Man United labour to a goalless draw in Sevilla thanks to a star turn from goalkeeper David De Gea.
After big away wins for Man City and Liverpool and a stirring comeback from Spurs, United’s performance on the Champions League road was considerably more prosaic.
So while some of the English sides will have the luxury of saving their main assets for league duties when the second legs of the European ties are played in March, Jose Mourinho’s men will not be among them.
The Old Trafford return against Sevilla is on Tuesday, March 13, just three days after a key Gameweek 30 visit from Liverpool.
An FA Cup quarter-final tie at home to Brighton follows on Saturday, making it three big matches in the space of seven days for the Red Devils.
Potentially, their Gameweek 29 league encounter at Crystal Palace – five days before the Liverpool match – could be the one rotation hotspot over that ensuing run of vital fixtures.
That FA Cup clash means a blank Gameweek 31 for United which, coupled with a league schedule involving Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City over the next five matches, is prompting sales of many of their players.
Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Phil Jones are all in the top five for transfers-out heading into Gameweek 28, with another four – Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Valencia, Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial – in the top 30.
No United player is in the corresponding list for transfers-in.
Pogba was fit enough for the bench last night after his well-publicised bout of illness, and the midfielder then replaced Ander Herrera after 17 minutes when the Spaniard succumbed to a muscle issue which Mourinho declared post-match to be ‘a bad injury’.
In the short-term, Herrera’s potential absence could be significant. He was instrumental in United’s 2-0 win over Chelsea last season, gaining plaudits for his man-marking role on Eden Hazard. Mourinho will likely be forced to turn to a new ploy to deal with the in-form Belgian on Sunday.
But Pogba and Sanchez again struggled to live up to their star billing as United sat deep and soaked up waves of pressure from Sevilla.
Mourinho had made only three changes to the side that beat Huddersfield in the FA Cup at the weekend, with De Gea, Valencia and Herrera replacing Sergio Romero, Luke Shaw and Michael Carrick.
And it was the goalkeeper who proved to be the difference on the night, pulling off a number of saves as the hosts out-shot United 25 to six, with eight efforts on target to the Red Devils’ one.
De Gea, with 43.4% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), is by some margin the side’s most popular player, with an otherwise stuttering United still dealing consistently in the currency of clean sheets.
Last night’s shut-out was their 23rd in all competitions this season – three more than any other Premier League side – and they’ve not been breached in five of the last seven Gameweeks.
Their domestic schedule (CHE cry LIV blank SWA mci WBA) suggests some more of the same is to come, although the visit of Liverpool and the trip to Man City will test their backline to the limit.
Aside from De Gea, however, investing in the defence, particularly at centre-half, is not straightforward.
Jones’ absence with a knock has handed Victor Lindelof back-to-back starts, although not in the league.
But the return of Eric Bailly – he was on the bench last night – gives Mourinho fresh options at centre-half, with Chris Smalling’s run of five consecutive Gameweek starts perhaps under threat should Jones recover quickly.
In attack, the issues surrounding Sanchez’s integration into the team remain ongoing.
Pogba has struggled as part of a more defensive midfield three to allow the Chilean a degree of freedom on the left, but that freedom has not led to major attacking returns – he has one league goal, and three FA Cup assists to his name thus far.
Indeed, United have now failed to score in three of their last five in all competitions – their only goals have came from 2-0 league and FA Cup wins over Huddersfield.
United’s performance in Spain was defensively sound and offensively under-powered, which neatly sums up their current status.
A tricky schedule, a blank Gameweek 31 (with the possibility of another in Gameweek 35 should they see off Brighton in the FA Cup) and rotation issues to come if they progress in the Champions League all make their assets unattractive Fantasy options for now – De Gea aside.
Once again, the Spaniard’s importance wasn’t lost on his manager post-match:
“I think the clean sheets are because of the team and because of David [De Gea]. But, we also kept a few clean sheets with [Sergio] Romero in goal, so I think the team even with a couple of mistakes, the team defended well and when we made the mistakes, obviously David was there. And that’s the reason why he is what he is.”
