Daniel Storey: Solskjaer suffers another blow as Manchester United prolong familiar dance
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A new nadir in a season that has become defined by desperate plunges to unacceptable lows. This wasn’t just a comprehensive defeat in a monumentally important league fixture; it was proof Brighton and Newcastle United are clubs operating on different planes. One club creates hope while the other destroys it.
If Saturday night felt like the final straw for Steve Bruce, Sunday morning brought reports that he retains the backing of the club, reportedly in part because he has been loyal to Mike Ashley. If the disturbing on-pitch malaise hasn’t riled Newcastle supporters enough, that line alone is sure to.
Newcastle might not be relegated (although they are favourites to join West Brom and Sheffield United in the Championship). But that’s not the point. This club has a squad of players that should be comfortably good enough to sit in mid-table. The argument that injuries have hampered their current form loses all weight when you scrutinise the underlying numbers of Newcastle’s season. The only surprise is that they took this long to be embroiled in such deep relegation trouble.
The post-match narrative understandably focused on Bruce and Newcastle’s lamentable performance, but Brighton made this happen. Too often this season they have failed to maximise their territorial and statistical dominance. On Saturday night, they hammered it home.
For Graham Potter, a tactical masterclass. He picked a front two that pressed out of possession but drifted wide when Brighton had the ball and allowed Leandro Trossard to become the de facto centre forward. He picked two wing-backs but told Pascal Gross and Jakub Moder to make underlapping sprints with Danny Welbeck and Neal Maupay providing the width; Newcastle could not cope with their direct runs. Bruce was winded by the innovation and foresight of Potter.
Brighton are not safe yet. They probably need eight more points and still have Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, and Everton to play. But should they survive, it would be the club’s fifth consecutive season in the top flight. In the mania and noise of relentless, neverending football, it’s easy to forget that Brighton supporters have never had it so good. All power to Potter for his determined faith that his way will eventually win out.
This is now the ingrained Manchester United pattern, you understand. I can’t quite work out whether it’s one step forward and two steps back or two forward and one back, but either way, it’s a familiar dance. A fortnight after they ended Manchester City’s winning run, United tumbled out of the FA Cup with a wretched performance at Leicester City.
Solskjaer recently explained that winning trophies can often hide the progress — or lack of it — at a club, but it sure helps. The Europa League is now his last chance this season to win a first trophy at Old Trafford. Fail and it will be four seasons without silverware for United for the first time since the 1980s. Given the resources at their disposal, that would be completely unacceptable.
If Brighton flattered to deceive as they fell alarmingly down the Premier League table, Fulham have taken on that mantle. They repeatedly play well for extended periods of their matches, but Scott Parker is still struggling to find the right balance between defence and attack that avoids them either becoming shot-shy or porous.
The big issue lies in the final third. Josh Maja scored twice on his debut against Everton but hasn’t scored since. Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in one league game this season. Bobby Decordova-Reid is Fulham’s top league goalscorer but only has five. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was signed to bridge the gap between midfield and attack but his loan has been underwhelming.
The victory at Anfield earlier this month was a welcome bonus, but Fulham have played Leeds, Burnley, Crystal Palace, and an out-of-form Tottenham to sandwich that win and taken only two points (and scored two goals). They cannot keep missing the chance to pile added pressure upon Newcastle.
Manchester City’s chances of landing an unprecedented quadruple took a hit on Friday when they were drawn in the same half of the Champions League as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. But on the domestic front, it’s all plain sailing. Everton were defensively stubborn until the final stages at Goodison, but class wins out eventually.
This is the perfect scenario for Pep Guardiola. There should be so little jeopardy on City’s Premier League matches in April and May that his team can play at half-pace and Guardiola can rotate his team at will. They will then have enough domestic cup fixtures and Champions League assignments that require their A-game that no player can rest on their laurels with competition for places high.
Guardiola has made mistakes in Manchester, but a domestic treble (with the chance of European success) would make for a daunting trophy haul: Three league titles and eight other domestic trophies in five seasons. Winning the Champions League, given their route to the final, would make this one of the greatest single seasons in the game’s history. A reminder: They were eighth in the Premier League at the turn of the year.