Manchester United fall to relegation candidates Sunderland
Manchester United were defeated 2-1 by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, putting serious doubts into the team’s top four aspirations.
Louis van Gaal made only one change to the lineup that he had settled on for the last few weeks. Morgan Schneiderlin got the nod ahead of Marouane Fellaini in the midfield, which under normal circumstances could have shifted the match in United’s favor.
But the Black Cats forced their will on the match from the first whistle. Just three minutes into the game, the Red Devils found themselves down a goal via a Khzari free kick. He struck his attempt low and curling into a mix of players, managing to find a narrow gap as it bounced and settled in the side netting. David de Gea made his best effort but could not reach to ball as he had to shift his weight after being caught out of position.
The United defense was lucky not to concede shortly thereafter, as they struggled to clear their lines. Jermaine Defoe nearly toe poked home but just missed his chance to double his side’s advantage. Sunderland were generating the better chances and the away side’s back line was hanging on by a thread.
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It took over a half hour for Manchester United to register their first shot, but the equalizing goal came soon after. Juan Mata hit a strike bound for the side netting, but Vino Mannone was able to parry the shot away at full stretch. Anthony Martial, however, was waiting in perfect position and sent a cheeky chip over the prone keeper.
The two teams went into the break level at a goal apiece, but it looked as though United would go on to take the three points as they were better in possession. That was not the case, though, as the Reds could not translate possession into final chances in the second half. The final delivery was either too poor or the attack simply petered out with too much hesitant passing. To make matters worse, Matteo Darmian was withdrawn with an apparent shoulder dislocation, clouding his status going forward.
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Kone gave Sunderland the win with a headed goal in the final ten minutes of the match, squeezing his attempt between de Gea and Martial on the goal line. Chris Smalling had lost his mark, giving Kone acres of space to climb and meet the cross.
The performance, coming on the heels of a decent run of form for Manchester United, is essentially a microcosm of the team’s season as a whole. After taking a step forward with two wins and a draw, the Red Devils looked horrid in the loss to Sunderland. Aside from Martial, none of the other players stepped up in what was an easily winnable game.
Sunderland started the match in the relegation zone while United was sitting in fifth in the table. The Black Hats had picked up an abysmal two points out of 39 available in previous matches against the top half teams recently, making the agony of defeat that much more acute for supporters of the Mancunians.
Instead of narrowing the gap to the top four, with all four other contenders facing each other on Sunday, the Red Devils assured that they would lose ground on at least two of the teams. Champions League play next season looks to be beyond the realm of possibility at this stage of the season, unless the team can come up with a miraculous run to end the campaign.
Unfortunately, in a terrible performance against far inferior opposition, there was little evidence of such a run forthcoming.