Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United’s lack of pace in defence and solidity in midfield is a ‘real problem’ for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Crystal Palace exposed United’s shortcomings with an emphatic 3-1 win at Old Trafford on Saturday.
United were lacking match fitness given their short pre-season but Palace exploited the hosts’ slow backline, with Wilfried Zaha tormenting Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
Nemanja Matic was missing in midfield, meaning United had to bring in Scott McTominay and the Scot does not possess the same defensive mind as the former Chelsea ace.
Though Carragher accepts the lack of pre-season had an impact on the result, the former Liverpool star says the lack of pace in defence and attack-minded midfield should worry Solskjaer.
‘I wouldn’t get too carried away, it was a really poor performance. It was the first game and it’s difficult to judge because we don’t know where players are fitness-wise,’ said Carragher.
‘But what I would say is, towards the end of last season they were playing really well, and they’ll get back to that. But I’m not convinced this team, who are now becoming a more possession-based team since Fernandes arrived, Pogba is in central midfield. The more possession you have, the more chance you can get counter-attacked.
‘That midfield, for me, is not right. Even though they’re big names with Donny and Fernandes. That team will be far too easy to counter-attack again.
‘This is Crystal Palace, who are good at counter-attacked but haven’t got the quality that other teams have. With the pace at centre-back, and how open they are in central midfield, United are going to have a real problem stopping teams on the counter-attack.’
Solskjaer wanted to make at least three signings at the start of the summer but United have been frustrated in their efforts to sign Jadon Sancho and a left-back.
A deal for the Dortmund winger looks dead in the water but United hope to sign Porto’s Alex Telles in the coming days.
