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Manchester City have been crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four years. City won the title on the couch after watching Manchester United lose 2-1 to Leicester City on Tuesday.
The triumph of Pep Guardiola’s side, however, did not seem to worry many Manchester United fans, some of whom are happy with the progress of their own team.
The Red Devils are on course to finish second and their loss to Leicester City had little effect on their position in the table. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has already qualified for next season’s Champions League as well.
Manchester United also have a very important final to play in the Europa League in the next two weeks and it’s understandable that the club are prioritizing that.
Solskjaer names experimental side
Once the team sheets were announced on Tuesday, it was evident that the Reds had tanked as Solskjaer named an experimental side to face the Foxes.
Brandon Willians, Axel Tuazembe, Amad Diallo, Donny van de Beek, Juan Mata and Anthony Elanga were all handed starts against Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The consequence was that Manchester United lacked cohesion. Despite Mason Greenwood scoring the equalizer after Luke Thomas had put Leicester ahead, Caglar Soyuncu netted the winner for the visitors in the second half.
At this point in the season, rotation is very critical, especially for Manchester United, who are burdened with playing three games in the space of five days. But the inability of the Red Devils' fringe players to impress also reveals some underlying concerns.
Reds need squad depth
Currently, Manchester United has a formidable starting XI, but they need more than that if they’re going to compete for the Premier League and Champions League.
A chunk of the players who started against Leicester were either too inexperienced or past their best. Failing to address the situation before next season will only leave the club light on options.
"Of course, this is not the position we want to be in. But the sensible answer is that we pushed City to the last 10, 12 days of the season,” Solskjaer said after the game, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"We've got to be big enough to hold our hands up, I don't mind doing that, but we know we want to get there and that is the next step we have to make. Hopefully, we can come together as a team and club and push next season."
"If you want to take up the challenge with them, of course, we need to strengthen our squad."
Indeed, the only way Manchester United can challenge for titles will be to strengthen their squad and that was vividly highlighted in their defeat to Leicester City.
