Manchester United’s squad has quality in depth but PSG loss shows specific reinforcements are needed

Manchester United’s loss to PSG on Tuesday night demonstrated to many fans that the squad at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s disposal is not good enough to challenge the French champions. But is it that the group of players are not capable or just not able to fit the ‘United Way’?

Social media provides you with a lot of questions but also a lot of quick answers. Millions of people’s opinions chucked into a pot, some right and some wrong. The reaction to Manchester United’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night was no different.

Fans across the globe were trying to find a reason as to how this United team, playing so well and carrying so much momentum under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, were beaten by a slightly depleted but still very strong PSG team.

Some blamed Solskjaer himself, others accepted the difference in quality between the two sides and others blamed the referee.

One of the more commonly suggested reasons was that United’s squad was not strong enough to compete when Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard were forced off injured at half time. There is no doubt that two inform players leaving the field had a profound impact on the outcome of the match.

But why was a club like Manchester United, with a bench full of star-studded names such as Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata and Fred, not able to cope?

Firstly, the team are a victim of their own success. Due to the high level of performances, players like Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata, who came on in place of the injured pair, don’t have a lot of first team minutes under their belts. Yes, Solskjaer has made changes to certain starting XI’s but the core of his team has often remained the same.

It isn’t as if Sanchez has been playing well and is chomping at the bit to come on, either. Mata has not played regular football too. But, the contrast between the players doesn’t stop there.

Manchester United’s rediscovered dynamism leaves certain players segregated

Lingard and Martial’s performances, as well as those of Marcus Rashford, have optimized this shift in tactics since the Norwegian returned. The three of them, who are often picked together, are the first line of defence, hunting down the ball and pressing their opponents high.

To do this, you need the brains to know when to press but equally, you must have the physical attributes to ensure the press gets completed. Unfortunately, Mata does not possess the pace and power of the man he replaced. And as for Sanchez, he seems to be in such a rut that even a goal against his former club didn’t spark him into life.

Players play in certain positions because their attributes both technically and physically suit it. But what you are asked to do in that position by your manager also may require certain abilities.

And Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has inherited a Manchester United squad that has so many star names, on paper, you’d say it trumps all but Manchester City’s in the Premier League. But can those players carry out what Solskjaer demands of them? It appears not.

I don’t think saying, “our squad is not good enough”, cuts it. United’s squad has some remarkable footballers, but how many fit the Manchester United mould that Solskjaer has seemed to resurrect?

This opens another debate. Solskjaer is not the permanent Manchester United manager, yet. So it would difficult to cast off certain players who don’t fit the Norwegian’s mould only for that Norwegian to return to Molde in the summer and another manager to come in wanting their own acquisitions.

Therefore, whilst the club is in this limbo period of uncertainty, should Solskjaer just be doing what he can to get the best out of these players rather than trying to infect the ‘United Way’ into them. Doing so has created a situation whereby players who come in for the matches Lingard and Martial sit out, will be trying to pursue a style of play that doesn’t match their strongest attributes.

What if Solskjaer is given the job?

If Ed Woodward and co. believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done enough to warrant being appointed the boss on a full-time basis, then the club has a busy summer ahead.

And you can name more players than just some of those on the bench on Tuesday night. Is Matteo Darmian an attacking fullback capable of playing high up the pitch? How many of United’s centre-backs can form a title-winning partnership?

It may sound like I am disregarding every player who hasn’t featured a lot under Solskjaer, but what appointing the baby-faced-assassin does do, is give United an identity. He will have to consider which current players fit his mould. Can he turn to his bench in a years time and see two players capable of replacing Martial and Lingard without the team being jeopardised?

Manchester United’s squad is good enough. It has undoubted quality in depth. But is it Solskjaer’s squad? Of course not. If Solskjaer is to continue at the helm, the need for specific reinforcement was clear to see on Tuesday night. And perhaps, in a years time, we may see a similar scenario with a different outcome.