Man United's Inconsistency and Defensive Problems on Show Against West Brom
Someone is going to get thumped by Manchester United sooner or later. When Angel Di Maria, Robin van Persie, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj start to click, some poor goalkeeper is going to be picking the ball out of his net six or seven times.
There is only one statistic that really matters, but Louis van Gaal's side had 22 shots on goal against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns and 11 corners.
They scored twice, through Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind. But with a defence that creaks every time the opposition cross the halfway line, two isn't enough at the moment.
And while, at one end, United look capable of scoring fives, sixes and sevens, their vulnerability at the back will be a huge concern for Van Gaal.
West Brom twice sliced through United on the break, taking advantage of a lack of protection in front of the back four as Blind tried his best to be everywhere at once without ever succeeding.
Chelsea and Manchester City are two of the Premier League's three top scorers so far this season. Jose Mourinho's side visit Old Trafford on Sunday with the season's first Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium seven days later.
United might be ready to batter some teams. But, if their defending doesn't improve drastically from that on show at the Hawthorns, there's a danger they could get torn to pieces by Chelsea or City.
Van Gaal hasn't been allowed to settle into any kind of pattern this season. He picked Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo at the back against West Brom, his sixth different combination at centre-half already this season.
The Dutchman also experimented with a new formation, with Robin van Persie as a lone striker, Di Maria and Januzaj on the wings with Mata and Ander Herrera in front of holding midfielder Blind.
For the first three Premier League games, Van Gaal used a back three. For the next four he used a diamond midfield. Much of the inconsistency has been forced upon him by injuries and suspensions. But it has bred an inconsistency in performances and results.
It means it's difficult to predict what will happen when they line up against Chelsea and City. At least there is an element of uncertainty this season. There was an inevitability about some of United's heavy defeats in the big games under David Moyes.
Victory over West Brom would have given United some momentum ahead of their first real tests of this season. Instead, their defensive problems were exposed again.
It's only after the games against Chelsea and City that it will be possible to gauge United's progress and set realistic targets for the season. It's just, in the form they're in, it's impossible to know what might happen.
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