Last month brought mixed fortunes for Manchester United as Jose Mourinho’s side defeated Chelsea and Liverpool within the span of two weeks before being dumped out of the Champions League by Sevilla. The Champions League exit was a huge blow and with that came a lot of criticism for the manager.
Though United did make it to the FA Cup quarter-finals by defeating Brighton, the manager was again quite critical of the overall performance of the players.
The players are currently busy with their national team duties and will face Swansea on the 31st of March. After that, United will have a big game against Manchester City and face Tottenham in the semifinals of the FA Cup in what will be stern tests.
Here we look at three players who will be crucial for the Red Devils in the final couple of months of the season.
#3 Nemanja Matic
Matic has been a calming influence in this United lineup, as his presence in central midfield has helped the team control the tempo of the game more often than not.
The Serbian was excellent against Chelsea as he bullied Morata, whilst constantly winning the ball to start attacks from the centre. Even against Crystal Palace, his stunning strike in the injury time helped United win three points even after being down by two goals in the second half.
At a time when Paul Pogba is struggling to find his best form, Matic’s importance in midfield has increased manifold. He will have the task of keeping an imperious Manchester City midfield quiet at Etihad in the coming weeks.
#2 Romelu Lukaku
Ever since the turn of the year, Lukaku has turned his form around as the Belgian striker has been clinical in front of goal. He has been involved in the build-up play more than usual and has become a reliable man upfront.
Lukaku’s strong physical stature has been troublesome for the opposition defenders as Dejan Lovren and even Andreas Christensen found it extremely difficult to handle the Belgian in and around the box.
His finishing seems to have improved as Lukaku has been finding the back of the net with regularity. He’ll be determined to turn his horror performance in the reverse Manchester derby fixture in a couple of weeks.
#1 Alexis Sanchez
The Chilean’s arrival with a great deal of expectations but Sanchez has failed to perform according to the demands.
There has been less clarity over his playing position as the manager has often used in various positions up front. He has failed to find the back of the net often and has thus increased the goal scoring burden on the rest of the midfielders.
It has been perceived that we will see the best of him next season, once the player and the coach get a full pre-season to acclimatise. However, once the big games come this season, Sanchez will have to try to regain his lost touch.