Manchester United looks set to join the big boys again!

England’s biggest club was in disarray after legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement in the 2012-2013 season. His replacement David Moyes proved to be a failure and so did Moyes’s replacement, Louis Van Gaal.

The mood was at its lowest at the Old Trafford and starters David De Gea and Michael Carrick were set to leave the club.

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However, on 27th May 2016, just a few days after Louis Van Gaal’s sacking, Manchester United announced Jose Mourinho as their new manager. The mood changed at the Old Trafford; hope replaced frustration and belief replaced desperation.

City may have got Pep Guardiola, but Manchester United got their gem. Some criticised, many got jovial, but none disagreed that the club finally got a competent replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson.

The summer transfer window saw records shattered and Manchester United became one of its protagonists. First they signed little known youngster Eric Bailly and then came Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Zlatan was followed by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, one of the best attacking players in Europe. However, the best was kept for the last as Manchester United resigned midfielder Paul Pogba and made him the first player with 100-million pound price tag!

With a strengthened spine, the club looked in great shape as the season approached. And in their four matches so far, they have been wonderful.

The precision is back, the finesse is back but most importantly, the confidence is back. Manchester United look more stable than ever and there is an air of optimism around Old Trafford.



Leicester City was outplayed, Bournemouth was dominated, Southampton was dismantled and Hull City was defeated. While doing this, they never looked nervous.

The team looks settled, set to dominate matches and has become an intimidating outfit. In Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba, the club has one of the best attacking units in the continent. Along with this, in Marcus Rashford, who scored the winner against Hull City, Manchester United has one of the brightest young talents in the world.

However, if you saw all the four matches, there is something beyond their intimidating attacking line-up. Manchester United’s defence has been exceptional. It has looked stable, daunting and aggressive. The defenders didn’t back off, didn’t play many backward of sideways passes and looked to build the game. They appeared a well-knitted unit.

So let’s analyse Manchester United’s defence man-by-man.

Manchester United has David De Gea in the goal. Regarded by many as the best goalkeeper in the world, he has been Manchester United’s player of the season for last three year. In fact he is one of the only two players to have won the award thrice, the other being Cristiano Ronaldo.

He has grown a lot since arriving from Atletico Madrid after 2010-2011 season. De Gea has saved over 73 per cent shots he has faced since his arrival in the league. Amazingly, he has won ‘Save of The Year’ award for every season since its inception as well.

In front of De Gea, on the right hand flank plays Antonio Valencia. A former player of the year at Manchester United, this Ecuadorian is a workhorse. He is agile, physical, and possesses a very strong attitude.

He tackles well and can match many wingers on pace. However, him not being a defender affects his positioning and that can be a weakness to Manchester United’s defence.



His ability to accelerate is one of his strengths and on his day, he can deliver impeccable crosses, like the one against Leicester City for Ibrahimovic’s winner.

On the other side plays Luke Shaw. The most expensive teenager until last season, he is one of the best left backs in the division. He is quick, doesn’t fear to attack and has a wonderful sense of the game.

He can make overlapping runs to the wing midfielders and often finds himself in good attacking positions. Shaw had a horrific leg break last season but has come back stronger. He is only 21 and has his entire career ahead of him. He appears to be an excellent signing made by Louis Van Gaal (according to reports, the signing was sanctioned under David Moyes).

Just in front of De Gea are Manchester United’s centre backs Bailly and Daley Blind.

Blind was signed by Louis Van Gaal in the 2014 summer transfer window for 13.8 Million Pounds. He has been a wise investment.

Blind is one of the most versatile players in the game. He can play as a left back, a centre midfielder and a centre defender! What makes Blind such an important part of Manchester United’s jigsaw is his vision and game-reading.

Blind possesses a wonderful range of passing and initiate attacks with aerial through balls. His height at 5′ 11” doesn’t make him the most intimidating, but he makes up for it with sensible defending and clean tackling.

Blind’s defensive partner is Bailly. He came for 30 Million Pounds from Villarreal and became the first signing of Jose Mourinho. He may have been at the club for only a few months but already looks settled.

His style is similar to Kurt Zouma and complements Blind nicely. Bailly is quick, eccentric but confident. He can play as a wingback as well. Like Blind, Bailly is often immaculate with his positioning.



The only worry of his game is lack of discipline. For all his eccentricity, Bailly is a rash tackler. He received ten yellow cards last season in the La Liga and this can be a concern in Premier League for its strictness. However, if he becomes more disciplined and keeps the traits, Bailly can become world class.

Interestingly, except Bailly, Manchester United has retained the same defence as last season. But the team, which looked brittle at the back, looks solid now.

So what has changed? It is the manager!

There was a time when Sir Alex Ferguson started Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Patrice Evra, Mikael Silvestre or even Michael Carrick as a centre back yet kept clean sheets – something which Moyes could not do with Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra. Van Gaal could not do with the same defenders minus Bailly, of this season.

Therefore it is the manager, which often plays a role in how the team plays. Each team of Jose Mouinho had a strong defence – from Porto to Chelsea. He made average defenders perform brilliantly.

This is what exactly happening at Manchester United. Not only Bailly’s signing has brought stability, the entire defence looks galvanised.

Manchester United may have assembled one of the finest attacking units in the league, but its their defence which will play a big role in how they perform this season.

As it is said, “Attack can win you matches, defence can win you trophies.”

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