the 60th minute through Isaac Mbenza. United rallied late into the game, but failed to find the winner. The game ended in a draw and with that, United’s chances of finishing in the top 4 have ended.
While the entire team was poor on the pitch, Solskjaer will be extremely disappointed with the performances from these 5 men.
#5 Alexis Sanchez
Solskjaer opted for Alexis Sanchez to partner Marcus Rashford up front, as both Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were nursing injuries. The Chilean got a rare opportunity to impress his boss ahead of the season, but came up short as usual. Sanchez has been guilty of trying too hard and against Huddersfield too, he tried to do too much at times and ended up getting nothing right.
The Chilean looked lively at the start of the game and linked up well with the midfield as well as his attacking partners at times. The back heels, the neat flicks and the swift turns were all there, as was his normal industry. However, Sanchez never really had an impact in the final third of the game.
Eventually, he was substituted early after picking up an injury.
#4 Ashley Young
The United skipper has rarely justified his selection in recent times, and against Huddersfield too, Young provided very little on the pitch. He was defensively poor, allowing the home team to get the better of him all night. Young’s positioning was shabby and he put a lot of pressure on his own defence at times. He was so poor at times that the United midfield had to come to his aid. His performance going forward was not noteworthy either.
The Englishman was nonexistent on the right flank and provided little support to his forward players. There were very few crosses and he rarely tried to work the flanks. His inactivity was actually evident when Diogo Dalot entered the field and immediately put the Huddersfield's defence under pressure with his attacking intent. The Englishman’s inability to provide in the final third cost United the game
#3 Phil Jones
The Englishman got a rare start, as Eric Bailly has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to an injury picked up in the Chelsea game. Solskjaer opted to keep Smalling on the bench and sent out Jones to partner Lindelof. And the Englishman had a night to forget once again.
Jones was full of errors, committing quite a few costly mistakes that put United under undue pressure. His positioning was poor and Lindelof had to regularly come to his rescue. He was lucky that Huddersfield failed to take advantage of his many slips, because against a better opposition, Jones would have been severely punished.
The Englishman has regularly committed errors this season and failed to generate confidence. Much of United’s poor form this season has been due to the dismal performance of their defenders and Phil Jones perhaps has been the poorest of them all. Against Huddersfield too, Jones hardly did anything to warrant his stay in the club next season.
#2 Paul Pogba
To say that Paul Pogba has been totally ineffective would not be entirely true, as Pogba did hit the crossbar twice in the game. The Frenchman was perhaps out of luck, because he could easily have ended the game with the two goals and would have been labelled the man of the match. Unfortunately, that was not to be. On the other hand, besides hitting the frame of the goal, there was little that Pogba did on the field.
The Frenchman was not his usual creative self and failed to impress from the midfield. With Mata playing as the No. 10, Pogba was expected to pull the strings from a deeper position and also make late runs into the box.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman looked a shadow of his usual self and appeared lost at times. The home team did not put him under too much pressure, but he still failed to find those passes or make those late runs. United looked poorer without their talisman dictating the play and ultimately lost valuable points on the road.
Against Huddersfield, United needed Pogba to provide inspiration and see them through. Unfortunately the Frenchman failed to impress, again, and cost United the game.
#1 Marcus Rashford
This United team has lost all of their confidence in recent games. They have looked lost and uninspired on the field and have failed to carry out the basics of football. There have been unforced errors, bad touches, miss passes and diabolical finishing. And in many ways, Marcus Rashford has been the face of United's disappointing change in fortune.
The English striker started life under Solskjaer very well, but has seen a stark change in form in recent times. He has been provided a lot of chances by Solskjaer, a lot more than the youngster has warranted previously.
Rashford as the central striker has been extremely poor and his selection over Lukaku has been surprising at times. However, Solskjaer did not have an option against Huddersfield as Lukaku was injured, and on the pitch, Rashford was as poor as usual.
The United player failed to put the Huddersfield defence under pressure and could not work out any chances at goal. He failed to have much impact in the box and under-performed once again for United. With the lack of a goalscoring threat to spearhead their attack, United failed to get a victory they needed to secure a top four finish in Premier League and Champions League football.
