Manchester United should not have needed penalties to beat Rochdale.
When the team was announced, our reaction was fairly positive. Naming the likes of Paul Pogba, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Fred indicated United were taking the game and competition seriously.
That made what followed so much worse.
The first half was desperate. United barely tested the Rochdale goalkeeper.
Attacking midfieler Jesse Lingard touched the ball just 16 times in 45 minutes.
Rochdale came close to scoring when Aaron Wan-Bissaka cleared one off the line, and minutes later Mason Greenwood scored an excellent individual goal.
From the moment Greenwood scored, United should have kicked on. Instead, they allowed Rochdale back into the game and score an equaliser.
In the end United needed penalties to win. Sergio Romero saved one and United scored all five. There were no celebrations.
This was embarrassing
After a game where United were so flat against West Ham in defeat at the weekend, there should have been a reaction.
Playing against lower league opposition can be awkward, but Rochdale were not especially well drilled. They were there for the taking. United were just desperately poor.
Solskjaer’s side are making even the simple tasks look difficult and confidence looks low. There could have been no complaints if we had lost.
A serious improvement is required against Arsenal on Monday, and against Chelsea in the next round, who beat Grimsby 7-1 at Stamford Bridge tonight. That’s how it should be done.
The game was uncomfortable to watch at times, just like the Astana game. It will be good to have a break from watching them for a few days after this.
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