Copenhagen midfielder Lukas Lerager thinks Manchester United are completely disjointed under Erik ten Hag.
The Champions League is the top focus for Manchester United once again, just days after beating Fulham 1-0 on Saturday.
United head to Denmark and will take on Copenhagen after narrowly beating them 1-0 at Old Trafford last month.
United need to win this one after prior defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, so the pressure is on Erik ten Hag to get a result.
Saturday’s 1-0 win at Fulham was a boost but one Copenhagen player doesn’t seem entirely convinced by United and Ten Hag…
Lukas Lerager offers verdict on Manchester United
Copenhagen midfielder Lukas Lerager is expected to line up in midfield against United given his status as a key player for the Danes.
The 30-year-old has now spoken to Bold and shared his true thoughts about United.
Lerager claims that he has sat and watched United and doesn’t quite understand what he is seeing.
Lerager believes that what Ten Hag wants and what the United players seem to want ‘don’t quite match up’, finding it ‘strange’ that United can’t find more cohesion on the pitch.
The former Genoa man added that United have ‘world-class’ players but Ten Hag must ‘get a handle’ on them, with Lerager highlighting United’s ability on the counter-attack as a real threat for Wednesday’s game.
It’s rare that we see players speaking so brutally honestly about an upcoming opponent, but Lerager clearly thinks United are there for the taking.
“When you sit and watch them, they want really, really many things. But it’s as if what the coach wants and what the players want don’t quite match up,” said Lerager. “I don’t have to be smart about it, but it seems strange that such a big club can’t make it fit better.”
“They have world-class players. National team players from England, Portugal and I could go on. These are really, really talented players. But it is something the coach must get a handle on. As far as we are concerned, it is about not giving them too much space in the changes. That is the most important thing for us,” he added.
United need to find some fluency going forward
United have invested big money in attackers; Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund all played in the final third against Fulham on Saturday and cost more than £200million combined.
Add in the likes of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, and you would think that United can cause anybody problems going forward.
We just aren’t seeing that right now though with Antony struggling, Rashford out of form and Hojlund being starved of service.
That means United are left to rely on moments rather than consistent attacking excellence; just look at Fernandes scoring the late winner at Fulham.
The players involved can conjure big moments but United just look a little toothless at times this season.
That simply has to turn at some point soon, and we would love to see it against Copenhagen.
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