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At the turn of the century, Irish singer-songwriter Ronan Keating topped musical charts across the globe with his single ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster’. Two decades later, the song still strikes a chord with music lovers and Manchester United’s performances so far this season is evidence that the song remains relevant to this day.
Manchester United’s Premier League season got off the worst possible start with an early drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. Ironically, at the continental level, they looked a completely different side in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League as they swept aside Paris Saint Germain and RB Leipzig with ease.
Having put themselves in the driving seat to qualify for the next round of the tournament, Manchester United inexplicably managed to shoot themselves in the foot and crash out of the competition following consecutive defeats to PSG and Leipzig in the reverse fixtures.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are saving Manchester United after a disappointing transfer window
The results meant that Manchetser United was relegated to the UEFA Europa League and Ole Gunnar Solskjær was said to be in danger of losing his job. Over the last two months though, the Norwegian has managed to turn things around with wins against West Brom, Southampton, West Ham United, Sheffield United, Leeds United, Wolves and Aston Villa. Their recent upturn in fortunes reached a premature culmination when Paul Pogba's goal handed them all three points away to Burnley earlier this week.
The result propelled Manchester United to the top of the Premier League table and all of a sudden, there is a belief that United could be in a race to win the title this season. However, their recent form will be put to the ultimate test on Sunday when they travel to Anfield to take on defending champions, Liverpool.
Bruno Fernandes has been at the heart of all the good things that United have created since he joined the club and his impact is highlighted by his second consecutive Player of the Month award that he received yesterday.. The Portuguese international has led from the front and his 11 goals and 7 assists so far this season is a major part of the reason why the Old Trafford based outfit look like a force to be reckoned with once again.
More importantly, the arrival of Fernandes has given everyone in the Manchester United dressing room a much-needed lift and he is solely responsible for changing the mentality of those around him.
When the 26-year-old on the pitch, he seems to grab games by the scruff of the neck and on most occasions so far, he has been able to lead the team to victory on his own. Following a rare quiet game against Burnely in midweek, Manchester United will hope that their talisman is back to his best on Sunday as his performance will go a long way in deciding United's fortunes.
But Fernandes is not the only one that has been making the headlines for all the right reasons at Manchester United this season. Marcus Rashford showed that he is one of a kind by driving a campaign to put an end to child poverty in the United Kingdom during the lockdown and now he has carried the good work on to the football pitch as well with seven goals and seven assists in 17 Premier League games so far.
The 23-year-old recently became the youngest Manchester United player to score 50 Premier League goals for the club and one can be certain that he will scale even greater heights at his boyhood club in the years to come.
Fernandes’ and Rashford’s form come as a huge relief to both Solskjær and the fans since the club failed to strengthen the squad sufficiently during the last transfer window.
The club spent all their time trying to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and did not have a backup option after failing to complete the deal. However, they did manage to sign Donny Van De Beek and Edinson Cavani from Ajax Amsterdam and Paris Sant Germain respectively. While the former has struggled to consistently feature for the club, the latter has made an impact with three goals and two assists in 10 Premier League matches so far.
Paul Pogba's last days at Manchester United could be his best ones
Paul Pogba and controversy go hand in hand. The French World Cup winner has not hit the heights that Manchester United thought he would ever since he resigned for the club in 2016. And to make matters worse for the fans, he never misses an opportunity to voice his unhappiness with the club while he is on international duty. If rumours are to be believed, the club’s hierarchy has finally had enough of the 27-year-old’s tantrums and are looking to offload him in the summer transfer window.
The news has given the midfielder a much-needed kick up his backside as his performances have significantly improved in the last few weeks as he popped up with important goals against West Ham and Burnley. With all the news that is going on around Pogba, he could be in the final stages of his life as a Manchester United player and his efforts to impress other potential suitors might finally bring the best out of him and that bodes well with United's aspirations for the season
Whenever Pogba’s time at United does come to an end, one can expect Donny Van de Beek to step into his shoes. The 23-year-old has been denied substantial playing time during the initial stages of his Old Traffor career but has made a difference whenever he has played. Once Pogba departs, one can expect Van de Beek to start more regularly and the prospect of having Fernandes and Van de Beek team-up is a tantalising one.
Solskjær and his team have certainly come a long way since the last season and finally seem to have added consistency to their game. However, Sunday's game away to Liverpool will go a long way in determining whether this is the second coming of Manchester United or yet another false dawn.
